[Side Story] Clothes And Celebration Banquet

“Oh my, really?”

“Yes.”

Berna clasped her hands together and nodded repeatedly, her face full of sincere joy.

Berna had assumed that El and Rurin were already married, and was simply surprised to learn they had only just tied the knot.

“It’s a hassle, but El said he’s hosting some kind of celebration banquet at the restaurant. He said he’s inviting all of Greek’s acquaintances.”

“Really? Then, of course, we should go!”

“I was told I had to learn a nice piece for the guests, and was kicked out to practice a piece with a good atmosphere!”

“I have a good piece for that!”

“Oh?”

Despite her irritated expression, playing the Regana was one of Rurin’s favorite hobbies, something she learned in the human world.

She still played it at least once a day at the lair.

So, despite her words, she was very obedient.

She obediently began learning the piece from Berna. As she followed along with the piece Berna played, she hummed happily.

“Hmm hmm, hmmm~”

“That was great! I’ll play another one for you!”

Berna, having been quite bored with Greek away in the capital for political work, happily started teaching Rurin various pieces.

“Oh. This one sounds good! Huh?”

Rurin, watching Berna’s playing, turned her attention to the former Count Greek, who was lying beyond the Regana.

The title of Count had already passed to Greek’s son, making the lying man the former Count.

The circumstances of the former Count had been vaguely recorded in Rurin’s mind. Given the many interconnected matters, even Rurin, who usually paid no attention to humans, had picked up on them unconsciously.

Whenever Berna played the Regana, she would always play the keyboard beside the Count.

There are many theories that beautiful music can aid in psychological therapy. Although the Count didn’t have psychological issues, Elena advised that beautiful melodies wouldn’t hurt, and so Berna had developed the habit of playing the Regana while keeping her husband nearby.

Rurin tilted her head, as the former Count seemed different than usual.

Every time Berna played the keyboard, the former Count’s fingertips moved slightly.

“Why is that?”

Knowing why the Count didn’t get up, Rurin made a strange face, and Berna also looked at her husband.

This was because Rurin’s gaze was fixated on her husband.

But with the sudden stop in the sound of the keyboard, the fingertips returned to an unmoving state.

“No, I’m not sure.”

“Huh?”

Since the movement was so subtle, Rurin shook her head.

“I’ve been seeing things wrong lately! I thought El was kissing, but it was something else!”

“Huh?”

Seeing Rurin’s suddenly red face, Berna could only give a puzzled look.

Eventually, the music started again.

After the performance, Berna moved the Count to the bedroom and guided Rurin to the garden.

“Please have some dessert before you go!”

“Dessert? That sounds good. Hehe.”

Rurin, who had a soft spot for dessert, nodded. After Berna kissed her husband on the forehead and tucked him in, she went outside with Rurin.

Perhaps responding to the kiss, the Count’s fingers twitched slightly, but by then, Berna and Rurin had already left the room.

And Tea Time.

While drinking tea, Berna suddenly became curious and asked Rurin.

“By the way, Lady Rurin, for a celebration banquet, you must wear a beautiful dress. Do you have one prepared?”

Thinking about it, Rurin would look very beautiful in a dress, but Berna had never seen her wear one.

The reason for this was that Rurin preferred comfortable clothes for activities, but Berna couldn’t have known that.

“A dress? What is that?”

“I’ll show you!”

The only regret Berna had, being a mother to Greek’s son, was that she never had the pleasure of dressing up a daughter.

Thus, Berna chuckled and led Rurin to the wardrobe.

“If it’s a wedding celebration banquet, you should wear something special and beautiful, don’t you think? These fancy clothes are called dresses.”

Of course, what Berna meant was not a general dress but a very fancy one, the kind aristocrats wear to parties.

“Is this fluttering?”

“Yes. You’ll look incredibly beautiful in it, Lady Rurin. Though it may be uncomfortable to wear regularly, it will make you stand out at important events!”

“Beautifully? Hmm.”

It was an outfit that seemed impossible to kick in. Rurin, who disliked uncomfortable clothes, was convinced by Berna’s words that it was a special occasion, so she asked.

“Will El also like it?”

“Yes? Yes. Sir El will surely fall for it again!”

“Really? Is that so?”

For Rurin, a good outfit wasn’t about looking beautiful herself. What mattered was whether it made El think she looked good.

Of course, since she didn’t know exactly what El would like, Rurin just wore what suited her own taste, but that made her more intrigued by Berna’s suggestion.

“If El will like it more!”

It was the kind of outfit Rurin needed. If El liked it, she didn’t mind any discomfort.

So, Rurin’s eyes gleamed as she nodded strongly.

