CH 126

Overwhelmingly Busy [Part 2]



“A household at the level of a Duke has an exclusive tailor, does it not? We are just a small shop. We don’t have many workers and already have our hands full.”



“I heard that one of the seamstresses here is a skillful girl? My lady said that she wants to wear the dress that girl makes to the evening party this weekend!”



“?? That as may be, and we are very honored, but our shop has already taken on more than we can handle… Would you please consider granting us your kind pardon?”



“What nonsense! You should just postpone the other ladies’ orders! This is a request to make a dress for a Duke’s daughter, you know?”



“That… it will impact our shop’s reputation, too. We cannot be partial to one household………!”



*Bam ! !*



“Here! The Duke’s daughter’s measurements are in this note here! Be sure to deliver it to the mansion before the day of the evening party! Use the current popular design, and don’t use Palacian silk!”



“W-We will be put on the spot if you do that!!!”



“Understood? I will put it here, okay? You must stick to the due date, got it? You must!”



The Duke household’s servant put, or rather slammed, the note on the desk in front of the shopkeeper and simply left the shop.



………it’s not the shopkeeper’s fault.



Even so.



I’m already at my limit.



Even after the Duke’s servant had left, the shopkeeper stared at the doorway in a daze for a while, then trudged towards Hannah. 



Don’t come.



Please.



Don’t come here.



Unpleasant sweat trailed along Hannah’s back.



The shopkeeper’s feet stopped before Hannah.



“Hannah… One more…. dress… please……”



It’s not the shopkeeper’s fault.



Even so, I’m already at my limit.



“……I will quit this job.”



The words she had been repeating in her heart spilled out of her mouth.



“Hannah?”



It’s not the shopkeeper’s fault.



Yet, I won’t stay.



“I quit!!!”



*bam* Hannah put both hands on the work table and stood up.



It wasn’t the shopkeeper’s fault.



Even so, Hannah ran off just like that, as if she was escaping. Through the shop’s back door and outside at last. 



Work, work, work, Hannah couldn’t remember when she had last gone out. Now, she rushed outside for the first time in a long time, like she was escaping.



“H-Hannah? …!!! Hannah!! Hannah———!!!”



The shopkeeper shouted, but her feet couldn’t stop fleeing.



Because she’s already at her limit.



♠♠♠



*bump* She collided with a small shoulder.



As she tried to run with all her might, Hannah, who had done nothing but sew at the shop for months, quickly tripped over her feet and also caused a small girl to fall with her.



“Nyah—!!”



……the girl made a little stupid-sounding scream, which made the boys with her rush over upon hearing it.



“Emma!?”



“Emma-sama!!”



“Nee-sama!?”



Enduring her pain, Hannah looked at the girl, but she froze when she saw the boys.



No matter how she looked at it, they were not commoners.



In the first place, she had dashed out from the shop located in the royal capital’s shopping district, so there were only two possibilities for who they could be: people who worked at the shops or one of the nobles who were there to shop.



The girl who fell had shining long blond hair and was dressed in a simple Palacian silk dress, whose quality she could tell from the touch.



Of the boys who rushed over, two of them had the same blond hair as the girl and rare purple-colored eyes, while the other one was a freckled boy with striking brown hair and eyes.



Their clothing and graceful gestures made it clear that they were nobles.



“Ouch ouch ouch……”



When the girl who fell lifted her face towards Hannah, she saw a big scar on her cheeks.