“Let’s go back to the castle now.”

“Yes.”

After descending from Mount Philiac, they returned to the lord’s castle. The castle’s butler, Vincent, who had welcomed the owner of the estate after a long time, was hectic. Ever since he heard that they were coming, he had been sweeping the inside and outside of the castle, but it seemed that he was not satisfied. In fact, it was the same with Killian. The estate’s castle was left to the caretakers, so it had no decorations and no luxuries necessary for aristocratic life.

‘The castle itself is well-maintained, but the interior decorations and furnishings are too crude. Edith, how much can she find fault with?’

Although they were a contemptible family, the level of wealth of the Counts Rigelhof was not something to belittle. The amount of money the family spent on Edith’s clothing was staggering, so there was no way this place could catch her eye.

‘When I go back to the capital, I’ll have to find a good furniture craftsman first. I’ll have to look into tapestries and tabards… As for the other things, I’ll have her look for them.’

He had planned to come down to the manor without hesitation as soon as he received the title, so there was no time. If he had to come anyway, it would have been better to come as early as possible to inspect the estate, and he didn’t like the fact that Edith-related problems continued to arise within the Duke’s residence.

‘Will she be a little hard on him if she gets away from parties and extravagant routines? What can I do though? There are things she has to endure to become a Countess.’

Come to think of it, Edith had never attended a party since their marriage. Maybe she’s here, maybe she’s getting along just fine. If she was really struggling, he could send her to the capital during the winter.

‘She’ll be able to pull it off.’

There were certainly concerns, but Killian decided to look to the future with hope. While he was staying in Ryzen, he had a deep discussion with his father about the problems of the territory and the direction he should work on in the future, and then returned to the capital. For Killian, it was a time when his heart swelled with his thoughts of independence. He wasn’t even aware that Edith had intervened in all of his thoughts.

* * *

The long-awaited bazaar day had dawned. Killian, who went to look around the estate he was going to receive, said he returned yesterday, but even after he returned, he didn’t even show his nose, as if he had a lot to discuss with the Duke. Well, he had no obligation to report to her…

Fortunately for him, she was also busy completing the embroidery work, so she had no time to regret his absence.

“Does it really look okay?”

“Of course, lady. There are many wives who have no interest in embroidery, so this is enough.”

Innocent Anna had been suffering from her anxious questions for several days already. 

There was nothing she could do about it now, but she bullied Anna several times to hear the answer, “It’s okay.” It was because she had heard harsh criticism from Renan. After that, she made a few more copies and selected three of the best ones for the bazaar. 

It didn’t even catch her eye. However, contrary to how nervous she was, when the morning of the bazaar dawned, she became calm.

‘Yeah, well, I’m not going to die just because this doesn’t sell.’

This episode was just to show the difference between Lise and Edith’s ability, so there was no risk to her life if something went wrong. She packed the three handkerchiefs she had painstakingly made in her bag and took out a picnic dress to put on. This, too, was an alteration of a dress she had brought with her when she got married. The light gray cotton dress, with all the cumbersome lace, ruffles and ribbons removed, was neat enough to look like a uniform motif at first glance. But even so, it had a refreshing and cute appearance.

‘Madame Royal is quite skilled.’

She liked all 10 dresses that she ordered because they were much prettier and more natural than what she asked for. After getting ready to go to the bazaar, Lise came out wearing a gorgeous dress. A lovely picnic dress with a light blue fabric and a pink ribbon really suited her blonde hair and blue eyes. If she put on a bonnet and parasol over there, Edith thought she would look like a doll.

“Uh? Edith! You look so pretty today!”

Lisze smiled brightly and praised her. Standing next to Lise in full dress, she seemed to be nothing more than a background as she had hoped.

“Lise is really dazzling today. I thought that dress would look good on you.”

“The dress is really pretty, isn’t it? Madame Royal is amazing.”

Then Cliff came out and he said.

“Madame Royal’s skills are great of course, but she mean you’re pretty. Isn’t that right, Edith?”

