Surprisingly, there really was a tailor’s shop at the location David mentioned.
However, it was clear at a glance that it was not a proper tailor’s shop. There was no way a shop operating in such a rarely visited area could be a normal one.
The shop, with its name prominently displayed on the sign, looked more like a disreputable establishment than a tailor’s shop. Moreover, it seemed to be on the verge of going out of business due to a lack of customers.
Amira and Adam tried to stop Ariella from entering the shop, but soon the shop owner came out to greet them, and they all found themselves stepping inside.
“Oh my! You’ve finally come! You’re a whole thirty minutes late from the promised time. Since every minute and second is precious during business hours, you must compensate me properly!”
The man, who introduced himself as the owner of this tailor’s shop and the only seamstress, complained as if he had suffered tremendous losses, despite the only other customer being a fly.
Ariella stifled a laugh as she looked around the tailor’s shop, which had not a single luxurious dress or even a proper piece of silk.
‘I knew they wouldn’t offer me a good reservation, but… this is just too low quality. What was my brother thinking? Did he think it wouldn’t matter since I wouldn’t even be able to enter the tailor’s shop after the attack?’
Her simple-minded younger brother hadn’t thought of any alternatives for when things didn’t go as planned. She wondered if he had changed at all after teaming up with Lizzy, but it seemed he hadn’t.
“If you understand, please follow me this way. We need to take your measurements. Ah, the others should wait here in the reception room.”
The tailor’s shop owner, interpreting Ariella’s silence as agreement, led her further inside.
A male seamstress. It wasn’t very common, but it wasn’t unheard of either. So there was no reason to show unnecessary wariness just because he was a man.
However, the situation was quite different now.
This tailor’s shop was the one David had introduced, and judging by the environment, it seemed the shop’s profits came more from other sources than from selling clothes. Most importantly, the shop owner had been glancing at her body with a lecherous gaze since earlier.
There was no way she could get fitted for clothes in a place like this.
Just as Ariella concluded that, a large hand grabbed the man’s arm before she could push him away.
“Ah! My arm!”
“I do not dislike it.”
The tailor’s shop owner’s high-pitched scream was drowned out by Nobert’s low voice.
“Not for a single moment have I disliked you.”
Ariella’s eyes widened.
This was an answer to the earlier question. She didn’t know why he had suddenly revealed it at such a moment.
“You said you could not accept help with unknown intentions.”
Nobert swiftly pulled the tailor’s shop owner away from Ariella. The owner, pushed back by the immense strength of the man, collided with the wall and let out a pained yelp as he fell.
As the cold gaze passed over him and landed on the knight of Ashbon, the knight quickly understood his lord’s intent and headed towards the fallen tailor’s shop owner.
“Then this time, you will not refuse.”
“Pardon? Refuse what…?”
“I just revealed my intentions. So please, at least for today, do not reject me.”
I cannot entrust your clothes to such a man. Nobert added fiercely.
Ariella swallowed hard without realizing it.
Nobert’s words about not rejecting him were open to too many interpretations.
Was it because of his handsome face, or perhaps his unique aura? Even knowing that he meant to offer his help, her heart raced for no reason.
If she felt this way knowing the circumstances, others would surely feel even more strongly.
As expected, she could feel Amira and Adam’s gazes approaching like arrows.
Amira, blushing for some reason, murmured, “Oh my, oh my,” while Adam glared at Nobert with a gaze that was far too sharp to be directed at an idol. Their reactions were different, but it seemed their underlying misunderstandings were similar.
‘I’ll have a lot to explain when we return to the Duke’s residence.’
After a small sigh, Ariella opened her mouth.
“……I’ve already owed a lot to His Grace. Even if one more debt is added here, I don’t think it will make much of a difference.”
What he had revealed as his intentions did not help dispel her suspicions about his kindness. To help someone simply because he did not dislike them seemed excessive compared to his feelings.
However, regardless of what his true intentions were, the kindness he had shown today had greatly aided Ariella and her plans for revenge. Without him, her carefully laid plans would have faced significant setbacks.
