CH 34

Elysia was confused when Damon said that he practiced embroidery because he didn’t want her to get hurt. Although she knew it was nonsense, she reacted strangely, with her heart beating wildly.

Of course, she knew that he couldn’t feel anyone else’s pain, but her heart couldn’t stop beating.

‘…No, it’s because I’m obsessed with that handsome look.’

Ignoring her beating heart, she shook her head violently to blow away the useless thoughts.

The man in front of her right now was the most dangerous man in the world. She brainwashed herself that he was a man who never knew when he would kill her.

‘Don’t be fooled by his looks.’

Even though she knew how many people died because of his looks, Elysia was almost deceived. It should not be forgotten that his beauty was the most powerful weapon. If she was deceived by his splendid appearance like a poisonous mushroom boasting splendid beauty, all that was left was death.

“Aren’t you happy with my skills?”

“N, no…”

She could hardly argue with Damon’s skills because his skills really seemed to be superior even to Estelle. It was, in fact, like an unbelievable craftsman’s skill as she was seeing it with her own eyes.

“You look very tired today.”

His hand, which had been embroidering, suddenly touched her hair and cheek. As if touching a doll’s hair, her eyes were closed by the gentle touch.

“I’ll just stop here for today.”

“Ah…”

“I’ll come every night.”

At his words, she gazed at him with a bewildered gaze as Damon gently kissed her on her hair before glancing at his back as he disappeared.

Soon, her face turned bright red.

Elysia fanned her hot flushed cheeks. She didn’t know if it was because he said he would come every night or because of the way he kissed her on her hair. She was puzzled and didn’t know what to do.

…No matter how hard she tried not to care, she could not ignore Damon Raphael’s shell.

He was the owner of a beauty that was inevitable. It stimulated her central nervous system so that she didn’t feel fear at all, so how could she resist him…?

“Ah… that’s cheating.”

This was really cheating. His handsome appearance, which she thought was a scam, made her forget everything about him. Elysia couldn’t help but fall in love with his charm.

“No, but not enough to risk your life!”

Even though Damon was good-looking, at least, knowing her future didn’t seem to make it go away completely. Until now, Elysia’s life was most precious to her.

“Let’s be careful in the future.”

By the way, when she saw Damon embroidering, she was filled with admiration. If Estelle saw this output, she would know right away that she didn’t make it herself… It also meant that Elysia’s skills were miserable.

“I don’t think she would believe it…”

It was a quality that Elysia couldn’t even say that she did herself. Her conscience was stabbed, and she couldn’t say such things. Damon completed half of the patterns on the edge of the veil in that short time. At this speed, even the dragon in the middle seemed to be completed quickly.

Meanwhile, she couldn’t even finish the border design.

“Is this a difference in talent…?”

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was forced to admit it as soon as she saw Damon’s embroidery.

He was a man who could even embroider perfectly.

“What can’t you do?”

The more she got to know him, the more she couldn’t help but admire his perfect figure.

***

The attitude of the maids had changed strangely. The reason for the change was easy enough to notice without having to say. After all, the maids are the Countess’ people. Their attitudes changed when she found out that Estelle wasn’t visiting for a while.

Obviously, they weren’t being rude at all like before.

Elysia was still destined to become the Grand Duchess, and the wedding was just around the corner.

Being openly reckless towards her like that was like committing suicide. However, it was the Countess who still held County Caitlyn. She was not yet a complete Grand Duchess, to dey the power of the Countess.

“Miss.”

They were calling her the ‘Miss.’ Of course, they didn’t mean to call her Your Grace.

Usually, brides were called Lady or Miss, until just before they got married. It was because they were friendly with their family. However, she had never been called the Miss before, and Elysia was not friendly with the people of this family.

Nonetheless, she didn’t know that the Countess had ordered to call her the Miss now since she must hate seeing Elysia being called Your Grace. It was amusing that the Countess couldn’t hide her displeasure when she was accepted for a position the Countess had pushed herself into.

“What’s happening?”

“Madam Catherine is here.”

“Yes, I see.”

At the mention of Catherine, Elysia smiled slightly.

