The Grand Duchess Escape

Read Advance chapters by becoming a patron of July 2021 patreon~

The reputation of Madame Efredieu, who ran the most exclusive boutiques, was truly remarkable.

Even aristocrats would wait months in advance to reserve a dress made by her to order.

“Madame Efredieu, someone from the Marquise Chartus mansion has come to see you.”

When Efredieu heard this from one of her staff members, she was puzzled at first.

No wonder. She had never received any order from the Chartus before.

It was strange, considering that they were one of the few marquise families in the Harmenian Empire and had two young daughters in the family.

The servant who faced Madame Efredieu immediately stated his business.

“I’ve come to ask for a wedding dress for the young Lady.”

“Ah, I see. If I may ask, when is the wedding?”

”Next month, Ma’am.”

Efredieu, who had been flipping through the calendar to check the dates, paused.

“Oh, that’s a bit of a problem. I’ve got a lot of orders here. I’m sorry, but my schedule is so packed…”

Just as she was about to decline the request…

“I’m sure the making of the Grand Duchess’s wedding attire will be useful to Madame in many ways.”

Madame Efredieu doubted her ears.

“Grand Duchess?! The young Lady’s marriage partner is the Grand Du-“

“Yes. It is His Excellency Grand Duke Calix Benvito.”

A wedding dress for the new Grand Duchess of Benvito.

This was on a whole different level than anything she had ever done before. It would have been impossible to say no. She couldn’t miss this chance at all costs.

She immediately postponed all the booked dates, leaving an entire month open, and apologized to her clients. It took more than half a day to send gifts and apologies to the other customers.

The problem could have been easily solved if she had mentioned that the reason was to make a wedding dress for the Grand Duke’s bride, but she had no choice because the matter was kept under wraps until an official announcement was made.

Anyway, having successfully cleared up her schedule, Efredieu, along with her staff prepared to visit the Marquis Chartus residence excitedly. 

“I’m curious to see what kind of person the young Lady is.”

Efredieu openly spoke to the employees who rode in the carriage with her.

“Me too!”

“His Excellency has decided to marry her! The Grand Duke himself!”

“Have you ever seen the young Lady’s face before?”

At her staff member’s question, Efredieu shook her head. She has only heard the name of Asella Chartus, but had never seen her face.

‘I was told that three years have passed since her first début…’

Madame Efredieu’s luxurious boutique also served as a salon, and she was able to secure quite a variety of connections and sources of information.

Despite this, there was little to no information about the two daughters of the Chartus family except for the occasional rumor.

However, Efredieu had a relatively vivid memory of the deceased Marquise Adele Chartus. Therefore, she was convinced that the young lady she was about to meet was a considerable beauty.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I am Madame Efredieu.”

Finally facing Asella, Efredieu realized that her thoughts about the lady were completely wrong.

The reason why she was able to become the most famous dress designer in the Empire in the first place was because of her natural sense of beauty. In Efredieu’s eyes, Asella was a person who could not be simply described with the word beauty.

Her deep blue eyes and shiny, wavy silver hair were features that could only be seen in the direct lineage of Chartus. Just like her mother, Asella had her own unique presence.

The natural elegance and grace that overflowed from her small body left Efredieu speechless for a moment.

“I am Asella Chartus.”

At Asella’s greeting, Efredieu got back to her senses.

‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Chartus. Ah, no, from now on, you will be Her Highness the Grand Duchess.”

The clever words were accompanied with a cordial smile. Soon after, with Efredieu’s meaningful glance, her boutique staff began to spread out dozens of fabrics and laces in front of Asella.

Asella nodded at her recommendations while listening calmly to Efredieu’s explanation.

She was familiar with Madame’s reputation, so it wasn’t a bad idea to leave it entirely to her, and as long as the design wasn’t too flashy, she was fine with it.

“Well then, may I take your measurements?”

“Ah.”

The anxiety surfaced on Asella’s face.

“Will you be the one to take the measurements?”

“Uh, yes, Your Highness.”

“I would like for the Madame to remain, and everyone else to leave.”

Madame Efredieu could guess the reason behind this request.

The high-ranking nobles did not want to be touched by the commoners. Efredieu was also an aristocrat, though she was of a lower rank, but she could run her boutique for the nobility because of that.

She also hired the daughters of fallen aristocrats or those in poor circumstances for the same reason.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Your Highness. Our boutique hires only impeccable people as employees.”

Efredieu clarified the status of the employees indirectly.

“It’s not like that.”

“What is the reason then?”

“I just don’t want to show my body to others.”

Efredieu tilted her head at Asella’s answer.

Nobles were generally accustomed to showing their bodies and being served by other people’s hands. They ate, washed, and changed their clothes in the same manner.

Servants were expected to work as the hands and feet of their masters.

It was normal for a noble family, especially the Chartus family, to live their lives without the need to raise a hand.

It was a little odd. But Efredieu was skilled enough to run the best boutiques in the empire, and she was quick to meet the needs of her customers.

“Will you all please leave for a moment?”

All the boutique employees, except for Efredieu, left and the door was closed.

“Your Highness, excuse me for a moment then.”

“Madame Efredieu.”

“Yes?”

“I would like you to pretend that you don’t know anything about it, even if you do.”

The out-of-context statement made Efredieu even more suspicious. However, Asella stopped talking completely after that one line.

Almost done with my thesis! thank you for being patient with me