Simone just laughed without saying a word.

Christine left the mansion of Duke Kiellini without any harvest, and nervously bit her lips. "Not as it is. I have to do something else." Her expression in the waiting carriage had turned deadly with determination.

------

Chartreu Dressing Shop had gradually changed ahead of the fas.h.i.+on show's opening party.

When they opened the transparent gla.s.s door, a neatly-dressed man greeted customers politely. The staffer checked the needs of customers so that they could consult with the proper person in the field they wanted.

The three women stationed in the hall guided them according to the purpose of the guests. Guests who were revisiting the shop for the fitting were led to the fitting room. First-time visitors were shown the costumes placed in the center of the hall and the dolls in the gla.s.s cabinet on one side, letting them choose the design they wanted.

If a customer wanted to hear more about their clothes, they would take them to a cafe in the renovated dining room where they could share their opinions and comments about the clothes with Amelie or Sophie.

The manager, Ullio, worked in the study and office next to the main workroom on the first floor. He was in charge of sending out notices or delivering goods for customers, managing employee salaries, purchasing subsidiary materials and managing inventories.

In the doll room on the second floor, they made the dress dolls that showed the clothes in the dressing room. The three new employees were working busily to make clothes for the fas.h.i.+on show on the same floor's sewing room and tailor's room.

Still disguised as a maid, Julietta came to work and headed back down after seeing Phoebe on the second floor. She picked up some of the cloth for Princess Kiellini's dress. Wearing a black wig high after changing into a black dress, she wore a black hat and dark veils to hide her face.

By the time Julietta had just finished preparing, the door of the workroom opened and Maribel came in. "My baby, I don't think I would recognize you in that outfit."

Julietta pouted slightly at Maribel calling her "baby" and coming in the studio without knocking. "Thank you for coming. You could have just sent the actresses."

"I couldn't do just that. I can visit your dressing shop by way of an excuse this way. It's very nice. You haven't been a normal person since you were a child."

Julietta contacted Maribel as soon as she thought she needed to recruit actresses from the Eileen Theater as models for a fas.h.i.+on show. Actresses were the best candidates, familiar with other people's eyes and the stage.

It was a very nice offer compared to the price of performing in theaters, but Julietta was afraid that Maribel who cared about her actresses, would turn down the offer. However, unexpectedly, she readily agreed and contacted her to bring the actresses today.

"I thought you'd say no, actually."

At Julieta's words, Maribel smiled coquettishly. "What an opportunity to miss! Do you think I'm such a fool? The opening party in the Chartreu Dressing Shop will probably be in people's mouths for a long time. People will naturally come to see the opera in our theater after seeing the models that were the main characters in this fas.h.i.+on show, so there's no better way to do this."

The quick calculating answer from Maribel made Julietta laugh, too.

"But there's something I don't understand. Why did you ask them to bring a dog or cat that they keep?"

When Maribel wondered, Julietta went to a dog's house inside the fence in one corner and brought with her Manny who had been playing there.

"Can you see this?"

"What's this? Did you dress your dog?"

"Hush, Manny will be surprised."

Julieta put Manny back inside the dog's house, came back and said, "That's right. I dressed the dog. On that day, we will introduce pets dressed in the same set as the models."

Maribel looked at the fence in the corner. A triangular roof was placed on a wall of cloth cylinders, showing a puppy lying quietly inside a dainty house that looked like a mushroom. She opened her mouth at the round house made of cotton cloth, not a wooden dog house she had commonly seen before.

She looked back at Julietta and said in a truly sad voice, "You really know how to make money. What could I do with your ability?"

Maribel almost regretted her offer to Prince Killian for the first time. Of course, it was only for a moment. She coveted Julietta's extraordinary ideas and business talent, but nothing could have been better than the Empress of the Empire!

'Yes, there's no way the Empress shouldn't do business. She can do as much as she wants. If there's anyone who could be Julietta's hand and foot, that's possible. If not, she can make them!'

Maribel put her hand under the deeply-drawn veil and affectionately patted Julietta's cheek. "Yes, Julietta. Do whatever you want to do. You just have to run forward, not looking back."

Maribel turned around and opened the workroom door. "Now have the actresses who will be models come in. They have to go back to the theater right after they get fitted."

When Maribel opened the door and sent a signal, the actresses who were waiting in the hall came in. About a third of them brought cats, dogs, and birds they were raising.

There was a pet craze on the continent. As the era of peace with no war had lasted long and there was room for life, people spent a lot of time and money on leisure.