So I Was the Persecuted Grand Duchess Destined to Die? Chapter 64

“Ohohoho! Of course, Your Grace. I’ll prepare everything at once! Celi! Escort the archduke’s party to the VIP salon.”

Even though the archduke had cut him off, George acted as if he hadn’t been embarrassed in the slightest—rubbing his hands together with a grin.

Hm. When he talks to his staff, his nasal voice… kind of disappears.

Maybe it was just my imagination.

But even if I tried to dismiss it, George’s little black-bean eyes were clearly sparkling.

It was the gaze of a merchant who’d just spotted a big catch.

Are we… about to get fleeced?

We hadn’t even looked at a dress yet, and I was already dizzy.

“Hmph. I have plenty of money too. Renée, I’ll buy you the most beautiful dress.”

Katharina—once again possessed by pointless jealousy—declared this loudly and proudly.

“I’m fine, though…”

“You’d better brace yourself. This isn’t just my opinion. It’s also Lady Diana’s special request.”

“What? Grandmother?”

Why was Lady Diana suddenly involved?!

While I was internally screaming, Katharina kept chattering away with the brightest face.

“Yes. We looked through the catalog together in the North. She already made a first shortlist and told me to buy all of them. And anything you like here, I can choose at my discretion. This is the first duty I’ve been entrusted with as your attendant!”

Katharina looked genuinely thrilled.

Katharina, weren’t we here to buy your clothes?

When did this whole trip become about me?

Anyway.

We finally arrived at the VIP salon.

Wow. This is… intimidating.

Under the soft chandelier light was a fitting room straight out of a drama.

Behind a velvet curtain that screamed expensive, there was a small platform raised a step above the floor.

So you stand up there and do the whole ta-da! reveal like the main character, huh?

Isn’t this the kind of setup wedding-dress shops have?

Is this just… normal here because everyone’s “casual wear” is basically gowns?!

I was the kind of person who preferred simple dresses because they were easy.

When I bought clothes, I prioritized maximum efficiency over fashion.

And to try on something like that, I’d have to layer petticoats and underskirts and—

“Ughhh…”

I felt more and more faint by the second.

“Please wait a moment.”

Following the overly polite staff member, we sat on the sofa in a neat row.

Archduke, me, then Katharina.

“Want to look through this while we wait?”

“Mm… sure…”

Katharina handed me the catalog she’d received.

Even the paper looked glossy—like it cost money just to touch it.

Without thinking much, I opened it.

“Gasp.”

Next to the simple dress sketch was a tiny printed price—and my eyes widened on instinct.

W-w-w-wait. What is this? Tens… hundreds… thousands… ten-thousands… hundred-thousands… millions…

“…Hundreds of millions?!”

“AHH?!”

What is this unit?!

Surely I misread it—so I counted the zeros again.

And again.

Still the same.

“Why are you screaming?”

At my involuntary shriek, the archduke—sitting beside me with his arms crossed and the emptiest expression known to mankind—asked.

Worried the staff might hear, I leaned in and whispered by his ear.

“This place looks really expensive… Is it okay to buy several dresses…?”

As I moved closer, the archduke’s ears—oddly red—caught my eye.

And he kept flinching while he listened, too.

Oh no. Did we come here without enough money?!

A horrifyingly plausible thought made my heart drop.

Should I run? Right now?

“Hm-hm~”

Next to us, Katharina was absurdly calm.

They said the Hugo count’s house was one of the richest in the empire.

Now I understood—her bright cheerfulness was 100% funded by money.

I’m a broke peasant!

What do I do?!

Maybe the archduke has money?

I looked back at Xavier with anxious eyes—

and got a flat reply.

“Why are you worrying about that? Have you not seen the allowance that has been paid out as the archduchess’s share this whole time?”

His tone was sharp, and he looked genuinely baffled, frowning as he rubbed his ear.

Allowance?

I’d never heard of that in my life.

“…I have something like that?”

“…Ah.”

The archduke’s face went pale as if he’d just realized what he’d missed.

“I’ll explain properly once we return to the North. For today, use this.”

He pulled a gold coin from his inner pocket and held it out.

Is that… real gold?

It was large—heavy-looking too.

While my brain tried to guess the current gold price, the archduke added casually—

“With the allowance already paid in your name, you could buy this shop itself. Don’t worry about money.”

“…Huh?”

W-what?

So the “Celeste donations could build a cathedral tower” thing wasn’t a joke?

A flash of the archduke’s lavish castle and the townhouse crossed my mind.

I finally understood.

They didn’t look expensive.

They were expensive.

“Goodness, Lady Renée. The Archduchess of Celeste worrying about money? Even a passing dog would laugh. Celeste is the greatest house after the imperial family!”

Katharina added that with a prim look.

But I didn’t have the mental space to react.

My brain was still stuck on one feeling:

Like my parents had sat me down and said,

‘Right… it’s time we told you. This building is in your name.’

And overnight, I’d become a landlord.

“S-so… that’s how it is.”

Before the shock could even fade—

Rrrrk.

George entered the VIP room wearing the shiniest smile imaginable.

“Uh…?”

He brought in a clothing rack too.

An endless rack.

It was so long it practically had its own postal code.

Layer upon layer of extravagant dresses hung from it.

“Don’t tell me I have to try on all of those…”

I turned toward Katharina with a helpless face.

Please. Tell me this is a lie.

That rack looked like someone had ripped an entire boutique wall off and dragged it in here.

Why are bad feelings never wrong?

“Of course you have to try them all. That’s already the trimmed-down selection.”

Katharina’s sparkling eyes were full of pure madness.

My gaze drifted—without meaning to—toward Xavier.

“…”

“…”

For once, we seemed to share the exact same emotion.

Even he looked utterly speechless.

Meanwhile, George’s eyes blazed like Katharina’s as he launched into sales mode with unstoppable force.

“Now then! Allow me to present our first baby! The new S/S dress, practically unveiled for the first time ever—”

The moment his first sentence started, my brain began filtering it out automatically.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Ah… my salt bread…

What if it sells out…?

“Oh my goodness, Renée! You’re so pretty! An angel! A fairy!”

“Stop it, Katharina…”

Behind the thick velvet curtain, the two women whispered and giggled.

Xavier, meanwhile, sat on the sofa like he’d been nailed in place.

Honestly, to someone like him—who had the aesthetic sense of a rock—most of the dresses looked the same.

But imagining Renée wearing them…

That was another problem entirely.

“Excited, aren’t you?”

Sharp-eyed George asked with a sly, fluttering smile.

“Ahem.”

Xavier, feeling called out, answered with a pointed cough instead.

But George wasn’t wrong.

The archduke’s usually blank expression had a faint flush of anticipation to it.

Ohoho. Not honest at all.

To George, it was painfully obvious:

this “cold, severe beauty” was fidgeting like a man who didn’t know what to do with his own hands.

The archducal couple’s relationship was far better than he’d expected.

Then they should savor this beautiful moment properly!

“Now, Archduchess! Are you ready?”

George called to Renée in a smooth, sweet voice.

“Hmph! Can’t I just show it to her? Do I really have to show it to him?”

“But… it’s the archduke’s money, so… shouldn’t we…?”

Xavier’s hearing was, unfortunately, excellent.

He caught every whisper.

George saw the archduke’s eyes narrow—and hurriedly grabbed the curtain cord.

“If you don’t show him, His Grace will be sad. Shall I open it?”

Shhhh—!

The curtain was pulled back with brutal decisiveness.

“Y-you’re opening it that fast?!”

Renée finally stepped out, looking deeply embarrassed—

and revealed herself.