Lea and the two women were shocked by the letter from Galdensia.

It was because of the sketch of the lace dress requested by Rivet. In her letter, she had scribbled down her wishes quite haphazardly.

More importantly, she had not included her body measurements.

“Is this a wedding dress?”

Chainer tilted her head, seemingly displeased with Rivet’s design. To think she would wear a white lace wedding dress to the selection banquet.

If that were all, it would have been fine, but there was also a veil. On top of that, she wanted jewels sprinkled like stars on the dress hem, or something like that.

Lea couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the sketch Rivet had sent.

‘Just like Rivet.’

There were too many signs of her trying hard to look pretty without considering the purpose of the event at all.

However, if the dress were made according to the design, it would be very beautiful in itself. Since Chainer was making it.

But the Crown Prince and Emperor doing the selection might easily misunderstand Rivet as being impudent.

‘Am I the bride? Is that what she means?’

“Chainer, make it as she wants. You can charge as much as you’d like.”

“Yes, unni. Oh, I finished the Empress’s lace cape.”

“Really?”

Chainer got up for a moment to bring the finished product, and the moment they saw the bright green lace cape, Lea and Pauline exclaimed in unison.

“It’s fantastic, Chainer.”

Pauline praised Chainer, giving her a thumbs up.

Chainer’s eye for detail was right, as expected. The dark-haired Empress would surely stand out when wearing the green cape.

“Miss, when are you going to the palace?”

“I’m supposed to go with Terran this afternoon. Do you want to come along, Pauline?”

“No, I think I should help Chainer. I’ll need to prepare any necessary items for her.”

Pauline sighed, seemingly finding Rivet’s dress ridiculous.

“You’re going for fittings of all three riding outfits, right?”

“Yes, Terran gave me this recently.”

Lea showed the paper with information about horsemanship that Terran had given her. It was written in clear, itemized points, making it easy to check.

“Wow! I didn’t know the Duke was capable of such things!”

Pauline was quite surprised. It detailed what movements were involved in each riding skill, what common mistakes were made, and so on.

“I was touched, you know.”

“Then, will you sign the grape tonight?”

Pauline asked with a sly smile.

“I suppose I should.”

It was something Lea hadn’t thought of before.

How important it was to actually try horseback riding in the fitted riding outfit.

This was something other royal families would surely check as well, but she had been so focused on the riding outfit that she missed this truly important point.

“There’s no one who rides as well as the Duke, right?”

“That’s true.”

More than that, it was touching that he had tried to help her in this way.

Lea headed to the palace with Terran. Sonya and Adolf were riding in the carriage following behind.

“Including the Empress, three people will be participating. If we try riding horses in the fitted riding outfits, I’m sure we’ll find points to improve.”

“I’m sure we will. But Grace paid a lot of attention, so there shouldn’t be any major flaws.”

“I hope so.”

Lea gently caressed the box resting on her lap, as if in prayer.

She hoped her riding outfits would please the Empress as much as Chainer’s cape did.

Finally, Lea and Terran arrived at the Empress’s palace. Lea tried to ease the tension of the clearly nervous Sonya and Adolf.

The Empress warmly welcomed Lea’s group. She especially smiled broadly, showing all her teeth, when she saw the green cape made by Chainer.

“As expected, you never disappoint. Miss Chainer Bizac is truly admirable. No, excellent.”

“I will surely convey your praise to Chainer, Your Majesty.”

Lea responded appropriately to the compliment.

Now it was time to show the riding outfits. Before that, Lea formally introduced Sonya and Adolf to the Empress.

“The people who made Your Majesty’s riding outfits were formerly tailors for the Saint-Bourg royal family.”

“Oh my! I thought they looked familiar.”

At the Empress’s words, Sonya and Adolf bowed respectfully.

“A very long time ago, Your Majesty visited our country.”

Adolf also replied that he remembered the Empress.

“Miss Bizac has gone to great lengths. To bring such precious people.”

The Empress did not spare her praise for Grace. The pleasant conversation continued for a while, then everyone’s attention moved to one place.

Sonya and Adolf hung three riding outfits on hangers, and the eyes of the Empress and her two ladies-in-waiting kept following them.

A hat similar to a top hat but made smaller, a white shirt with a thin ribbon tie, a black jacket emphasizing a slim waist, and sleek riding breeches were prepared.

