Chapter 30: Sounds Like A Great Idea
The following morning brought another rather unpredictable surprise – Lady Cecilia Bennett, the very sa seamstress who treated Rosalie like a third-rate citizen, was standing before the lady with a asuring tape in her elegant, thin hands.
"Excuse , Lady Cecilia? What is all this?"
Rosalie watched as Lady Bennett’s workers brought in dozens of dresses and could not help but freeze in shock, while the seamstress let out a long sigh, adjusting her rectangular glasses, and replied in a sowhat stiff yet polite voice,
"His Grace, Grand Duke Damien, requested my services for today. He also bought a few dresses so that you have sothing to wear while I am working on the new ones. My staff will adjust them according to your proportions."
She then stood closer to the girl and stretched the tape in front of her chest, examining her body with the eyes of a specialist. Rosalie raised her eyebrows one more ti – she was not used either to such treatnt or attention and Lady Cecilia’s brief replies were, too, not making it easier for her.
"Wait, there are going to be even more dresses?!"
Cecilia wrapped the asuring tape around the girl’s waist and offered her another nonchalant reply,
"Yes. His Grace ordered one hundred articles of clothing for the upcoming season. Sumr is ending, you will need to change your wardrobe accordingly."
"A hundred?!"
Rosalie’s voice sounded surprisingly loud which scared the poor workers who were busy bringing in the clothes and were now busy picking them up from the floor. Lady Bennett, unbothered by even that awkward conundrum, simply moved onto the girl’s shoulders and continued,
"With an active social life, a noble lady’s attire must vary and include enough clothing for every occasion, however unusual it might be. And now that you are His Grace’s fiancée, you simply cannot continue wearing... What you were wearing before."
Although Cecilia’s voice sounded calm, Rosalie could not help but feel a strong offensive note lingering inside it. But the seamstress was not wrong – even with Damien Dio’s careless attitude toward social life, he never failed to be dressed impeccably, according to his high social status, and Lady Ashter felt the need to match his standards.
’How co I had spent so much ti crafting my survival plan, only to end up being the only one left unprepared? I should have stolen so money from Ashters to pay for my clothes myself. Ugh, Rosalie, you will not survive being such a scatterbrain.’
At last, after enduring a few tedious hours of being wrapped in asuring tape, colorful ribbons, and fabric samples, poked with pins and needles, and suffocated with nurous corsets, Lady Cecilia finally completed her work and prepared to leave.
"The clothes will arrive within a week. And when... you decide on the wedding dress, I will appreciate it if you choose
as your seamstress, Lady Rosalie."
The woman offered Rosalie a generous bow and left the room, leaving both the lady and her maid utterly flabbergasted.
"What a nerve! She looked down upon you just a week ago, and now that you are engaged to His Grace, she wants you to be her client because the Duke will pay her well! Ugh, this woman is simply enraging!"
Aurora kept fuming while arranging her lady’s new clothes while Rosalie found her reaction amusing and scoffed.
’A wedding dress for the future Duchess must cost a lot of gold... Boy, will she be disappointed!’
***
Only after the initial fatigue of the hectic dress-up morning had subsided, Rosalie realized she now had plenty of free ti on her hands. Living with the Ashters had not been particularly busy either, but here it felt different – she no longer needed to hide in her bedroom, afraid of causing any inconvenience. On the contrary, everyone encouraged her to explore the mansion and do as she pleased.
With Aurora busy working on her new garnts and Damien attending to his own duties, Rosalie decided to take a leisurely stroll outside the house and savor the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding scenery.
And naturally, Logan followed her out too, his dog-like excitent for a walk greatly contributing to the improvent of her mood.
"Sumr is almost over, My Lady. It really is a sha; I like warm weather."
The knight plucked a yellow rose from the rose bushes on his right and handed it to Rosalie, who accepted it with a warm smile on her pretty face. They had been strolling around the mansion for quite so ti now, and she couldn’t help but notice that, despite the approaching autumn, the surrounding greenery was still in full bloom.
"Say, Sir Logan, how co the flowers here are still blooming? And all of them are roses at that..."
Logan awkwardly scratched his chin and let out a long sigh, clearly reluctant to reply.
"Well... You see... The gardens were Her Grace, the late Duchess’s most treasured place in the entire Duchy. Dozens of gardeners had worked on designing it, and they co here almost daily to keep it alive. Sotis, they even use magic to preserve its beauty. His Grace, Duke Damien, might not look like it, but he, just like his mother, likes roses. So..."
"Wow, this is so romantic and sad at the sa ti..."
Lady Ashter cast a glance at the myriad of colorful flowers ornanting the duke’s garden and took a deep breath, inhaling the refreshingly sweet aroma. This place was magical, almost like a sanctuary, and she felt as if she were taking a long-awaited healing vacation there.
’How strange... The novel’s Damien was never portrayed like this. I keep discovering unexpected sides to him, almost as if I am living an entirely different novel now. And... It makes
feel bad for using him for my own selfish desires.’
Rosalie closed her eyes and felt a nice warm breeze enveloping her body, fluttering the folds of her new sumr dress and her long wavy locks. She then tugged the knight on the sleeve of his uniform and asked, her eyes brimming with excitent,
"Sir Logan! If a girl wanted to show you that she appreciates your kindness and help, what would you like her to do? A gift? Maybe you’d like her to take you soplace nice? Or treat you to a fancy al?"
Logan, taken aback by that sudden interrogation, rounded his eyes in bewildernt and felt his mind going blank. However, as initial frustration finally dissipated, he let out a light scoff and said in a rather playful tone,
"Hmm... Well, I like to eat and spend ti outside. I prefer romantic sceneries to stuffy restaurants, and hand-made gifts to fancy, expensive things."
He then winked at his lady and pointed ahead of him, his gaze fixed on the large willow tree next to a small pond, and continued,
"If the girl wanted to make
feel happy, she could simply cook
my favorite snacks and take
to a picnic in a quiet and beautiful place outside, surrounded by nature."
Rosalie looked in the direction of his pointing finger and lightened up with a wide smile of fascination.
’A picnic sounds like a great idea... But will Damien really like it?’
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