Chapter 23

Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

Estelle continued with a firm voice.

“However, now, no matter how frightening the Grand Duke may be, I will not deceive Your Grace. Now, the person who is important to me is Your Grace.”

Elysia smiled awkwardly at her determination. She didn’t know what made Estelle that way, but at least, she didn’t seem to be forcing her to say good things about Damon anymore.

“Thank you.”

“No. Actually, I’m sorry that I misunderstood you until I met you in person.”

Elysia shook her head.

Estelle’s reaction was natural. Being Damon’s bride in Caesar Empire was something that excited all women. Except for her, of course, among the women throughout the entire Empire.

“Of course, the Caitlyn family put the marriage proposal first, so it’s reasonable to think that way.”

They disregarded Damon’s words that he would never marry, and put in a marriage proposal. What this meant was that his intentions were not important, though rather, she would become the Grand Duchess.

Estelle might have thought that she was only looking for power. If not, appearance.

“I misunderstood you for a moment.”

“It does not matter. Everyone will think so. So, there is no need to apologize to me, no need to feel guilty.”

Since she hadn’t made her debut, she would have thought Elysia coveted power. It wasn’t entirely wrong because she actually said that she was greedy for position and money. That was why she got married.

It was not her, but Angelina.

“This is where I am now.”

“Your Grace…”

***

Shortly after one conversation ended, Estelle called in the designer. The designer, who had been called, greeted Elysia politely.

“Hello, I am Madame Catherine. It is an honor to be able to create a dress for Your Grace the Grand Duchess.”

She hadn’t even married Damon yet, and even Madame Catherine was calling Elysia ‘Grand Duchess’. Damon’s power was enormous. He was terrifying and frightening, so they didn’t seem to want to do anything that could be considered an offense.

“Madam Catherine is the busiest woman in the Empire… Thank you for being so willing to make my wedding dress in such a hurry.”

“Of course, if it is the request of Grand Duchy Raphael, we have to run right away.”

Madame Catherine was a very straightforward person. Although her honesty wasn’t the offending kind. She had customers of numerous noble wives, and she was skillful at accommodating the other person’s mood.

“How many dresses do you plan to fit?”

“Dress…”

Elysia briefly counted the amount of money she had to spend. The budget related to her decoration alone was ten million gold. Despite the fact that she had never bought a dress, it seemed like she would have leftovers from buying dozens of dresses.

“First of all, one formal dress. The dress is…”

“Is five reception dresses enough?”

Elysia was surprised at Catherine’s words if five pieces would be enough. Catherine was talking like Estelle.

“Five? How… I wouldn’t be able to wear them all during the reception.”

“Ah! Usually, the more high-ranking noble weddings are, the more dresses are tailored because there is a design book of the dress the bride has tailored. That’s because the design book was also trending in the social world that year.”

“Your Grace, even if it is burdensome, five pieces are absolutely not a lot.”

She was troubled by Estelle persuading and joining in to have her match five pieces. But, no matter how much Elysia thought about it, she couldn’t change her dress five times during the reception, so it was just a waste.

“I wouldn’t be able to change my dress five times…”

“It’s okay because you can wear it to the next party.”

“Of course! Other noble wives fit twenty reception dresses alone.”

“…Twenty?”

She thought five pieces were too many, but Elysia’s mouth widened when she heard twenty.

“Why don’t we just match five suits for now?”

“Yes, yes.”

She was so surprised that she agreed to Estelle’s words unknowingly. She was worried that she might have to put on a fashion show throughout the reception.

“Do not worry too much. You don’t have to wear all five dresses throughout the reception. It’s just an estimate of the size of the wedding, based on how well the reception dress is fitted.”

Knowing her concerns, Estelle stood by her side and reassured her.

Elysia sighed in relief at her words.

“Usually at a reception, you change about two dresses. Two dresses with completely different designs. Since the reception is long, it’s the easiest way to refresh the atmosphere.”

