"Why didn't he apologize at the soirée?"
The viscount fixed Yuri with a stern look once more.
Yuri, however, answered with the same unruffled ease as ever.
"He truly loves your daughter, my lord.
How much, you ask...?"
Yuri swept his gaze around the room, then added a little more quietly,
"Enough to want her to step on him."
"...What?"
The viscount froze, staring at him as though to say, What on earth is this fool talking about?
The air in the room went rigid for a moment.
"Ah. It seems I misspoke," Yuri added smoothly, as though nothing had happened.
"...Misspoke?"
The furrow between the viscount's brows deepened even further.
At the edge of Yuri's vision, Elena, seated beside him, blinked rapidly, utterly unable to follow what was happening.
Liliana let out the faintest sigh, yet continued watching Yuri with unmistakable interest.
"Yes. It seems he was so captivated by the beauty of your daughter's feet...
In any case, his feelings for her are genuine.
So I do not believe this will jeopardize the marriage alliance."
"Even so!"
Seltsberg threw himself back against his chair, then settled into it again heavily.
"Noble marriages are matters between houses!"
His voice, low and tightly controlled, rang through the room with enough force to brook no objection.
"Whatever the feelings between the two involved, if their standing in noble society has fallen, then no matter how good the man himself may be, the house will never grant its approval!"
At those words, Yuri turned his gaze to Liliana.
She caught his meaning at once, nodded, and gave him a faint smile.
"In that case, I have a proposal."
Yuri turned back to the viscount with a calm smile.
"Have the Margravine of Ishurias host a soirée, and have your daughter wear a splendid dress unlike anything this world has ever seen.
Then have him propose to her there.
If that happens, I believe your daughter will regain her spirits, and her reputation may be restored as well."
At that suggestion, the viscount's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and then he fell silent.
He rested a hand against his chin and sank deep into thought.
After a while, his grave voice filled the room.
"But is there any guarantee it will truly succeed?"
"If the Margravine of Ishurias, Ophelia, and Elena combine their strengths, it will surely become a magnificent soirée.
It will not merely overturn the rumors.
It will make your daughter's charms shine all the more."
Confidence overflowed from Yuri's words.
"And why, exactly, is the baron-consort's name not included in that list...?"
Liliana sighed, looking at Yuri with a touch of exasperation.
The viscount stared blankly into the air for a heartbeat, then let out a long, heavy breath.
"...Very well. If my daughter comes out of her room and agrees to attend the soirée, then I will not hold the atelier at fault."
Pressing at the furrows between his brows as though trying to smooth them away, the viscount muttered wearily,
"Speaking with you any longer is exhausting enough as it is.
Still, I am counting on you, Lord Strauss."
The viscount shoved his chair back and started to rise, only for Yuri's voice to stop him mid-motion.
Yuri held a hand out slightly and called after him in a hurry.
"Viscount, please wait.
Before you go, would you indulge me just a little longer?"
Seltsberg frowned, then slowly sat back down.
"There is still more?"
"I would like to hear the details of how this whole matter came about—how exactly you came to do business with the trading company."
Though the viscount looked mildly displeased, he rested a hand against his chin and began to speak in a quiet voice.
"It began when the Rosenkreuz Trading Company told me they had acquired some high-quality crimson fabric.
They recommended it for my daughter's next soirée.
I thought it might be a bit too flashy, but the moment she saw the fabric, my daughter fell utterly in love with it."
As Yuri listened, he sorted through the situation in his head.
I see. So it started with the trading company's sales pitch, and things moved forward once the daughter took a liking to the fabric.
"I had intended at first to give the job to our usual dressmaker.
But then the trading company said this.
'Since it is such a special fabric, why not entrust it to the Belclair Dress Atelier, the finest in all Ishurias?'"
A faint irritation crept into the viscount's tone.
"I was uneasy, since I had no connection to the atelier.
But my daughter begged me, saying she very much wanted to place the order there.
And the trading company was full of confidence, telling me to leave everything to them.
So I did."
Yuri listened without interrupting, while another possibility turned over in his mind.
Was it really a coincidence that they named the Belclair Dress Atelier specifically? ...And that line about leaving everything to them bothers me too.
Upon hearing this, Elena's face changed in shock.
She opened her mouth with such force it was as if she might leap to her feet.
"T-that...!
We were originally told it was for a ceremony six months from now!"
"For a ceremony?"
The viscount knitted his brows in confusion.
