Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 22
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 22
After hearing the full story of Lion’s situation, Leah finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ah-ha, and I thought… You mean that tailor, right?”
“Yeah. The one we volunteered with back then.”
I watched her during volunteer work, and her skill was no ordinary feat.
Using leftover fabric, she’d have the children try on the baggy clothes they’d brought, then tailor them right on the spot to a neat, stylish fit!
It felt like watching a true master of her craft.
‘When I saw the finished products, I really thought they were luxury goods.’
Even by Lion’s standards, having lived his whole life among the nobility, a tailor of that caliber was a first.
Stitches filled with meticulous care, a distinct silhouette. And on top of that, she was quick-handed.
A quick hand meant a clear decisiveness in one’s actions.
‘And above all…’
The design was clean.
Right! No twist like Rickshel’s, no avant-garde feel like Grandfather’s.
But it wasn’t bland either.
Someone who knew exactly the level that people could accept!
To Lion right now, this was a desperately needed talent.
“Could you introduce me?”
“Of course. Luckily, I’ve become quite close to Andrie… that tailor. But…”
Leah placed a finger to her lips and thought for a moment.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Hmm, would you like to come with me first? You’ll understand when we get there.”
What could be the problem?
Was it that she was fully booked, like Mudu?
Though pondering this, Lion said goodbye to the children and followed Leah to the shop where the tailor worked.
“It’s here.”
“Here, you said?”
Lion looked at the signboard that was creaking and barely hanging onto the wall.
[Boutiq□e And□ie]
The paint had chipped away in places to the point where it looked more like ‘Boutiq□e And□ie’ than Boutique Andrie.
“Is Andrie perhaps looking to close up shop?”
“Oh my! That’s not it at all. Andrie, as you saw back then, knows how to give, is kind, and even has outstanding skill! It’s just…”
Just as Leah let out a complex sigh,
Creaaak!
The shop door creaked open, even louder than the one at the orphanage where they had volunteered.
And from inside, the tailor Andrie, dressed in flamboyant clothes, emerged.
“Could it be! Are you a customer…!”
With a tone that seemed extremely welcoming… no, desperate.
“Andrie. It’s me. Leah.”
“Ah… Leah! It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
Even though it was Leah and not a customer, Andrie didn’t show any disappointment and warmly welcomed her.
“But this person… Huh? Aren’t you that young master from back then?”
“Let me explain. What happened was…”
Leah slowly explained the situation.
In truth, this person was the eldest young master of House Asteri, and he had been briefly disguised to do volunteer work in secret.
And that he was here now because he was looking for a ‘skilled tailor’.
“Thanks to him, I’ve had a connection with him. I’m sorry I kept silent about it, as he didn’t want his identity revealed.”
Hearing Leah’s explanation, Andrie was greatly surprised but soon regained composure.
Because it was all completely understandable.
“No… that’s fine. Of course you could. But if it’s a skilled tailor, you must know many…”
Rather, the part Andrie focused on was something else.
A skilled tailor?
‘Specifically me?’
Andrie pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
“Ah! But first, please don’t just stand there; come on inside.”
“The children are waiting for me, so I’ll be going first.”
Leah said her goodbyes, nodded a silent goodbye to Andrie as well, and then left.
After all, she also had to bring Rickshel.
“Please, come in. Young master.”
“Then, excuse me.”
Lion stepped inside Boutique Andrie and looked around the interior.
A sewing machine stained with hand marks, old mannequins draped with fabric. Behind them, all sorts of award records and certificates pasted on the wall.
‘Isn’t that from the most famous competition in the Empire?’
That wasn’t all. There were also sketches and patterns that had been mulled over for new designs.
‘This is…’
A light went on in the intuition of Lion, who had long worked in sales.
The sense that this place was the real deal.
“I’m embarrassed for you to see such a shabby place… Oh dear, let me at least offer you some tea.”
“That’s perfect, actually. I brought some cookies. Shall we eat first?”
Lion decided not to rush things.
Because whatever was holding Leah and Andrie back hadn’t been resolved yet.
‘I should hear what’s going on first, and then take it slowly from there.’
The time until the Coming-of-Age Ceremony wasn’t exactly ample, but it wasn’t pressing at all.
At the very least, it was enough time for a few sets of clothes to be knocked out quickly.
Lion took out the cookies from his bag, and Andrie quickly brewed the tea and set out the cups.
Slurp!
The tea didn’t have a very deep flavor, but it was decent in its own way.
“I’m sorry. I’d like to serve you better tea, but my circumstances are lacking.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, try some of this. I baked it myself.”
“Now that you mention it…”
Andrie recalled the time at the orphanage. The handsome young man baking bread with flour all over his hands.
To think that person was the young master of the territory.
The bread back then had been so delicious it was almost magnificent.
It definitely wasn’t made with good ingredients.
And yet…
‘Hmm, it was like a simple young man trying to impress a noble lady.’
A young man who’d dress as neatly as he could without trying to be flashy, wearing suspenders, likely hiding a handful of flowers picked from the field behind his back.
In an instant, a story and a design sketch formed in Andrie’s mind.
Of course, that didn’t mean the tension or pressure was completely gone.
It had merely sparked a piece of inspiration.
But for an artist, inspiration was a kind of drug-like substance.
Once one inspiration took hold, it was only natural to start moving to catch another.
Andrie’s gaze naturally drifted toward the cookies.
