episode_0068

The carriage, galloping vigorously down the street, swayed from side to side despite having entered the well-organized streets of the capital.

It was reminiscent of when one would visit a relative’s house in childhood and ride on the back of a tractor driven by one’s grandfather. Or perhaps like the rickety roller coaster at a humble amusement park visited during a picnic. The neatly arranged platinum blonde hair of Eleanor fluttered gently as the carriage rocked back and forth.

However, it seemed that Eleanor had now adapted to such bumpy rides, as she did not grimace or show any discomfort even when her body lifted slightly off the seat.

She simply gazed blankly out the swaying window at the scenery passing by.

The bustling people on the street, as excited as the approaching festival, exuded an air of festivity as far as Eleanor’s foreign eyes could see.

Of course, being a rare outing, the unfamiliar sights of the street may have seemed even more strange to her.

“Fortunately, truly. Your shoulder scar has completely disappeared, so you can wear an off-shoulder dress.”

At the sound of the voice, Eleanor turned her head slightly.

The excitement for the upcoming festival wasn’t limited to just the people on the street.

Seated next to Eleanor, Eugenie had been sparkling with her violet eyes since morning. After receiving Violet’s escort and climbing onto the carriage, she had cast aside the last vestiges of noble etiquette and chattered away.

Until Eleanor showed signs of fatigue, Eugenie had been teasing her lady here and there. As Eleanor’s stern expression softened slightly, Eugenie seemed poised to break free from her restraints once again.

“Lady, Lady! Shall we go a bit daring this time? A dress that plunges down to the waist-”

“Eugenie, what kind of dress are you going to wear?”

As Eugenie began to rev up, Eleanor managed to cut her off. She had been troubled by Eugenie’s visit to her bedroom last night.

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. Since you have good style, anything should suit you.”

Luckily, Eleanor’s tactic seemed to work.

Eugenie, lowering her raised voice, tilted her head slightly to the side.

“Well… I’m not particularly interested in new dresses.”

Looking at Eleanor’s elegant ivory hair swaying, Eleanor quickly responded in case the conversation returned to her.

“Oh, come on, that’s not true! You clearly said it yourself. A lady from the House of Beaune not buying a new dress is a matter of family honor. Then wouldn’t the same apply to her maid? Isn’t that right, Violet?”

Eleanor swiftly tossed the ball to Violet in the front row.

The golden-haired maid, who had been glancing out the window in case something suspicious was happening, unexpectedly caught the ball thrown by Eleanor in her arms.

“Oh, um… Lady. I am a knight, so in the world of ladies-”

Interrupting Violet’s stumbling words, Eleanor cut her off. With her sky-blue eyes sparkling, Eleanor stared intently at Violet.

“Isn’t that right, Violet?”

“Y-Yes, it seems so.”

Even if she had no interest in the world of women, Violet couldn’t ignore the intense gaze directed at her by her mistress.

When the carriage came to a stop in front of the dressing room, two knights dressed in white uniforms stood guard at the door of the dressing room.

The two knights, their golden lion brooches sparkling on their chests, waited with dignity as they escorted Eleanor out of the carriage. They bowed towards Eleanor as she descended from the carriage.

Honestly, such formalities didn’t sit well with Eleanor, unlike the rough charm of the carriage. However, having decided to live through Eleanor’s body, she had to adapt, whether she liked it or not.

Eleanor awkwardly returned their salute with a forced smile.

“There was nothing unusual in the dressing room. While you choose your dress, we will wait outside.”

Still bowing, the knights, with vigor in their voices, addressed Eleanor as she approached them.

Today, there were a total of five people escorting Eleanor.

Viola, who rode in the carriage. One knight guarding beside the coachman’s seat. Three knights riding horses following the carriage. Five knights accompanied Eleanor on her dress shopping excursion.

Before departing from the mansion, Albrith had remarked that the number seemed excessive, stating that Viola alone would have been sufficient. But due to recent events, he had uncharacteristically dismissed his beloved sister’s words without a second thought.

Entering the dressing room, Eleanor looked at the knight holding the door open for her and softly spoke.

“We don’t know how long this will take. Don’t stress too much. You can go to the cafe nearby or relax a bit.”

“No, we are fine. Please don’t worry and feel free to take your time, Miss.”

Despite Eleanor’s consideration, the knights nodded in agreement, reassuring her it was okay.

Watching them, Eleanor thought to herself.

