Luckily, the tea seemed to have cooled down enough to not burn his skin off. Kalcion wiped the stain with a towel handed over by an employee and turned back to Selena.

Catching the look in his eyes, she became confident. Kalcion did not know how to react.

As long as he doesnt screw up, Im good. Should I try?

It had been less than an hour since she said he no longer needed to act, but a humans greed could never be satisfied.

Just as Kalcion wanted her to learn swordsmanship even though their limited relationship would end someday if she returned to her world, there were times when Selena yearned for his acting.

What do you think, Duke? Im wearing it.

Hmm

He hummed in thought. The more he delayed, the higher her expectations rose.

Pretty.

However, the answer did not meet her expectations. Even if it was hard for Kalcion to say more, Selena could not give up.

Which part of it looks pretty?

All of it.

Yes, so, where?

When she repeated her question, he noticed it. This time, he strained his eyes to study Selena.

Needless to say, he always felt weird to look at her neck, even worse to look at her front, embarrassed to look at her waist and the curves down her thighs.

Therefore, he couldnt take his eyes off her face.

I see. only your face.

He believed it would not be such a wrong answer.

But as he had guessed, Selenas eyes grew wide and she burst into laughter.

What, Duke? You have to say if it looks good on me.

Hahaha.

The staff standing next to her also chuckled.

Contrary to what the rumors described him as a brutal man, the Duke of Renbird rather had an innocent heart. Thats what their eyes interpreted.

After calming down, he quickly ran his eyes up and down Selenas body.

He decided to get an overall image. He didnt need to count or admire the number of jewels.

You look like a flower.

Youre not cursing, are you, Duke?

Does a flower mean a curse to you?

Surprised, he asked immediately.

Selena was also taken aback. How could she forget that he tended to take things seriously when she tried to make fun of him?

No, like, theres no explanation. There are many kinds of flowers.

You are

He tried to recall. She was different from the flowers seen in the field. She did not resemble the unknown wildflowers.

If he had to be precise, Selena looked like a flower that was grown with much love and devotion inside a greenhouse.

Different from wildflowers. Like someone devoted his heart to growing a flower so very colorful. Like those unusually large flowers, we see in a greenhouse. You remind me of such flowers.

Kalcion averted his gaze again, wandering somewhere on the ceiling above Selenas head.

Is it hot?

Selenas face was bright red. Kalcion had no clue that it was because of him. His eyes awkwardly landed on the chandelier above to see if it was hot.

Ill buy this.

Selena decided with no further thoughts.

Whew.

She was finally able to breathe after the curtain closed behind her. She tried to cool down by covering her burning face with both hands.

She didnt expect Kalcion to say such sweet words. What made her heart pound was that he sounded like he really meant it.

Oh, I swear its not my first time hearing compliments.

She couldnt count how many silly compliments she heard in her life. Like, a beauty that had the power to destroy the world or a beauty to make all living things breathless.

Unnie, dont swim! Because the fishes will not be able to breathe and the marine ecosystem will die!

You are an angel sealed on Earth for the universe to breathe

Those compliments sounded all the same, so she just laughed and passed them over. Her being compared to a flower was what embarrassed her from head to toe.

I was so surprised. Should I say its just an exclamation for the achievement of my disciple? Well, it cant be because I feel something special. He was just serious because he said I have too good sword lifting skills to waste.

Selena explained to herself, calming down her heart.

He was just expressing my beauty. No need to be surprised, no need to be moved. Lets be proud that he could say that.

She felt like she was making more excuses.

She changed back to her clothes and came out to see a stranger bowing constantly next to Kalcion.

What happened? Who is this?

Something very amazing! Oh, Im Randy, the chief designer of Lumera!

Randy failed to hide his excitement.

There werent many people who matched my design that was hard to pull off, but I had to rush here when I heard someone was born to finally wear it..!

Ah yes.

But, why was he bowing to Kalcion?

His Excellency said that he likes the dress you wore earlier and that hes buying all of my designs!

Oh

From the designers point of view, it was awesome. Selena was sad that the designs were all bought because there werent many people to wear them and that the world lost a chance to recognize them.

However, she was not surprised. It was not the first time Kalcion did it. So, she reluctantly nodded her head.

Did the Duke order 10 colors this time, too?

I thought you wouldnt like it because it would be a waste, so I ordered only one.

Well done.

Randys mouth fell open at their conversation.

I know some people work a lot, but ten per design?!

There was a famous rumor that said the previous Duchess of Renbird ordered seven colors, wore only one, and burned the rest.

He never saw the previous Duchess but it seemed to be a family tradition handed down from generation to generation.

Then, Ill be back with a better design next time!

Fair enough.

Ah, if you need someone to help you dress up, our staff is always ready to help!

That was also good service.

Then, can you help me prepare for the founding party at the palace?

Oh! Oh, my! Are you wearing our dress at the founding party? Then, of course, Ill be there!

From the looks of it, his dress had never been shown off at an important party. Selena smiled and stepped out toward the door, snuggling her arm around Kalcions.

Cant change his words later, can he?

After the imperial banquet, the store was bound to explode in popularity.

After leaving the store, Selena got on the wagon and stretched her shoulders.

Where to next?

Next time. some jewelry.

She was out of her stamina.

From the experience at Lumera, she thought there would be much better places to shop, even if it was not the store Juna recommended. The jewelry store that Juna recommended was Laranta. However, Selena didnt want to fight again after such a pleasant shopping trip.

Just not today. I think we should go back and rest for the day.

Kalcion nodded calmly.

The sun was already setting. A street lamp maintainer was seen lighting a street lamp.

One side of the sky was looming red, while the other was growing dark blue. Underneath it, the city was being lit with the dim yellow glow of streetlights one by one.

But none of those lights were great enough to frighten away the oncoming night.

Still, the busy streets were living up to their name. It was proved when the carriage was repeatedly stopped before crowds.

It seems the boulevard wont be cleared anytime soon. I think itll be faster if we turn around.

An escort delivered the message through the carriage window.

Right.

They had no urgency.

It sure is different from Renbird.

Indeed.

Come to think of it, Ive never walked around the night streets of Silenza.

She was always stuck in the castle because she had no reason to go outside. Adding to that, it was a time when she knew better rather than having a sword slicing down her neck. It wasnt even a time to hang out leisurely.

You can see it when you go back to Silenza. Its different.

How is it?

She remembered seeing the streets of Silenza to be neat in the daylight. But, she was curious about what it was like at night. She wondered if it shined like this place.

Hmm.

He hummed.

Well. I dont know how to describe it. If you look at it in person, you can see the difference.

Aw, I wonder when we will go back.

She grinned in delight. The day Selena would return to Silenza would be after she found the criminal safely, finished her job, and found a way to return to her original world. She didnt know when it would arrive.

You can take a break to visit Silenza for a while.

Then itll get too long. And how would I be able to use up all the extra money you gave for shopping?

Kalcion smiled at Selena this time.

Okay, do it wherever you like.