‘Then, what about this?’
A cookie made with even better ingredients than back then.
Would it deliver a sensation beyond the pleasant shock I felt then?
Or would it just be an extravagant cookie made with good ingredients?
“I’ll eat it gratefully.”
Andrie picked up one of the cute-shaped cookies and popped it into her mouth.
Crisp! Crunch!
Amid the sweet, baked dough that crumbled cheerfully, something savory was chewed with a soft and chewy texture.
Unlike the intense first taste, the gentle finish felt as if it was made with consideration for someone who dislikes sweets.
“This…!”
It was different from the simple young man from before.
This time… Yes! It was the complete opposite.
Like a Crown Prince who had fallen instantly for a country girl.
Despite having all sorts of gold, jewels, and power, giving it all up to live happily baking bread and sweets with her in the countryside! That was the image that came to mind.
Even that expression wasn’t vulgarly flaunted, but subtly exuded its natural existence.
‘Just like the young master standing before me now.’
Lion Asteri.
The subject of many rumors.
An eccentric, a discarded existence of the family, there were even rumors he was dying, and sometimes rumors even circulated that he was already dead—a figure so rife with gossip.
But thinking of it conversely, it meant he was an unknown existence, with nothing confirmed.
That was exactly the extent of the Lion the tailor Andrie had pictured.
Because she had assumed he was someone she’d never meet in her lifetime anyway.
But she already knew him.
And had even thought well of him.
‘…For whatever reason, he’s a person with a good heart.’
He had the composure to look after those beneath him, and like this cookie, he didn’t flaunt that merit.
That part was a shock from Andrie’s perspective.
‘He was different from a typical noble.’
In fact, even now, he clearly must have had things he wanted to ask, but was quietly enjoying teatime, wasn’t he?
Surely, it must have been to ease my burden.
‘How long has it been since I’ve received such consideration…!’
She nearly burst into tears from an explosion of emotion.
As the fatigue that had been building up for no apparent reason suddenly dissolved, the door to Andrie’s heart also slowly began to open.
“I truly ate it deliciously. Young master.”
“Was it okay?”
“I nearly shed tears.”
Was it really that good?
Of course, Lion couldn’t read Andrie’s inner thoughts.
‘Still, it’s a relief that she seems to have relaxed.’
Around the time Lion had half-emptied his tea, Andrie suddenly raised her voice.
“Young master. I’ll speak honestly.”
“Hm?”
Startled, Lion put down his teacup with a clatter.
“I can make the costumes for you. I’m confident I can create patterns, cut, and embroider more beautifully than anyone. However, if it becomes known that the designer is me, other nobles will mock you.”
“May I ask the reason?”
“Because I am the illegitimate child of a noble.”
“…”
I hadn’t expected to hear such personal circumstances all of a sudden, though.
‘But what’s the problem with being an illegitimate child?’
Honestly, there were quite a few illegitimate children born among the nobility.
A prime example was the current Second Prince of the Empire, who was an illegitimate child.
‘Though of course, that one somehow got recognized.’
Anyway, aside from such special cases, most illegitimate children of noble families simply lived quietly as commoners.
It wasn’t something to flaunt, but the general social consensus wasn’t to hush it up and hide it either.
Moreover, tailors generally did business with nobles but were usually of commoner status themselves.
So there shouldn’t have been any problem from being a noble’s illegitimate child, right?
Andrie continued to open up about her circumstances.
“The cause was that I did business with not just nobles, but also commoners. I heard that a few customers who were displeased by that investigated my personal background.”
“Hmm.”
Only then did Lion realize what the problem was.
‘So she offended the nobles’ feelings.’
That was exactly it.
The crime of hurting their feelings.
Being an illegitimate child was merely a pretext to disparage Andrie.
‘It’s obvious what happened.’
They were nobles who turned up their noses at things.
They had to be treated with deference wherever they went, and naturally looked up to.
Even more so when they had come to purchase high-end luxury goods.
From their perspective, such luxury goods were certainly not to be sold to commoners.
Even if they paid a fortune! Absolutely not.
Because it would have lowered their own dignity.
‘A sense of privilege was, by nature, not something easily let go of.’
“Rumors bred rumors, and even those who had been sponsoring me eventually cut off their support.”
Earning the hatred of nobles was a fairly cruel affair for a commoner.
It was like how a small subcontractor couldn’t voice any complaints to the main contractor.
“So, if you entrust it to me, I’d rather it be credited to the skill of an unknown, rookie tailor…”
“Hold on.”
Lion raised a hand to stop her story.
“First, I’d like to see some of the clothes you’ve made.”
“I’ve disposed of all the clothes I sold to the nobles, but…”
Since her situation was bad, she must have sold them even at dirt-cheap prices.
And now, she probably had nothing but the leftover fabric scraps she’d been taking to the orphanage, let alone good material.
Well, that was fine.
“It doesn’t matter. I just want to see your proper skills.”
“In that case…”
Andrie stood up and swept open a curtain that had been covering one side.
And there…
“These are the products I sell to my neighbors.”
[Skilled Tailor’s Ready-made Dress (★★)]
[Skilled Tailor’s Ready-made Cotton Pants (★★)]
[Skilled Tailor’s Ready-made Work Clothes (★★)]
[Skilled Tailor’s Ready-made Bolero (★★)]
A feast of stars unfolded.