“Since I’m already in a good mood, you don’t need to do that in front of the maids and guards.”

“Is that so?”

He smiled again, seemingly pleased about something. I couldn’t help but smile along with him. The atmosphere lightened instantly.

“You’re smiling.”

“And so are you, Yezar?”

With the mood improved, we discussed what to do after getting off the carriage. After buying gloves, we still had time, so it would be nice to look around the duchy.

However, what we didn’t expect was that my attire and his face were too eye-catching.

‘If we go to the village like this, all eyes will be on us. What should we do?’

After pondering for a moment, I had an interesting idea and suggested it to Yezar. How about we stop midway and disguise ourselves?

“Disguise?”

“Yes. The weather’s getting warmer, and I heard there’s a village festival? I’d like to participate, but we’ll attract too much attention like this. It’s a shame to waste our dressing up, but I’d like to enjoy it comfortably.”

“I’m fine with that. In that case, shall we change our hair color as well?”

“Hair color?”

“Yes, actually, I often disguise myself when inspecting the surroundings.”

“My goodness. I had no idea.”

In the novel, his daily life was only shown when he was with Bertisha. There weren’t many details about what Yezar did when he wasn’t with Bertisha.

“It’s quite fun. I’ll make sure no one notices us.”

“Hehe. Sounds good.”

Though it might be difficult to conceal his beauty completely.

The carriage slowly came to a stop, indicating we had arrived at the glove shop.

I heard this was a good shop in the area. Apparently, it was a place Yezar frequently visited.

Given that the ducal family had more than enough money, it made sense they would seek out quality shops, so I expected some overlap. Still, I wondered if I should have bought a gift in secret.

Yezar opened the door and entered with familiarity. As if waiting for us, the shop owner came out to greet us. He was an elderly man who looked quite advanced in age.

“Welcome. Duke Perhaem, I see. Have you come to buy gloves again? And beside you…”

His gaze turned to me. Come to think of it, the people of the territory probably don’t know my face well.

“This is my wife.”

At that answer, the old man’s face lit up.

“I see. The beautiful duchess I’ve heard about is with you. It’s a pleasure to see you both.”

It seemed the rumors about me weren’t of the bad kind.

“Yes. This time, my wife said she would choose my gift.”

“To think such a time has come already. Time flies so fast. Please wait a moment. I’ll bring them out right away.”

He disappeared to the back of the shop. I called out to Yezar.

“Do you know each other?”

“Yes, this is a place I’ve been coming to with my father since I was young. Father insisted that gloves must always be bought from here.”

“That’s unusual. Don’t craftsmen usually come to the ducal residence to deliver goods?”

“Well, when asked to deliver directly to the ducal family, they politely declined, saying their quality wasn’t good enough for such noble people. So my father asked if it was alright to come and buy in person, which became the occasion for our frequent visits. As I often came here when I was young, we became acquainted and often exchange greetings.”

“He looked quite elderly. He must be very skilled.”

“Yes. But now, due to health issues, his son is learning and running the shop. Of course, he still comes out personally when I visit.”

After a short while, the shop owner brought out several leather gloves. Even to my untrained eye, the craftsmanship looked excellent.

“The size should fit, so please choose based on the color you like. I’ve selected cool materials since it’s getting warmer.”

Then Yezar spoke to me.

“Then, my dear, please choose my gift.”

I, who had been quietly observing, put on a serious expression and said.

“May I really choose?”

“Yes, I’d like you to choose for me.”

Since he said so. I answered while carefully looking at the gloves.

“Alright. I’ll choose well.”

I touched the first glove that caught my eye, recalling when I had asked about his preferences. The materials all seemed similar, and since he said he usually wore bluish leather, this should be the right choice.

But the black leather also seemed like it would suit him well.

Seeing my hesitation, Yezar gently said to me.

“I’d prefer something to your taste.”

“My taste? Not your usual style?”

“Yes. I’d like to receive what you like.”

It was an answer that seemed to see right through my dilemma. I still wavered, thinking it might be better to buy his usual style, unsure whether to get this or not.

Then the shop owner chimed in.

“It seems the Duke wants to wear gloves that match the Duchess’s taste, so don’t worry and choose the black leather gloves you were looking at.”

With both of them saying so, I carefully handed the black leather gloves to the shop owner. He smiled and asked.

“Do you need gift wrapping?”

