I hastily got up from my seat.

Basil, who had been bustling around, strode over to my side.

Come to think of it, this person might not know who I am.

If he doesn’t know, I could just tell him, but when I tried to explain about myself, the words that had come up to my throat suddenly got stuck.

‘Should I say that I’m the Duke’s daughter?’

Maybe because I had never said it with my own mouth before, the words wouldn’t come out easily.

Seeing me hesitate without saying anything, Basil became even more triumphant.

“What are the employees here doing? Not paying attention to a young child like this!”

Basil pushed my shoulder with what he was holding, as if he didn’t even want to touch me. It didn’t hurt, but I was so intimidated that I unconsciously took a step back.

“These are things you shouldn’t dare to touch! Get lost!”

“That’s not it…”

“Oh my, it seems my words don’t make sense to you. Hey, who’s your guardian?”

It was when Basil asked again in a sharp voice.

“Why do you need the guardian?”

A gentle voice was heard from behind. Clemens was standing there with a slight smile, having come down at some point.

“Oh my! Young master!”

Basil hurriedly approached him, clasped his hands together, and assumed a polite posture.

“Young master, how do you keep getting more handsome by the day? No wonder the shops are desperate to show you their works. Thank you so much for calling our shop again this time.”

“We all acknowledge Madam’s skills.”

“Oh my! Young master, your words are truly an honor. Come, come, these are the outfits I’ve specially prepared for you and the Duke this time. Please take your time and look around comfortably.”

“Shall we?”

Clemens walked slowly. More precisely, to my side.

“By the way, why did you ask about this child’s guardian?”

Madam showed a flustered look and grabbed my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, she seems to be a child of an employee. Really, I told her to go away, but she won’t listen…”

“Take your hand off her right now, Madam.”

Clemens said with a pretty smile. It was an expression that didn’t match his warning tone.

A chilling sensation crept up the back of my neck.

“Y-yes?”

“I said, take your hands off my sister right now.”

My sister, that word struck deep in my heart.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one shocked by those words.

Basil dropped even the measuring tape he was holding and trembled with both hands.

“S-sister? What do you mean…?”

* * *

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. How dare I, this lowly one, not recognize the young lady…”

Madam Basil looked again at the girl whose hand Clemens was holding tightly.

‘To think she’s the Duke’s young lady…’

Wasn’t it true that the Duke only had three adopted children?

So naturally, I thought I was coming to fit clothes for the young master and the Duke this time as well.

Moreover, the girl wasn’t wearing clothes with any particularly expensive jewels attached, so I didn’t even suspect.

In fact, it was because Diane found clothes with decorations uncomfortable, but Madam Basil had no way of knowing such circumstances.

‘Did the young lady’s hand touch the measuring tape earlier? Did the young master see that?’

Basil, prostrate on the floor, fervently hoped. Please, let her past self not have done anything to harm her future self!

“Are you alright, little one?”

Clemens, pretending not to see Basil prostrate on the floor, gently asked the girl.

“You got hit on the back of your hand with that measuring tape earlier, didn’t you?”

Basil felt goosebumps rising on the back of her neck for a moment. He saw everything…, just as she was resigning herself to the fact that her life was already ruined, it happened.

“No, I didn’t get hit.”

Then a voice of salvation appeared. Surprised, Basil quickly raised her head. To her eyes, it seemed as if a halo was shining behind Diane.

“Really, little one?”

It was evident that the young master was paying careful attention to each and every word of the child. Basil belatedly realized.

She must stake everything on the young lady!

“I-it’s an honor to be able to ma-make clothes for the young lady. It will ta-take more time to pro-produce the clothes. Would you li-like to look at the ca-catalog first…”

“When did I give you permission to speak, Madam?”

Clemens cut off Basil’s words mercilessly. His ominous gaze, as if he might order a knight to behead Basil at any moment, was very similar to the Duke’s aura.

“C-Clemens, I want to see that!”

At that moment, the young lady pointed at the catalog she had brought. To Basil’s eyes, it truly seemed as if a halo was shining behind the young lady.

At the child’s words, Clemens first snatched the booklet that was in his hand.

“Okay, take your time.”

Unlike how he had snatched it from the Madam, he placed it down very carefully for the child, as if worried that the child’s knees might get hurt.

At this, Basil was greatly relieved. Although she had made a mistake, Basil could be certain.

That the young lady would like her masterpiece!

Then, even the young master who paid such careful attention to every word of the young lady wouldn’t be able to do anything to her.

‘Although I couldn’t bring the samples…’

That was clearly her mistake.

Thinking that she would only be showing clothes for the young master, she hadn’t brought any clothes for girls.

Even the catalog she had brought was only because she was worried about the designs being leaked while she was away, so she had brought it from the shop.

But because of that, she was confident. These were works that she had poured all her passion and effort into for the past 10 years!

She didn’t know it would save her life in this way, though.

“How about this one?”

Clemens, sitting next to the child, pointed to one outfit with a gentle smile.

Basil, who had carefully raised her body while observing the situation, inwardly grinned.