Perhaps if she hadn’t been hit by the truck back then, she would have continued living in Seoju’s body and enlisted in the military, just like the knights before her.

Memories of senior classmates who returned to school after military service flooded Eleanor’s mind, making it hard for her to move forward.

“Miss, excessive consideration becomes burdensome.”

At Viola’s voice in her ear, Eleanor finally left the knights behind and entered the dressing room.

The dressing room looked quite different from the last time she visited with her mother.

Sky-blue lace curtains, vases filled with green leaves, and decorations made from brown tree branches adorned the room.

As the season grew warmer, the curtains hanging in the windows and the props inside had changed to cool-colored fabrics and materials.

Especially, until recently, most dresses on mannequins had long sleeves. Now, there were dresses with short sleeves, some even sleeveless, which could be considered somewhat daring in this world.

‘Are they doing something like waxing here too?’

Gazing at a red dress fit for an awards ceremony, Eleanor entered the dressing room.

“Welcome, Miss Eleanor.”

The voices of the ladies filled the dressing room as they welcomed her.

Olivia’s dressing room was quite famous even in the capital, so Eleanor was greeted by a considerable number of staff members.

Taking a deep breath as she faced the many eyes upon her, Eleanor smiled widely and quietly thanked the owner of the dressing room as she approached.

“Thank you for welcoming me like this, Olivia.”

“No, Miss. We wished we could have come to the mansion ourselves as we did back then…”

Olivia maintained her smile but gradually trailed off at the end of her sentence.

The Gun-gukje Season was a pivotal moment in the dressing room. With the nobles of the capital busy fitting their new dresses, it wasn’t feasible for them to leave the dressing room empty for a day and wander around the townhouses in the suburbs.

Albrice expressed his gratitude during the meal just by allocating half a day to clear out the dressing room for Eleonore.

“If you would, Miss, I will first measure your size and then guide you to the fitting room.”

Approaching Eleonore, the dressing room staff welcomed her with a friendly smile and led her into the fitting room.

The carriage turned onto a quiet country road on the outskirts as the sun began to set.

In truth, Eleonore’s dress didn’t take long. Since it was custom-made, today was only about measuring her body dimensions and finalizing the dress design, which Olivier had been preparing for weeks.

Although Olivier and Eleonore had fairly detailed discussions to finalize the design, they were minor details like how much shoulder to reveal or how to finish the waist.

Despite this, Eleonore and her party lingered in Olivier’s dressing room until sunset, all because of Violette’s dress.

“Violette, have you never worn a dress before?” Eleonore asked, observing Violette’s curious gaze around the dressing room.

“As a knight, I’m not particularly interested in such things,” Violette casually replied, a hint of envy in her expression.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try it this time,” Eleonore said, pushing Violette into the dressing room.

Seeing Violette in a navy dress that complemented her healthy, dark skin under the sunlight, Eleonore could somewhat understand why everyone wanted to dress themselves up.

As the carriage left the bustling streets of the capital and entered the outskirts, it moved more roughly than before.

“Haha, that’s why, Miss. That dress—”

“Miss, hold on a moment.”

Without revealing her thoughts, Violette, who cherished her first dress, momentarily diverted her gaze from the dress due to the carriage’s rough movement.

“What’s wrong, Violette?”

With a sense of suspicion, Eleonore and Olivier stopped their conversation, looked at her, and smiled.

Eventually, the window of the front seat opened, and the knight next to the coachman quietly reported the situation outside.

“Suspicious individuals are following us. I’ll increase the speed a bit.”

The knight delivering the message appeared tense.

Suddenly, something soft touched the hand resting on her knee. Olivier, who had just been laughing heartily, now bit her lower lip with a stern expression, tightly holding Eleonore’s hand.

“Olivier…”

“Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll protect you.”

Certainly, there had been no such incidents in her past life.

Originally, Yulrian had discovered the Be’aun Ga mine after Elli’s death, and initially, there was no Shilrov in that mine.

No, if we consider it that way, Elli’s involvement with the Grand Duke was also something that didn’t happen in her past life.

Reality had changed so drastically from her memories. Why was she being so careless?

During the moment when Olivier was self-reproaching.

Thud!

With a deafening sound ringing in their ears, the subsequent shock was on a different level compared to the usual tremors.

Eleanor, Venezia, even their escort knight, Viola, were all taken aback. Inside the tilting carriage, they simply gazed at each other with eyes full of astonishment.

At the end of the season. The End.