As she listened, Estelle was not at all wrong. If she had to match at least two or more pieces, it would not be bad to match five or more. She felt that five pieces seemed like nothing, especially since some people were said to have twenty at a time.

“I will do as Estelle says.”

“What a great choice! I will do it with all my heart.”

When Elysia offered to match the five pieces, Catherine’s mouth spread apart. From Catherine’s point of view, it was sales, so it was natural for her.

“Are we going to fit in only one formal dress?”

“Sometimes, you get one more pair as a spare.”

She shook her head violently when she said that she would fit not even one, but two wedding dresses. That was not all. Even if a reception dress could be worn at the party again, it wasn’t with a wedding dress…

“I don’t think that would be necessary.”

“Is that so…”

Elysia burst into laughter at the sight of Madame, who was noticeably disappointed. She didn’t hate her for being an exceptionally honest person.

“Are you going to have separate party dresses and everyday clothes?”

It seemed that Catherine had come to grab a hold of her part. Elysia was about to spend all her budget anyway, so she didn’t mind getting a few more dresses.

“I’ll take it.”

She smiled as she unfolded the design book with a brightly changed face at the sound of the dress being tailored more.

“Madam really loves making dresses.”

“Yes…?”

“Your face looks happy.”

Catherine’s face looked happy, showing the design book and giving explanations, not just because she was making sales.

“Ah…”

“I’m so glad that Madame can make my dress for me.”

Elysia smiled as she turned over the design book pages one by one. Catherine’s enthusiasm was evident in the design book as well.

“Estelle. How much of my allotted budget is left other than for jewelry and decoration?”

“Are you wondering how many dresses you could buy?”

“Yes.”

“Even if you order about a hundred pieces, there is no problem.”

Estelle just casually said she didn’t mind her ordering a hundred pieces.

“…Yes?”

“Then, how about getting all the dresses by color?”

Catherine, whose eyes lit up at the answer of a hundred pieces, approached recklessly. It seemed that she could only see the words “hundred pieces” in her eyes.

“You can buy the entire design book here.”

…Is she serious? There were literally more than a hundred designs scattered across the table now.

“Aren’t you going to use up all your budget?”

“Ah… That, that’s right.”

That was right. It was true that her goal was to become a luxurious spouse and get a divorce… The conscience in Elysia’s heart, who had never wasted money, was tearing her apart.

‘No…! You can’t do this! You just close your eyes and scream—!’

Elysia closed her eyes and constantly brainwashed herself and said that she had to become the wife of a ‘chaebol’ in the drama.

“Well, give me everything from here to here.”

She spoke in a trembling voice, but she was able to say whatever she wanted to say. Elysia even said that with her eyes closed because of her last remaining conscience.

“Oh! You can’t make such a large number of dresses in a timely manner.”

For a person who couldn’t make it within the time frame, Catherine’s face didn’t look troubled at all. Rather, she had a face that looked like she was about to die from happiness.

“For now, please make only the reception dress and the wedding dress first. The rest of the dresses can be delivered slowly to the Grand Duchy.”

“All right! I can make you a few dresses for everyday use quickly, right?”

“Well… No, please do it slowly. There are already many dresses from the Grand Duke.”

Already many dresses…?

A thought came out of those words.

“I already have a dress?”

Elysia had not heard anything about this because she, of course, never imagined that the Grand Duke’s residence would be preparing to receive her. Wasn’t she the bride he needed but didn’t want?

“Yes, Grand Duke has prepared everything so that there will be no shortage when Your Grace arrives.”

“Already…?”

The wedding was still less than a month away. It had been less than a week since he accepted the marriage proposal though everything was already prepared?

This was kind of weird… Isn’t it like he was waiting for her to come?

“Yes.”

“….”

Estelle smiled sweetly and said yes, and Elysia was confused. If Estelle knew, that meant Damon had already told her… Even if the employee of the Grand Duchy had prepared it, she couldn’t believe that he did that for her.

…Wasn’t the Grand Duchy not welcoming her?