Khanna sounded worried that Rubica might doubt her skills. Rubica then simply nodded and took a look at Khanna’s samples. They were neither trendy nor splendid. However, judging from the sleeves and decorations that had been strongly sewed, Khanna didn’t lack in skills at all.

“… do you have children?”

“Yes, four children. They are all such cute angels.”

Rubica felt something hot come up to her chest at hearing that. Although Khanna had learned cloth making, she had not done that for a long time. She must have decided taking care of her family was much more important than helping at the shop. However, she now had no choice but to work to support her children after her husband’s death.

Of course, her hands trembled. Had she slept at all the night she sent the pamphlet to the Claymore Mansion? Rubica decided to order at least a dress and a nightdress from her, regardless of how good she was. She had bought only a pair of gloves from the previous designers, so that much would at least give her a few chances in the future.

“I need a simple dress for taking walks…”

“Then it would be better to use fabric colored with dye that doesn’t get discolored under the sunlight.”

Khanna soon showed Rubica about six kinds of different fabrics. Rubica chose a light salmon-colored fabric, and Khanna agreed to her choice without any complaints even though it wasn’t the most expensive one.

“And how about the design? As it is for taking walks, I’d recommend a simple style.”

Khanna put a sketch of the most basic design in front of Rubica. Then, she slowly explained the pros and cons of what Rubica showed interest in. Rubica started to like her more and more.

‘… she’s different from the other designers.’

She didn’t recommend excessively expensive stuff, but she also didn’t recommend cheap ones saying they were good for their price.

“I want the stomacher to be splendid, how about attaching rubies to it?”

Rubica thought about the design, and Ann came and sat next to her. She hadn’t said a word while Rubica met the other designers. However, even Ann was driven by the comfortable mood and added her opinions.

“I think it would look pretty, the rubies will shine in the sunlight.”

Khanna, who had followed Rubica’s opinions till now, looked a little troubled this time.

“Of course rubied are pretty, but I don’t think they are right for this salmon-colored fabric.”

Then, she put a small ruby on top of the fabric to prove it. She was right, it didn’t look right as the ruby sparkled less and the fabric’s warm color faded under it.

“If you want to attach rubies to the stomacher, I can show you other fabrics…”

“No, it doesn’t have to be decorated with rubies, and I like this fabric.”

It was strange. Rubica had been offended when the other designers disagreed with her, but she didn’t feel that way with Khanna. Rubica could trust her. She was sure that Khanna would stop her if she ever made a strange decision.

“Then what should we do instead of attaching rubies?”

“I recommend colorful embroidery and pearls.”

Khanna showed Rubica samples of her embroidery, but Rubica couldn’t find anything she liked this time.

Unfortunately, Khanna hadn’t worked on the designs for a long time. Her embroidery samples were all behind fashion.

‘I wish Rosa was here…’

Rubica was thinking that when Khanna carefully asked, “Is there nothing you’d like to have?”

Should I tell her honestly? Rubica had decided to order a dress regardless of Khanna’s skills, so she wondered if she should choose among the samples. Then Ann started to speak.

“Um, madam Khanna, will it be alright to have the Claymore’s seamstresses do the embroidery?”

Rubica was surprised at hearing that and glanced at Khanna. Some proud designers acted like they were being insulted when they heard such a thing. Seamstresses only helped with the designer’s work when he or she was short on hand because there were so many dresses ordered at the same time, or the crest of each noble family, that could only be embroidered by the family’s seamstresses, was needed to be embroidered.

However, Khanna wasn’t offended at all: she was rather delighted to hear that.

“Oh, I would be grateful if the Claymore’s seamstresses do it. I was just wondering how I should do the embroidery.”

That made Rubica look at the dress Khanna was wearing. She hadn’t noticed it sooner as the designer was wearing it fashionably, but the laces and adornment of the sleeves looked quite old. She was probably short on money. Rubica thought the shop she had inherited from her late husband could be in a bad financial condition.

“… Khanna, are you short on workers to do embroideries?”

Khanna looked rather ashamed as she was just not experienced in meeting and selling to clients. So, she didn’t know what she should say to win Rubica’s favor. She just decided to be honest instead. It had to be at least better than lying crudely, and for some reason, she thought it would be okay to be honest with Rubica.

“We lost most of the work after my husband’s death, so many tailors and workers left the shop. Our best embroiderer moved to a different shop four months ago.”

“… oh.”

An awkward silence filled the room. So, Ann stood up and said to a maid rather cheerfully, “Bring Rosa. Tell her to bring as many embroidery designs as she can. It would be even better if she can bring carbon paper for copying. And you, go to the kitchen and ask if they have some candies or jelly.”

Ann had realized Khanna’s situation just like Rubica had, and it seemed she had decided to help her. The candies had to be for her children, but Khanna didn’t know what to do and bowed to Rubica.

“Your Grace, I was excited when you said you will order dresses from me instead of the better designers you met first. But… if it’s only because you pity me, I must say it isn’t necessary.”

“We were not…”

Ann hadn’t thought Khanna would say that and was rather surprised. Rubica could see Khanna had the pride of a designer ingrained deep in her heart. Although she had not worked for a long time as she had to raise her children, she was a designer who had learned how to make clothes at a shop.

“I did feel pity for you, but that isn’t the only reason I decided to order from you.”

Khanna was grim. Rubica wondered how she should convince her for a moment but being honest seemed like the best way now.

“Those other designers, yes, to be honest, they were better than you and they brought better things than yours. But… they didn’t listen to me at all. Those who did listen to me only wanted to win my favor. None of them cared about what was right for me.”

Mr. Wilkins who had tried to sell the most expensive things and Mr. Milet who had recommended cheap stuff without considering Rubica’s situation at all. Just thinking of them made her mouth taste bitter.

“Khanna, you are the only one who listened to what I wanted to wear. You also saw what was really right for me and recommended it to me.”

As she talked, Rubica realized clearly why she liked Khanna. Her head that had hurt so much was now fine. She felt sure, she had never been so sure about something before. Rubica then looked into Khanna’s eyes and announced, “From now on, I will order all my dresses from you. Khanna, please be my designer.”

It wasn’t a mere impulse. It was a conclusion she had reached after thinking logically. Khanna couldn’t believe what she was hearing, so Rubica warmly took her hands.

“I was going to order a dress from you at first out of pity. But my decision to order all my dresses from you, Khanna, you made me make that decision. It would only be right to share the embroidery designs from this family with my designer and lend you my people, right?”

Khanna could barely hold back her tears.

She had taken over the shop so suddenly after her husband’s death, and she had been so lost after raising her children at home.

She was good with her hand, but on what kind of design was in fashion these days, what she was supposed to say to win the customers’ favor, she really didn’t know.

She lost the shop’s regulars one by one, and the good tailors left her and moved to different shops as she couldn’t pay them well. Moreover, the shop would make fewer dresses after they left, so the few customers had stopped coming.

However, she couldn’t dare to do something else, either. Clothmaking was what she had learned since childhood and what she had seen from the side while raising her children. She had been able to meet the duchess only because of her late husband’s reputation. It wasn’t her own skills.

So, she gambled. She used all the money she had left and came, hoping one compliment of the duchess would bring back her customers…

She was saying she didn’t want to be pitied, but actually, she desperately needed help.

Duchess Claymore was giving her a great opportunity today, and she was saying it wasn’t out of pity but because of her skills.