Madam Petrika soon found another purple fabric.

It seemed even to her that velvet was too heavy for a fourteen-year-old girl.

However, no other fabric was enough to persuade the stubborn Euphemina.

‘In the end, I had to step in.’

I suggested making the dress by matching the velvet with other fabrics and lace to alleviate its characteristic heavy texture.

Euphemina seemed satisfied that she would be using that velvet in some way, and smiled broadly.

So I thought her mood had improved, but.

“It’s not that it doesn’t suit you, Euphi. Our cute young ladies usually don’t prefer velvet.”

“But Mother wears it often.”

I’m a married woman in my thirties.

“Now I see, Euphi wants to wear the same clothes as Mother.”

Even though she was still looking away, Euphemina nodded in response to my words.

Clearly sulking.

But even that aspect is just cute in my eyes. The reason is especially adorable.

“Then how about this, Euphi? Next year, we’ll make dresses with the same fabric as Mother’s, and wear them on a picnic.”

“…!”

Only then did Euphemina’s head turn back towards me.

By the way, the reason it’s next year’s schedule is because that’s when the period for wearing mourning clothes ends.

“Of course, with Karl and Chelsea too. And I’d love for us all to have a family portrait painted wearing those clothes.”

“I’m in favor.”

“I’d love toooo!”

“…”

Kardiel was the first to express his approval, so it seems he quite liked the suggestion.

Euphemina also quickly returned to a gentle expression, smiling brightly.

“But I’m still concerned about the lack of something for Stepmother. You can’t wear anything but black, can you?”

Ah.

I know why Kardiel is saying such things.

It’s because of the starry night rain fur that Madam Petrika boasted about and Lord Joseph mentioned.

I have to admit, I was a bit tempted by that beautiful jet-black fur the moment I saw it.

It seems Kardiel felt the same way.

He stared at it intently then, and even now, long after we’ve left the tailor shop, he’s still going on about it.

“I already have plenty of black items, so it’s fine. Above all, that’s too luxurious. That muffler alone would cost at least as much as ten of your outfits.”

“I think Stepmother is more than deserving of such an item.”

“Karl, if you insist, alright. I’ll consider it for a few more days.”

“…”

Of course, I didn’t purchase that fur. Lord Joseph’s words bothered me, after all.

‘The note’s contents as well.’

Speaking of the note.

When the children went behind the partition to change clothes again, I had time to check it secretly.

However, I could only sigh.

Not only had I crumpled it unconsciously in surprise, but I had also rolled it around in my hand for a while to avoid being caught, so a few letters were smudged beyond recognition.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that I can infer the contents to some extent.’

The note contained the name of a store, an address, and a scheduled visit time. At the end, this postscript was added:

PS. A goldfish or guppy would be good for Young Master Chersion’s first pet.

……

At this point, I’m not even surprised how they knew. I was just curious. Why aquarium fish, of all things?

But more than that, there was something else that made me wonder.

It was the main text of the note with several letters erased.

■’s, ■■■t. Today PM7:■■, Visit to ‘Silver Na■t’ weapons shop at Golden Cr■stal Avenue 52-1 ■cheduled.

‘It seems to mean a visit is scheduled to this place at this time.’

Although some letters were smudged making it difficult to read everything, I could infer the words from the surrounding letters.

The store name I deduced from the address was one of our destinations.

‘The last one on our route.’

Moreover, coincidentally, the scheduled visit time overlaps.

‘By the way, Lord Joseph must have quite important information.’

Thinking that, I started rearranging the schedule in my head.

At least, if I want to exchange meaningful information with Lord Joseph, it would be better to meet him alone.

“Stepmother, it seems we’ve arrived at our destination.”

In the meantime, the carriage had arrived at our second destination.

Darkness had fallen on the fancy boutique street.

As a result of wandering the streets all afternoon, we were able to complete most of our desired shopping.

We purchased the instrument for Chersion to use.

We also ordered the fan needed for Euphemina’s etiquette lessons.

We commissioned the production of a gentleman’s cane and fibula for Kardiel to use.

