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| ← Ch.054 | Ch.056 → |
Mr. Wilkins poked his apprentice again. He then brought a dress with numerous rubies and emeralds attached to it.
"Haha, Your Grace, you really do have a discerning eye. You eventually made me bring out this dress!"
The dress was indeed beautiful. Its emeralds shined so brightly in the sunlight that it almost blinded Rubica's eyes. However, her smile left a long time ago.
'... it's not right for me. '
When carefully thinking about it, everything Mr. Wilkins had recommended to her was expensive. But none of them really matched Rubica. He even pretended not to hear her when she tried to add the right decorations to the dresses he showed and tried to make her chose even more expensive things.
Was she supposed to tell him to leave now?
She was overwhelmed by his confident attitude of showing her this and that with a smile. She hesitated. He had brought so much, but she really didn't... want to buy. Being confident wasn't bad for a merchant selling his goods, but he was doing too much.
"How about ordering all of them if you find it hard to decide on one of them?"
That brought Rubica to her senses. She couldn't let him take advantage of her like that.
"No, I'm not ordering."
The next second, the smile vanished on Mr. Wilkin's face. Rubica recalled how she had paltered with merchants in the market. Human nature had to remain the same even though he sold luxurious goods. She reminded herself of the fact that Mr. Wilkins was just another merchant and tried to remain calm.
There was no reason to be sorry. The dresses she didn't want to buy because of their prices had been brought from far away. However, as she was the duchess now, she couldn't say, 'it's too expensive', 'it's a fraud', or 'do I look like a fool?' Therefore, she tried to mimic Edgar's arrogant attitude.
"I will make my decision after seeing the other designers' dresses. I must give fair chances to all of you."
"Of course, Your Grace. Please summon me again anytime."
Mr. Wilkins thought Rubica would end up calling him again and left for now. He sold the most expensive dresses in the Claymore's domain and he also knew the capital's fashion trend. To nobles, clothes were one way of showing their wealth. However, Rubica promised to herself something as she saw the elegant man leave.
'I will never call him again. '
The next designers were a married couple, and Rubica didn't like the husband's attitude. He tried to win Rubica's favor and agreed with everything she said, but he ignored his wife way too much.
'He's saying I'm right, but he will immediately show his true face once I give him some trust. '
Rubica bought a pair of gloves the wife recommended and sent them away. Next was a middle-aged designer, Mr. Milet. Rubica got her hopes up at hearing he had been working as a designer in one shop for a long time. He had to have great experiences and skills.
"That fabric you just showed me, I think it's good. May I see it again?"
"Your Grace, most people think fabric made with wool of southern sheep is the best. Well, yes, its luster is fine. However, I do not think it is good enough for its high price. On the other hand, fabric from the east is cheap and..."
Rubica's eyes widened at hearing that. Mr. Wilkins had recommended only expensive things, but this man was recommending cheap stuff. At first, she thought he was a designer with a conscience.
"You must not know much about fabrics..."
"Your Grace, you don't seem to know well about embroideries. Such embroidery is..."
"But Your Grace, you are wrong. The fact is..."
"You don't know how to choose good buttons."
"That is not good enough compared to its price..."
Rubica started to feel offended. He was certainly better than the previous designers, but he pretended to know everything and treated Rubica like a fool. She couldn't take it anymore.
Moreover, she didn't like the fact that he kept comparing the price and recommending things slightly cheaper than the best ones. Of course, such recommendation would have been right for other ordinary noble ladies.
'But I... am not short on money anymore! I must spend it as best as I can!'
Rubica could barely resist the urge to summon Mr. Wilkins again and order the most expensive dresses he had, add embroideries and gems to it, and order matching gloves and hats too in front of Mr. Milet.
"Stop, my head hurts."
"Mr. Milet, Her Grace wants to take rest. Please stop here for today."
"Your Grace, you must have a headache. I would recommend the medication I take. It is much better than the doctors' medications."
Mr. Milet even pretended to know about medicine and fished out a bag of round pills from his bag. Those dirty-black pills looked suspicious, and Ann immediately freaked out.
"Her Grace has her own doctor."
However, Mr. Milet misinterpreted Ann's polite refusal and showed off his confident smile.
"Doctors, they prescribe you uselessly expensive drugs to earn money. If it is just a simple headache, there is no need to take expensive medications. These pills will be enough, I guarantee. The other noble ladies I recommended it also said it worked much better than the doctor's medications."
Now Rubica really got a headache. Why was he pretending to know everything? It sounded like he had gotten a doctor's degree in medicine at the Academy.
"What is it made of that everyone says it works so well?"
Rubica was half curious and half sarcastic, but that question made Mr. Milet be sure that Rubica was starting to believe him. So, he answered way too honestly.
"Well-dried horse dung with..."
"Horse dung?"
Ann's patience snapped before Rubica's did. She pushed Mr. Milet out through the window without listening to his mumbles at all.
"You dared to make Her Grace eat horse dung!"
"But it works very well on..."
"Get out with your horse dung!"
"I only recommended it for Her Grace's health."
He looked at Rubica as if asking for her help. Was he stupid or bold? Rubica shook her head. Mr. Milet realized he was not selling anything today and mumbled he should be given time to pack the dresses and things he had brought.
"I will have servants bring everything to your shop so leave!"
Ann huffed for a long time even after he left. Then, she apologetically looked at Rubica.
"Your Grace, I'm sorry. I didn't know he was such a man."
"No, Ann. It's not your fault... plus, he did have a good reputation."
Actually, Mr. Milet was a good designer. He even had a conscience, unlike Mr. Wilkins. The problem was his mouth. Maybe the other ladies had bought from him while feeling the urge to make him shut his mouth.
"Would you like to take some rest now?"
"But isn't there another designer waiting?"
"Yes, but you look very tired..."
"But she has come from far away. I cannot make her go back without seeing me just because of my mood."
That was the only reason Rubica decided to meet that last designer. She had been tormented by the previous designers and she had been very disappointed. Rubica waited for the last designer without even a bit of hope.
"This is madam Khanna."
"It is my honor to meet you, Your Grace."
The last designer had brought much fewer samples and fabrics compared to the other designers, and the woman's hands trembled as she laid out the fabrics in front of her. Rubica felt pity for the small lady and talked to her to make her relax a little.
"So, your husband makes dresses and you meet the customers."
Khanna's blue eyes nervously shook. She thought for a moment and carefully said, "My husband... went back to the gods last year."
"Oh."
Rubica covered her mouth in surprise. As the previous designers had been all men or couples, she hadn't thought that there could be a female designer. The designer was one of the few occupations that a widow or the daughter of a poor nobleman could take without shaming herself.
"I spoke without thinking. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. People ask sometimes... and it's not like it's something to hide."
Khanna's smile was the smile of people who had been through countless hardships and had found a way to be peaceful. Rubica felt comfortable with her. At the same time, she wondered about Khanna's life. Rubica would also have to make a living alone after divorcing Edgar. Of course, she had been alone before that, but there had to be a difference between a maiden's life and a divorced lady's life.
"I don't know if I may ask you this, but..."
"Please, ask me anything. I may be a designer but, before that, I am a person who lives under the protection of the Claymore. There's nothing you may not ask me."
"... did you run your shop with your husband?"
"No, he managed it alone. He was a very good designer, and many ladies wore his dresses."
Khanna's eyes showed longing. Rubica felt guilty for making her drag out her painful memories only to give an answer to her curiosity.
"Oh, but I used to study at the shop before I got married. So, I helped my husband with sewing and embroidering from time to time when he was busy."
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