‘This season’s new product!’

As expected, the young master has an eye for these things.

It was a dress design that she had been working on continuously since two years ago, one that all the noble ladies in high society had been eyeing.

Somehow the news that the design was completed had spread, and every day people came to the shop asking if the work was finished, to the point where it was overwhelming. Even so, she had made all sorts of excuses and not shown the dress.

‘It doesn’t suit them.’

As described next to the dress, she planned to attach pink diamonds to the shoulder part, of which less than a hundred are mined worldwide in a year.

Those who came to her were from families that couldn’t properly afford the price.

But what about the Duke’s family? They’re known to have incalculable wealth among the high-ranking families.

For the honor of her shop, Basil didn’t even sell products to families that weren’t high-ranking.

Of course, there were more high-ranking families in the capital.

However, as much as they earned, it all went out in taxes, and due to all sorts of imperial restrictions on business, they couldn’t easily increase their wealth.

But the Crustel Duke’s family, who occupied Hesera where the imperial hand couldn’t easily reach, was different. Originally, Hesera was in a somewhat ambiguous position to be called imperial territory.

A place where people couldn’t live, a land called cursed, although it bordered the empire’s frontier region, it didn’t receive the empire’s protection or management.

Naturally, the imperial family, lacking justification, couldn’t easily impose restrictions or demand taxes from the Duke’s family.

Of course, even if the imperial family had forcibly created a justification to restrict the Duke’s family, they wouldn’t have been easily subdued.

In other words, it meant that the Duke’s family had the ability to easily afford the cost even if they attached thirty pink diamonds.

Moreover, although she didn’t recognize the young lady at first, now that she looked, didn’t the young lady have a clean and white skin that would really suit pink well!

“It really seems like it would suit you well, young lady.”

Basil carefully spoke while observing the situation, flattering the young lady.

Seeing that the young master didn’t particularly stop her, Basil inwardly sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, Diane couldn’t help but gape at the description of the dress.

‘Pink diamond? There’s such a thing?’

Looking closely, it was written in small letters below that less than a hundred are mined worldwide.

Reading that description, Diane shook her head in dismay.

“Ah, no.”

“Is that so?”

Clemens’ tone subtly changed. Noticing this, Basil hurriedly pointed to another dress.

“Ah, young lady, how about this one?”

What Basil pointed to was an all-white dress with multiple layers of thin lace on the skirt.

‘This too can be called my masterpiece!’

It was also a design she had been working on since when her career was a bit less established.

It was when she pursued a slightly more free and original design than now. At that time, Basil herself thought she lacked the ability to complete it.

She kept looking for points to improve, searching for fabric and jewels that would suit the dress… And finally, she found the point that could truly complete this dress.

‘The finishing touch for this work is sapphire.’

Only by generously embedding sapphires in the lace part of the skirt would this work be truly complete.

Of course, there aren’t many families that can afford to attach dozens of sapphires to a single dress.

Some families even requested if they could buy the completed dress design without attaching sapphires.

However, perhaps it was the creator’s greed, but unless the sapphires were attached as desired, it just didn’t satisfy her.

But isn’t the Crustel Duke’s family one that wouldn’t even blink an eye at attaching a few sapphires!

“Are these all jewels?”

“Y-yes. Young lady, you have a good eye.”

Basil didn’t think that Diane, being only a four-year-old child, would have read the description next to it.

“Do you like that, Diane?”

“No, I don’t like that either…”

Following Diane’s words, Basil had to feel like she had been struck by lightning.

“W-why? Young lady? Why, my work…”

“Isn’t there anything else besides this?”

The color drained from Basil’s face in an instant.

“I-I didn’t prepare anything else…”

“Hmm, has the Madam lost her touch?”

Clemens muttered coldly.

“The reason I was going to overlook your earlier rudeness was because I believed you had the skill to make clothes for my sister, but…”

At those words, Basil knelt down in despair.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Please, just one more chance…”

Diane was the only one surprised by this sight. Diane asked Clemens in shock.

“Why, why don’t you tell her it’s okay and to get up?”

“Hm? No, little one. You don’t need to worry about this. This person deserves punishment for their actions.”

“What punishment?”

“The charge is attempted assault on a noble. Because they tried to hurt you.”

“B-but I said I was fine!”

“Little one, are you scared? It’s okay, you don’t need to worry about things like this.”

Clemens explained gently.

“The only reason they’ve been able to keep their life until now is because they might be able to make clothes that you like. If they can’t even make your clothes, there’s no reason for them to keep living.”

At Clemens’ casual gesture, the knights waiting outside rushed in. Seeing the knights who looked like they might drag her away at any moment, Diane hurriedly shouted.

“I like them all!”

At Diane’s words, the knights suddenly stopped moving. The servant standing in front quickly opened the catalog.

“Little one, what do you like?”

“All of this! They’re all so pretty! It was hard to choose because they’re all so pretty!”

“Is that so?”

Clemens said nonchalantly.

“Then let’s buy all of these.”