CH 14

Rise and Fall

Lucrezia appeared in the dining room and saw that Ramilio was sitting alone at a large table that could seat twenty people.

It had taken her longer than expected to get ready, so the soup was already being served.

While eating, Ramiro raised his eyes and looked at Lucrezia.

The spoon in his hand fell down.

The servant was puzzled, the butler bent down to retrieve the spoon, and Ramilio’s face was stiff with his mouth open.

“It’s because the tailored dress has just arrived…”

Feeling shy, she bowed lightly and spread her hem.

“How does it look?”

‘I wonder if it’s a bit gaudy, or if it doesn’t suit a woman with eyes like mine?’

She waited for Ramilio’s reaction with nervous anticipation.

But he kept looking at Lucrezia as if his soul had been drained out of him.

“U-um, hello?”

Ramilio lightly shook his head as if to dispel his distracting thoughts.

“…… Sorry, I was a little absent-minded. I’m sorry for staring at you.”

“N-no, it’s okay….”

‘So, how is it?’

Lucrezia started to fret. She liked the dress herself. Perhaps because it was nighttime at the moment so it was dark, she thought it looked nice in its own way.

‘However, even if I think it’s nice, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Ramilio-sama thinks so too.’

Lucrezia, who had been nicknamed “The White-Haired Lady” and was routinely told by her father that she was a creepy girl, felt that she couldn’t rely on her own sense of style.

“You have good taste. I can hardly recognize you. No…. I’m sorry. I was rude, it’s just that I don’t know what to say at a time like this.”

Ramilio looked somewhat embarrassed.

“You did a good job on the dress. It suits you well.”

Lucrezia felt her spirits lift. She felt as if a light was shining over her head, even though it was nighttime.

“…I thought it would make a pretty dress.”

“Yes, it’s pretty.”

“D-do you think it suits me?”

“Of course it suits you, you’re beautiful.”

Lucrezia was so overjoyed that, afterward, her mind was in a far-off place as she ate.

In the past, the only man who praised Lucrezia was Falco. She was happy then, but this is nothing compared to that.

“You have beautiful hair, so it would be better to let it flow instead of tying it up.”

Lucrezia had never liked her silver hair as much as she did that day.

***

In the meantime, Rosa decided to take advantage of her father’s good mood and asked.

“Dad, can I make a new dress for my engagement announcement with Falco-sama?”

They were going to have a joint party when Falco’s parents came back. She wanted to design a special dress for that occasion that would be different from everyone else.

“I already have an idea. I just wanted to order it now, because it will take some time.”

“You already have plenty of dresses, don’t you?”

When her father admonished her, Rosa lost her temper.

“It’s not just about the dress! Sister has so many jewels, but I don’t have a single one?!”

“I’ve never bought her any jewelry. Her mother is a crude nouveau riche woman, so she has a lot of money in her inheritance.”

“What’s with that, my sister is so unfair! She has a wonderful fiancée, dresses, jewelry, and everything, and everyone flatters her…. I also want to freely enjoy dressing stylishly!”

Her father loved Rosa so much that he finally relented.

“Okay…. You can ask for whatever you like.”

Rosa thanked him with a big smile, gave him a kiss and a hug, and ordered an embroidery design from the tailor.

‘I’m the “Rosebud Princess” after all. I have to stand out in a nice embroidered dress!’

Because the embroidery would be done by hand, she was told that it would take some time, but she agreed without any regard to it.

If she wore this dress, she was sure everyone will compliment her beauty.

Rosa was looking forward to it.

It was only when the dress was finally finished that Rosa learned of the duke’s financial difficulties.

She had no way of knowing that they were in such a dire state that they would have to sell the dresses she had gone to the trouble of finishing.