# Chapter 12. The Young Lady Who Finds Love Difficult (5)
“That… so that’s how it turned out…”
To prevent the surrounding area from becoming too chaotic, the group had temporarily relocated to the manager’s private office.
As I explained the situation to her, Cecilia blushed and, recalling her embarrassing actions from earlier, began to stammer.
It was unclear if the offer I made to Melhen had any drawbacks, but when Cecilia emerged in changed clothing, she was angry and had shown hostility towards the manager.
It felt as if the temperature in the shop had dropped several degrees, making the chill so intense it seemed as though one might sneeze from the cold.
Witnessing her unusual reaction, I hurriedly provided an explanation. Once she regained her composure and reflected on her own behavior, she found it difficult to lift her head—this was the current situation.
Admittedly, even if we pretend to be formally betrothed, when it’s only been a day since our engagement, anyone would feel irked to see their fiancé flirting with another woman.
Though I don’t have any romantic feelings for her, I imagine no one would approve of a fiancé neglecting their responsibilities and tarnishing the family name.
“Is—Is that true, Young Master? You are to be betrothed?”
“Ah, just a moment ago I introduced her as my cousin to avoid unwanted attention. Allow me to introduce her again: This is Cecilia Boichi, my fiancée.”
“B-Boichi!”
Coming from the capital, Melhen must have been familiar with the prestige of the empire’s duchy families.
Upon hearing that Cecilia was the daughter of a duke, Melhen’s face turned pale, and she began apologizing in a rush.
“I’m so sorry, Young Lady! I failed to recognize you and didn’t pay my respects immediately! Please place all the responsibility on me, and show mercy to the other staff-”
“Ah, there’s no need! Please lift your head! Besides, I myself also indulged in some inappropriate musings…”
It was a showdown between two timid people, and it made my chest swell for some reason.
It seemed as if there would be no end to their apologies, so I interrupted to mediate.
“Both of you are fine, stop apologizing and lift your heads. Anyway, Manager, what do you think of my earlier proposal?”
“Proposal?”
“Exactly. To become the exclusive designer for the Young Lady. The Young Lady appreciates your clothing, and more importantly, I see great potential in you, Manager.”
In the original game, there is a gift system.
This system exists mainly to raise a character’s affection, offering items such as flowers, candies, books, dresses, and more.
Among these, clothing items can only be purchased at specialized clothing stores rather than general goods shops, and the shopkeeper in question is none other than Melhen.
In the game, she is successful in the fashion business at a later point, and since she is older then… well, let’s just say she projects a sultry atmosphere that I failed to notice at first. But now, I can see a youthful face beneath it.
Among all the gifts, clothes have the highest ability to increase Cecilia’s affection. Moreover, some clothing items even have the special effect of changing her in-game outfit. However, they also come with a hefty price tag and aren’t easy to obtain.
If we can set an exclusive contract with Melhen before Cecilia’s clothing becomes trendy, it will create a beneficial relationship for all—our family, Cecilia, and Melhen.
“The offer is appreciated, but… I am merely a designer for a failing shop.”
However, Melhen, with her self-deprecating gaze, refused.
Given my reputation as a reckless one, and also her own low self-esteem, her decision wasn’t surprising.
She might have started with confidence and boldness initially, but the continuous deficits and lack of interest must have worn her down.
“H-hmm… I’m sorry.”
“Why do you keep undervaluing yourself?”
Unexpectedly hearing my words, Melhen widened her eyes like a full moon and stared at me in shock.
“I, Lab Netoire, am guaranteeing that your designs will succeed. It’s incredibly frustrating that you doubt me. Moreover…”
With great effort, I pressed on despite my cheeks heating up from embarrassment.
“Look at your work on Cecilia. Isn’t she incredibly beautiful?”
“Yes, she is… But…”
“That settles it.”
Even though I was uttering embarrassing words in broad daylight, I forced myself to continue.
“Cecilia is already an incredibly beautiful woman, but your clothing brings out her natural beauty… no, even amplifies it. Clothes with flashy designs only overshadow the inherent beauty of the wearer.”
“…”
“I assure you. Those who have disregarded your creations so far are completely ignorant of fashion. Once Cecilia walks into society wearing your designs…”
“Everyone will regret their own ignorance.”
…Honestly, I’m not even sure what I’m blabbering about.
While I’m trying to boost Melhen’s self-esteem with flowery words, I’ve grown impatient with the thought of making her Cecilia’s exclusive designer and have spewed out any random thing that popped into my head.
“How about it?”
I extended my hand to the stupefied Melhen.
“Are you ready to accept my offer?”
Damn, this is embarrassing.
It’s hard enough evaluating her work with only my knowledge of the future without understanding fashion, and now I’ve attempted to persuade her using illogical ramblings.
She could easily take this as an insult and become angry…
Drip.
Huh?
Why is Melhen crying? That wasn’t part of the plan…
—
It was the first time someone had acknowledged her designs.
From a young age, Melhen had learned how to sew under her parents who ran a clothing shop in the capital. She did so in preparation to inherit their business.
