Chapter : 22
I thought the original story had ended, but here’s
I had been so distracted by the invitation that I secretly turned around behind my mother and opened the letter.
To Miss Tina Valentine, the youngest daughter of the Valentine family.
The weather is getting colder. Are you in good health? I suppose you must be busy preparing for the upcoming Founding Festival, just like I am. I thought you might need some assistance for the preparations, so I am sending you an invitation to the salon.
Since Mr. Asad is indebted to you, please accept this as a token of repayment without hesitation. I look forward to seeing you at the Founding Festival.
…
P.S. It seems Mr. Asad still doesn’t fully know the manners expected of a noble, so I hope you can guide him as a friend. Especially on the day of the festival, I will send a carriage, so please come comfortably.
It seemed that what the Empress really wanted to say was in the postscript.
Now that I thought about it, the last time I was summoned by the Empress, she said she would leave Asad in my care and said with a confident expression, “I’ll make sure he’s properly taken care of!”
Was this what she meant by “properly taken care of”?
Anyway, she asked me to guide Asad. Seeing that she even sent a letter like this, it seemed that even the Empress was struggling with Asad’s education.
Before losing his memories, Asad could be called a wild troublemaker. Knowing his uncooperative nature, I had already expected the result.
After losing his memory, he obeyed no one except the person he recognized, Evelyn. Asad was someone entirely removed from the noble temperament by birth.
His personality even showed in swordsmanship. If Leopold practiced orderly, classical techniques, Asad’s style was wilder… untamed.
He was truly untrainable. If he hadn’t fallen for Evelyn, he would have lived freely forever.
…Even so, I never imagined she would delegate full authority to me. What could she possibly trust me with?
Surely, after I returned, Asad must have said something about me. What on earth was he thinking?
“The Empress would bestow such a favor…”
“….”
My mother didn’t seem particularly interested in my connection with the Empress; she was more focused on the fact that we could go to the salon.
I wondered what she would do if questioned about the “connection,” but luckily, she seemed simple-minded.
“Your father also wanted to come, but unfortunately he has work today, so it looks like it will just be the two of us.”
Both my parents were typical nobles who enjoyed extravagance.
Although my mother spoke as if it were a shame, she didn’t seem disappointed at all. She seemed to have already forgotten about my father.
Rather, she seemed more thrilled about the opportunity to go to the Empress’s salon.
I had received the invitation, yet it felt like my mother was the one who was happier. I really couldn’t tell who the adult was.
But I had no intention of simply accepting the Empress’s favor. Who knew how many times she would repay me in the future.
I would refuse. With that resolve, I opened my mouth.
“Mother.”
“Hm? Why?”
My mother turned to me, her face brimming with expectation, almost as if she had reverted to being a thirteen-year-old child herself.
Seeing my expression, she looked slightly hesitant and said,
“You’re not saying you won’t go, are you, Tina?”
“….”
She looked ready to scold me at any moment. I hesitated to speak.
Just as I parted my lips, a voice filled with resentment came from behind.
“I want to go too!”
“Cheater!”
My older brother and eldest sister were peeking around the corner. They seemed jealous that I was the only one going to the Empress’s salon.
They had also loved jewelry. In this household, I seemed to be the only one who wasn’t interested. And yet, I had received an invitation to the salon—it was such an irony.
“…Hah.”
This… seemed difficult to refuse.
Salon de Francia
This place, named after the Empress and sponsored by the prestigious Winterchester family, was the largest salon in the empire.
Separate from the harem established within the imperial palace, it was mainly where the Empress held social gatherings or visited for adornment.
Located in a quiet area of the capital, it was so lavish and beautiful that it felt as if the palace itself had been compressed into this space.
When our carriage arrived at the main gate, someone came to greet us from afar.
“Welcome. Are you guests of the Empress? We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Yes!”
My mother cheerfully answered on my behalf, as if trying to get ahead of me. I followed her into the salon.
I had expected the Empress’s salon to have a more closed-off atmosphere, but other guests were also visible. Perhaps because the Founding Festival was tomorrow, the place was crowded with notable figures of society.
After a moment, someone approached us.
“Miss Tina Valentine?”
I looked up and saw a dignified-looking man in his late thirties with black hair.
Behind him, a line of people stood politely with their hands clasped. They appeared to be staff members of the salon.
