Chapter 56 : Empress (2)

“The idea that I will personally face her if the Empress visits here still hasn’t changed.”

When I conveyed to Ayla what I had heard from my younger sibling, she responded that way.

She didn’t exactly look fine. Her expression showed some unease—one that suggested she didn’t really want to do this.

“This place belongs to me. Right?”

I had said something similar to Seila, but Ayla’s words also made sense. If a husband dies, it is only natural for the wife to inherit the property.

“So, what do you think?”

Ayla asked.

“Will the Empress really come here?”

“Generally, it is not advisable for the leader of a country to visit another nation.”

The more unstable a country is, the more likely it is that people will have different thoughts when their leader is absent.

Even if it isn’t simply a matter of rebellion, a king leaving their own land to meet another ruler is, in some ways, an act of lowering their own status.

If she is willing to take the risk of rebellion, endure the hardship of traveling a great distance, and meet the king of another land—just listing those conditions means she must have something she desperately wants.

“There is a possibility that she may come disguised.”

“Then how should I treat her?”

“She is not a foolish ruler who would start a war over a little rudeness. Fortunately, for now, this territory has no direct entanglements with the empire, so there is no immediate reason for any repercussions.”

“Are you saying that I can be rude to her?”

“That would be better than appearing weak.”

“…Are you implying that I look weak?”

Ayla glared at me.

“In front of the Empress, no matter how much you steel yourself, you will likely still appear weak.

She is an emperor who ended a long civil war by leading her own subordinates and forcing opposing nobles to kneel before her.”

“And such a person is making such a fuss because of you?”

“That is still uncertain.”

I shook my head, but Ayla did not look convinced at all.

“The border is quite far from here. Though the barony is relatively close to the border, there is still a mountain range between the kingdom and the empire.

No matter how quickly she departs, it will take time. It will take her even longer than it did for the baron to arrive in this land.”

“That’s correct.”

When I nodded, Ayla let out a small sigh.

Then she looked down at herself.

“How do I look?”

“Are you referring to your attire…? It suits you well.

No woman I have ever seen wears clothes as beautifully as you do, Lady Ayla.”

“Enough with the flattery.”

But it’s true.

It seemed Ayla was slowly getting used to my compliments.

That’s not good.

If this continues, I will be completely overpowered by her.

One of my few ways to make her flustered is slipping away.

“Separate from beauty, I’m asking if this is appropriate attire to meet the Empress.”

“The Empress wouldn’t care much about that.”

I searched my memory and spoke.

Even when I appeared before her in rags, she didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow.

Even when I was covered in dragon blood, she was the same.

At the ball, she didn’t even glance at the noblewomen standing before her, regardless of their attire.

Ayla’s eyes narrowed.

Had I answered too nonchalantly?

“…But if you prefer something a bit more modest, I can select something for you.”

Believe it or not, I have done quite a bit of research on clothing.

More accurately, I often relied on the help of the Shadow.

Even though he always dressed in black from head to toe, he had an uncanny memory for aristocratic fashion trends.

Whenever I needed advice before entering a ball, he was my go-to.

“Oh my, at this point, why don’t you just go ahead and propose? Seriously, I’m sick of this.”

Every time I tried to sneak into another ball, the Shadow would wrinkle his entire face and say that.

At first, he treated me as an okay guest.

But later on, he would clutch his head the moment I even mentioned the word ‘ball.’

“Why did I even take that potion in the first place…”

The last time I went to a ball, the Shadow muttered that with unfocused eyes.

Honestly, I never quite understood why he hated it so much.

Whenever I picked out an outfit, I was quite meticulous, but at most, I only selected ten or so in one go.

It’s not like I demanded them all for free.

“I will select an elegant and refined outfit for you.”

“Let’s do that. Do you know where to find one?”

“Of course, I do.”

I responded with a slight bow.

The count’s domain is by no means small.

Of course, the area with the highest population is where the commoners live.

Since farming requires people, and for commoners, their family is their workforce, it makes sense.

But just because it’s an agricultural land doesn’t mean only farmers live here.

In fact, because this area exports grain steadily, many merchants come and go.

Some merchants establish themselves and accumulate wealth, and they, in turn, spend money on themselves.

