Chapter 76
"How long have you been collecting them?"
Louryl approached and asked, picking up my pocket.
I don"t know. Ever since I came back?
"Most of my allowance is in Lombardi"s bank, and this is part of it."
"Most of my allowance is in Lombardy"s bank, and it"s part of it."
"I suppose so. If you think about your allowance..."
After loosening the pocket strap and looking at the contents, Louryl"s voice stopped.
"Miss?"
"Huh?"
"Are you going to take all this money with you?"
Louryl sighed softly.
She seemed to think that I, who was unaware of the circ.u.mstances outside the mansion, had stored up ridiculous amounts of money.
"If you take half the money in this pocket..."
"No, I need it all."
"But, miss, with all this money."
"I know, that"s enough money to buy a building in downtown Lombardy. I know."
Louryl"s expression was dazed by my words.
"How did you know that?"
"There"s a way to know everything."
I"ve lived alone outside the mansion for years.
"Anyway, I take all the money I need."
"If you"re going to buy dresses and jewelry, why don"t you just write a bill in for Lombardy mansion? You don"t have to take cash like this..."
"I never said I"d buy dresses and jewelry."
I smiled at Louryl, who tilted her head at my unpredictable words.
* * *
"You"re finally going out."
I got into the carriage wearing the plain, ready-to-wear from the Gallahan clothing store, which was not decorated.
In the meantime, I have sometimes gone to the Palace by carriage with my father and grandfather, but it is the first time that I have gone out alone like this.
No, I"m not alone.
"The day of going out with my Miss has come!"
With Louryl, who"s more excited.
"Let"s go to Lombardy Square first."
The carriage began to move slowly when Louryl pa.s.sed my word to the coachman.
A familiar scene flashed through the window.
Not long after running down the boulevard from the Lombardy mansion, we arrived at the square.
"Lady, get off safely!"
Louryl stepped down first and held my hand.
"Wow."
Walking in the square after a long time was more amazing than I thought.
"Cool."
The square, where many people are busy, and the statue of first Lombardy, standing in the middle, felt much bigger than I remembered.
To be honest, compared to the always quiet and neat Lombardy mansion, the scenery is not so beautiful.
But there was definitely something energizing in the dust and loud noises of the wagons pa.s.sing by.I said, taking a deep breath in the busy air of the square.
"Let"s go over there."
I grabbed Louryl"s hand and pulled her one side of the square.
"What"s over there, lady?"
"Yes, the most delicious bakery in the world."
I walked off the boulevard along familiar alleys.
Louryl said it was her first time here and looked around, wondering.
When I turned the corner, I saw the building I used to rent in the distance.
A small room on the second floor of that shabby building was my home.
Maybe now someone else is tired every night and is resting for tomorrow.
And in front of it is the bakery where I bought fresh bread every morning.
I couldn"t stand the smell of sweet bread any longer, so I let go of Louryl"s hand and ran there.
I happened to see Aunt Perry, who was displaying fresh bread.
A younger face than I remember, but the characteristic warm and friendly face remained the same.
"h.e.l.lo, ma"am!"
"Huh? Yes, h.e.l.lo. I"ve never seen you before. Did you move in nearby?"
When I first moved in with a dangling bag after being kicked out of Lombardy"s mansion, Aunt Perry welcomed me with this saying.
Laughing as if you met someone who will be your neighbor for a long time.
"I"m Tia!"
"Yes, Tia. You can call me Aunt Perry comfortably. What kind of bread do you want today?"
Oh, I can finally eat it!
My heart pounded.
"I"d like two baguette sandwiches!"
"Oh, I guess you"ve heard somewhere that our special menu is delicious."
I"ve missed this sandwich for the past few years, which is not written on the menu and only regular customers know.
"Miss! How could you run like that alone!"
Louryl, who followed late, gasped.
"Miss...?"
Aunt Perry takes turns looking at Louryl with round eyes.
Oh, no.
"It"s my step-sister! I have an older brother who has a big age gap... haha. Feel free to call me by my first name."
"Oh, you were the youngest in the family! No wonder you look so loved! Here you go."
I could see the fat baguette cut in half and filled the sandwich with the ham and cheese that was sold at a nearby market.
"Oh, it smells good."
It was a cheap sandwich that was no match for the food at the Lombardy mansion, but I missed it so much.
"Goodbye!"
"Yes, come back!"
Aunt Perry smiled and waved.
A few steps out, Louryl whispered in my ear.
"Miss, what if you eat something like this and have a stomachache?"
"Don"t worry about it. Try it, Laurel. It"s really delicious."
I opened my mouth wide and asked greedily.
"Yeah, this is it."
Aunt Perry"s sandwich while walking down the street!
I missed you!
