Morning comes without a hint of sunlight to escort it. If Cedric had not woken her, Kirsi would not have known that it was already 9 am. She yawned widely and writhed on the bed like a caterpillar. A second later, she realized that it was not a good thing for a noble lady to display in front of her husband, so her feelings became uneasy. Besides wanting to vomit, Kirsi also wanted to find a hole to bury herself in. Usually, Alruna would come to wake her up every morning. Cedric would be the first to wake up between them, and he would be the first to leave the house. Kirsi would not have thought that this grey dawning would be decorated with Cedric's astonished face.
Kirsi thought that Cedric was astonished by her impertinence. She just didn't know that Cedric was surprised to find that she could make anything other than a cold and stern expression.
"Let's go shopping."
"Huh?" Kirsi was silent for a moment. She sat on the bed with her dress straps down. "What do you want to buy? "
Thus, Cedric pointed at her barely exposed chest and replied while wearing an expression full of disdain. "Your clothes are all too thin and lacking in material. You won't be able to survive in those northern climates."
"How impolite!" Kirsi, who was already embarrassed, became aggressive. She caught Cedric's finger pointing at her chest and pushed it aside. The blanket was pulled up to her nose so she could hide her face. It wasn't her fault that Kirsi's entire wardrobe was filled with thin and lacking in material clothes!
"Get ready, I'll be waiting downstairs."
"... Yeah."
Snow had piled up along the way. They couldn't force the horse-drawn carriage to get out and slide down a road full of obstacles like this. Being stuck in the middle of falling snow wouldn't be a pleasant thing. The safest and most practical option is to ride a horse. Even though she still had a lot of fear, Kirsi didn't resist much when she was lifted into the saddle of the horse. Following her, Cedric climbed up in one graceful motion and sat behind her. This time he didn't make fun of her by asking her to hold the horse's reins.
And as usual, the escorting cavalry also followed behind.
Along the streets of this monochrome world, people can still carry out their usual activities. Even though there seems to be a little additional difficulty while they are carrying out activities during this endless onslaught of snow. Butchers sell their wares in the open air without thinking about the risks. On the other hand, it is very difficult to sell products in liquid form because the freezes speed at the minus temperature of the surrounding environment is too difficult to trick. Moreover, in this bad weather, using firewood is very wasteful even just to keep warm. So not many people choose to sell ready-to-eat food and drinks. No wonder more people choose to sell clothes and the like that won't be affected by the cruel weather.
They arrived at a shopping centre in Royalty Passage, the district just south of Prince Way where they lived. The horse's trip took half as fast as the horse-drawn carriage, even if the horse's speed had been slowed to such an extent, so as not to make Kirsi sick for the umpteenth time this morning.
The first store they visited was a luxury clothing store with four stories. The exterior looks promising with imitation vines made of a mixture of copper and iron. The walls were made of stacked mountain stones glued together with a material Kirsi didn't know. When the door is opened, the small bell attached above the door will ring melodiously like a bird's chirping. As soon as they entered, the beautiful and seductive store manager shortly welcomed them.
Since the shop was filled with lots of room heaters, it didn't hurt for the store manager to step out in her strapless gown that was even more revealing than Kirsi's nightgown. An ivory cigar polished to a shine was attached to her slender fingers. One puff was pulled and a plume of smoke was blown from her scarlet lips. Her smile was languid and seductive as she said, "Welcome back, Your Majesty."
The shop manager's eyes then fell on Kirsi and scanned her up and down like a cash register barcode scanner.
Being looked at in that way, Kirsi looked back in the same way while folding her arms. Why did this person have a myriad of hatred hidden behind her eyes? Is she one of Cedric's past lovers who still can't move on from her feelings after being left married?
After all, who was this person, to dare look at a Crown Princess in such a terrifying manner?
"Could you please put out your cigarette for a second?" As if he could read the atmosphere well, Cedric intervened by standing between them. His tall body blocked the shop manager's view of Kirsi. He continued, "My wife doesn't like the smell of cigarette smoke."
Kirsi truly didn't like it. But she never said it for fear of offending the smoker, Cedric.
