DTSML 03

Chapter 03

If I wore this to the debutante ball, it would definitely set that villainess’s eyes ablaze.
Just imagining it sent a shiver down my spine, but I had no choice if I wanted to get Alferen to break off his engagement.
Even if something wasn’t particularly important to you, the moment you felt someone else had taken it away, you somehow began to want it even more.
And Princess Nanael, the Empire’s Third Princess, was especially possessive and competitive.
An ordinary person might have assumed we simply happened to share the same taste, but Nanael would never see it that way.
By now, she’d had more than enough time to convince herself that I was deliberately provoking her.
Of course, that was exactly what I was doing.
The dress had already been made, so I couldn’t snatch it away from her. But when it came to accessories, I had the wealth and influence to secure them before she could.
Feeling pleased with how smoothly everything was going according to plan, I began getting ready to go out.
“If I’ve already made up my mind, I might as well do this properly.”
There was still one more item I needed to claim before she could get her hands on it.

When I arrived at the shopping district, I headed straight for the department store.
“I’m here to pick up something I ordered.”
The moment the employee spotted me, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my! Lady Ferris. Have you come to collect your purchase yourself? We actually received a message this morning, so we were preparing to have it delivered…”
Well, it wasn’t as though many noble ladies came to pick up their own purchases. Most simply had their orders delivered.
Besides, the item in question had only been released today.
I’d placed my order the moment the store opened, without even looking at the pamphlet, so it was only natural that the employee was surprised.
Sitting down on the sofa, I gave her a bright smile.
“I wanted to get my hands on it as soon as possible. Besides, I wanted to check its condition myself.”
“Of course. I’ll bring it right away.”
As the employee disappeared, I took a casual sip of the welcome tea. That was when I heard a familiar voice coming from the next room.
“You dragged me all the way from the training grounds for something as urgent as choosing a shawl?”
Alferen?
His voice sounded rather displeased, and my ears perked up involuntarily.
What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be training right now?
I was just about to greet him, delighted by the unexpected encounter, when another voice rang out behind his.
It was Nanael’s sharp, shrill voice.
“Could you at least try to look less grumpy? We’re choosing something for my debutante ball, after all. The training grounds are practically next door, so stopping by for a moment shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Gasp! It was Nanael!
I immediately hunched down on the sofa and held my breath.
Alferen’s voice followed, flat and emotionless.
“We were in the middle of an important military training exercise.”
“And who is that military supposed to protect, exactly? Me, a member of the imperial family, isn’t it? You’re far too rigid and inflexible for your own good, Duke.”
Apparently, she’d dragged Alferen away from his duties against his will.
Knowing how seriously he took his work, I imagined he was less than pleased.
But Nanael didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
If she catches me here, I’m in serious trouble.
If Nanael saw the item I was planning to buy, we might end up having our first showdown before the debutante ball even began.
I wasn’t mentally prepared for that yet!
Keeping myself low against the sofa, I carefully surveyed the area for an escape route.
Fortunately, the lounge was divided into several separate seating areas. If I played my cards right, I might be able to slip away without being noticed.
“My lady, your purchase…”
“Shh! Give it here.”
I accepted the item from the employee and crouched down.
She gave me a puzzled look but wisely kept her questions to herself.
I was moving as nimbly as a secret agent carrying out a covert operation when—
My eyes met Alferen’s.
He’d been wearing a bored expression, but the moment he spotted me, his face brightened.
“Delly?”
He approached me with a delighted look.
I panicked and frantically waved my hands, trying to signal him to stop, but he was already standing right in front of me.
His attitude was completely different from the stiff, unyielding way he’d been behaving toward Nanael.
Aaah! What is wrong with you, seriously?!
Cold sweat poured down my face.
Fortunately, the villainess seemed entirely absorbed in examining fabric samples.
I hurriedly pulled Alferen behind a clothing rack, and only after we were safely out of Nanael’s line of sight did I finally let out a sigh of relief.
Once the debutante ball is over, I’ll finally be done with this ridiculous act.
Just then, a low voice sounded above my head.
“Why are you hiding?”
“Huh?”
“Are you afraid of the princess?”
I let out an incredulous laugh at Alferen’s innocent question.
Nanael’s tyrannical behavior was infamous throughout the Barnard Empire.
She treated lower-ranking nobles like her personal servants, and even high-ranking nobles weren’t safe if they happened to displease her. She would find some way to make their lives miserable.
Until now, I’d been able to avoid the Third Princess’s clutches because I was a member of one of the Four Great Ducal Houses, but…
From now on, I’m planning to take her on headfirst! Of course I have to be careful!
I shot Alferen a resentful glance and muttered,
“Who said I was afraid of her? Something urgent came up, so I was trying to leave, but then I got held up.”
“Is that so?”
Alferen chuckled and shifted his gaze to my shopping bag.
The employee had put the item straight into the bag after checking it, so its contents were still clearly visible.
Feeling inexplicably guilty, I hid the shopping bag behind me and slowly edged toward the exit.
“Did you come here to buy a shawl, too?”
If Alferen hadn’t followed me and started asking questions, I could have made my escape in no time.
What were those long legs for, anyway, if not to let me get away?!
With cold sweat trickling down my face, I hurried to say goodbye.
“Yeah. I came to pick up something I ordered. I’m leaving now, so stop following me. Your fiancée is waiting for you. Bye!”
“You’re the one who used to go on and on about how I should break off the engagement.”
“Eek! Keep your voice down!”
Honestly, what was wrong with this man?! What if the villainess heard him?!
My heart was pounding wildly.
I was fidgeting like a rat trapped in a corner when—
“Duke? What are you doing? Where did you go all of a sudden?”
The moment Nanael called for him, my heart dropped straight to the floor.
What if she found me now?
That’s it. I’m finished…
I froze like a block of ice, unable to move a muscle.
Just then, Alferen pulled me toward the fitting room.
He gave my cheek a gentle pinch before drawing the curtain shut and murmuring,
“Wait here.”
Thanks to Alferen’s quick thinking, I managed to avoid running into Nanael.
The downside was that I was now effectively trapped in the fitting room until the two of them left.
I leaned against the wall and sighed.
Still, I doubted Alferen had told me to wait here without a reason.
What on earth is he thinking?

