“A thousand resos? Your eyes must be on the soles of your feet!”

“What…?”

When I turned sharply to walk out, the clerk ran out of his stand and rushed with a stupid face.

“Customer! Where are you going?”

“I can’t leave my dress in a place where its value isn’t appreciated. I’ll go to another store.”

“No, please! I’ll give you two thousand resos!”

I turned around, slowly lowering my hand that had been stretched to open the door at the clerk’s urgent new offer.

“Two thousand five hundred.”

“If we offer that high, there will be nothing left for us.”

“Two thousand eight hundred.”

At my firm words, the clerk jumped and asked, “What? Why is the price going up?”

I slowly parted my lips, staring at him with a frown at his nonsense.

“Now three thousand. That is the price of wasting my time.”

“Oh, I see! “Three thousand, three thousand, please wait a moment!”

Even the frills were delicate and the fabric made of silver itself made the dress unique, so it seemed expensive. The clerk quickly disappeared into a room, afraid that I might change my mind.

‘Shouldn’t I have priced it higher?’ I wondered, seemingly regretting settling for three thousand.

I sat on the stool and tapped the stand with my fingers. Adrian’s insinuation, by the way, was somehow a joke. I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice someone entered the store.

“Are you selling this dress?”

I raised my head in surprise at the familiar voice coming from behind.

“Still thrifty, my lady.”

The man who laughed behind me as if amazed was Valérez. He was smiling, but I could only bite my lips at his ice cold eyes.

“Oh, it’s not like that.”

In other words, he saw me trying to bring his stuff out and sell it. I had nothing to say, so I just shut my lips tight. Ares heaved a long sigh, swept my head up and looked at me.

“It’s all right. You can sell it. You don’t even want to have it from a bad guy like me.”

I rolled my fingers into a fist at Valérez’s thorny words. How could I explain this? My body trembled with anxiety.

It would be right to apologize and return the dress to him, but I really needed the money from the pawnshop now. I didn’t know when the slave trader who knew me as ‘Lirina’ would come and find me, and I had to hide from Marquis Abina’s eyes.

‘I really need that money to survive right now!’

“I didn’t mean to sell it because I didn’t want it. I’m sorry.”

Valérez slowly opened his mouth, lowering his head like a bamboo spear over the top of my head.

“It’s true that I gave it to you to wear, so sell it.”

I was relieved by Valérez’s permission. However, his sharp words stung like a blade against my ears.

“I don’t even want to take back the clothes you wore because they’re dirty.”

It’s dirty…

He put a lot of emphasis on that last word. Don’t get hurt. I can’t afford to even get hurt by what he said out of anger.

“…I see. Thank you.”

I didn’t disagree with Valérez’s words, and he frowned thinking whether he liked my answer or not.

“Oh, boss! What brings you here?”

The returning clerk pretended to know Valérez.

“Because I saw a face I knew just passing by,” Valérez continued as he pointed at the clear shop’s window with his chin.

“This dress, give her a good price. This is our house diva outfit.”

At his request, the clerk nodded and gave me the money bag he brought from inside.

“Yes, boss! Actually, this lady is really good at bargaining. We’ve paid her the right price.”

“Yes.”

Ares briefly shook his head at the clerk’s words and then turned around. He murmured a little with his back toward me, somehow looking a little forlorn.

“Well, I’m in a hurry, so I’m leaving it here for now. It’s not for sale.”

It was a ridiculous excuse to say that the daughter of Marquis Abina was in a hurry. From Ares’ point of view, it sounded like an unpleasant lie.

“I’m in a real hurry. If it weren’t for that, I would never leave the dress in a place like this.”

But I meant it.

“Because it’s from Lord Ares.”

Did he hear me or not? Valérez left the pawnshop without an answer.

<SYSTEM> ‘Valérez Toledo’ Likeability is decreasing. -3

I shut my eyes tightly at the system message that spread in pure white.