For her, there was one dream: to open her own shop.
Even as a child, Melhen, with her unique aesthetic sense, felt that the clothes her parents made, though beautiful, lacked something.
That feeling—of people being overshadowed by the clothes they wore—led her to look at the world differently.
“Clothes are merely clothes. They should not try to stand out; rather, they should enhance the natural beauty of the wearer.”
No sooner had she reached adulthood than she headed straight out of the house, finding her place in the newly prosperous Netorie territory following the discovery of a rich vein of ore, expecting people to appreciate her philosophy in fashion.
However, the results were disastrous.
Compared to typical clothing, hers were deemed too plain, devoid of character, and remained unsold.
She was so disheartened by the failures that she no longer had the energy to come up with new ideas, falling into despair. When she even struggled to pay her employees’ salaries, she had almost given up and decided to return to her parent’s business in disgrace.
At that moment—“Won’t you come work for me?”
At first, she thought I was some lecherous vagrant.
“Why do you keep undervaluing yourself?”
“Your designs bring out the natural beauty of the wearer… No, they enhance it even further. Clothes with flashy designs only overshadow human beauty.”
“I assure you. Those who have disregarded your creations so far are completely ignorant of fashion. When Cecilia walks into society wearing your designs…”
“Everyone will regret their own ignorance.”
None had ever recognized her or praised her work before.
Her parents saw her ambition as mere bravado.
Her friends mocked her aesthetic judgment.
Customers only criticized her designs.
The first person to acknowledge her world and extend praise was the reckless young master.
When she suddenly felt all her efforts being rewarded, she couldn’t stop the tears that poured down her face.
“Hiccup… hiccup… Waaaahhh!!”
No one had ever recognized her work until now.
This was the moment the once obscure designer, who would later become a supernova in the fashion world, decided to become Cecilia’s exclusive designer.
—
After crying for about ten minutes, Melhen finally stopped and agreed to accept my proposal.
As we agreed, clothes I purchased would be sent directly to the mansion, and she would visit the mansion a few days later to finalize the detailed contract. The shop’s staff, hearing her cries, stared at me as if I were trash, which hurt quite a bit.
With various formalities out of the way, we departed the shop, and before long, the sun was already shining brightly in the sky.
“It’s a bit late, but how about we go for lunch? There’s a famous restaurant in the domain.”
“Yes… that sounds good.”
The restaurant we arrived at was bustling even at lunchtime.
Run by a retired chef from the royal family, this restaurant was renowned enough to always have a long line outside its doors.
“Welcome… please.”
“Do we have available seats?”
“Mr. Rab! Yes, there’s a table. Please, allow me to escort you to the VIP seating!”
What do I care?
I am the heir to this territory, after all. Anyone who gets on my bad side—be it a famous restaurant owner—will face some trouble.
“Isn’t this place very expensive… and VIP seating at that?”
“Cecilia is practically a VIP to me, so this seating is only right. Don’t worry about the price and enjoy the meal.”
At this moment, our family fortune continues to grow with no end.
This restaurant’s costs are barely a dent in our family’s ledger, even if we were to visit every day.
Clack, clack.
We had just placed our order when the server rushed toward us, apparently deciding that bringing our dishes first, even if it might upset other customers, was better than having me get angry waiting.
“The dishes you ordered have arrived…”
Whoosh!
Unfortunately, there was a slippery patch on the floor, and the server slipped as he approached.
Had the server simply fallen, it would have been a simple, pitiable accident, but the problem was that Cecilia was sitting right in the path of his fall.
Worse, the dish he was carrying was steaming hot soup fresh out of the kitchen.
Drip!
In the brief span of one second.
Instantly judging her to be in danger, I found myself standing between Cecilia and the flying soup, facing away from it.
SPLAT!
“Urgh…”
“Y-young Master!!”
Most of the soup fell onto my clothes, but some managed to scorch my neck. I gritted my teeth against the searing pain while quickly checking Cecilia for injuries.
Rushing to me, she examined my neck where the soup had fallen, and thankfully, it didn’t seem to have hit her.
“I’m fine, Young Lady… I’m fine—ugh.”
“What, what shall we do! Young Master!!”
Cecilia was crying, overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness from causing me harm.
The trembling server, fearful of what he had done, was shaking.
Other staff were shouting for a doctor.
Amidst the chaos surrounding me, the only thing I could feel was a sense of relief that Cecilia, the protagonist of this story, had not been injured.
“Young Lady, there’s no need to cry…”
Seeing Cecilia shedding tears uncontrollably, I felt the absurdity of making two women cry in one day as I tried to calm her—but then…
SUSH!
A cool sensation on the back of my neck.
And the dull pain from the burn began to fade.
Confused by this unfamiliar feeling, I turned around to see Cecilia using a golden beam of light emanating from her hands to heal the burn marks on my neck.
…Wait a moment.
That’s the power of a saint, isn’t it?
Why is it coming from the Young Lady?
—
