Chapter 308: The Right to Choose
After carefully cleaning up the shattered perfume on the floor and putting the mop away, Anna walked over to Evelia and Armand.
She was clearly very curious about the two of them showing up, so she didn’t bother changing clothes or caring about the strong scent she carried. She simply sat down across from Evelia.
Then, without paying any attention to what’s considered proper for a lady, she poured herself a big glass of black tea and gulped it down right in front of the two of them, like someone quenching their thirst.
Of course, neither Evelia nor Armand minded. After all, they weren’t the kind of nobles who liked to nitpick over such things.
Evelia quietly picked up a tomato-sauce macaron that Anna had especially made for her after hearing about her favorite flavors. She took a small bite to try it. Judging by how quickly she went for a second bite, she clearly liked the taste.
As for how Anna knew Evelia liked tomato sauce, Armand didn’t even need to think about it. It had to be Carle who told her.
Back when Carle visited the estate, Evelia had served a whole bunch of tomato-based dishes and looked like she was really enjoying them. Carle must have remembered that and shared it with Anna as a fellow “ally on the same team.”
Armand just smiled and nodded at Anna, silently thanking her for the thoughtful gesture.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Anna apologized once she sat down. “Just now a guest came in with a cat to pick out some clothes, and the cat accidentally knocked over a bottle of perfume. I had to clean up all the glass and perfume quickly. Otherwise, someone could slip and really get hurt.”
Evelia and Armand had been wondering what she was doing just now, but once they heard it was just a small accident, they didn’t ask any more questions.
Still, Armand was a little bothered. As he lifted his teacup to cover his expression, he glanced over at Anna and Evelia, wondering silently.
Is it just me, or is the smell in here ridiculously strong?
Is my sense of smell too sensitive or something?
Thinking that, he uncomfortably took several big gulps of tea. His throat felt dry and sore, and if it weren’t for the tea suppressing it, he probably would’ve started coughing from the overwhelming scent.
Anna might not have noticed Armand’s subtle reaction. But Evelia, as the former “Red Crow,” definitely did.
Even though she was now working hard to be a good wife, she hadn’t forgotten the skills she used to rely on. The moment Armand’s gaze fell on her, Evelia also slightly tilted her head and looked back at him, almost as if asking, ‘What’s wrong?’
Armand was a bit startled when their eyes met, but then he reminded himself, this woman beside him was someone with a past worthy of a martial-arts novel. So he relaxed a little, blinked, and lightly shook his head to signal that it wasn’t a big deal and she shouldn’t worry about it.
“Alright, let’s get down to business. Miss Evelia, Captain Armand, what kind of style do you prefer?”
Seeing that neither of them had anything else to say, Anna brought out her main task for today.
She laid out all her design sketches on the table for Evelia and Armand to look through one by one.
“Mr. Armand, what do you think?”
Evelia, as usual, didn’t voice her own opinion and instead tossed the question back to Armand.
Armand sighed with mild frustration.
“I thought I told you when we were picking out your dress for the ballroom, you need to have your own opinion on things.”
That was exactly what he had said back then.
When Evelia said “anything is fine,” Armand had insisted on giving her the right to choose.
Back when she served under the Second Prince, Evelia never had the freedom to choose anything for herself. But that time, under Armand’s guidance, she had taken a small but important step.
That feeling, having the right to choose freely, was probably a major turning point that helped her find the courage to leave her past behind.
“…Mm.”
Hearing Armand say this, Evelia didn’t argue like she might have months ago.
Back then, it took a long time for Armand to convince her to pick a dress for herself. But Evelia had changed since then.
She was still a bit inexperienced, still a little behind others her age when it came to normal development. But now, she had the courage to face and overcome those gaps.
“Then… Anna, could you tell me the pros and cons or unique features of each dress?”
Evelia wasn’t good at picking out clothes. In the past, even if she walked outside wearing a sack, she wouldn’t have minded. When she used to be a man, she never cared much about what she wore.
But now, she was going to be the wife of someone as outstanding as Mr. Armand, so she had to choose the best.
That’s why she decided to rely on the same instinct she used when picking weapons.
Although the Second Prince had many rules and restrictions, when it came to "weapons that feel right in your hand," he didn’t interfere too much. Evelia had to choose the weapon herself because how it felt would affect the mission. So, in a way, this was the only area where the Second Prince actually gave her the freedom to decide for herself.
And when choosing a weapon, the most important things were how it felt and what its strengths and weaknesses were.
Since the dresses were still just sketches, Evelia focused on their “advantages and disadvantages.”
Armand, who was sitting nearby, saw the serious look in Evelia’s eyes and felt comforted.
He didn’t interrupt Evelia and Anna’s discussion. He just quietly listened to their back-and-forth conversation.
At first, Armand worried Evelia might not understand some of the fashion terms. But thoughtful Anna didn’t use any complicated words. She kept things simple and easy to understand, which helped Armand relax.
With nothing else to do, Armand listened to the two of them while thinking about the things he needed to deal with soon.
He still had to go to the knights’ headquarters. It was his job, after all. And since he didn’t want their relationship to be exposed, he had to keep showing up like normal. As for his current habit of skipping a few days here and there. Well, that didn’t matter too much. With Carle covering for him, he could just say he was out on field work.
Looking at the calendar, the engagement party was only a few days away. But the dress Evelia was choosing now wasn’t for the engagement party, it was for the much later wedding.
Anna had originally brought it up because she wanted to make the perfect wedding dress for Evelia. She hoped Evelia could decide on a design early, so there would be time to refine every detail before the big day. That’s why they were using today’s engagement-dress fitting as a chance to also pick out the wedding gown.
To Armand, it felt a little early. After all, the wedding date hadn’t even been set yet. But seeing how excited Evelia was, her eyes lit up when Anna said the words “wedding dress”, he couldn’t say no. So he agreed and came with her.
As for everything else...
“—Mr. Armand, it’s time to try on the clothes.”
“...?”
It was like his thoughts were suddenly cut off. When he came back to himself, Evelia was holding his arm, trying to help him stand up.
“You two finished talking about the wedding dress already?”
Looking confused, Armand glanced at Evelia and Anna. Then he looked at the table, where Anna had somehow already drawn another thick book full of design sketches. He had no idea how much time had passed.
“Mm, now it’s time for us to try on the outfits for the engagement party. Then Anna will take your measurements and talk with you about what style suits you best.”
“...Ah, okay.”
Armand nodded vaguely in response to Evelia’s words. As Anna walked over carrying two boxes with new clothes, he was about to take the outfit and go to the changing room by himself.
But Evelia took both boxes with one hand, and with the other hand, she tightly held onto Armand’s arm.
“Let’s change together, Mr. Armand. That way we can see if the outfits match. And as your maid, I should help you get dressed too.”
“......”
Hearing that, and seeing the way Evelia was looking at him, Armand leaned over awkwardly and whispered into her ear.
“...This is a public place, Eve.”
“That’s why we’re going inside.”
Evelia sounded perfectly reasonable. Before Armand could protest, she had already pulled him into the changing room.
Anna watched the two of them walk in together, barely able to hide her excitement. She happily waved at Evelia through the closing door, then sat on the sofa, picked up a macaron from the tray.
“Whew, I feel like I could eat even more now.”