CH 5.2

Unaware of her tense worries, the tailor moved to the parlor and handed her a thick catalog.

“I brought a catalog because the Duchess is having a new dress made.”

Grace sat on the long sofa and examined the catalog handed to her by the tailor. To be honest, she couldn’t tell what was in fashion just by looking at the dresses.

The original Grace had lived only in the annex, and the current Grace had not been here for long.

‘Oh, this is pretty.’

However, among them, a dress in deep teal color with gold embroidery caught Grace’s eye.

It was truly a beautiful and elegant dress.

As the tailor sorted through various fabric swatches, he noticed that Grace’s gaze was fixed on one page.

“Do you like that dress?”

“Yes, I think it’s beautiful.”

Grace nodded her head somewhat awkwardly, though she didn’t have the courage to speak up at the moment about what was on her mind.

Just as Grace was about to say a few more words, the tailor spoke first.

“If I may be so bold, Duchess, that dress does not suit you.”

“….?”

“Even the Countess of Corditon had a dress made with the same design. If you wear the same dress, you may be laughed at for no reason.”

Grace’s finger, which had been flipping through the pages, stopped.

“…What?”

As she was about to say something, a memory came to Grace’s mind.

“Duchess, that accessory is too flashy for you. It will be overshadowed by the light of the jewels.”

“I recommend this dress to the Duchess. It is a great shame for a noblewoman to have freckles on her body.”

“Oh, that diamond necklace. I heard that even the Princess purchased it. Everyone praised her beauty. As expected, the Duchess has a keen eye. Do you also like that necklace, Duchess?”

In addition, the tailor teased her horribly with a secretive tone.

‘Is he crazy?’

The original Grace was timid and always aware of others’ opinions, to the point of feeling frustrated.

So even when the tailor brought in by the Duke insulted and belittled her, she couldn’t say a word and suffered alone.

In places where there were no other employees, the tailor subtly belittled Grace with a kind tone.

And Grace thought it was all her fault.

‘A real madman.’

Grace’s turquoise eyes sparkled.

Yes, for the tailor, Grace was good prey.

As the hostess of the Duke’s household, there was no way the value of the dress would be lowered, and she could use expensive fabrics as much as she wanted.

And the fact that the target was “Grace” meant that she was a noble who could be insulted without any repercussions. It must have felt good to look down on the high and mighty Duchess of Felton.

But that was a story that applied only to the old Grace.

She was tired of belittling herself due to the emotions still lingering in her body.

No, in fact, she reduced flour and sugar as much as possible for her health above all else.

It was already difficult enough to face the worried looks of others while dieting, but this kind of argument was unbearable.

Her patience was similar to that of a lion who skipped breakfast and lunch.

Now the tailor had become her prey.

Grace tried to recall.

She recalled the absurd things she had only seen on the internet! …But she quickly calmed down.

‘No, I can’t. If I go crazy and cause a scene, I’ll be the one blamed during the divorce proceedings. It’ll be my fault.’

The empire where Grace lived wasn’t extremely patriarchal, but it couldn’t be said to be absent either.

Moreover, Grace was a Duchess who had never heard a kind word, and her opponent was Benjamin Felton, who not only had a good reputation but also public sympathy. The cause of that sympathy was Grace herself.

She was already in a disadvantageous position. Of course, if Benjamin said “Let’s get a divorce,” he would immediately give her money.

She thought that if she made a contract under the name of the temple, promising never to approach him again, wouldn’t he give her more money?

So, she didn’t want to cut down on that money as much as possible.

Grace thought hard for a moment with the tailor in front of her.

‘How can I roll that tailor out? I would like to cut off his food supply while I’m at it.’

She thought.

The old Grace wouldn’t have cut off his food supply even if she had a grudge against him.

‘The old me would have just cut off his deal with the Duke. That would have been a huge sacrifice.’

Of course, considering Duke Felton’s wealth, it was still a huge loss.

But as long as the customer was Grace, there was no big impact. Grace didn’t engage in any noticeable social activities such as salons, tea parties, or banquets, nor was she a desirable object of envy.

She was just an unremarkable woman who happened to come into Duke Felton’s life.