The Young Supporter of Darkness

When Mariel and Edia opened the door at the sound of a knock, Leon’s family rushed in.

Carol, Louis, Lexi, and Mori.

Unfortunately, Eddie seemed to have been left at home.

‘It’s a pity that he’s not here.’

Eddie, who was wary of Daphne at first, was now quite close to her and even sleeps with his stomach open on Daphne’s lap.

But even if it was Daphne, she couldn’t bring Eddie into a castle full of other nobles.

Daphne’s head tilted to the side when she saw the clothes brought by the four, soothing her regret.

Obviously, what Daphne asked for were two cloaks to be worn by the young lady and the madam of the Elmyre Marquisate, and Kael’s tailcoat.

However, the only thing the four of them brought were cloaks made for gifts.

“Where are His Grace’s clothes?”

“Oh! We met His Grace on the way here. His Grace has taken it.”

‘Then I can only see Kael’s clothes at the ballroom.’

She herself also expressed her opinion on the design of the clothes Kael would wear, so she knew what it would look like.

Still, the finished product will feel different.

It was a little disappointing that she couldn’t see it before Kael wore it.

‘But, well, I can see it at the ballroom.’

The ball was to begin early in the evening.

So it’s just a few hours of waiting.

Daphne controlled her feelings and approached the cloaks.

And she was in awe.

“Wow.”

Honestly, she thought she wouldn’t be surprised because she had seen the clothes of the geniuses in her previous life.

It was a mistake.

“Is this really a fabric made of thread extracted from the coat of a demon?”

‘It’s classy yet warm.’

Even though it felt like the finest satin with a shiny, soft sheen, it was so warm that she wanted to keep touching it.

Even though she had never touched it, wouldn’t cashmere feel like this?

Daphne slipped on one cloak over her shoulder.

It was warm.

This level of warmth seemed to be enough to withstand the cold of Bertrand.

‘Come to think of it, next winter was a particularly cold winter, right?’

It was winter with a strong cold that was hard to find even in the always warm capital.

The only problem was that in that cold winter, clothes made of thin fabric were all the rage.

‘That’s why everyone, young and old, suffered from colds and pneumonia.”

What the hell is that trend?

Those who didn’t abandon the trend until the end followed the epidemic of colds and pneumonia.

There were some people who died without overcoming pneumonia because their physical strength disappeared.

‘This fabric will also protect people’s health.’

The best way is to bring in another trend first so that such a trend doesn’t come in the cold winter.

‘But since I don’t know, I’ll find a way to mass-produce it.’

Daphne nodded again, wrapping the cloak around her torso.

“There’s nothing that’s not perfect, even the cloak pin.”

The cloak fixing pin was also a delicate pin modeled after the antlers of the marquis family, as Daphne had requested.

The leather that connected the middle of the cloak was also soft, pretty, and light, using the hide of the demon.

“All four of you, you did a great job. Despite the lack of time.”

She really, really liked it.

You pull the thread out of the fur and you make the fabric, you cut it, you sew it, and you make matching accessories.

Everything was done by hand, so it would have been time consuming.

There was nothing lacking in the finished sewing, tassels, or finished pin.

‘At this degree, not only the high-ranking nobles but even the emperor can’t find fault with it.’

Rather, it was more superb than the products used by the imperial family.

Daphne looked at the four people who had suffered until early this morning.

“As much as I asked for it unreasonably, I will reward you for your hard work sufficiently. And also—”

“Excuse me, Milady!”

Suddenly Mori opened his mouth before Daphne’s words were finished.

Big bright eyes were twinkling.

“As a matter of fact, Milady. There’s one more thing we’ve prepared.”

“One more?”

What is it? They said Kael took his tailcoat, so they made everything she asked for.

“Sister, I’ll bring it!”

Mori ran out of the room and dragged it in, seemingly not too heavy.

There was a dress about the size of Daphne’s body.

It was made of the same fabric as the cloak, but the color was different. The dress was a luxurious purple that harmonized with Daphne’s light pink hair color.

“This is.”

Daphne approached and examined the dress, mesmerized. It must have been hard to dye purple.

“It’s Milady’s dress!”

“That’s right, it’s Milady’s!”

Lexi exclaimed along. Louis continued as if he could not lose.

“Milady didn’t ask for it, but to be honest, it’s what she did. Only Milady would feel unfair if she didn’t have new clothes. So, although Milady said it was okay—”

The words went round and round with excitement. Louis’s eyes were spinning along with it.

Carol handed Louis a cup of water and started tidying up.

“Louis is right. I also understand the commercial reasons Milady told me.”

Carol continued, looking at Daphne with clear eyes.

“However, we still want Milady to wear our clothes. Because it was Milady who let us make the clothes.”

For that reason, the four people’s eyes were asking desperately not to refuse.

You can’t refuse something like this.

And she couldn’t refuse.