As she later found out, Catherine’s dress wasn’t something anyone could fit into. Estelle informed her that the only people who could commission Catherine for a dress were the four Duchies and the Imperial Family. It meant neither the Countess nor Rowena had ever tried on a dress Catherine made.

Elysia was delighted to learn that two people who loved dresses so much had to watch Catherine in and out of the house with their eyes open.

Without this kind of fun, the wedding preparation itself would have been boring.

“Where is Rowena?”

“Yeah…? You mean Miss Rowena?”

Damon won’t let her embroider herself, so she was more free than expected.

“Yes, let Rowena into the parlor. I need someone to take care of the dress.”

She still hadn’t forgotten the humiliation that day.

“Do you happen to know? Will you be able to get Madame Catherine’s dress in your hands?”

***

“Your Grace, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Madam, your face looks tired. Is it because of my dress?”

“No, no.”

Even while the wedding preparations were in full swing, she met Catherine frequently.

It was because the meeting was inevitable because of her constantly changing dimensions and designs. But, for some reason, every time they met, Catherine’s face seemed to become more and more emaciated. Especially since the wedding was only a few days away now, it was even worse.

She seemed to have covered it with make-up, but nevertheless, fatigue that could not be hidden was etched on her face.

“If you are tired of the dresses, you don’t have to complete five at a time.”

“No…! I’m a professional. Besides, I already finished all the reception dresses.”

At her words, Elysia was surprised to hear that she had already completed six dresses, including the wedding dress. Her dimensions and designs kept changing, which she honestly wasn’t expecting. Because of that, she just thought it’d be lucky if Catherine only had a wedding dress and two to wear to the reception.

Since her dimensions and designs change so often, it seemed like a difficult task. However, when she heard that Catherine had made it all, Elysia realized how professional Catherine was.

“Today is the last day I’m here to sew a dress. Of course, even if the dimensions change on the same day, simple corrections are possible, so don’t worry too much.”

At Catherine’s gesture, several hangers came in and what seemed to be the salon staff was installing the mannequins.

“Shall we take a look at the reception dresses first?”

“Good.”

Dresses that looked gorgeous at first glance came in one after the other. An admiration came from her, who didn’t like dresses too much, and she couldn’t even imagine how the reaction would be if either Rowena or the Countess had seen it.

“Well…”

“Do you have any problems?”

“The dress fitting. Can we delay it just a little bit?”

“Yes?”

She thought they would be coming to the reception room soon, but Rowena didn’t come as she expected. If it were Madam Catherine’s dress, Rowena’s eyes would surely turn…

‘Was it my misunderstanding?’

Just as Elysia had called the maid and was about to call Rowena once more, the door to the parlor opened and Rowena, dressed like a parrot, came in proudly. When she saw it, she seemed to understand why Rowena didn’t show up right away.

She did not want to kneel to Elysia, so she had come dressed up.

A small smile appeared on Elysia’s lips at her reaction, which also did not deviate from her expectations. Naturally, Rowena couldn’t resist the dress, even more so if it was Catherine’s dress she had dreamed of.

“Sister, am I too late?”

…Since when did Rowena call her sister?

Elysia, holding back the laughter that was about to come out, greeted Rowena with a grin. She had no intention of calling her from the beginning if she was only going to end up with this much.

“No. Come on in.”

“Your Grace…?”

“Ah, Madame. This is my sister Rowena Caitlyn.”

Anyway, people thought that Elysia and Rowena were blood sisters. Although they were actually people without a drop of blood shared.

“Hello, I am Madame Catherine.”

“I am Rowena Caitlyn.”

The flushed expression on her face showed how excited Rowena was. In Estelle’s words, Catherine was a busy person that they couldn’t even meet, even if they make a reservation. That said, today was the first time Rowena had met Catherine.

“It’s an honor to meet Her Grace’s sister.”

“Call me Rowena.”

“Oh, I can’t do that. Your Grace, may I start fitting now?”

Elysia struggled to contain her giggle as Rowena tried to mix her words with Catherine somehow. Though Catherine greeted Rowena in a formal way and didn’t seem to care at all.

“Good. I probably need someone to look at the dress, but Estelle couldn’t come… Today I’m going to ask my sister. Is it okay?”