"Crimson fabric would be far too gaudy for a ceremony.
And I am certain I said it was for a soirée."
Elena shrank back for a moment under his gaze, but she nodded and continued in a trembling voice.
"Yes...
That is why I asked that we be allowed to confirm it directly with you, my lord, as the client.
But the people from the trading company told us,
'The viscount has entrusted everything to us.
There is plenty of time.
If you absolutely cannot accept it, then go to the Imperial State yourself and procure the ideal fabric.'"
Frustration and bewilderment bled into Elena's voice.
"Even then, I could not accept it, so I asked again and again.
In the end, it turned into an argument...
And my father left for the Imperial State, saying, 'Fine, then. I'll go find the finest fabric there is!'"
For a moment, Elena's voice broke.
She clenched her trembling fists, took a small breath, then spoke again.
"A few days later, the company representative appeared out of nowhere...
And told us, 'There has been a mix-up with the order.
The dress is needed for a soirée one month from now.'"
Elena lowered her eyes and continued.
"I told them that we could not possibly handle it with the master absent, but they said,
'For a soirée, that crimson fabric from before will do just fine.
If you refuse work from the nobility, no one will bring you business again.'
They threatened us with that...
Even so, I tried to refuse, but in the end..."
Her fists quivered ever so slightly.
"They flatly declared, 'If there are any problems, we'll handle them ourselves.'
So... with the master away, I could not afford to lose the job on my own authority.
And the other artisans all agreed as well, saying it was for the master's sake.
So in the end, we had no choice but to accept it."
As though trying to cast off the turmoil within her chest, Elena gave a faint shake of her head.
"But—"
Liliana cut in then, her voice gentle.
"Miss Elena,
when they told you they would 'handle it themselves,' did you have them put that in writing?"
Elena looked startled for a moment, then quickly shook her head.
"...No.
There is nothing of the sort in writing.
We simply believed what they said..."
Liliana nodded quietly, her brows drawing together just slightly.
"And when problems actually arose, you did not consult the Tailors' Guild?"
At that calm question, Elena's voice dropped even lower.
"I did consult them...
But the guildmaster said,
'The trading company denies ever making such a promise.
More importantly, is it not the real problem that you took on the commission while your master was absent?
At the next general assembly, I will place the suspension of your business license on the agenda.'"
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Repeating those words in his mind, Yuri found himself biting down on his lip.
*Just as I thought. It looks more and more likely that their real aim from the beginning was to strip the atelier of its right to operate.
But would they really go so far as to drag a noble house into it?
What could they possibly hope to gain that would justify that kind of risk?*
As that nagging doubt swirled in the depths of his chest, Yuri tilted his head without thinking.
"...This goes far beyond a mere misunderstanding or crossed wires."
Liliana's cool voice cut cleanly through the room.
"Indeed... to think matters had gone this far without my knowledge..."
Entwined with anger and regret, Seltsberg's low, restrained voice grew sharper with every word.
"If all of this is true, then it means my daughter's reputation was ruined because of that trading company, does it not?!"
At the same instant, the viscount's fist came down on the table with a heavy thud.
Tension flooded the room once more.
Liliana watched his outburst in silence for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
"Viscount, it is highly likely that the trading company is at fault.
But as things stand, we have no proof.
Confronting them now would not be wise."
Her composed tone softened the air, if only a little.
But the viscount paid it no heed. Leaning forward, he seized both of Yuri's hands.
"Lord Strauss... I beg you. Find the ones who did this to my daughter!
If you need my cooperation, I will do everything in my power!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice rang with raw desperation.
He leaned so far forward he was nearly falling over himself, gripping harder as he pleaded.
"I mean it.
If you grant this wish of mine, I will spare no effort in aiding you in return.
I beg you—truly, I beg you!"
The sheer force of it made Yuri instinctively recoil.
"T-too close, my lord! Much too close!"
Feeling the full heat of the viscount's desperation, Yuri gave a strained smile and turned his face away.
"I understand, so please, for now, let go of my hands.
The distance is... well... a bit much..."
Only then did the viscount seem to realize what he was doing. He loosened his grip, released Yuri's hands, and sat back down with an awkward little cough.
"M-my apologies.
I let my emotions get the better of me... But I truly am asking this of you.
I cannot allow any more to happen that would further tarnish my daughter's name...!"
Overwhelmed by the viscount's intensity, Yuri swallowed hard and nodded.