Erencia felt a sense of disappointment.
She wanted to leave quietly, but that's completely hopeless.
Erencia pressed herself as close to the wall as possible.
If only she could, she would become wallpaper.
Next time she comes, she should wear clothes the same color as the wallpaper in the dressing room.
'No. There won't be a next time!'
Erencia single-handedly and quickly wrapped up the dress business, which yielded no gains and only losses.
Meanwhile, the women discovered Erencia standing on one side like a still life.
“There it is!”
The women approached aggressively, like a herd of water buffalo moving in search of a new settlement.
They approached so hastily that some stumbled, stepping on each other's dress hems.
Erencia forced her stiff facial muscles to smile awkwardly.
"Let's go, Agnes!"
Erencia urged Agnes on. Agnes, having belatedly realized the situation, swept the money into a sack.
"Lady Erencia, please look over here just this once, Lady Erencia!"
A flushed voice was heard. Erencia wanted to cover her ears at the affectionate tone of the voice.
'Don't like it. I said I don't like it!"
Erencia hurriedly left the dressing room.
"My horse! Where is the horse?"
"You told me to feed them some fodder earlier, so I sent them to the stable."
Agnes answered with a tearful face.
Erencia clutched her forehead as her head throbbed.
"But why are you avoiding them?"
Agnes asked in a tone as if she had no idea. Erencia stammered at the unexpected question.
There was no particular reason...
It was simply uncomfortable seeing the affectionate eyes of people who liked her.
'Why do you like me?'
She was flustered by the situation turning out the opposite of what she intended.
As she turned around slightly, she saw the young ladies chasing her beyond the transparent glass.
How should she describe this feeling of wanting to exchange a word with her, no matter what?
They are too proactive to be called mere liking. It seems they wouldn't even be that passionate with someone they love.
It is too aggressive to be just a casual crush. She doubts they would be this passionate even toward someone they love.
Erencia wanted to grab them and scream.
'Please hate me!'
"Miss?"
Agnes called out to Erencia.
"Wait a minute, Agnes, let me think."
Erencia racked her brain.
What should I say to make you lose all affection for me?
"Shall I have them bring a horse?"
Erencia, who had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she couldn't even hear what Agnes was saying from the side, suddenly let out a clear laugh.
"... Miss?"
Erencia completely erased her flustered expression and slightly lifted her chin.
And she glanced slightly over her shoulder. The door was just opening. Erencia quickly looked at Agnes.
"You are on a different level from me. Associating with ladies like that lowers your class."
She spoke loudly, as if to make the young ladies hear.
Then, unfortunately, that remark was buried and taken on.
However, those words unfortunately ended up being buried.
"Are you going home, or are you going into the dressing room?"
Euclid got off the carriage that had stopped in front of the dress shop.
He covered Erencia's decisive blow with his own voice.
He is really a useless man.
***
When Erencia was very young, she once longed for a Prince on a white horse who would appear when she was in danger.
She realized only now that it wasn't that she was hoping a Prince on a white horse would come to her, but that she was hoping problems she couldn't solve on her own would resolve themselves.
Just because a Prince appears doesn't mean everything will be resolved. Not like now.
Erencia had no choice but to ride in Euclid's carriage.
The words Erencia had prepared as a decisive blow ended in failure because of Euclid.
The young ladies who had approached Erencia before anyone realized it were eagerly watching for an opportunity to speak to her.
It would take time to retrieve the horse from the stable. Erencia had only one choice.
"Please take me home."
Giving Euclid a hard time.
"Get on it."
Euclid frowned, but he did not reject her.
This is because it is ungentlemanly to leave a lady behind who is in danger.
It is even Erencia, who had her debutante ball with him.
He felt that if he did something as foolish as abandoning her, it would become a stain on his life.
And so, the two sat facing each other in the carriage.
"What is the portrait that was in front of Andre's dress shop?"
Euclid asked.
"What else could it be? It's my portrait. Did you see it? How is it? Isn't it magnificent?"
Seeing Erencia reply with a nonchalant face, Euclid let out a sigh of disbelief.
"A portrait is meant to contain a person's soul. Lady Erencia, do you cast the vessel containing your soul out?"
If souls were divided and contained within portraits, the souls of the imperial Emperors would have been split and split apart, and would have been in a state of out-of-body experience before they even died.
A handful for the east detached palaces, a handful for the west detached palace, two handfuls for the Empress's bedroom, and ten handfuls for the historical records, so it was divided.
It's funny imagining it...
"What's so funny?"
Erencia giggled and was scolded by Euclid.
"No, nothing at all. I suppose my portrait does stand out. If Sir Euclid saw it."
It stands out sufficiently.
It is a portrait the size of Erencia standing upright.
But would they have looked even if it were someone else's portrait?
Suddenly, such a question crossed his mind.
Euclid withdrew his gaze from Erencia. He clamped his mouth shut. At the same time, he stopped thinking.
He didn't want to find the answer to the question in his head.
"You look tired. Where have you been?"
Just as the conversation was fading, Erencia caught his gaze.
Euclid scratched his cheek with his fingertips.
“Do you notice it?”
“A little.”