“Then I’ll wear it!”

“But these kinds of clothes are usually custom-made… It probably won’t fit you… And it should be made from good fabric! To get that, we would have to go to the capital, and I think fabric that matches your ring would be the best choice!”

Berna spoke, noticing the captivating black gleam on Rurin’s finger.

“Get a luxurious black fabric…”

“The capital, you say? Sounds good!”

“Yes?”

“I’m off then!”

“Lady Rurin?”

Berna chased after Rurin, but she vanished in an instant. Looking at the spot where she had been, Berna could only gape, unable to say the important words.

Da-da-da-da-da-!

Hearing Berna’s words, Rurin, filled with the thought of wanting to look beautiful for El, immediately left the manor and teleported without a second thought.

“If I go quickly, I won’t get caught!”

It was like the logic of “If food falls on the ground, just pick it up within five seconds and eat it!”—she teleported to the capital.

“El always goes out by himself! So I’ll go when I can!”

She rationalized her actions once more as she looked around.

She spotted the Imperial Palace in the distance.

And the place she teleported to was the commercial district.

She didn’t know what was what.

Sigh.

Rurin’s initial thought was this, but she soon calmed down and began walking.

She quickly realized that it wasn’t much different from Greek’s town.

Having become quite familiar with shopping due to her repeated errands for El.

She continued walking, looking for a place that sold fabric.

In the meantime, Rurin spotted a sign that said “Fabric Shop”.

Seeing the word “fabric” that Berna mentioned, she felt pleased.

“As expected, I’m the one!”

Rurin chuckled.

Rurin immediately charged into the store.

With diamonds and gold, large accessories often look flashy, but Rurin’s accessories were small and delicate.

The shop attendant, quickly recognizing the value of her accessories, assumed Rurin was a noble and politely asked her.

“Excuse me, what are you looking for, madam?”

“Give me the black fluttering fabric.”

“Eh? Fluttering?”

“Hmm? I mean the fabric, right?”

Rurin corrected herself, rubbing her temples.

“Ah, you mean black fabric, right?”

Finally understanding, the shop assistant guided Rurin to where the fabric was.

“This is the black fabric.”

“This one?”

But Rurin’s expression dropped. It was completely different from the dress Berna had shown her.

It was fabric, after all.

Now she could shop, but she still wasn’t familiar with human culture. As a dragon, clothes weren’t necessary at all.

So, she didn’t care about the difference between fabric and a dress.

“This isn’t fluttering… It’s not fluttering at all.”

“Eh?”

Rurin shook her head.

“I’ll go to another place!”

She quickly ran out of the shop and looked around again.

“Wait? A sorceress!”

“Huh?”

A voice calling Rurin. The owner of the voice started running toward Rurin.

“Me?”

Rurin pointed at herself and looked at the running figure with a frown.

Crash!

And the person running fell dramatically right in front of Rurin.

It was none other than Ricent.

This was Ricent, the one who had taken revenge on her father and left for the capital. She was still prone to falling over.

The fallen Ricent groaned, “Sorceress!” as she grabbed Rurin’s leg, resembling a zombie.

“What, what are you doing!? Get off!”

Rurin took a step back, her face filled with surprise.

She remembered.

Rurin recalled.

The reason she remembered this person was that she was the one who had kissed El’s palm.

She didn’t remember her fondly, so it was no surprise that her face remained scrunched up.

“Sorceress! Long time no see!”

Of course, Ricent didn’t care and quickly stood up, smiling. She was the same person who had constantly clung to her during the festival.

“I’m not a sorceress, I’m Rurin!”

“Yes, yes! Lady Rurin! What brings you here? You came from the fabric shop, right? Are you here to buy clothes? I’m actually quite knowledgeable about clothes! I’ve recently started a small business here and it’s been thriving!”

“Oh?”

Rurin’s expression, which had previously been frowning, brightened at Ricent’s mention of clothes. Looking good for El was her priority, so she temporarily put aside her frown.

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“Then give it to me. It’s black, the best fabric, and fluttering!”

Rurin passed on the details of the dress she had heard from Berna to Ricent.

“Really? Hmm, does fluttering mean a fancy dress?”

Amazingly, Ricent understood Rurin’s vague explanation right away and nodded. She pointed in the opposite direction.

“The fabric from the place you just came from isn’t great. Let’s go to the best fabric shop!”

“Oh.”

‘This one’s useful.’

Rurin thought to herself as she nodded.

And shortly after,

Ricent, holding a handful of fabric, left the shop with Rurin.

“Now, we can have this made into a custom outfit!”

“Fluttering?”

“Yes. It should be.”