“What were you doing? Are you really going to be this uncooperative?”
At Nanael’s irritated complaint, Alferen merely shrugged.
He casually positioned himself with his back to the fitting room before Nanael held out a pamphlet to him.
“I think this one looks nice.”
Alferen’s gaze naturally fell on the pamphlet.
By coincidence—or perhaps not—it was the very same item Rodelia had purchased.
When Alferen showed no reaction, Nanael called over an employee.
“Has anyone bought this before me?”
“Oh, that item was just purchased by Lady Ferris…”
“What?! But this was released today! It hasn’t even been half a day since it arrived, and she’s already bought it?”
The moment Nanael heard the words Lady Ferris, her voice turned shrill with outrage.
At that instant, the fitting room curtain began to tremble violently.
The employee hurriedly tried to explain, looking flustered.
“She placed her order as soon as this branch opened this morning, so…”
“Don’t tell me you gave the Ferris Ducal House the pamphlet before anyone else, behind my back!”
“That’s a misunderstanding!”
Alferen paid no attention to their argument. His gaze remained fixed on the fitting room.
The curtain was shaking as though an earthquake had struck.
Then his eyes fell on the silhouette of a clenched fist gripping it as tightly as if it were a lifeline, and he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Pfft.”
Nanael turned toward him, her face twisted into a demon’s scowl.
“You find this funny?”
Even as Nanael glared at him and demanded an answer, her temper flaring higher by the second, Alferen couldn’t quite stop laughing.
He realized that if he let the