Chapter 165

“Wait a minute. Hold the ceremony again?”

Yelena, who had been frozen in place, sprang out of bed.

“That’s right, I can just hold the ceremony again!”

They’d change the venue and officiator and hold the wedding ceremony again.

“No one can say anything about me holding another ceremony.”

It was a good idea. Yelena’s face immediately lit up.

“Then the new venue will be the ducal castle…”

Knock, knock.

“Yelena.”

The door opened. It was Liliana.

“Older Sister? What is it?”

“I was going to take you out, but um… it looks like you’ll need some time to get ready.”

Liliana briefly stared at Yelena’s hair, which had become a mess from rolling around on the bed.

“Take me out? Where to?”

“The shopping district. It’s been a while since you’ve been home. You’ll have to indulge in my hobby.”

‘I guess she wants to go shopping.’

“Okay.”

Yelena nodded and rang her bell, calling a maid who would help her get ready.

Liliana left Yelena’s room. And then she ran into Edward in the corridor.

The two exchanged curious glances.

***

Liliana’s hobby was simple: going around the shopping district and dressing Yelena extravagantly from head to toe.

The sisters passed through the jeweler, the hat store, and the shoe store until they finally reached the dressmaker’s shop. Yelena was already exhausted by then.

“I can’t understand your stamina…”

“It’s because you exerted a lot of energy trying on this and that.”

Liliana was right. Yelena put this on and tried that on, wore this hat and those accessories, tried these shoes on and tried those shoes on… One would think that when playing dress up, the model just needed to stand there, but there were surprisingly many things the model needed to do.

“This is the first creation of the new designer who was recruited last month. Try it on. You can adjust the size with the string.”

“Do I really have to put it on?”

“I’m curious about how it will look on you.”

“I will assist you with getting dressed over there.”

Yelena had no choice but to follow the employee.

The dressing room was in the inner part of the shop. Yelena imagined herself floating over there without taking a single step.

‘If Black Tower Owner was here, I think it would’ve been possible.’

Sidrion did not accompany them on their excursion today. This morning, he had left a message saying that he had a matter to attend to at the tower.

It was a rare occasion in which Yelena was disappointed by Sidrion’s absence. She stood inside the dressing room.

“I will help you undress.”

“The dress will certainly look good on you.”

“The designer must have created this dress knowing that you would be coming in today.”

The endless chatter of the employees who were helping Yelena try on the dress went in one ear and out the other as Yelena was preoccupied with her own thoughts.

‘Is it just me or is today’s shopping spree taking longer than usual?’

Yelena had tried on more things than she had on previous trips. Plus, they stopped by more shops than usual. It felt as if they were taking longer to shop on purpose.

‘Maybe it’s just because it’s been so long since I’ve gone shopping.’

“All done.”

“Kya, you’re so beautiful!”

“The designer would be moved to tears if they saw you!”

While Yelena had been lost in her own thoughts, she had finished getting dressed. The employees fawned over Yelena after putting the final touches on the ribbons on her waist and shoulders. It was worthless flattery compared to what the veteran maid Abbie was capable of, so Yelena wasn’t very interested in it.

Then, the door to the dressing room opened.

For a moment, Yelena thought it was Liliana entering the room, unable to contain her excitement. But the person she saw behind the door wasn’t who she expected.

‘A mask?’

The person wore a mask and men’s clothes. They had short, brown hair and a woman’s build, but because of their attire, it was difficult to tell their gender.

“Excuse me, who are you? How did you get inside?”

“You can’t enter without permission. Please leave before we call someone.”

The intruder ignored the employees and spoke.

“Duchess?”

They had a thin voice. Yelena suddenly got goosebumps.

“Who…”

“I’ll introduce myself later. First, please come with me, Duchess.”

The corners of their lips curled up underneath their mask. A crimson light shone from the necklace they were wearing. Yelena faced the light directly.

“All right, let’s go.”

“…”

“Follow me quietly. Don’t make a sound,” the intruder commanded in a whisper. The employees in the dressing room froze in place like dolls.

Yelena stood still and stared at the intruder blankly. Soon after, she covered her mouth and retched.

“Ugh, the stench…!”

“…?”