At that question, I tilted my head and then nodded. It seemed too obvious to ask. But the shop owner said something else.

“However, it seems the Duke doesn’t need wrapping.”

Wondering what he meant, I looked and noticed that his hands were unusually empty today.

“Yezar. Come to think of it, you didn’t wear gloves today.”

“Because I need to wear the gloves you’ll give me. I didn’t want to wear anything else before that. So I’ll gratefully accept them.”

As if to say wrapping wasn’t necessary, he promptly picked up the gloves and put them on. Then he showed them to me. The black leather gloves fit on his hands as if they had always been his.

“How do they look?”

“They suit you well.”

I thought there was nothing that wouldn’t suit him. I felt that even if I had chosen something else, it would have looked good. His hand naturally took mine.

“Shall we go sightseeing in the village now?”

“Ah, yes!”

As we left the shop, I said goodbye to the shop owner. He bowed his head, looking at us with a fond expression.

Before sightseeing in the village, we changed into inconspicuous clothes at a clothing store Yezar knew. The maids complained that it was a waste after dressing up so nicely, but I didn’t mind as the changed clothes were more comfortable to move in.

“Are you ready?”

When I came out after changing, Yezar was waiting for me. He was wearing a comfortable shirt and pants.

“Yes, we certainly won’t stand out in these outfits.”

“Then please take this as well.”

Yezar handed me a small glass bottle.

“Is this the potion that changes hair and eye color?”

The liquid swirling before my eyes was fascinating.

‘If I had known about this potion earlier, I could have disguised myself and gone out instead of staying in seclusion.’

Such regret crossed my mind briefly, but I shook it off. If I let my guard down while disguised, I might end up entangled with the main characters.

“Yes. The effect lasts about half a day, so we should return to the carriage by sunset.”

“Does this potion have a taste?”

“To be honest, it doesn’t taste good. So it’s not really suitable for frequent use.”

Hearing that, I quickly gulped down the swirling liquid. Immediately, an unpleasant reaction bubbled up inside me.

“Ye-Yezar! This isn’t just bad-tasting, it’s… ugh.”

My stomach instantly felt queasy. I understood why this potion never appeared in the novel. How could anyone make the female lead drink such a nauseating potion?

“My dear, are you alright?”

I gulped down the water he offered me to rinse my mouth, like it was an oasis. I needed to quickly wash away this awful taste.

“Haa. It’s a good thing I ate the packed lunch you prepared before drinking this potion. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to taste anything with my appetite ruined.”

It truly was the worst taste. I was glad I hadn’t shown interest in this potion before, to the point where I thought it was fortunate.

“It does taste that bad. However, you get somewhat used to it after a few times.”

I didn’t want to drink it even a few times. I decided never to bring up disguising again. And then, Yezar’s eye and hair color changed.

I blinked and looked at him.

“Oh… brown eyes.”

“Yes, brown eyes.”

He looked at me as if he was nervous. I admired his appearance.

“My goodness. As expected, a handsome man is handsome even with different eye colors.”

His eyes like the blue sea were certainly beautiful, but his current eye color suited him well too. After all, what difference does eye color make to a handsome man?

But he seemed somewhat disappointed, as if my words didn’t please him. Wondering what he didn’t like, I answered.

“Still, I do prefer your blue eyes. They’re so clear and pretty, just like you, Yezar. Looking at them always makes me feel good.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, his mood seemed to improve. I sighed in relief and looked at his changed hair color. His brilliant golden hair had darkened as if a shadow had fallen over it.

“Your hair color has darkened too.”

“Blonde hair is too noticeable.”

Indeed, his hair that shimmered like sunlight tended to draw attention.

“Then Yezar, what about my hair and eye color?”

Suddenly curious, I asked him. He looked at me and answered.

“Your hair has turned orange and your eyes are black.”

“Really? How interesting.”

I looked around and found a mirror, then stood in front of it. A woman with black eyes and orange hair was reflected in the mirror.

The potion was bitter and tasted awful, but having completely different hair and eye colors was a unique experience.

‘It feels like wearing colored contacts and dyeing my hair. Still, it’s nice to be able to change instantly without damaging my hair.’

“Where shall we go now?”

“How about we look around the shopping street? It’s surprisingly fun.”

“You said you’ve been here many times, so I’ll trust you.”

“Yes, Lietta.”

I froze momentarily when he suddenly called me by the nickname.