Madame Laura had already been informed that Diego had given the Estella a beautiful piece of jewelry. At first she thought she was a relative, but it turned out she wasn’t. No man would give a woman he didn’t care about an armload of jewelry. Laura’s voice grew more serious.

“Do you know how much gossip there is when you’re stuck in a boring workshop. Yet I’ve never heard, I swear to you, not once, that that cold-hearted young lord brought a woman to a dress shop.”

Estella knew that there were no women in Diego’s life. He was a man uninterested in the emotion of objective love, and there was only one woman she knew who could melt his heart. Estella denied it harshly.

“Madame Laura, this is the capital, and a country girl like me will not even catch his eye.”

“Isn’t a country maiden supposed to dream of love?”

Laura snapped back, then smeared a piece of soft tissue over Estella’s mouth. She didn’t stop there, though, and she twisted Estella’s hair into an updo. It wasn’t much of an ornament, but with the headdress in place, it looked pretty convincing.

“There, we’re done.”

Laura said, and Estella stood up. As far as she was concerned, she looked pretty good. But instead of leading her back behind the partition, as Estella had expected, Laura pulled her out of the dressing room.

“If it works out, come back for another dress.”

Madame Laura said and pushed Estella’s back. Estella staggered a little, then slowly walked out. She did as she was told, only to realize in hindsight.

“Wait, am I going to go see Diego now?

But now it felt weird to go back inside. Wasn’t she supposed to show Diego the dress when she picked it out? Estella approached Diego with an awkward gait. She thought she heard a small squeak from behind the staff.

Diego was staring intently at a pamphlet of costumes. It caused Estella to cough and call out to him.

“Little Duke?”

Diego looked up at her call, his eyes locking with hers. She couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just smiled. She expected him to say something like, ‘It looks good on you,’ or ‘ wish I could design something like this,’ but he was silent for a long time, almost like he was dumbfounded.

“……You don’t have anything to say?”

Estella asked, and only then did Diego finally tear his eyes away from her. Diego stood up. He slowly walked towards Estella and crossed his arms. He grazed his lips with his fingertips and then suddenly opened his mouth to speak.

“I’m worried about something.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know if I should go to the ball with the teacher.”

“……Why, is that so weird?”

Estella said and lifted her skirt. It had been made for someone taller than her, so it had a larger bust and length, but she didn’t think it was a ridiculous difference to be teased about.

At Estella’s question, Diego only laughed. Estella hastily defended Madame Laura’s taste.

“It’s a good one, though. It’s draped with a barrel of silk from the East. I don’t know how many yards of fabric they used to make the skirt.”

Diego laughed out loud again. Estella’s eyes turned into triangles. She asked in a scathing tone.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m laughing because I think it’s funny that you’re judging the sewing in this situation.”

“We’re here to buy clothes, so what am I supposed to look at if not the clothes?”

Estella asked, genuinely curious. Diego finally gave up on his modest smile and frowned. She had never seen him laugh so heartily before. As Estella stared at him in bewilderment, Diego’s amusement was evident.

“You distinguish between fabrics better than I thought, I thought you had no interest in such things.”

Indeed, based on Estella’s usual attire, her outfit choices were exceptionally conservative. But then again, no one walks the catwalk at work. Estella said with a smirk.

“I know which ones are good, I’ve been taught.”

“Do you really need to know about things like that when you’re a governess and not a seamstress?”

“Of course, otherwise why would you hire a noble? If you’re going to teach the children of the powerful, you’d better be knowledgeable about these finer things. Well, it’s kind of sad that it’s something I can’t wear myself…….”

Estella’s shoulders slumped as if she were dead, but it was only for a moment, and she quickly raised her head toward Diego again. Estella thanked him in a breezy tone.

“I’ll admit it. Thanks to the little Duke, I still get a change of mood.”

Diego continued to gaze at her in silence. The sudden arrival of the silence made Estella roll her eyes.

Suddenly, Diego reached out and placed his hand on her waist. The garment was large for her size, as it had been made for someone else. The fluttering fabric settled calmly under his pressure.

The vivid warmth he felt through the fabric was disconcerting. Estella lowered her eyes slightly to avoid his gaze. A low voice came from overhead.

“Your back is open.”

As he said it, Diego stared down at her intently, and even though she wasn’t looking at him, she could feel his eyes on her face. It was only after a few moments that Diego spoke up.

“You have something on your lip.”

“……It’s makeup.”

