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☾ five ☾

I followed him here, thinking it was just going to be a simple walk, but my father was going around this high-end street buying everything I looked at.

'So burdensome.'

Of course, shopping was part of my 'New Life' plans, but buying things thoughtlessly like this was not.

I had planned on getting things that matched my tastes after all.

'Is he testing my patience to see how I'll react?'

If I could, I wanted to just drop everything and go home.

But in reality, I was just a Duke's daughter who was unable to stand on her own two feet.

There was no reason for me to disobey my father's will.

'Yeah, it's my fault for being incapable.'

As I let out a small sigh, something was shoved in front of my face.

Oh, it was the bizarre-looking porcelain rabbit I had been looking at in the store earlier.

'If I reveal it was a mistake....I'll probably get in trouble, right?'

Left with no choice, I accepted the figure as I heard my father speak.

"Let's go."

For some reason, my father looked a bit more relaxed than usual, to the extent that one may think something good happened.

'Well, it's definitely not from bothering me like this, maybe it's that.'

I sighed while glancing at the porters.

It seemed my father was the type to relieve stress by shopping.

Careful not to ruin the mood, I cautiously walked behind him.

At that moment, someone came into view.

'A woman...but she's wearing a sword?'

In our empire, where gender discrimination was very much real, it was hard for one not to notice a woman walking around with a sword as it was a rare sight.

'I thought the number of swordswomen fell ever since the captain of the previous Empress' royal guards, Yulia, went missing.'

Maybe it was because it was my first time in a while seeing a swordswoman in the capital?

Though people have been talking about it, I thought that it'd be nice if there would be many active swordswomen again one day.

"Wait here for a moment."

I watched my father approach the woman.

'Do they know each other?'

As soon as they disappeared from view, I felt the shift in attention of the people around me.

"Just now, wasn't that the Duke of Floyen?"

I began to hear whispers and it seemed like they were looking at me–it was unpleasant.

'Ah, I want to go somewhere where it's quiet and rest -'

As I began to shuffle somewhere, Geraldine, my cousin and guard, called out to me.

"Juvellian. Where do you think you're going?"

Meeting Geraldine's eyes, I frowned when I sensed that they seemed to convey his thoughts about how I was probably going to cause some kind of trouble.

"There are many eyes here, Sir Geraldine, you shouldn't speak to me so casually."

He seemed startled by my scolding, but with an embarrassed face, he quickly corrected himself.