So, how could this man know it? Was he just guessing?
Come to think of it, whenever Kirsi was around, Cedric would have put out his cigarette. As if he did it out of habit.
"Ah, O God, forgive my impoliteness, Your Majesty." The shop manager, Yuliya, instantly tapped her ivory pipe against the ashtray and threw away all the tobacco inside. After that, her ivory pipe was casually placed on the counter and she approached the two of them. This time with a friendlier expression.
"Choose as many outfits as you like." Cedric put his heavy, strong hand on Kirsi's shoulder. He's trying to indicate that their relationship is very intimate in public sight. Kirsi also followed his game by leaning comfortably on his arm while hugging his robust waist.
Glancing at Yuliya, Kirsi said, "Husband, can you choose the clothes for me?"
Cedric never expected that Kirsi would go this far with him, including making fun of him by having to choose too many types of women's clothing for her. Cedric looked at her with a "Are you serious?" look and was answered by her with a "Never this serious" look.
Left with no other choice, the man swallowed his backfire plan and said, "Alright. What kind of clothes do you want?"
"Thick and excess material clothes."
God, did she still hold a grudge about that moment at the house?
"... Okay. "
Cedric went to choose clothes with several shop assistants who moved anxiously around him, leaving Kirsi and Yuliya who looked at each other with fake friendliness.
Kirsi remembered who this woman was. In the novel, she is an insignificant character whose name only passes by once in a while. But if one were to read carefully, it's easy to notice that this woman was actually involved in a lot of trouble. Her name is Yuliya Corvina Wings, the youngest daughter of the Wings aristocratic family who is engaged in the sugar sales industry in this country. Her father was the Duke of Adira, a duke who had a fief in Aslaug. Her eldest brother was the Marquis of Agni, who, despite not having a fiefdom under his name, was a veteran in the military. And many more accomplished people in her family cannot be mentioned one by one. Because of that, this woman has many acquaintances in the upper social circles who make her not afraid of many things.
Yuliya is quite famous in upper-class social circles, especially because she is so beautiful and dignified. If only Kirsi had not read the novel carefully, she would not have known that this woman was precisely more terrifying than the real Kirsi. Just because she prefers to play behind the scenes in clean sneaky ways, not many certainly know that she has a bunch of bad thoughts going through her head. She was also one of the people who had brought the real Kirsi into disrepute. In the novel scripts, Yuliya has been an adversary of heroin on many occasions, but her name never appears at all because she prefers to encourage others to do the dirty work for her. And the real Kirsi is one of the fools to do that voluntarily.
If only the real Kirsi was a little smarter, perhaps the person who would end up being shot in the western border forest would be Yuliya, not her.
Now, Kirsi and Yuliya's relationship is still not so good. In the future, if she follows the script of the novel, the two of them will conspire to bring down Viona and seize the position of the villainess. Unfortunately, because Yuliya was too cunning and careful, only Kirsi was caught and exposed to the sap until the end. But worry not, presently, the person inside Kirsi's body is someone who has some impression of the future. She will not be stuck in the same hole as the real Kirsi.
If Yuliya is the last person she can team up with in this world, then Kirsi should be alone forever.
Kirsi gave a brief nod of greeting. Then she turned and went to the menswear section. Kirsi chose from among the many lined men's clothing and picked up a plain black satin shirt that had a very smooth texture. Unexpectedly, Yuliya followed suit and commented on her choice, "Ah, your choice is very good, Your Highness. Did you choose it for someone?"
Kirsi replied with fake friendliness, "Yeah, for who else if not my husband?"
"Oh!" Yuliya pretended to put on a surprised face. "Really? If I remember correctly, despite looking aloof, doesn't His Majesty prefer clothes that are a bit glamorous? You could have chosen fabrics with more patterns, like the one on the other end."
Kirsi smiled gently, "My my, was that a suggestion from a friend?"
Yuliya smiled back more gently. "Yes, this is advice from someone who has spent a dozen years with His Majesty."
