CH 26

“Adeline. Why are you thinking so much when you are wearing such a pretty dress? At this rate, Madame Elsa will cry.”

Madame Elsa said mischievously with a playful expression, and Theresa, who had been teasing Adeline, laughed.

There was big and small laughter in the dressing room, which was filled with dresses and mannequins as if the salon had moved there.

Standing in the middle of it all, Adeline still couldn’t smile and was struggling with anxiety.

[I can feel a great curse of darkness from the Grand Duke.]

Only Simeon’s words floated around in her head.

[If it’s a curse that can kill your energy even in the face of my power, it’s even more powerful than what you can imagine.]

A curse of darkness more powerful than what you can imagine.

Those words were quite frightful.

‘He doesn’t melt even when he’s covered in blood from the Corrupted, and he wants to die. Maybe it’s all related.’

All the things she had seen made it impossible for her to ignore them.

Adeline closed her eyes tightly as she felt a throbbing headache.

“Adeline. The lavender dress you’re wearing looks great on you.”

“As expected, there’s a reason why the Marchioness is famous for her good perception. It’s a new product made very carefully in our salon.”

Either way, Theresa and Madame Elsa were busy choosing Adeline’s dress.

Adeline blinked at Theresa as if to tell her to stop, but Theresa only grinned.

“Adeline. You have to enjoy the moment. How nice it is.”

“Theresa.”

“I always had the most fun when choosing your dresses. You’re pretty and I like dressing you up.”

Rather, she encouraged Madame Elsa and the salon staff to work even harder.

“Theresa, please. Madame Elsa. Let’s stop looking at dresses. A dress for the reception and two other dresses are all that I need, but I’m trying on too many.”

“Dear heavens, what are you saying? I can’t believe you want to end it with three dresses! Besides, the reception dress is just as important as the wedding dress!”

Madame Elsa looked at Adeline with an astonished expression, as if the world had collapsed.

“Adeline. Madame Elsa is right. You can’t just choose a reception dress like that. Besides, His Grace told me that he was ready to buy the salon altogether. Three dresses? This is also discourteous towards him.”

“You refused almost all the dresses and gifts Brother Enoch wanted to give you.”

“Your situation with His Grace right now is different from my situation with Enoch back then. And Enoch insisted so strongly that I accepted them all in the end.”

It was a satisfying counterattack, but Theresa was unharmed and just grinned.

“The Marchioness is correct. Marriage expenses are a means of showing affection for the bride and one’s prestige. You should enjoy yourself as much as you can, Lady Tien.”

“Ah…”

“Come on, you must really try this dress on. This is the best dress of the season that our salon has ambitiously released. We made it only for the Lady.”

Before Adeline could say anything, the salon staff clung to her and changed her dress.

In an instant, the lavender dress disappeared, and a red rose-colored dress wrapped around Adeline’s body.

“Oh my! Adeline, you are so pretty. Should we get this dress?”

“Oh, my goodness! You are so beautiful, Lady.”

Theresa and Madame Elsa, as well as everyone in the dressing room, uttered their own exclamations.

This time, Adeline also stared blankly at the mirror without saying much.

The appearance in the mirror was so beautiful that even Adeline, who was particularly poor at self-evaluation, was a little surprised.

“As expected! I knew it. I knew this rose color would be perfect for Lady Tien.”

The off-shoulder dress with the color of red roses looked really good on Adeline.

The chest and waist were engraved with patterns reminiscent of rose vines, and the fluttering skirt was lightly scattered, revealing Adeline’s body lines without overdoing it, highlighting her distinctive elegance.

“It’s a pretty intense color for a reception dress, but it’s a perfect color for you, Lady. And as the protagonist of that day, the more intense, the better.”

Madame Elsa was so inspired by the beautiful result that she kept babbling on.

It was a dress worthy of that.

With a faint blush on her face, Adeline couldn’t take her gaze away from the mirror as if she was possessed.

“Oh my!”

Hearing Theresa’s voice as she got up from her seat, surprised, everyone followed her gaze.