“I am Marcel, the general manager of Salon de Francia. I’ve been informed by the Empress. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tina.”
The man who introduced himself as Marcel naturally greeted my mother.
“Oh, Tina is my daughter, not me.”
My mother, being called “Miss Tina,” waved her hand and pointed to me.
Marcel’s expression briefly flickered with embarrassment, but he quickly regained his professional composure.
“My apologies. It seems this is the first time such a young guest of the Empress has visited. May I ask your relationship with Her Majesty…?”
“We have only met a few times at the palace.”
Indeed, the title of general manager of the Empress’s salon was not just for show.
Marcel seemed to be rapidly calculating how to handle me in a way that would benefit him.
“I see. My apologies. Then, Miss Tina and Mrs. Valentina, please choose a designer.”
A designer? Ah, all those staff behind Marcel must be the designers. I looked around.
Each guest seemed to have a personal staff member assigned. The salon appeared to operate on a one-on-one production system.
“Of course, you may choose me. In fact, it would be an honor if you did. I have managed all of the Empress’s guests myself.”
“Ha, haha…”
Marcel’s overwhelming expression filled my vision. Was he telling me to choose or not?
Perhaps he was trying to appeal to me, Her Majesty’s guest, to impress the Empress, but I was not particularly close to the Empress.
I turned my gaze from Marcel’s intense stare.
“…Hm?”
I spotted someone familiar in the corner of the salon, cleaning a window.
Our eyes met. A young man, perhaps in his early twenties. That person…
“I’ll choose him.”
Although I had only met him once before, I remembered him clearly.
“Th-That one is just a cleaning staff member, a complete amateur. Surely someone else—”
“It’s fine. I want him.”
I spoke, ignoring Marcel’s evident shock.
“But…”
“Marcel, you are skilled, so please take care of my mother instead.”
“No, I… understood.”
I smiled brightly. Marcel’s reluctance was obvious. Pointing to a guest? Heh.
After my mother left with Marcel, the person I had been waiting for approached me.
“I heard you chose me…”
“Yes.”
My eyes had not deceived me.
With pale purple hair and deep violet eyes, his unique appearance was unforgettable.
Before me was Ian, who would become the empire’s top designer in the future. He was currently a cleaning staff member, but his talent would soon shine.
Within five years, he would be the empire’s best designer. Later, it would be difficult to even get a reservation.
To meet him here was incredible luck.
“So… shall we start with your hair?”
He hesitated as he approached, holding scissors, looking flustered. I peered at him through the mirror.
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s my first time styling a girl.”
Hmm… perhaps I shouldn’t have chosen him.
“Your sense is truly exceptional, Miss Tina.”
Marcel, the general manager, exaggeratedly gestured and praised me.
I hadn’t done anything yet—why was I being praised?
All the skill belonged to Ian. But no one would guess that the cleaning staff had such talent.
Ian’s touch was extraordinary. From head to toe, everything he touched seemed to bloom beautifully.
My previously unkempt long hair was neatly trimmed and braided, tied up without a strand out of place, decorated with fresh white flowers.
The white dress, reaching past my knees, balanced noble elegance with youthful energy. Every accessory—from headpiece to earrings—was meticulously prepared.
All the salon staff crowded around me, looking as if in a dream.
“You look stunning.”
“I’d even want to recruit you for our salon.”
Unfortunately, the person who deserved these compliments had gone back to cleaning the garden.
Though not yet fully recognized, he was already the empire’s top talent. A shame—I wanted to recruit him to the mansion.
In my life as a noble, had I ever worn something so beautiful?
I liked dresses, jewelry, and sparkling accessories, but I was not an obsessive collector. Unlike the rest of my family, I wasn’t fixated on jewelry.
So I was usually content with even fake items, thinking, “This is good enough.” But even I could recognize the quality.
Just changing the outfit and styling transformed me this much.
I really did look different. Ian was incredible. Too talented to be just a cleaner.
Ah, whatever.
I gathered my courage and spoke to the manager.
“I’d like to invite the person who styled me today to my mansion. Is that possible?”
“That’s…”
He hesitated. Ian seemed uncomfortable receiving attention.
“Could it be that he’s fully booked too?”
“Oh, no. But he wouldn’t be of much use there.”
“That’s fine. I just want to express my gratitude.”
I hid my true feelings and smiled childishly.