"Well..." Kirsi lifted her choice of clothes and shook them right in front of Yuliya. "As the wife who sees him sleeping and waking up next to me every day, I think this one suits him better. After all, I dressed up for my husband, that's why I let him choose clothes for me. Wouldn't it be fair if I also do the same for him?"
Yuliya smiled broadly and nodded. "You are right, Your Highness."
She might be able to fool others with such a hypocritical gesture, but Kirsi as the more hypocritical person certainly saw through it.
Half an hour was spent selecting several sets of thick clothing suitable for the extreme climate of the North. Cedric chose many types of outerwear that were suitable for his wife, and most of the types he took were entirely black. Unexpectedly, Kirsi also did the same thing. Cedric chose pure black because he often saw his wife wearing black. Meanwhile, Kirsi wore black because almost the entire contents of her wardrobe were filled with that colour. Nonetheless, Kirsi could more or less guess that the reason why her wardrobe was stocked with black was that Cedric liked that colour.
As it turned out, the real Kirsi was unexpectedly quite romantic.
Since they didn't bring the carriage today, the shop would especially deliver their groceries home. Yuliya escorted the two of them to the front door of the shop with a friendly smile. Not to forget, as an additional pleasantry, Yuliya moreover offered Kirsi to come to her 'small' tea party next week. As the date of the party overlapped with the date of their departure to Alba, Kirsi did not give a definite answer and only said that she would work on it. Yuliya basically offered without expecting her arrival, of course, she wouldn't be disappointed at all.
The snow was thick and already piled up on the shop floor. As soon as they walked out the front door, Cedric's dashing horse was waiting with a body of guards. Kirsi lifted the hem of her dress high before plunging herself into the snow and moving towards the horse. Unfortunately, Cedric was quicker to catch her, so Kirsi got on the horse saddle carried like a child. Reflexively her hands wrapped around Cedric's neck. Not forgetting that Kirsi also took the time to look back over Cedric's neck and see how Yuliya could no longer act calm and was burning with jealousy. Kirsi smiled mockingly and deliberately brushed her cheek against Cedric's neck.
Amused, Cedric pinched her face by accident. Kirsi complained and the man burst out laughing. This harmonious view became fuel for Yuliya's jealousy which was already soaring high. She bit the tip of her fingernail so furiously that the red paint that was applied peeled off.
On the other hand, as soon as they both got on the horse's saddle, Kirsi who was cold soon leaned comfortably on Cedric's broad chest. Thick robes and layers of blankets are yet not enough to ward off cold. Sense how Kirsi was snuggled against his chest, Cedric swatted away the falling snowflakes by placing one hand in front of Kirsi's face. As a result, Kirsi couldn't see anything now. But fortunately, her face was spared from the downpour of freezing snowflakes.
"Still cold?" Cedric asked.
Kirsty shook her head. Now she asked in turn, "Is it true that you prefer glamorous clothes?"
Kirsi deliberately chose clothes that were opposite to those described by Yuliya simply because she felt she didn't want to be outdone. If it was true that Cedric preferred that type of clothing, of course, she would feel guilty. If one sees how Cedric has been dressed so far, it's not surprising to conclude that that's his sense of dress.
But to her surprise, Cedric answered her lightly and explained, "No. I hate clothes that are too crowded."
Kirsi looked up and could only see the undersides of Cedric's leather-gloved palms. "Then is Lady Wings just guessing your taste buds?"
Cedric glanced down so that the tip of his nose touched the top of her head. "Did she say that?"
"Yeah, I feel bad for purposely buying the opposite type of clothing from the one she mentioned. So, what kind of clothes do you prefer? I'll keep that in mind."
"Your clothing choices have been good. I'm not too picky."
"But it seems all your wardrobe at home looks like the carefully selected kind."
"Oh," Cedric masterfully held the reins with one hand. "Most of my clothes are chosen by someone else."
"Someone else? "
"My father, sometimes the Empress, sometimes my younger sisters. But more often it's my foster mother."
"Your foster mother? Who is your foster mother?" This was the first time Kirsi had heard of it.
Cedric laughed and replied, "You know her."
"Huh? Who?"
"Alruna."
Kirsi almost bit her tongue.