Chapter 88

She wanted to nod her head not to go, but Azela knew well that Duke Ferial couldn’t do that.

Since coming to the Capital, he had turned down several parties under the pretext of taking a break. If he even refused the Crown Prince’s party this time, his reputation in the social world would drop to the bottom.

For him, who ran a boutique shop for nobles and ran a business, reputation, and word of mouth were important.

“If you don’t go, I won’t go.”

Zagnac smiled as he lightly tossed the invitation in his hand onto the desk. He seemed to like that Azela wanted something from him and was very fond of doing her favors. Azela, who was watching him, opened and closed her lips.

After catching her breath, she said calmly.

“I am your escort knight. I will follow where you go. You decide, not me.”

“Tch.”

Zagnac clicked his tongue with a bored tone at her calm reply. Then, he spoke with a dull look at the invitation he had thrown on the desk.

“I don’t want to go for you, but…”

“Is there no reason to recline anymore? Besides, it’s a party hosted by the Crown Prince himself, and he invites only a small number of people.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then, I am fine. I have already met Crown Prince Chises and His Majesty at the Imperial Palace.”

Zagnac frowned at her calm voice. The truth was, he didn’t want to see him again even if he died though he couldn’t live with just good things.

He smiled at Azela as if he couldn’t help it.

“Prince Chises is not the only problem… Do you know why I’ve been avoiding parties all this time?”

“….”

She knew. Had Azela appeared as Zagnac’s escort knight, many of the nobles would gossip about her. Pretending to be friendly — they would come up to her and listen to everything she had ever been to — making sure the rumors were true.

And in the end, they were going to chew on her, calling her ‘a woman without integrity.’

“But, you know well that you can’t avoid it for the rest of your life, right? The human ‘Duke Ferial’.”

“….”

Zagnac rubbed his chin, listening to Azela while looking troubled. He didn’t want to hear such disregard from her. As he tapped the desk with his fingers, he jumped up as he had decided on something.

“Let’s go.”

Grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the study, he told a servant who was passing the hallway with laundry to ‘prepare the carriage.’

“Where are we going?”

“My boutique shop in the Capital, haven’t you seen it?”

“What?”

“I’ll show you, let’s go.”

* * *

Arriving at the boutique shop, Azela’s mouth opened.

The boutique shop in the capital city was splendid enough to disregard Zagnac’s words, who praised that the second store she launched on the outskirts was unique and good. It was a five-story building that can be seen from afar, and from the entrance, there was friendly staff who greeted guests.

Everything was perfectly equipped. Seeing this place made her realize how messed up her business was. As she bowed her head in embarrassment, Zagnac grabbed Azela’s wrist and stepped inside.

“Oh, Duke Ferial.”

As they entered, a woman, who stood gracefully among the many ladies, ran towards them.

“Let me introduce you. This is Findar, a designer graduating from the Imperial Academy as a senior. This is my escort knight…”

“You’re Azela Vellista, aren’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard rumors. A lot of nobles come here to talk.”

Findar smiled at Zagnac and turned her back to scan Azela up and down. It was as if she was saying, ‘You are the one in the rumor.’ That gaze, like a snake looking up and down, did not make her feel good.

Then, she reached out her hand lightly and gave a business smile to Azela.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Findar, who is currently in charge of this boutique shop.”

Azela looked at her outstretched hand and, instead of giving an answer, lightly nodded. She thought she didn’t have to mind being rude because Findar started it first by scanning her up and down.

“Hahaha!”

Findar withdrew her hands, embarrassed by her aggressive appearance, before laughing loudly. Hearing the sound of that laughter, the other nobles inside glanced, but it was none of their business, so soon they looked away.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s not polite to laugh out loud like this…”

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Findar struggled to hold back the laughter that could not be stopped. It really was. To laugh so loudly in front of people… When Azela grimaced at her disrespect, she added in haste.

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“….”

“I will admit that it was amazing to meet the party of the rumor in person. But, that’s all, I didn’t mean to disparage you. Besides, I don’t think of you as bad as the rumors say.”

“For such a thing, your attitude was very bad… It’s not suitable for someone running a boutique shop like this.”

“Actually, I was thinking about what kind of person you are because you work with Duke Ferial. I’ll admit it. Duke Ferial is like a benefactor to me. It may be called auspicious, but as the rumors say, if Lady Vellista is really taking advantage of Duke Ferial, or if she stayed only for the Duke’s power or wealth, I wanted to remove you.”

Findar raised her hands lightly as if shouting to Azela, ‘I’m not your enemy!’ She looked sincere. Seeing that attitude, Azela softened her expression and nodded her head.

“Findar, I told you to fix that behavior. Besides, I pick my own people. It is not for you to interfere.”

“I know, but I’m worried. The Duke is like a parent and a teacher to me!”

Azela, who had been listening to the two of them, turned to Zagnac with a dissatisfied look.

“Why are we here? If we’re really just here to show me around, let’s go back because I’ve had a good look.”

“We’re going to the party. I need your dress for that.”

“I am your escort knight. I don’t even wear a dress.”

As she listened to Azela and Zagnac’s conversation, Findar covered her mouth with her palm and widened her eyes in surprise.

“Wa, wait a minute. Sorry for interrupting you two, but…”

“Findar, why again?”

“Oh my God, how? How can you speak so casually with Duke Ferial?”

When Azela nodded her head, Findar turned her back to Zagnac this time and asked again.

“…Duke Ferial allowed that?”

“She was my escort knight, my friend, and my business partner. It’s nothing much…”

“Oh, my gosh.”

She cut off his words with her lips twitching as she pointed her fingers at the two of them. Findar then put the fan beside her and put her arm around Azela’s.

“You need clothes to wear to the party, right? Let’s go, Miss.”

“I am an escort knight…”

“Even if you’re an escort knight, you’re going to wear a knight’s uniform, right? If you don’t like dresses, try on a cool knight outfit. I’ll take you to the VIP room on the fifth floor. Duke Ferial, please wait here.”

Blinking lightly at Zagnac, she dragged Azela, who still refused, and went inside. Findar, who moved to the fifth floor, drew the curtains and shouted at the staff several times to bring dresses and knight uniforms.

“Hey, I…”

“Take it easy. I don’t have a title, and I’m a semi-noble who makes a living with only dexterity.”

She waved her hands and smiled. Azela didn’t hate her, but that didn’t mean she liked Findar completely. Still, she was someone who had a corner that couldn’t be hated.

As Azela sighed, the staff hastily brought dresses and knightly suits.

“You seem to have a great responsibility as an escort knight, so it seems difficult to wear a fancy and heavy dress… How about a dress like this that is light and easy to move around?”

“I don’t need…”

“It will be beautiful, and Duke Ferial will like it.”

Findar said with a small smile on her face.

What did she know? She paused and looked at her, but Findar didn’t go any further. In the end, Azela sighed and turned her head to look at the dress she had recommended to her. There was no corset to squeeze her breath, and there was no heavy underskirt.

“Duke Ferial will love it, trust me.”