“Sure.”

She wondered if Cliff had shown up for some reason, but the Duchess looked up at them and said,

“We will be late. Let us go first. The Duke and Killian will come later.”

Oh, it seemed the whole family was going today. She followed them, expecting to see Killian today, but thinking about it, nothing good would happen to her if he did.

‘It doesn’t seem like Killian’s basic personality has changed just because the original story went wrong… Even if he came to the bazaar today, he’d probably fight with Cliff to buy Lise’s work.’

She climbed into the carriage hoping that today would pass without incident. 

Decorative flags were already fluttering in the spacious garden of Count Ermenia, where the bazaar was held, and iced tea and light snacks were prepared in tents here and there. She didn’t expect much until she came, but when she saw the clear blue sky, warm wind, and happy faces of excited people, she was also excited.

“Those who brought bazaar goods, please submit them here!”

Someone shouted, and people with supplies rushed to that tent. She followed the Duchess and Lise, paid three humble handkerchiefs, signed the donation list, and returned. After that, they sat in the tent assigned to them, had tea, and had light conversations or greeted the people who came to greet the Duchess. When the Royal Dressing Room was called, the Duchess wearing the blue dress Lize had chosen was praised by the people.

“Your dress suits you really well. Is it new?”

“Yes. It’s been a while since I called Madame Royal. This is the design that our Lise chose. How is it? Is it okay?”

“Of course! It fits perfectly as if it was designed just for the Duchess! Mis Lise’s eyes are amazing!”

Also, she knew it would be like that. But she was glad it didn’t get compared to the design she chose. Anyway, she couldn’t sit still at such a fun event.

“Edith! I heard that the bazaar has begun, why don’t we go and see it?”

Just in time, Lise made the suggestion in an excited voice. Since she was only keeping an eye on her when she would stand up, she gave her a light nod of her head and started walking around the venue with her.

“And… That’s great!”

People who were good at cooking made and donated pecan pie or apple pie themselves, and put out unused jewelry. Foreign rare items were also seen, and high-quality alcohol was also listed.

“Aren’t those earrings so pretty?”

“This is really cute. Ah! That bracelet looks like someone preoccupied it. The ribbon is attached.”

“It’s already sold out, so I guess the competition at the bazaar will be fierce today?”

Lise pointed here and there excitedly, and Edith felt good about her for no reason, so she hung around with her as if she were her friend. And Cliff, who followed as if he were their escort, would be quietly attaching a ribbon to the thing Lise said was pretty.

She had to put up with shame for a while at the stand where the artworks they donated were displayed. Anna said that her handkerchief was enough, but her jaw dropped when she saw large-scale knitted works or embroidered works with complex techniques. Even Lise’s shawl work looked ordinary.

‘Anna, you liar.’

Of course, it was a white lie, but if she had known it was this much, she would have burned the handkerchief… She hurried away with Lise to give Cliff a chance to preoccupy Lise’s shawl. Not because she was ashamed to see her work, but for the sake of the male lead!

Leaving Cliff behind, they went back to the tent, and at first glance, the Duchess and her friends, or young ladies who seemed to be her friends’ daughters, looked up and down in their direction.

‘Somehow I don’t feel good…’

It was a very familiar picture even to her who lived in modern times. Like… She wondered if it’s like waiting for the main character.

“It’s been a while since I came up to the capital, so I can’t adapt to the social world these days. An illegitimate child wandering around the bazaar.”

“Mother! You have to be careful with what you say. Not just an illegitimate child, but an illegitimate child living as a guest of the Ludwig family. How much do you care about the Duke and his wife?”

“Okay? The Duke and Duchess of Ludwig are very famous people… Do they keep that as a pet?”

She looked at them with frowning eyes as they were saying absurd words, and suddenly she felt Lise’s hand holding her arm tremble, so she turned her head. Lise’s earlobes were red as she bowed her head. And she was holding onto Edith’s arm as if she were her lifeline.

Edith suddenly felt a sense of mission to protect the heroine

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