CH 97

Chapter 97

“What?”

She answered like a fool. She didn’t understand what he meant by not wanting to show her face. Did that mean she was embarrassing to show off?

“I don’t want to show it to anyone. I only want me to see you.”

“….”

Elysia, who couldn’t bear to answer anything, chose silence. No matter what she answered, in this strange situation, she could only break out in a cold sweat.

“Where are we… going today?”

All she could do was change the subject of conversation in an obvious way. But she knew this was the best for her.

“I’m going to Madame Catherine’s boutique. I think the wife likes the dress there.”

“Thank you.”

She wasn’t particularly insisting on Catherine’s dress, but what she had chosen, it was all strangely her work. She was a little excited about seeing Catherine after a long time since all this time she had come to Elysia.

“Elysia.”

Elysia flinched, seeing the dark blue eyes staring at her with his hand on his chin. The feeling of a wild beast inspecting prey from head to toe gave her goosebumps. She didn’t know why she was so afraid to look at him.

“Ye, yes?”

“Do you mind calling me Damon?”

“Ah…”

Had he still not given up on that? She couldn’t understand what he wanted from her. No one called him by name. There was probably no one in the world who called his name. Even the previous Grand Duke wouldn’t have called Damon Damon.

“We should be arriving at the boutique soon.”

“That…”

“Shouldn’t we practice from now on?”

Elysia intended not to call him by name. There were many words she could refer to him without calling him by name, even if it wasn’t necessarily Grand Duke.

“Come on, call me.”

It looked like an offer from the outside, but she knew this was not an offer at all. It was an unspoken pressure to answer right now. She couldn’t help but open her mouth.

“Da, Damon…”

“Good job.”

As soon as she said her name, Elysia swallowed a groan as Damon smiled brightly. It was a genuine smile she had never seen before. It was embarrassing to see him especially happy. Why would he make such a reaction when she calls her by name once?

“I want the wife to call me by my name from now on.”

“…I will try.”

She wondered if she should call him by name in the future. Seeing that reaction, she felt like she had to keep calling him that for some reason. It felt like I had to call him by name, especially today in the boutique.

“In front of others… should I address Your Grace by name?”

Apparently, she shouldn’t call him by name in front of others.

“I always want Elysia to call me by my name.”

“Even in a formal setting?”

“Yes.”

Obviously, if that happens, the impact will be huge. He should know it all, but she wants that from her?

“Then… words will come out.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Did he want to let people know that they were close? If that was the purpose, it could have been enough, but was there any benefit to letting people know that Elysia and Damon are on good terms?

“If you want, I will try.”

Anyway, the answer was fixed. If he wanted to, she had to say yes. Whatever it was.

* * *

Fortunately, it was not an unreasonable demand. He was not asking her to die right away. At that point, it was better to just close her eyes.

Of course, she wasn’t used to it.

“Well… Damon.”

“Yes, Elysia.”

In particular, she couldn’t get used to looking at him with eyes shining like that. Those eyes that were looking at something precious.

“Are the maids following us?”

“That’s right. They have to bring things.”

“I see.”

Then, she would be able to buy Estelle’s present. She was worried about what to buy for Estelle. The dress needs to be measured… so would it be better to buy jewelry? She wanted to buy both because she had enough budget.

“Looks like we’ve arrived.”

She could feel the carriage slowly slowing down. She wouldn’t have noticed until he said it. There was little to no riding discomfort. The carriage she rode in the county looked like it would break at any second.

Even at a glance, there was a big difference between the two carriages and although Elysia couldn’t tell for sure, this carriage was probably enchanted. What she felt while living in the Grand Duke’s family was that magic was melted into every corner of their daily lives.

The shock of knowing that everything she hadn’t even thought of was related to magic.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Even getting off the carriage had to be done by holding Damon’s hand. It was the first time she had ever been treated this honorably. She wasn’t used to it yet.

“And… is this Catherine’s boutique?”

“I know it as the largest boutique in the capital.”

