Chapter Index

    The Beginning of Deviation (5)

    The Beginning of Deviation (5)

    Needless to say, this clothes-changing show didn’t end with just one outfit. Two outfits, three outfits, four outfits… I couldn’t say anything as the number of clothes seemed to increase endlessly.

    No, this isn’t right. This is completely different from what I had in mind.

    “How about this next?”

    “I think it will suit you really well!”

    St-stop… We’re all going to die at this rate… Let’s stop here. How about we call it a draw?

    But my hollow cries in my heart couldn’t be conveyed outside and just disappeared, and naturally, nothing changed.

    So I decided to choose an alternative.

    “A-aren’t you two going to choose anything?”

    They clearly said they came to buy clothes for themselves before we came here. So I thought there might be some hope, but…

    “Oh my, we’ve already bought ours, so we’re fine.”

    “Yes, that’s right. You don’t need to worry, Lady.”

    No, I didn’t say that to be reassured, I was just trying to give you a hint! I was just hinting that you should stop after doing a reasonable amount! No, more importantly, when did you buy everything? Was it when I was changing clothes earlier? That’s the only time it could have been.

    ‘Are they doing this to tease me?’

    I can’t help but have reasonable suspicions. I wonder if the two of them are deliberately doing this to play with me. But I can’t say this outright, so I have to bury it deep in my heart again.

    “It really suits you well!”

    “Please prepare this one too.”

    “Yes, understood.”

    This is shopping that has nothing to do with my will. Where am I? Who am I again? Am I a person or a clothes hanger or maybe a mannequin…

    Ah, if I had my way, I’d like to run away right now. But if I did that, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.

    I have a feeling. If I run away from here, something irreversible will happen. No, it’s a problem that can be understood with just a little thought. If I run away from here, what would I say to other people? That I ran away because changing clothes was too hard? My goodness, even though I want to lower my image, this isn’t what I meant. This is just embarrassing!

    ‘Endure it with evil and stubbornness…’

    In the end, my clothes-changing show continued until I couldn’t bear it anymore and my legs were trembling, and only then did it finally end.

    “Please charge everything to the Scrania family.”

    “Understood.”

    “Lady Scrania?”

    No, wait a minute. These are my clothes. Why are you trying to pay for them? It’s not like I don’t have money!

    I may not use it much usually, but if I decided to spend, I could show extravagance that would be counted among the top nobles. I’m from a ducal family, right? There’s no way I lack money. Plus, I have quite a bit saved up. If I wanted to, I could buy several times more!

    “It’s a token of my apology for tiring you out.”

    “What?”

    No, isn’t this apology a bit too much? More importantly, you knew I was tired but you kept going?

    I was too shocked in many ways to speak, and Arpi started laughing quietly beside me. Don’t laugh!

    This is driving me crazy. If I refuse here saying it’s burdensome, that would be rude in its own way. In the end, while I was stuttering, unable to say anything, Elizabeth finished the payment and even arranged for delivery to my room with the waiting clerk. Should I be surprised that there’s a delivery system, or should I try to soothe my brain that can’t accept this current situation?

    The answer seems to be neither.

    I want to declare that shopping is over now that we’ve bought clothes! But unfortunately, there was still a lot left. To begin with, I didn’t come to the department store just to buy clothes.

    My original purpose was the extravagance itself that happens here. You might wonder what this means, but when you think of a rich villainess, there’s often an image of coming out shopping on a day off and wastefully spending money. I need to appeal that point to others.

    What would be good for that? Clothes are clothes, but there’s an even more definite shopping item.

    “It seems Lady Ariel has finally started paying attention to dressing up.”

    “Is it to get good points from the Crown Prince, after all?”

    As if some kind of women’s unique affinity was displayed while shopping, the three of us somehow started calling each other by name. Of course, we’re all still using honorifics, but it’s a big development to now call each other by name instead of the stiff titles like surname or Lady we used until now.

    “What kind of accessories are you thinking of looking at?”

    “Hmm…”

    When it comes to accessories, the most representative ones are necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings. But among these, rings could lead to strange misunderstandings if worn wrongly, so pass. Earrings require piercing ears, so pass again. Bracelets… these might also lead to strange misunderstandings.