He expected Estella to say something silly, like she was trying to look good for me again, but she was surprisingly quiet. Diego stepped forward and brushed Estella’s hair out of her face.

“It must have been another one of the Madame’s whims.”

There was a hint of laughter in his voice. Estella blushed as if she’d been caught in one of Madame Laura’s childish tricks.

She heard a coughing behind her. Madame Laura had come out and was standing behind them, looking very proud.

“How do you like it, little Duke?”

Diego suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and removed his hand from Estella’s waist. Even though he had distanced himself from her, the sensation of her touch still lingered on his fingertips. Diego clenched and unclenched his hand once. He turned to Madam Laura and spoke in a gentle voice.

“I’ll order this one, too. How long will the alteration process take?”

* * *

When they returned to the mansion, there was already a carriage loaded with a cartful of belongings. It was already close to evening when they arrived at the shop, even though the sun was still high in the sky. As soon as Estella got on the carriage, she let her guard down and relaxed her shoulders. In her heart, she wanted to kick off her shoes as well, but she restrained herself since her employer was right in front of her.

She glanced over at Diego, who sat across from her. They had already taken his measurements, so it was just a matter of trying on a few pieces of fabric. That meant that while Estella was feverishly changing, Diego had nothing to do but kill time. Although it should have been the other way around, with Estella feeling stiff and tense, Diego appeared rather composed and relaxed.

Estella suddenly noticed a small box in Diego’s hand. Her belongings were surely all packed away in the luggage compartment, so she wondered what he was personally carrying. She pointed to the box and asked him about it.

“What is it?”

Diego started to answer nonchalantly, but stopped himself. After a moment of silence, his gaze slid out the window. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk.

“…It’s not mine.”

“It doesn’t seem to be mine either.”

“…….”

“Are they for the kids?”

Estella asked in disbelief, for there was no one else he could have given the gift to. It was common knowledge that he didn’t have a lover, and Cecilia and Cedric were the only family he had left.

Instead of nodding in affirmation, Diego merely frowned, though that was all the answer she needed.

“Oh my God, really?”

Estella’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She don’t know what he had in store, but the fact that he had bought something for the kids was enough to make her feel overwhelmed.

Unable to hide her joy, Estella broke into a wide grin. Diego looked over at her and said with a somber expression.

“When I’m with you I feel like like I’m always under suspicion.”

“Suspicion? That sounds like something a criminal would say…”

Estella paused as she started to choose a word. Now that she thought about it, she realized it wasn’t a bad word. But what was clear was that she didn’t feel the same way about Diego as she did before.

Estella cleared her throat and looked him in the eye, then spoke sincerely.

“The Duke is a good man.”

If we compare him to those who have committed crime, Diego would be the kindest among them. In fact, even among ordinary men, he’s quite decent. Diego could have treated Estella and the children much worse if he wanted to. Although Estella cherished Cecilia and Cedric, she was aware that those children were like seeds of unease to Diego. Diego was already doing his best for them.

As if Estella’s words were mere consolation, Diego said, unimpressed.

“That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel better, either, Duke.”

Estella’s words made Diego turn his head to stare at her, her clear blond hair catching the moonlight and looking almost silver now. Her blue eyes, Diego thought, were the color of the night.

He said.

“It’s late at night, I wonder if I’ve kept you up too late.”

Caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, Estella momentarily stared blankly before she quickly brushed her right finger. She ended up wearing the jewelry set that she had particularly liked. Running her fingers delicately over the finely crafted sapphire, Estella spoke.

“I’ve received many nice things thanks to you, well… You didn’t have to go this far though…”

“Don’t you have classes tomorrow morning?”

“Yes, I do. I should wash up and go to sleep as soon as I get back.”

Estella replied sincerely. Today’s outing felt more like a casual outing rather than an extension of work. If she wasn’t tired, it would be a lie, but it was much better than working overtime. However, Diego seemed to have a slightly different thought as he observed Estella’s expression and asked.

“Isn’t it tiring? Being a governess, I mean.”

His intentions were unclear. It took her a moment to realize he was asking about her life in general. After a long pause, she answered.

“Sometimes I get frustrated when Cedric has an accident, but they’re both generally well-behaved, so there’s nothing too crazy.”

“You could have lived comfortably without having to deal with children like this.”

“…Like if Father hadn’t gone bankrupt?”

Diego nodded. Estella frowned and scratched the back of her head.

“Well, I’d say I’m rather glad things are the way they are now…….”