There was no way Damon would be interested in boutiques, so was he researching because of her? From the time she was preparing for the wedding, there were a lot of things she was grateful for. It was something he could have pretended not to know enough about but he gave her all of her best.

“To call it a boutique… It is so big and beautiful.”

From the exterior of the building, it didn’t look like an ordinary boutique, probably because of Catherine’s touch. Of course, she had never seen a boutique. However, she knew that this place was different from other boutiques.

“It would have cost a lot of money. Madame is quite good at business.”

“What?”

“Let’s go in now.”

Damon led her before asking what he meant by good business. In the wind, Elysia went inside without asking the question.

Rumors were not wrong that she is definitely the most famous designer in the empire. It was so beautiful and splendid from the entrance that her eyes were delighted. At the same time, there was an image that this was not done carelessly.

Perhaps, this was the aim. The ones Catherine was dealing with were nobles. It was to reduce the complaint in this way.

“Greetings, Grand Duke Raphael and the Grand Duchess.”

Elysia smiled awkwardly, seeing the staff member who greeted her and Damon from the entrance bowing so lowly. She had never been treated like this before. Even in the Grand Duke’s castle, she did not treat her this way.

As expected of the service industry.

“I am Amy, the manager of Madame Catherine’s boutique.”

“What about the Madam.”

She could feel the arrogance of a great noble from Damon’s attitude of not accepting the greetings properly and looking for Catherine. Well, he was originally like this. He had only been kind to her, and she had forgotten about it for a moment. He couldn’t forget what he looked like.

“Madame is waiting inside.”

Amy was accustomed to dealing with Damon’s attitude. Maybe this was common.

It was beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, the more she walked, the more she couldn’t take her eyes off it. Then, Elysia was surprised to see her wedding dress displayed on a mannequin. It wasn’t the only one. The dresses she wore were all over. Her reception dress was hanging there.

“Currently, the most popular dresses are those worn by the Grand Duchess.”

“All of them….?”

“Yes, people even nagged to buy even the dress that is on display.”

Was this why Catherine asked if it was okay to include her designs? It was somehow embarrassing inside, filled with all the dresses she had chosen.

“Your Grace!”

“Ah, madam.”

On the other side, she saw Catherine, full of excitement, walking towards her. Elysia, who met Catherine after a long time, smiled broadly. Seeing the face she knew, she couldn’t stop being delighted.

“Your Grace, you’re finally here.”

“….”

Although she was embarrassed to see Damon, who only glanced at Catherine’s greeting, did not respond in any way. She originally knew that he wasn’t a kind person, but…

“Long time no see, Catherine.”

“Thank you for visiting our boutique again.”

“I’d like you to guide us to the private room.”

Catherine was holding her hand and talking in delight. What interrupted their conversation was none other than Damon’s cold voice. She didn’t expect him to speak so coldly. He looked like he was upset somewhere, and she was worried that she might have done something wrong.

“Damon…? Are you uncomfortable?”

She couldn’t bear to say his name so openly in front of others, so she whispered in his ear. It could have been that she had made a mistake as she was not familiar with noble manners.

“Or did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s not. The wife did nothing wrong.”

It was the Damon she knew again. It was clear that there was something he didn’t like earlier.

“This is the private room. Are you here today because of the clothes for the founding party?”

The private room was very luxurious, probably because it was a place for business with nobles. It was obvious that this cost a lot of money. It was comparable to the Grand Duchy’s parlor.

“Thank you for visiting again. Since the last time I was in charge of the wedding dress for Her Grace, sales in the boutique have increased noticeably.”

She didn’t know how much it increased, but it was amazing that the dresses she wore were selling. It was right to say that fashion follows power. Catherine’s other designs must have been very beautiful, but the proof was that only the ones Elysia chose increased her sales.

“There is not much time left, but I will try my best to make a new dress.”

“Even with the original design, I don’t think it matters…”

“I want to buy the design exclusively this time.”