We also completed orders for new bedding and curtains to decorate Lord Joseph and Baroness Baden’s rooms.

Ah, we couldn’t find a flower pot in the end. Because we couldn’t find one that Euphemina liked.

So now all that’s left is the pet that Chersion wanted and the training equipment needed for Kardiel’s swordsmanship lessons.

‘And I should meet Lord Joseph.’

There was no need to worry much about how to meet separately.

Because Chersion and Euphemina showed great interest in the animals.

Chersion looked very disappointed when I said we should make a decision soon and move on to the next destination.

Euphemina almost pretended not to hear and just kept petting the head of a white puppy.

This was the opportunity I had been expecting.

“Then would you like to stay here and play a bit longer? Mother will go to the weapons shop and place orders for what we need. Chelsea, decide which friend you want to take home while I’m gone.”

“I’ll accompany you, Stepmother.”

“Karl. I can go with Loretta, so I’d like you to watch over your siblings in the meantime. I’d feel more at ease if you were with them.”

“…”

We weren’t planning to look at the sword Kardiel would use today anyway, as that would be decided after consulting with Lord Joseph.

All we need are training protective gear and practice weapons.

‘There shouldn’t be a problem if I go alone.’

Moreover, the Silver Knight weapons shop was just about a block away from here.

Thus, I left the children behind and headed to the weapons shop with my lady-in-waiting, with light steps.

Weapons shop Silver Knight.

As you can tell from the name, this shop caters to knights, especially nobles.

Perhaps because of this, there was a difference in the way it operated compared to typical weapons shops, namely that it did not run a forge alongside.

Well, it would be unreasonable to place a hot furnace in this boutique street that is the epitome of splendor.

‘They wouldn’t get permission for that.’

Naturally, without their own forge, the quality of weapons here can only be mediocre.

Instead, it would be easier to obtain the jeweled decorations that nobles prefer.

In other words, it’s a place that deals with ceremonial and training equipment rather than practical ones.

Thanks to this, it’s closer to being called a luxury goods shop for knights rather than a weapons shop.

“Welcome, Duchess Daiern.”

A neatly dressed employee greeted me and my lady-in-waiting with a polite attitude.

The reason the employee recognized me, even though I didn’t come in the ducal carriage, was because my late husband was a regular here.

Despite being unable to do anything with swordsmanship other than showing off, I don’t know how much he loved this place.

“Is there anything you’re looking for?”

“I’ve come to purchase protective gear and weapons for training use.”

“May I ask who will be using them?”

“My son. I heard that body measurements are needed when purchasing protective gear.”

“That’s correct. Did you bring the measurements?”

“Here they are.”

Anticipating this, I had received a card with Kardiel’s body measurements from Madam Petrika.

Loretta handed the card to the employee, who asked for my understanding and went into the back of the shop.

I immediately gauged the current time.

‘It’s well past 7 PM.’

Even accounting for the error in the erased numbers, I wouldn’t need to wait long until the time Lord Joseph mentioned.

I decided to look around the interior of the weapons shop while waiting for Lord Joseph. Also to check the types of training weapons.

‘There’s really a lot to see here.’

The weapons shop is quite spacious. Probably because of the considerable volume of the armaments, including armor.

They’ve even displayed these items to stand out individually like jewels, so how much more could it be?

For reference, when I came with my husband, he didn’t let me show interest in such fierce things as weapons, so I hadn’t properly looked around.

But now I see this shop is using up to 3 floors.

The first floor is mainly filled with large, bulky items. Full body armor and huge decorative shields are like that.

The second floor seems to be weapons, and the third floor appears to display jeweled accessory knots…

‘If I want to see Karl’s weapon, I should go to the second floor.’

I moved my steps to climb the stairs leading to the second floor.

It was with the thought that Lord Joseph might be waiting upstairs. I even detected a presence from above.

‘The second floor would be better for conversation, away from the eyes of people around.’

But the moment I reached the second floor, I realized something was wrong.

“Might you be Duchess Daiern?”

“…?”