A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 50.1
The carriage that left the duke’s estate sped toward the salon district.
“Nancy, here.”
I took something out of my pouch and handed it to Nancy. Inside were three or four unused rings and bracelets I’d taken from the jewelry box.
Thanks to the Duke giving me cash, I no longer had any use for them.
“Return these to their place properly.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Nancy carefully gathered them and tucked them away as if they were precious.
I clicked my tongue while glancing at the coachman’s seat.
Unfortunately, today’s companions weren’t limited to just a maid and a coachman.
‘So he really sent a bodyguard along.’
And not just any guard, a telepathic Awakener, at that.
It may have been under the pretense of protection, but it was obvious he’d assigned someone to monitor me after my last unauthorized outing.
‘Is this what they call giving medicine after causing the illness?’
He gives me a pouch of money, only to restrict my movement right after.
It made me uncomfortable, realizing the Duke was already adjusting to his daughter’s change in personality.
‘Good thing I gave Eston a heads-up beforehand.’
Before long, we arrived at our destination.
Since the duke’s estate was located in the heart of the capital, it hadn’t been far.
As soon as the carriage came to a stop, the escort knight sitting in front shot out like a bullet to open the door for me.
“Please take my hand, Miss.”
“Mm, thank you.”
Accepting his help to step down, I then said calmly,
“You’re to wait out here.”
“Pardon? But I’m supposed to stay by your side for your safety, Miss.”
“I’ll only be inside the salon. What kind of danger could there be? It’s not like you’re going to stand around watching me change clothes.”
“T-That’s…”
“Besides, wouldn’t it be easier to report to Father whether I stray from the path or not by keeping watch from here?”
“……!”
A direct hit. The escort knight froze like a mute with a mouth full of honey.
They must’ve deliberately picked someone who’d confess quickly.
Too bad for the Duke. Looks like this one lacked experience.
Leaving the stammering guard behind, I slipped into the salon.
Thankfully, it seemed my argument had been persuasive enough; the knight didn’t follow me inside.
“Oh my! Welcome, Lady Edith~!”
The salon owner greeted me warmly.
“I’d like to look around slowly.”
“We’ve cleared all the way up to the third floor just for you today, so take all the time you like! Hohoho!”
As she said, the inside was completely empty.
Because I’d told the Duke I wanted to shop in peace, he’d rented out the entire boutique.
‘Money really is a wonderful thing.’
Clicking my tongue at the overwhelming power of House Blake’s wealth, I waited until the owner was gone and quickly slipped on a robe hanging on a rack. Then I told Nancy,
“Pick out a few things that look decent.”
“Ah, Miss. Are you sure that’s okay…?”
“Just skip anything with too many frills or embellishments.”
“But still…”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Leaving the worried-looking Nancy behind, I headed straight for the stairs.
If I wanted to make it back in time, I was already running tight on schedule.
I climbed all the way to the top floor in one go and crossed the long hallway.
The third floor was made up of several rooms, seemingly designated as private dressing areas.
Thanks to slipping the owner some money ahead of time via Eston the day before, there wasn’t a single worker in sight.
It was quite satisfactory.
― Find a boutique where I can sneak out easily.
― You’re not asking because you think I’m your maid… are you? Ah, fine. I’ll find one right away.
Unlike Nancy, Eston was weak to money.
Judging by how flawlessly she carried out the task the moment I gave her a ruby ring, the rumors about her transferring to the Duke’s household for the salary must’ve been true.
‘She’d probably have done well as a secretary instead of a healer.’
I let out a small chuckle as I opened the heavy iron door at the end of the hall.
What greeted me was a rooftop full of rolls of fabric.
Apparently, the owner of this salon also operated the accessory shop next door.
So she used the top floor of the neighboring building as storage and had connected the rooftops to save time. That was the intel Eston had gathered.
‘There it is…!’
As I circled the rooftop, I soon spotted a makeshift skybridge. It was a rough plank of wood placed between the buildings.
Thankfully, the buildings were close enough together.
If they hadn’t been, I would’ve had a hard time with my fear of heights.
Creak, creak…
Carefully stepping across the wooden planks, I crossed over to the rooftop of the neighboring building and pulled the hood of the robe over my head.
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