IWAP - Chapter 68

Knock knock.

As soon as I opened my mouth, I heard a knock on the door. Soon the door opened, and Madame Miela revealed her face through it.

"Excuse me. I heard you call me..."

She screamed in horror when she saw the room covered in red dye.

"Ah! What on earth is going on?"

She threw open the door and ran toward me and Evan.

"S-surely, didn't the wound burst open? Is that it?"

She was one of the few people who knew that Evan was injured without knowing about the plan. She examined Evan's wound with a helpless look on her face.

"T, the council member..."

"Calm down, Madame Miela."

"But Young Lady, the blood... the blood..."

"It is not blood, Madam. As the chief designer of Louisha, you should know this well."

"Yes?"

Her face turned stupid at my answer. I picked up the torn leather pouch lying on the floor and handed it to her.

"This is..."

"Yes, this is the pouch that held the dye I requested."

It was a pouch of dye that I had had Madame Miela prepare through Anasha, using the excuse that I had deliberately become interested in dyes. Although Madame Miela was a trustworthy person and the chief designer of Louisha, I did not reveal my plan regarding this matter.

To make this plan a success, it was best to minimize the number of people who knew about it. There is a saying that to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your own allies. Acting without knowing anything was much more natural for deceiving the enemy.

"Why is this..."

"It exploded by mistake."

“Mistake?”

"The young lady dropped her pouch because she was startled as the sword suddenly fell."

"Oh!"

At Evan's answer, Madame Miela, who had only just discovered the sword rolling on the floor covered in red dye, cried out in surprise. As her gaze turned toward the floor, Evan, who had been holding my hand, naturally let go.

"To think the pocket burst just from being dropped on the floor, the quality of the leather must have been poor."

Madam shook her head at my words.

"That is not the case. Unlike standard leather pouches, pouches used to hold dye are specially treated to prevent the dye from deforming. That is why they have the disadvantage of tearing easily from external impact. I should have warned you to be careful, but it is my fault for not telling you, as I assumed you were already aware."

As she said, it was a known fact that dye pouches were weaker than regular leather pouches. That was precisely why I had thought of using dye instead of real blood.

A standard leather pouch would not tear easily just from being dropped on the floor. There was plenty of room for anyone to find that excuse strange.

"No, Madam. It is my fault for not being careful. More importantly, what would you like me to do about this?"

"Oh my god, look at me!"

She spoke as she scrutinized my appearance, covered in red dye, from every angle.

"So that's why the assistant manager said I had to go."

"Would just changing clothes be enough?"

She scanned me once again from head to toe. After deep thought, she let out a heavy sigh.

"It would be one thing if it were just the dress, but unfortunately, the dye splattered not only on your face but also on your hair. To make matters worse, it is a type of dye that is difficult to remove, and since the young lady's hair is on the lighter side, I don't think wiping it off will solve the problem."

"So you mean I need to wash."

The madam nodded. She cautiously glanced at me.

"You must have brought a maid, right?"

"I came with Anasha, so I did not bring a maid."

" Did the Countess come along as well?"

"She said he had business nearby. She should be waiting at the back door by now."

Her shoulders slumped.

"I see. Without a maid, you wouldn't be able to wash here either."

"Even if there were a maid, it seems I wouldn't be able to wash here, Madam."

"Indeed, that was rude to you, Young Lady. I apologize."

She wore a look of deep apology. Instead of answering, I smiled at her. Although Madame Miela had some noble blood flowing through her veins, she was a commoner who had not inherited a formal surname. In other words, she had grown up as a commoner, not a noble.

Although she worked dealing with nobles, it was only natural that she did not know exactly about their customs.

Women, especially unmarried women, could not carelessly expose their naked bodies and wash outside of their own homes. This was in the same vein as the taboo against the promiscuity of unmarried women.

In the case of commoners, they could wash outside their homes if accompanied by a female relative, but for nobles, it was a little different from the case of commoners.

Nobles did not bathe together, even if they were related by blood. The only person an unmarried noblewoman could expose her naked body to was her lady-in-waiting. This meant that she could wash in a place other than her home, provided her attendant was present.

However, most young ladies did not wash carelessly outside their own homes, even if a lady-in-waiting was present. It was a matter directly related to their reputation. Any noblewoman with her head held in her right mind would never do anything that would become the subject of gossip.