    In the end, by process of elimination, only necklaces are left. A necklace would certainly be a safe choice as an accessory and wouldn’t cause any misunderstandings.

    “Welcome.”

    Receiving a polite greeting, we immediately headed to where the necklaces were. It’s truly strange. Surely all three of us came here because we had things to buy, but somehow it has turned into a task of dressing me up.

    “How about this? It matches the color of Lady Ariel’s eyes perfectly, so it should suit you very well.”

    “Or how about this one for a contrasting feel?”

    It’s starting. It’s starting again. What I experienced earlier while buying clothes is coming back intact. Sh-should I just choose a necklace casually? Unlike clothes, some accessories aren’t noticeable unless you look closely. Yeah, it should be fine to just choose one that matches the color…

    “How about buying them all?”

    “That’s right. Thinking about Lady Ariel’s usual appearance, you probably don’t have many accessories…”

    Stop! What are you trying to do now! The clothes were already crazy expensive, but most of the accessories here have jewels attached, so they’re even more expensive. Looking at Elizabeth’s expression, it seems she’s planning to pay for these too, but I can’t let that happen. To begin with, I don’t need that many accessories!

    “So come to places like this more often. Isn’t it somewhat romantic to give your fiancée just one perfect accessory as a gift?”

    “I don’t think he’d care about such things.”

    “Come on, even if that’s the case, what woman wouldn’t be happy when her fiancé gives her a gift? Especially the Walpurgis Lady, it seems like she’d fall head over heels if given a sincere gift.”

    “Don’t talk nonsense.”

    Huh? What am I hearing now? This is neither Arpi’s voice nor Elizabeth’s. Creaking like a broken machine, I turned my head…

    “Welcome!”

    “Mm.”

    There was Reinhardt and his group, calmly receiving greetings. What the, why are you showing up here? As I was blankly looking towards the entrance, perhaps feeling my gaze, Reinhardt’s eyes also turned this way.

    And our eyes met.

    “Uh…”

    “Hmm.”

    An incredibly awkward meeting for both of us. Who would have thought we’d meet in a place like this on the weekend? It’s obvious that Reinhardt seems to have been dragged out by his friends, and I hate that I feel a strange sense of kinship with him there.

    “Oh?”

    “Huh?”

    Not just the two of us, but each of our groups also saw each other and grasped the current situation. Is it just my imagination? It seems like they’re sending some kind of signals to each other as they make eye contact…

    “I didn’t expect to meet you in a place like this, Lady Walpurgis.”

    “How do you do, Lord Valderich.”

    Since he greeted me first, I respond accordingly. I know about him to some extent. Franz Valderich. The eldest son of the Valderich ducal family, known as the Empire’s First Sword, and currently rivaling Reinhardt for the top spot in the swordsmanship department. I heard that until the entrance exam, he had been living carelessly, but after seeing Reinhardt, he was inspired to properly take up the sword. If that’s true, Reinhardt’s position might be in danger?

    Well, it’s not my concern. He didn’t seem to have that much importance in the original story anyway.

    “Then we’ll just…”

    “Pardon?”

    “We have somewhere to drop by for a moment.”

    “What are you suddenly talking about?”

    As soon as we exchange greetings, people start to leave as if they had planned it. No, wait a minute. Are you trying to leave Reinhardt and me alone? Stop! Stop doing such things! If we’re left alone, it’ll be so awkward we might die!

    “We have something else to buy, so we’ll see you in a bit, Lady Ariel.”

    “We can’t send the ladies off alone, so I’ll go with them. Reinhardt, you take care of your fiancée.”

    “Wait a moment.”

    This is the first time I’ve seen Reinhardt look so flustered. No, wait a minute. Come to think of it, isn’t this the scene where Reinhardt and Mari were flirting in the original story?! The location was the marketplace, not the department store, and Mari was alone at the time, that’s the only difference, but anyway, this scene is very similar to that one! Even the fact that Franz is the one giving them space is the same!

    Before Reinhardt and I could say anything, our respective groups disappeared at a rapid pace. Suddenly left alone, the atmosphere instantly became awkward.

    “I guess we should stay together for now.”

    “…Yes.”

    I won’t let them off easy when they come back.

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