"Yes, I'm sorry. It's been a long time since she came up to Dublin, and she has had to meet a lot of people. She got very nervous. That's why I am refusing all the visits."

"I see. I was too careless. When Katarina died, I should have cared more about the child's condition."

Simone guessed what was behind the Marquis's words and nodded. He must have been out of his mind, since it was about the time Julietta had disappeared.

"It's a good thing her health has returned, though. But I want you to understand that Iris is so acute that she is cautious about meeting people, even if you are a close relative."

The two have exchanged conversations about the safety of the Duke of Kiellini and his family.

"I think it's time for me to get up. I look forward to seeing Iris next time." Robert stood up and said goodbye.

"Yes, Your Excellency. I think Iris's shyness will improve a lot soon. I hope you'll visit again next time."

Robert gave Simone a silent goodbye to meet tomorrow, followed the butler out of the drawing-room, and headed for the front door.

-----

"Your Highness, we will be in trouble if you drop by this often, "Julietta said in embarra.s.sment, seeing Killian's party encamping on the couch in the hall as she entered her shop.

"This often? If I were here yesterday, it would be natural for me to hear that, but it was two days ago. I'd like to discuss a lot of things for the development of our secret partners.h.i.+p," Killian replied, raising the cup he was holding up to his eyes like a toast.

Sophie came up to Julietta from where she had been waiting in the hall and whispered, "Oh, my G.o.d, he came in the morning as soon as I opened the dressing shop. I'm sure he was waiting for it before then."

Julietta stared at Killian without realizing it.

There were four sets of stand-by couches, two on each side of the hall, all of which were seated the escort knights, Killian, Oswald, Albert, and Ian. There were tea and snacks in front of them, of course.

Julietta's eyes rose when she felt sorry for Amelie and Sophie, who seemed to have been busy serving tea since morning.

"Your Highness, a secret relations.h.i.+p means a relations.h.i.+p that no one should know. How can you say it's a secret relations.h.i.+p when you drop by so often?"

"I'm here as a guest. Isn't that right, Oswald?"

"That's right, the princess. Starting with this Oswald, Sir Albert, Ian, and the knights are waiting to be measured to order their formal wear."

"What about His Highness?"

One eyebrow of Killian wriggled at Julietta's words. "Me?"

"Yes, Your Highness. You said you're here as a guest, si I wonder if you've ordered clothes."

Julietta knew there was a designer for the royal family as she made those remarks. Killian answered back calmly, "No. I'm very interested in the costumes of my close a.s.sociates, especially Oswald's, so I'm just here to watch. If the princess were me, wouldn't you be afraid of what Oswald would wear next? The Marquis needs someone to stop him from going too far."

Julietta wanted to snort at Killian's words, but she stopped after looking at Oswald's red jacket and clear yellow blouse which were even more colorful today.

"Your Highness, what do you say about my attire?" Oswald protested, but Julietta agreed, rejecting him at once.

"I see, but it's not good to see you camping in the hall like this. What would people think? I'd like you to move inside."

Killian pretended not to hear what Julietta said, then suddenly, he stood up all of a sudden.

When the Prince got up, the whole party began to get up. But even as everyone stood up, Julietta did not move.

As she did not move at all, Killian lifted an eyebrow, as if to ask what was wrong, even though he did what he was told to do. Julieta said, "We have yet to get a maid to serve guests."

As she said that, she winked at the teacups and the dishes of snacks lying on the sofa and table.

"Huh!" Killian snorted as if he was dumbfounded, but Julietta had taken the name of Princess Kiellini and won the t.i.tle as a partner, and behaved bravely.

Oswald watched the contest between the staring Killian and confrontational Julietta, and took his cup along quietly. Then Ian quickly picked up Killian's teacup and his own, and the knights began to pick up the teacups in front of them.

When Julietta saw that the knights had also packed a snack plate, she turned around and led them to a cafe that had been renovated from the kitchen.

"Then, Your Highness, I hope you enjoy the refreshments here until you're done with the measuring. I'm going to have to go because I have something to do."

Killian protested when Julietta went to the studio to finish what she was doing yesterday. "The princess, didn't you ask me for sponsors.h.i.+p? I'm not such a leisurely person, so I think we'd better finish the discussion today."

Julietta agonized for a moment, but eventually nodded reluctantly. "It's a good idea, Your Highness. I don't want you to come here again. But I don't think we need to discuss anything else. I wrote a business plan yesterday, so you can decide whether to approve it or not after seeing it."