Of course, it was not because of my reputation that I refused Madame Miela's invitation. My reputation had already fallen as low as it could go. Adding more to it wouldn't have been a problem. The only reason I declined her offer was that I needed to show that I was leaving this place just as I am.

"More importantly, I have to go home now, and if things continue like this, it will be a problem. I wish there was something to cover it with..."

"...Ah!"

As I muttered with a troubled look on my face, she, who had been thinking about something, let out a gasp.

"Among the samples I recently made, there is a women's cape. It even comes with a hood, so it should be sufficient to cover the Young Lady's current appearance."

"That's a relief."

I smiled broadly, as if I were truly relieved. Reports were also sent to me regarding the designs she was working on that went into sample production.

I tended to keep an eye on Louisha's items that generated the highest sales revenue. Naturally, I was also aware of the cape that had recently entered the sample production phase.

All of her samples were made and stored on the second floor. On the second floor were the Marchioness Engraile and Baroness Vizdel, whom I had instructed to be held captive.

"Evan, I'll be going now. Please take care of yourself."

If only for Madame Miela, I could not delay any longer. It would be best to leave this place for now and either contact her separately or arrange a private meeting to finish the conversation. However, it was uncertain whether such a meeting could actually be arranged in the near future.

“Young lady.”

Instead of a greeting, he called my name. His face, as he looked at me, was calm, just as usual, as if it had never been contorted with pain.

"Do not forget. The Pison Top exists to protect you."

'I, too, exist to protect you.'

The unspoken words he could not utter seemed to echo in my ears like tinnitus.

“Young lady?”

Madame Miela called out to me, perhaps finding it strange that I was standing there motionless. She was someone who knew that I was the true owner of the Pison Trading Company. That is why she seemed to take Evan's words lightly.

"I will not forget. Evan, I entrust the future to you as well."

"Don't worry, Young Lady."

With Evan's consent, things proceeded as planned, but a heavy weight was placed on my chest.

To me, he was the person my maternal grandfather left me, but I simply thought that he was following me only to repay my grandfather's kindness. However, it seemed that the weight of Evan's heart was much heavier than I had imagined.

“Whew.”

I placed my hand on my chest and took a deep breath. It felt as though the heaviness was drifting away a little. There was no time to think about anything else right now. The enemy was not an easy opponent, one that could be defeated even while distracted.

“Okay then.”

I bowed slightly toward Evan. Madame Miela was already waiting for me outside the room.

“Be careful... please.”

As I turned to leave the room, a low voice flew in from behind me like a whisper.

"Maybe because bad things have been happening one after another, it seems the Master is very worried as well."

Madame Miela muttered with a worried look on her face. Having a rough idea of my personality, she didn't bother waiting for an answer and continued speaking.

"I heard there was a commotion downstairs just moments ago. If I had been there, I would have stomped on that ill-mannered young lady!"

Her chatter did not stop even on the stairs going down to the second floor. She even vented her frustration, claiming it was unfair that she was not there.

"Oh!"

"Oh my god!" 

The moment I entered the second floor and turned the corner, two noble women saw me and shouted in surprise.

They came toward me, even dropping the fans they were holding.

"What's going on!"

"Lady Elliot, are you alright?"

"It is alright. Marquise Engrail, Baroness Vizdel."

They pointed at my dress dyed in red and could not speak.

"Th-This isn't blood, is it?"

Madame Miela stepped forward at Baroness Vizdel's words.

"Oh my, blood? No, it's not. Madam."

"Then...?"

“It’s a dye.”

“Dye?”

Baroness Vizdel turned to me in disbelief. I nodded to her and answered, giving it.

"It is dye, just as Madame Miela said. Baroness Vizdel."

"Why the dye..."

The Baroness looked back and forth between the dress stained with red dye and my face.

"The pouch for storing the dye is usually on the fragile side, but I accidentally burst it."

“Oh my!”

"As a modest lady, I cannot wash freely outside, so I am in this predicament."

"Oh my! What am I to do about this?"

Madame Miela spoke fluently on my behalf, as if she had witnessed it herself. Baroness Vizdel's expression changed in various ways according to her words.

As expected, Madame Miela was the perfect fit for the role. She was usually talkative, and her speech was mixed with a bit of exaggeration. It was not out of malice or any ulterior motive, but simply her innate personality.

Thanks to her chatter, the Marchioness de Angrail and the Baroness Vizdel naturally realized that this was red dye, not blood. Having already achieved my goal, I wore an embarrassed expression toward them to match Madame Miela's chatter.

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