Louryl, a precious young Miss of the Dillard family, hesitated at my ridiculous action.
Well, it"s out of a common sense for ordinary aristocrats to eat on the street.
No matter how relatively free Louryl is, she has never done it.
"If you"re not going to eat, give it to me."
Yum yum.
At my words, Louryl took a timid bite, confirming that no one was walking by.
"...Oh, my!"
"It"s good, isn"t it?"
"Yes! Wow, it"s so good!"
She takes two or three bites in surprise.
Looking at that look, I began to eat the sandwich again.
Oh, salty and savory! It"s delicious!
"I should be a regular there!"
Louryl said with a twinkle in her eye.
I naturally walked to my next destination when Louryl was distracted by the sandwiches.
It was a noisy downtown Lombardy market.
People buy and sell all kinds of things, such as fruits, food, and household goods.
I don"t go to the busy main street.
I turned slightly and arrived at the new town next to it.
A dark green building was seen on a slightly more orderly street than the market.
It was Lombardy"s second branch of Gallahan clothing store, which opened recently.
"Are you going to the clothing store?"
"Yes, it"s a new place. I"ll take a look."
I asked Louryl to look at the clothing store where people kept coming and going.
"Let me check something out. Let"s go in separately. And don"t tell them my name unless people recognize me first, OK?
"Yes, Miss..."
When I opened the door, I saw the inside of a well-organized clothing store.
It looks like this.
It was the first time I"d ever come in person, I"ve only heard from Clerivan.
The clothing store was similar to the "clothes store" I knew.
They said women"s clothes on the first floor and men"s clothes on the second floor.
I was checking one by one what I had only been briefed on in writing.
At a glance, Louryl, a n.o.ble young lady, was immediately followed by a staff member of a clothing store, but no one cares about me as a child who came alone.
"h.e.l.lo, Miss. Are you here alone?"
It was about time I was a little disappointed in the customer service skills of the Gallahan clothing store.
A gentle voice spoke to me.
It was a woman with black hair and purple eyes.
"I didn"t come alone, I"m waiting for my dad."
"Oh, I see. Then if you need anything, you can call me anytime?"
The woman smiles at me, then goes to another guest and starts a conversation with a friendly smile.
I watched the staff working when I was looking at clothes in a clothing store.
It was then that a loud voice came in.
"No, I just bought it."
A middle-aged man was arguing with an employee with an angry face.
"Why don"t you trust people?"
There were about ten neat navy dresses piled up in front of the man.
It seemed like a person who refunded clothes
"How dare you call the Livartin family a liar? Really?"
The middle-aged man spoke high-handedly, raising his chin.
When eyes gathered around him, the staff of the clothing store blushed and forced his head down.
"It"s not that... I"m sorry, I"ll give you a refund."
"That"s the way it is!"
The smiley man"s face fell a little fishy.
Something feels odd.
Eventually, it was when the employee tried to make a bill worth the price of the clothes and give it to the man.
"Excuse me for a moment."
The woman who talked to me smiled when she gently blocked the staff.
"h.e.l.lo, I"m Violet and I"m in charge of the Lombardy branch. You said you were from the Livartin?"
"Well, isn"t it?"
"Are you, then, the butler of the Livartin family?"
"Khome, I wasn"t going to reveal it. That"s right."
The man frowned, speaking in a dithering way.
"Our clothing store makes a doc.u.ment called "receipt" for every transaction. The same goes for a pair of gloves. You just bought 40 of these clothes and you said you wanted to get a refund for 10 of them. Then you have to bring those 40 receipts."
"I"ve never heard of that before..."
"If you were a butler, of course, you would know that."
She still looked smiling, but Violet"s smile was cool.
The man, looking disappointed, quickly explained.
"Wow, it"s my first time dealing with a clothing store..."
"The Livartin you mentioned are not here, they have made three deals with us at the Lombardy headquarters. I"m sorry but I"ve never seen your face before. Excuse me, can I have your name?"
"I, I mean... it!"
The man gritted his teeth and ran out of the clothing store, staring at Violet.
"Whoa..."
Sighing softly, Violet quickly regained her smiling face and apologized to the guests.
"I"m sorry, sir..."
An employee who had been tricked into paying the man approached and told violet.
"It"s okay, but make sure you check the receipt next time. And keep in mind the information about the family you deal with frequently. Did you forget that the Livartin had a thief a few days ago?"
"Ah! That"s what happened, right..."
I smiled inwardly when I watched Violet patting the grieving employee on the shoulder.
All right, that"ll do.
It was when I was so satisfied.
Violet, who checked out the window at the sound of the carriage stop, approached me and lowered her waist to meet my eye level, and said.
"Your Grace has arrived, Lady Florentia."