Chapter 3 - Extravagance (1/2)

Translator: blushy

Editor: delishnoodles

Nabel, the capital of the Kingdom of Valkenburg.

Otto Street, named after the founding King, is lined with historic red brick buildings and trees and was filled with high-end shops used by the upper echelons of society.

The stone pavement was packed with two-horse drawn carriages and dressed up ladies and gentlemen. This street had a quieter atmosphere compared to the other streets.

There were a large number of tailors and jewellery shops on this street. A carriage ran through this street, which was also known as the birthplace of Valkenburg fashion and stopped in front of one of the shops.

The name on the floating signboard engraved with gold letters was Charmes Mondt.

It was a famous tailor shop that had produced several well-known designers, including Lady Frau Bernhard, the most talked-about woman in high society today.

Charmes Mondt didn’t just sell dresses; they also sold shoes, accessories, costly jewellery and perfumes to match with clothes. Only this store provided an array of products.

Incidentally, the sapphire necklace I’d bought the other day was also from here.

When I got off the carriage, I received glances from all the ladies and gentlemen on the street.

They probably saw the Rosenstein crest on the carriage and were curious about who would come out.

They secretly started gossiping as soon as they saw me, but I pretended not to notice this and walked into the shop with my two maids.

Inside, there were a lot of women in colourful dresses, and the sickly perfume aroma that was often associated with places like this filled the room.

The customers were talking noisily, but they froze when they saw me, and a hushed silence reigned in the shop.

This also happened often, so I warded off the glances until a calm and well-dressed, classy older gentleman appeared from the back of the shop.

“Well, well, Lady Rosenstein!”

“How do you do, Bauer?”

The man who was smiling broadly as soon as he saw me is Klaus Bauer, the owner of Charmes Mondt.

The owner, who I was acquainted with, gave me a brief greeting before showing me to the back of the shop where he’d just came out of moments ago.

“Please come to the back. We’ll talk about what you need in the reception office.”

Charmes Mondt had several private reception offices for their top customers. The one that Bauer showed me to was one of those offices.

The floor was made from amber oak wood and looked perfect with the white-based furniture.

There was a large vase by the wall, and it was filled with crimson roses and white baby breaths; it was so vivid that it was dazzling.

I sat down on the white leather chair, and a blonde beauty appeared with tea.

The beauty was wearing a stylish dress and made me think that she was a lady from some noble house. The shop clerks in this shop are also elegant.

The beauty bowed and stood in the corner of the room. We talked a little, and then Bauer brought up the topic, “What item are you looking for today?”

“I want a necklace. Something in sapphire or blue diamond would be nice.”

Bauer widened his eyes a little, but soon returned to his friendly smile and said softly, “I’m sure you purchased a sapphire necklace the other day.”

“I want one that I can wear during the day and goes with a light-coloured dress. The other one is a bit heavy. But the blue jewel is nice,” I said as childishly as possible.

I made myself look as if I wasn’t smart, and just wanted to obtain what I wanted without giving it much thought.

“Alright. I will have some prepared right now, so please wait a moment.”

Bauer looked at the beauty, and she left the room.

I took a sip of my tea as I sunk deeper into the comfortable chair and leaned back. Then, I looked at the roses and baby breaths in the corner of the room.

I actually don’t want dresses or jewellery.

I wasn’t beautiful, and they couldn’t make me beautiful, so they were just meaningless things to me.

No one would look at me even if I dressed up, and no one would be pleased to see me dress up.

That wasn’t why I wasn’t being extravagant for myself.

I buy dresses and jewellery to devalue myself when I wear them.

――― How stupid.

I sometimes think this even though I’m doing something that I need to do.

Why am I doing something so stupid and meaningless?

But I’m planning to sell them for cash one day.