“Hehe, so that’s what it is. I didn’t know. I thought I was buying fluttering fabric. Making it again, humans are so troublesome. But since it helps, I’ll forgive the past!”

“The past.”

Although Rurin was referring to the palm kiss incident, Ricent didn’t catch on this time, unlike earlier.

“Huh? Um, sure? I don’t really understand, but if the Sorceress forgives, I’m grateful!”

Of course, Ricent just chuckled, displaying an attitude of absolute obedience to this cute sorceress!

That dignified figure who had made thugs disappear into the sky right before her eyes!

That was how Ricent saw Rurin.

“Now, let’s head over there and have this made!”

And then, just as they were about to move again,

Crash!

Ricent showcased her signature move and fell again.

The fabric she was holding cut through the air, and Ricent’s hand collided with a couple holding hands ahead of her.

“Idiot. That person.”

Rurin shook her head in disbelief.

“Lady Rurin?”

The man from the couple in front, not Ricent, called out to Rurin with a surprised expression.

Rurin lifted her head and opened her mouth with a welcoming expression.

“Oh? It’s that noble!”

“Yes, yes!”

Unlike other humans, Rurin recognized this person with a friendly expression. This was a privilege related to Greek, who had been closely associated with El for the longest time.

“Lady Rurin! Has the Master come as well?”

Greek responded with a happy expression and started looking around, presumably trying to find El.

“No! And it’s a secret! I didn’t come here!”

“Huh?”

Rurin’s sudden outburst left Greek dumbfounded.

“Oppa?”

Siena, who had been standing next to Greek, grabbed his hand tightly and asked. Then she bowed to Rurin.

But Rurin, thinking she had to escape after meeting a human close to El, was already getting ready to leave.

She poked the fallen Ricent with a sly smile.

“Get up!”

“Yes? Yes!”

Ricent, covered in dust, tried to get up, and Greek opened his mouth again.

Rurin had no choice but to lift Ricent above her head. It was the strength of a dragon.

To others, it must have looked strange.

“As I said, it’s a secret!”

Shouting this, Rurin began to retreat in front of Greek.

Greek and Siena, holding hands, could only watch Rurin with blank faces.

Rurin, lifting Ricent, moved away from Greek and handed the fabric over.

“Now, make it into a fluttering dress. It’s urgent since I need it for tonight!”

“Tonight?”

Ricent was stunned.

“Why?”

“Custom-made would take at least a week…”

Actually, this was something Berna had already tried to tell Rurin. As a result, Rurin was now shocked.

“What!? That’s not possible! The celebration is soon! There’s no time! I was told to come back by 5!”

“Huh? Is El here too?”

“Ugh…”

Rurin, looking at her wristwatch that showed 4:59, gritted her teeth and used teleportation.

“Sorceress!?”

Ricent looked around in the alley, but Rurin had already vanished.

Holding the fabric, Rurin returned to the restaurant, feeling frustrated.

Rurin’s main concern lately had been making El fall for her even more and looking even prettier.

But she had failed.

It wasn’t fluttering.

However, the celebration was about to start, and if she was late, El would be extremely angry. So Rurin reluctantly trudged back to the restaurant.

“El…! This was such a meaningless day. I’m so annoyed!”

“What took you so long?”

“I don’t know!”

El, brushing off the dust that had accumulated on Rurin after Ricent fell, asked her.

“Did you fall? Why is there so much dust… Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter since you’ll change anyway. Come on, Rurin.”

“Eh? Eh?”

El suddenly grabbed Rurin’s hand and headed down to the lair.

El went to the wardrobe and took out the wedding dress she had prepared, presenting it to Rurin.

“It’s not a wedding, but it’s a celebration, so it’s just as important. This can’t be left out, right?”

“What’s this? It’s fluttering! But why is it white?”

“Traditionally, brides wear white. Even if you’re a Black Dragon.”

El responded while looking at the wedding dress hanging up.

It was a wedding dress that was less puffy than the ones typically worn for a wedding but emphasized elegance with a simple design.

Due to the differences between this world and the other world, El had selected the simplest yet most elegant dress, and this was the result.

The skirt had a fluttering design, which was unique.

Rurin, having heard that fluttering skirts were captivating, instantly felt better.

Though Rurin didn’t like uncomfortable clothes, she was told that El would like it if she wore it, which made her want to wear it.

For Rurin, that was the truth.

“El.”

“Yes?”

“Fall for me even more!”

Rurin shouted this and jumped toward El.

El, taken by surprise, caught Rurin in his arms.

Rurin smiled brightly.

Well, for El, Rurin smiling happily like this was the greatest happiness.

Even now, and in the future.