And as they did, no one could hide their surprised faces.

It was the same with Adeline.

“… Kael?”

The man she never imagined meeting in the dressing room was standing at the entrance.

***

Theresa and the people from the salon quickly left the dressing room with a smile on their lips.

It was unbelievable how quickly they had left the room, and that this spacious dressing room was filled with people and luggage just a moment before.

“…”

“…”

No one could easily speak in the dressing room that had become quiet in an instant.

Maybe it was because they were in a dressing room; the atmosphere between the two was a little different from usual.

“Ahem.”

Eventually, Kael cleared his throat and broke the silence first.

“I visited because I have something to talk about with Marquis Tien regarding the wedding. But I thought I needed to see your face, so I came here.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’m sorry if it was bad manners. I guess I interrupted you.”

“You didn’t interrupt. Not at all. Rather, you saved me. I was trying on eight dresses.”

Kael smirked at Adeline’s genuinely exhausted tone and expression.

“You seem to be spending too much money. Madame Elsa’s eyes are shining at the prospect of selling the whole salon.”

“If she sells everything, you can buy everything. If there is something you like, buy it all.”

“You shouldn’t spend such a large amount of money.”

“I’m not just spending it. It’s for the position of the Grand Duchess Inver.”

Kael replied firmly.

His expression was also very serious.

The wedding expenses spent for the bride were also linked to the family’s prestige, so Theresa’s words to use them sparingly made more sense now.

‘If he puts it like that, I can’t even use money as an excuse to buy fewer dresses… Ah. She did that on purpose to make it like that.’

As soon as Adeline realized that the plan was not Kael’s plan, she raised her head and looked at him.

Kael had no way of knowing the meaning of her gaze, so he simply shrugged.

“Is this the reception dress?”

“Yes. We were just choosing…”

Just as Adeline, who was talking through the mirror, was about to turn to look at Kael, she was startled and grabbed the chest cloth of the dress.

The dress hadn’t been fitted yet.

Adeline’s waist was so thin that the back of the dress had to be tightened, but when she suddenly moved, the strap that was holding it together was slightly loosened.

It wasn’t enough to roll down her body, it was just a little loose, but it was enough to embarrass her.

“Ah, huh…”

The only people in the dressing room were Adeline and Kael.

She had to call the maid outside, but her head was tangled in surprise, and she couldn’t speak.

But then, Kael approached Adeline.

He grabbed the red straps with his large hands.

“Ah…”

Adeline looked at Kael in the mirror with trembling eyes.

Carefully, and softly, the straps were tightened.

“…”

“…”

Kael was treating Adeline with great respect.

She could feel his attitude exactly as it was conveyed through the hands on the straps.

Adeline couldn’t say anything.

It was even more embarrassing than when the straps suddenly loosened, and the dress almost flowed down.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

Kael broke the silence first.

Adeline shook her head, slightly taken aback.

“That’s a relief.”

Then, after a while, she came back to her senses and thanked Kael.

It felt so strange.

He had the same cold atmosphere, the same expression that showed no emotion, and the same blue-grey eyes that resembled winter.

But the presence she could feel right behind her, Kael’s distinctive cool scent, and the touch she felt through the straps were all different.

“I have a lot of work to do, and I think you have a lot to look at, so I’ll take my leave now.”

When Adeline couldn’t take her eyes off Kael, he said goodbye first.

“Ah, yes. Ah, let me see you off…”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to come out.”

Kael grinned and walked to the door.

But his footsteps stopped right in front of the door.

“Adeline.”

Holding the doorknob, he turned slightly to look at Adeline.

“It suits you well. That dress.”

He quietly left a word with his low voice and then went away completely.

Adeline remained stiff even after Kael left the dressing room.

“Oh my, Young Lady! What did you hear!”

“… Hm?”

“Your cheeks are red!”

It was only after hearing the added mischievous laughter that Adeline’s gaze turned to the mirror.

“Ah…”

The maid’s words were not an exaggeration.

There was a pale flush on Adeline’s face.

A red flush, revealing her shyness as it was.