In the morning, I finished the outfit that had been tailored for an upcoming occasion, and it was successfully delivered.

Strictly speaking, all I did today was the final touches, but it ended up taking the whole morning.

Even though it was just the finishing adjustments after the fitting—like taking in the waist—the request had come from a ducal family.

On top of that, it was an outfit meant to be worn at the royal castle by the adopted daughter of a certain earl’s house, which has been the subject of all kinds of rumors.

Even the slightest mistake wouldn’t be allowed.

I personally wouldn’t mind, and I get the feeling that even Seriana and the others wouldn’t get that mad as long as no one was intentionally slacking off, but… our reputation within the industry would take a serious hit if anything went wrong.

This affects our future too, so of course we’d take it seriously.

As usual, I wasn’t the one footing the bill, so I have no idea how much this commission actually costs, but working for nobles really is tough.

The payment is probably good, and it brings prestige, but on the flip side, the consequences of failure are just as big…

Now that I think about it, the craftsman at Riana’s place who initially took on the request must’ve had some guts to say, “At this rate, we won’t make the deadline.”

Even if the delay was due to the war—which was beyond their control—it still took some serious resolve to speak up.

Well… they did have an alternative plan ready, and maybe they trusted that Seriana would understand as long as there was a valid reason.

Anyway, the morning task was now done. After lunch, there was another meeting scheduled for the afternoon.

This time, it was with Arios, Seriana’s grandfather, who manages the Müller family’s estate in the royal capital.

That said, it wasn’t going to be a formal noble-to-noble meeting. It was simply to report that we’d arrived in the royal capital, and also to help Seriana ease back into her “noble mode.”

If anything, we were the ones who had a reason to meet him, and yet we were the ones summoning him to the mansion…

Even if we are neighbors, it really makes you feel the difference in status.

◇

There are several drawing rooms on the first floor of the east wing, but our meeting with the old man was set to take place in a different one from where I had done the tailoring earlier that morning.

At first, I thought we’d be waiting for him in that room, but instead, we were told to wait in our own rooms on the second floor. Meanwhile, it seemed Miles—who’s in charge of the royal capital estate just like the old man—went to greet him instead.

About 20 minutes after the old man arrived at the mansion, a servant came to fetch us, and we headed over, but man… this kind of stuff is complicated.

Back in the domain, while it was rare to go all the way to the front entrance to greet someone, it was still normal to wait in the drawing room in advance, and then have Seriana welcome the guest there. And even when I ran errands to other nobles’ estates, it was always something like that. So I assumed that was just how things were done…

Maybe that was just a local rule unique to Riana?

But then again, when we greeted the craftsmen, we were already in the room ahead of time…

I don’t get it anymore!

I’ll soon become a noble myself, but I’m not going to take the lead on acting all noble with guests.

I don’t even know what the right answer is, and honestly, it’s way too much for me.

That’s it, I’ve made up my mind!

“…What were you thinking about?”

As we walked down the hallway, I had thought I was just mulling it over in my head, but maybe something had shown on my face.

Seriana, walking in front of me, glanced back with an exasperated look.

“Ah, I was just thinking… being a noble is complicated.”

“I see. Well, I suppose it’s something you just get used to. But you don’t have to force yourself to learn it.”

Saying that, she turned back around and resumed walking.

◇

When we arrived at the drawing room, it wasn’t just the old man and Miles—Liesel was there too, chatting with him.

After exchanging brief greetings, we took our seats and listened to their conversation. Apparently, not just Miles, but Liesel too had a fairly close relationship with the old man.

Despite the age and status gap, it seemed they had grown quite familiar with each other during Liesel’s time in the royal capital.

The two of them interacted in a surprisingly relaxed manner.

Seriana and I only nodded occasionally when addressed, otherwise just watching as the conversation between the three continued uninterrupted.

They were talking about the weather in the royal capital or something… If it were letters from other territories, that might make sense, but they’re talking about where we already are. This has got to be just killing time, right?

That’s what I was thinking, and then—as soon as the servant brought in tea—the idle conversation between Liesel and the others came to a sudden halt, and from there, the meeting wrapped up.

“Well then, I’ll excuse myself now. Arios-dono, please take your time and relax.”

“I’ll be leaving as well. I’ve stationed a servant outside the door, so if you need anything, feel free to let him know.”

With that, Liesel and Miles stood up and left the room, leaving the three of us behind.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・ Blessing ・ 【Hideout】 +1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind’s Garment】

Blessed Item ・ 【Floating Orb】 +1 【Shadow Sword】 +1 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】 ・ 3 cards

Seriana ・ 【Area Detection】 ・ 【】 ・ 0 cards

Elena ・ 【】 ・ 【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】 ・ 4 cards

Alec ・ 【Strong Strike】 ・ 【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・ 10 cards