Chapter 35
Unlike me, who lost nearly two years of memory due to the curse, Seraphina’s entire existence had been erased.
To those unfamiliar with her, she appeared to be a child who dropped from the sky.
But there were exceptions to this.
“When did you—wait, what is this kid?”
Only people unaffected by the curse remembered.
“No way… Is this the Saintess?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“That’s not something you explain with ‘something like that,’ you know?”
Esha wiped her forehead and sighed, trying to process it all. Sitting down, she glanced repeatedly at Seraphina.
“Seriously… what is going on…”
“Well, the curse is slowly lifting, so things will improve.”
If Rudina hadn’t messaged me about the progress, I’d have quit everything and run long ago.
Hope was more precious than I realized.
I gave Esha a brief rundown of my plans.
“So you’re wearing a dress you already have?”
“It’s a tea-tasting in name only. It’s really a gathering of noble mothers. If I show up flashy, I’ll just get glares.”
Luigi would build the connections for me. Why draw attention?
At that event, my best strategy is to play the ‘modest daughter-in-law’ role that Luigi expects.
“…Fair point.”
Esha nodded, but her pout betrayed her disappointment.
“I wanted to make you a dress. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Just admit your real reason.”
“It’d be great for our brand’s PR too!”
So shameless—it was very Esha.
“If you insist, why not make something for Seraphina instead?”
“For the Saintess?”
Though Esha knew Seraphina, she’d never made clothes for her.
As a high-ranking clergy member, Seraphina only wore temple-issued robes. But now, she was neither saint nor priest—just a baby.
She wore modified adult clothes, since—
She ripped up anything frilly and yanked off all her ribbons.
So I dressed her as plainly as possible, but…
“She doesn’t look comfortable.”
“What do you expect? It’s just adult clothes shrunk down.”
Even in my old world, the concept of “children’s clothing” was a recent development.
Before that, kids were treated like miniature adults—some even wore corsets.
“Think about it. This could be an opportunity. There’s no such thing as ‘children’s designer fashion’ here. You might be opening a new market.”
I nudged Esha in the direction of success—because I knew from the original that she’d hit it big with children’s fashion later.
She had failed multiple times trying to compete in the elite women’s fashion world.
‘Why go through all that again when she could skip straight to success?’
“Comfortable clothes, huh…”
Esha pondered.
“Using the Saintess as a model is a great idea… But I’m not sure it’ll be profitable.”
That was exactly why she’d taken a long route to success in the original. New markets were risky.
“That’s why you should target the wealthy.”
By that I meant nobles and rich merchants.
“A lot of middle-class families are stingy on themselves but spend freely on their kids.”
“I guess… Yeah, grandparents with money could be good customers too.”
“Right? Use premium fabrics but make them breathable. Show that you care about growing children.”
“A slogan like ‘A gift for our precious one’ could work.”
Esha got excited and began jotting ideas in her notebook.
“Any design ideas?”
“Focus on comfort and cuteness. Maybe a tunic with a Peter Pan collar…”
I glanced at Seraphina.
“Hemlines should be short enough to prevent tripping—kids fall easily.”
Seraphina’s dresses had been stitched to stop at her ankles—since she kept tripping over long hems.
“What color would suit her?”
“Honestly? Seraphina looks good in anything.”
Then, a message popped up.
– Divine Rudina recommends sky blue.
– She is amazed by how perfectly it suits Seraphina.
– She hints that choosing a sky-blue dress may become a historic turning point.
Maybe it’s because Seraphina is nearby, but there seems to be an unusual amount of divine dust floating around today.
– Divine Rudina says she no longer gets hurt.
Do gods develop thick skin too?
– Calculating estimated contribution to achievements…
I held my breath.
– Estimated contribution: 0.0000005%
That many decimal places?!
‘Go away.’
– (ಡ︷ಡ)
At this point, I had to wonder if Rudina only made Seraphina a saint to satisfy her personal taste.
But when I looked again, the divine dust was already gone.
“Looks like we’re done here.”
Esha smiled as she hugged her notebook filled with notes and sketches. A future asset, for sure.
“How should we split the profits?”
“You get 7, I get 1, Seraphina gets 2.”
“2?”
“She’s the model.”
“Ah.”
Esha accepted it.
“If Rudina’s temple ever gets revived, make a nice donation.”
No point in giving gold to a baby who didn’t understand its value yet.
This was partly to appease Esha—but it would have bigger consequences than expected.
– Seraphina’s cuteness spreads across the world.
– Number of followers believing in Rudina increases.
– Depression rates in the Empire decrease.
– Children’s fashion industry revitalized.
– Related job opportunities increase.
Okay, that’s a stretch…
– Successfully caused a historic turning point.
– Curse of Forgetfulness eased based on achievement score.
– Curse is now 36% lifted.
Seraphina truly deserved a celebration.
* * *
Recently, Gepetto had been feeling conflicted.
Was it because he couldn’t become a marquis?
Because Laura had taken everything?
No.
The real reason for his turmoil… was the small child who hovered near his knees.
Every time he passed near Laura’s room, the child would look up and say:
“Sambton!” (Uncle!)
At first, he was shocked.
Uncle?! Me?!
He’d avoided her at the ruined temple—but later, he found himself thinking about her.
Her tiny hands, her chubby cheeks, the way her eyes curved when she smiled at him.
Gepetto thought he hated kids.
Every time he scowled, they’d cry. So he assumed they were incompatible.
But Seraphina always smiled at him. She was… strange.
And stranger still—he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
At first, he only saw her by chance. But now…
He started wandering near the corridor just to catch a glimpse of her.
He couldn’t believe he was paying attention to a child.
‘Why does she have to be so stupidly cute…’
He muttered to himself, then groaned and rolled around in bed.
‘Just once—I want to pull those cheeks.’
They looked so peachy and soft, like they’d stretch endlessly.
In the past, he acted on impulse all the time. Who would’ve dared stop the heir of the Luweiz family?
But since returning from prison, he had learned restraint.
‘If I tried now… Laura would probably punch me.’
Or worse—he might leave a red mark on her soft cheeks.
‘Damn it, why is she so fragile-looking?!’
He buried his head under the pillow.
Still… one thing nagged him.
Why does that child call me “uncle” as soon as she sees me?
‘Wait a second.’
Gepetto sat up.
‘Just when did Laura give birth to that kid…?’
Jajajjajajajajaj…. the goddess’ response is funny …🤣