There is a place where such merchants reside, a bit away from the Count’s mansion.

It’s called the ‘New Town.’

Because, well, no matter how much money a commoner gains, they eventually want to live like nobles.

It’s understandable that they would want to move away from where they originally lived and build new homes.

“Wow!”

Looking out the carriage window, Seila’s eyes sparkled.

“Is this your first time coming out this far?”

“Uh… embarrassingly, yes…”

“I’ll help you come out more often from now on.”

“Really?!” Seila exclaimed, her eyes shining.

In reality, this wasn’t something that required anyone’s help or permission.

In particularly strict noble families, young noblewomen might be restricted from leaving their estates, but generally, they would often go out to visit other noblewomen or spend lavishly on shopping.

Even if they didn’t go out alone, the decision to go out was still theirs to make.

At first glance, Seila seemed bright and confident, but seeing her reaction, it was clear her self-esteem was nearly at rock bottom.

As Seila sat beside me, grinning while looking out the window, Ayla—sitting across from me—was also gazing outside, but in the opposite direction.

Her eyes seemed to be looking at something far away, lost in thought, as if reminiscing.

“……”

Was she recalling a place where we had both once lived?

Or was it just my wishful thinking?

After all, the bustling streets of the barony were nothing like this.

“Our plan for today is just to buy clothes, but I’ve heard there’s a place nearby that sells delicious desserts.

It might be nice to come back sometime and enjoy some tea together.”

“Wow…!”

Seila gasped in admiration, and Ayla briefly glanced my way.

She gave Seila a quick, dismissive snort before turning back to the window.

It didn’t seem like she was just pretending to annoy Seila—it felt genuine.

Had our conversation just now somehow irked her?

But Seila, too excited to notice Ayla’s reaction, remained oblivious.

And soon enough, we arrived at our destination before I could ask what was on her mind.

“Ugh! Again?! I told you to stop asking me about fashion! It’s not like you have any more ballroom events to attend!”

Last night, when I sought out Shadow for advice, he clutched his head and shouted.

Thankfully, the mansion’s thick walls and doors ensured Ayla wouldn’t be woken up.

I ended up staying up until around 3 AM, compiling a detailed list of outfits that would suit Ayla.

If it were for myself, I might have compromised and spent only two hours.

But this was for Ayla, after all.

“Oh, and for Seila too—”

“…Unlike you, I actually need proper sleep at night to function the next day.”

“A true information broker should be up late handling intel.

Old men die even in the middle of the night, you know.”

“…”

“Besides, I can stay awake for about a week and still function normally.”

“That’s only possible for freaks like you who aren’t even human anymore.”

“It’s a downgrade in ability ever since I became this way, actually.”

“…Are you okay? Did you damage your brain or something?

Wait—never mind, you were always insane, just hiding it behind a normal facade.”

Shadow let out a deep sigh.

I didn’t visit him every night, so I didn’t understand why he always reacted this way.

“You—do you have any idea how many times you said ‘Lady Ayla’ in the past ten minutes?

Felt like at least thirty.

It’s seriously driving me insane.

And every time you come to me, you say stuff like,

‘Ayla didn’t seem particularly captivated by that outfit’—

like that’s some grand revelation!”

That was an exaggeration.

It was more like twice per minute.

And besides, it was true that Ayla hadn’t been captivated by my outfit.

She hadn’t even spared me a glance.

No matter how well-dressed I was, it was meaningless if the person I wanted to impress didn’t even look my way.

Regardless, I carefully reviewed the list I had spent the night compiling.

And as a result—

“What do you think, Lady Ayla?”

“This is…”

The color itself wasn’t too different from the deep blues Ayla usually wore.

Perhaps she had even ordered those low-cut dresses from this very place.

But this dress was different.

Rather than deliberately exposing skin, it elegantly draped around her, exuding an air of refinement and dignity.

Ayla bit her lower lip, looking as though she found the situation frustrating.

“…This one is… acceptable.”

The strained way she forced out those words made me smile slightly.

“This isn’t the only dress, of course.

There are more for you to try on.

I carefully selected them to suit you.”

At my words, Ayla finally gave a small nod.