“Thank you. I will dress nicely.”

It must have been time consuming enough to make a uniform and two cloaks. Thank you.

At Daphne’s answer, the faces of the four finally softened. They seemed to have thought Daphne would firmly refuse.

“And there’s something I’d like to ask for your permission.”

“Since I have been given such a gift, I should do anything for you.”

“We. Want to borrow your name.”

Her name? What does this mean?

Carol asked with a rare expression of excitement.

“May we include your name in the clothes we make in the future?”

Daphne froze for a moment.

So, what Carol just said.

“Do you mean you want my name as the business name?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

The four people in the room answered at once.

“Because the idea of making clothes using demon fur or skin was made by Milady.”

“On top of that, you prepared all the tools.”

“You told us how.”

“So we want to borrow your name!”

Mori, the youngest, finished their speech with his eyes shining.

His eyes were shining with endless faith.

‘If you do this, my conscience will be pricked.’

Her conscience, which she had forgotten even existed, was throbbing. Daphne quietly averted her eyes.

“I think other people’s names would be better than mine. I think it would be good to take each of your four names one letter each.”

“But…”

Mori’s shoulders drooped.

It was heartbreaking to see the child like that, but she didn’t want it to this extent.

‘I was just thinking of making a lot of money a little earlier.’

So she was a little sorry to preoccupy the name.

“Isn’t Eddie okay too?”

Seeing that everyone nodded, Eddie seemed to be a strong candidate.

“Then, Milady, may we engrave Eddie’s name in pink?”

“That’s rather an honor for me.”

Daphne smiled broadly.

Now, let’s get ready for the ball.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Splendid.”

The ball held in the Shadow Castle after a very, very long time was excellent.

The spacious and majestic hall, which has a long history, was filled with music so subtle that it did not disturb people’s conversations.

The food prepared on the large table enraptured the mouths of high-ranking aristocrats.

Every corner of the hall was decorated with silk flowers and winter trees to catch the eye.

“Honestly, I came without expectation because it was a ball held on the outskirts. It’s marvelous.”

Everyone nodded at one person’s words.

The sense of selecting music and food was also good, and the silverware of the grand duchy was placed on each table to reveal their unquestionable opulence.

Not all nobles were rich, and sometimes there were just bad hands.

Therefore, silverware was not usually used at such occasions due to theft.

However, the Bertrand Grand Duchy placed silverware here and there, as if they did not care about such things.

‘The wealth is clearly shown, and you can see that the distribution is large.’

Although they didn’t say it openly, everyone thought so.

And above all.

‘It’s a middle-aged¹ man.’

‘There’s a middle-aged man.’

There was Zegman, who was dressed up in a uniform, unlike usual.

“In that case, the viscount and viscountess must have walked along the banks of Tansen. The scenery there is really beautiful.”

Zegman, who usually had a cheeky personality, was pleasing everyone’s eyes and ears.

“If my husband were like that, I would have lived with him.”

“I know. For goodness sake, it would be nice if my true love appeared.”

Sighing voices came and went over fans.

Like this, the ball was going well.

Now, only the Grand Duke and Duchess of Bertrand had to appear.

‘What kind of people are they?’

Everyone whispered with curiosity.

Truthfully, many people attended the ball out of curiosity because none of the rumors that had been circulating for either have been good so far.

‘I don’t think she’s an immoral person from the way things look now.’

‘What if he goes crazy with the curse.’

‘Didn’t they invite people because they’re confident he won’t?’

‘Because holding a ball itself shows that he is now sound.’

As one word or another was going back and forth secretly, the door at the top of the stairs in the center of the hall opened.

It was the appearance of the main characters.

“His Grace, Grand Duke Bertrand and the Grand Duchess are entering!”

The door opened with the servant’s shout. People’s eyes were immediately drawn.

And they hardened.

‘Isn’t it perfect?’

‘Nonsense.’

It was a ridiculous and intriguing combination of a curse-mad grand duke and a commoner princess.

But two people with perfect figures stood there.

Kael dressed in a classy uniform with silver embroidery, a navy blue half-cape, and a black leather vest with a subtle sheen.

Daphne with golden eyes, half of her long pink hair carefully braided and pinned in the shape of a rose.

The combination of the two was enough to arouse people’s sighs.

People forgot how rude they were and stared at the two.

Daphne, holding Kael’s hand in black leather gloves with half-exposed palms, slowly descended the stairs.

Every time Daphne walked, a subtle halo of light was sprinkled. It was like a fairy.

‘What in the world is that dress made of?’

‘The design of the clothes is perfect too!’

People who were fascinated by their looks soon began to focus on their clothes.

Everything was just as Daphne had drawn.

‘Okay, let’s make some money now.’

Hello, future customers?

1. 미중년: middle-aged person who has a beautiful appearance, regardless of gender (source: namu wiki)[]