Actually, he couldn't sleep a wink last night because of the letters from Barlos and Gracis.
Barlos said he would arrange a meeting with Selvarena.
Gracis calmly mentioned attending Prince Barlos's birthday party and asked to spend time with him as well.
It was a sign that the battle for the Crown Prince position was about to begin in earnest. Euclid had to make a choice after considering the various circumstances of Gredelus.
He was lost in thought, so he only managed to get a brief nap around dawn.
However, he was not the type of person to show off that he was busy.
His attire, facial expression, and posture were all the same.
So it was fascinating that Erencia could tell at a glance, when even Frederick sometimes didn't know if he had stayed up all night or what.
"I didn't get much sleep."
"Do you have any concerns?"
Euclid's gaze changed slightly at Erencia's question.
"If I speak, will you listen?"
For some reason, he felt like she would give him a straightforward answer on what to do. Of course, whether or not to do exactly that was his choice, though.
"No, I'm not going to listen. Just go to sleep."
Again.
He was expecting to hear, "What is it? Tell me," but he received a completely absurd answer.
He felt so despondent that he burst into a hollow laugh.
Then, the fact that he was expecting something from Erencia seemed ridiculous.
'I don't know what kind of expectations you can have of a person.'
Euclid crossed his arms and leaned his head against the carriage wall.
Sleeping in front of a woman is something Gredelus shouldn't do, but it's fine in front of Erencia. She, too, doesn't hesitate to act un-noble-like.
And didn't I tell you to grow up?
Euclid closed his eyes. He felt as though he had been under a hot gaze on his closed eyelids for a while.
***
As she counted the 10 silver coins, 20 silver coins, and 30 silver coins, Erencia flopped down on her back.
"Miss! You are not dressed properly!"
Agnes's nagging came flying in.
Please spread the word that I'm an untidy young lady.
Erencia wanted to grab Agnes's collar and make a request.
However, Agnes was not the kind of person to go around badmouthing Erencia even if offered a fortune.
Ha, maybe I should replace the maid while I'm at it.
As someone who badmouths their superiors like water gushing out at the slightest turn?
But she soon gave up the thought.
Didn't Agnes even sacrifice her life for herself in her previous life?
Erencia decided to keep her by her side, taking Agnes's circumstances into consideration. Well, she supposed she could call it compensation for her past life.
Her family's financial situation was not good.
Considering Agnes's background, no job pays as well as being a lady-in-waiting to Erencia.
The limits of the nobility that a lady-in-waiting of commoner origin could serve were clear.
Furthermore, the Duke of Novellita was likely to face hardships, so he tended to pay his attendants generously.
"Agnes, count the money."
"It is a total of 1,230 silver coins."
There was a lot of buzz about it selling quite well, but revenue was lower than expected.
It had already been two weeks. She now had a total of 1,740 silver coins.
Since 20 silver coins equal 1 gold coin, converting what she had into gold coins resulted in a total of 87 gold coins. With this, could she create an image of lavishly lending money to nobles as if she were doing them a favor?
It's impossible.
"I need more money, you know. Is there anywhere I can borrow money from?"
Erencia muttered.
A suitable method didn't immediately come to mind.
She wasn't the head of the household, so borrowing from a bank wasn't an option, and Erencia's network was limited, so borrowing from others wasn't either.
And she had to borrow a large sum of money. Basically, few people had a lot of money.
No. There is one person. Erencia's face brightened.
The person who always comes to mind whenever she faces a crisis.
"Agnes, how are the finances of the Gredelus family?"
"Huh? The Duke of Gredelus? I heard he's incredibly rich. I heard he owns several gold mines?"
"Let's go, Agnes."
Seeing her counting on her fingers, it meant there weren't just one or two. Erencia smiled brightly.
Money is a cycle, and business is done with other people's money.
"Where? You're not planning to borrow from Sir Euclid, are you?"
Agnes asked with an anxious look on her face.
“Why? No?”
"No way! A woman borrowing money before even getting married! She must have a huge backstory, doesn't she? Or maybe she has a severe spending habit. Or maybe not that..."
"I must look like I'm out of my mind, right?"
Agnes was speechless because Erencia's face was overly bright when she asked.
***
Erencia rode the horse with all her might.
Where did Erencia's horse head? Where else could it be? Right to Euclid's house.
Frederick was so surprised to see Erencia standing before him that he forgot to greet her.
"Let my horse rest for a while, and I'd like a glass of cold water."
After speaking in a very clear voice, Erencia, who had jumped down from the horse radiating heat, spoke to Frederick.
She wore riding breeches that revealed her toned thighs.
Frederick didn't know where to look, so he rolled his eyes upward and gave a belated greeting.
"Oh. Welcome. Miss Erencia, Master has a guest arriving..."
There was a rustling sound. Frederick was very curious about what was happening in front of him, but he couldn't lower his gaze.
"Oh my, really?"
Erencia said warmly.
“Who is he?”
"H-Her Imperial Highness has arrived."
“That went really well!”
Erencia clapped her hands in delight.
What do you mean it's going well?
Frederick ended up looking at Erencia without realizing it.
Before he knew it, she was wearing a dress.
'What happened?'
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