Especially, the Rubeck royal emblem was embroidered in gold thread on the chest of the jacket. The long deerskin boots looked soft at a glance.

Anyone could see that a lot of care had gone into it.

“This exceeds my expectations, Miss Bizac.”

The Empress, surprised by the riding outfits, stood up abruptly.

To reinterpret a man’s suit to fit a woman’s body. It was excellent that it didn’t miss the elegant and dignified appearance of a woman.

The Empress’s ladies-in-waiting also seemed to like it very much, clapping their hands.

“The riding breeches are very neat without any flowing decorations, and the natural sheen of the fabric shines.”

“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. Additionally, I have a suggestion to make.”

“What is it?”

“This is the Duke’s idea, but it might be good if one of the ladies-in-waiting tries on the fitted riding outfit and rides a horse. That way, we can immediately know the pros and cons of the outfit.”

The Empress had just been thinking the same thing. They shouldn’t encounter any difficulties on the day of the competition without trying it on beforehand.

Most likely, other royal families would also be making thorough preparations.

Perhaps others might also come out wearing riding breeches. The important thing is how to differentiate, and the riding outfit that’s more comfortable for horsemanship will determine the outcome.

“I see.”

“If there are any uncomfortable parts, we need to improve them.”

“That’s a good idea. Hmm, how about Mary tries it on? She’s the most sensitive among us.”

The Empress designated one of her ladies-in-waiting. Sonya quickly took the lady-in-waiting to the dressing room to fit the riding outfit.

When the Empress and everyone else came out to the riding ground, Terran was already there waiting.

Lea waited nervously for Mary to appear. Finally, Mary appeared at the riding ground, mounted on a white horse.

“Wow!”

Exclamations came from everywhere. Mary in the black riding outfit looked very impressive. Lea quickly took out paper to prepare to check the items.

At that moment, Terran approached Mary and whispered in her ear.

“!?”

Lea felt a bit strange. There was no need to whisper like that…

Moreover, Terran was smiling at Mary. Soon after, Mary nodded and rode off.

As Mary slowly circled the riding ground once and came back, Terran approached her again, and this time Mary whispered something in his ear.

Then Terran corrected the position of Mary’s legs.

‘Why is he touching her legs directly?’

Of course, it wasn’t bare skin. Since she was wearing long boots, there was no direct skin contact, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.

However, Terran’s action of unhesitatingly touching another woman’s calf didn’t look very good. Maybe it only looked that way to her eyes.

But after finishing the leg correction, Terran and Mary looked at each other, nodded, and smiled. It was as if they were communicating privately.

Mary rode the horse again and leapt over an obstacle. This was met with applause from all around.

However, Mary’s expression wasn’t very good when she returned to her original position.

She seemed to have a lot to say as she whispered in Terran’s ear, and he immediately grabbed her waist and corrected her overall posture again.

That wasn’t all. There seemed to be a problem with the armpits and sleeves of the riding outfit, as the two of them continued a long conversation.

Of course, these were actions that could be reasonably taken. But when Mary rode off, Terran slowly followed behind her and shouted.

“Excellent. You did very well.”

Lea had never heard such a gentle voice from Terran. It was surprising that he praised another woman so freely.

For a moment, Lea looked around. While everyone was clapping and rejoicing, she felt as if she was in a different space.

She was sensitive to each of Terran’s actions, where his gaze fell, and the subtle expressions Mary showed Terran.

Lea suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. It was a different feeling from when Terran praised the Empress to provoke her jealousy.

Rather, she felt worse than then. Or maybe Terran was just trying to help her, and she was being childish and petty.

‘Focus on the work.’

Lea shook her head to clear the thoughts filling her mind. However, this time something happened right before her eyes that she couldn’t just let go.

Terran jumped on the horse and seated Mary in front of him. The two of them circled the riding ground together, jumping over obstacles. They continued to talk endlessly even while riding.

‘Is that really necessary?’

What was even more unbearable was when Mary grabbed the reins, Terran covered her hands with his.

At that moment, the Empress interrupted Lea’s thoughts.

“The Duke has become very kind. I suppose it’s all thanks to you, Miss Bizac.”

“Yes…? That’s natural for a gentleman.”

‘He doesn’t need to be a gentleman to other women, though.’

Finally, the riding demonstration came to an end.

Terran held Mary’s waist to help her dismount from the horse. He didn’t forget his duty as a gentleman until the very end. It was so admirable she could cry.