Chapter 14: Sigrid Ankertna

Marisuez huffed her way to the opera box seat. 

Rowen Green, who was sitting first in her seat, looked at Marisuez with a puzzled expression.

“What is it?”

“I’ve had something completely pissed me off. You know Sigrid right? You know what she did? She got clothes in the boutique.”

“Sigrid? In the boutique?”

Rowen Green, wearing an elegant pink dress, also belonged to the same knight order. Of course, she knew Sigrid. She put down the pamphlet she was looking at and raised her head, looking dumbfounded.

Marisuez finished a glass of water and said, “yes, so I said ‘so you’re that kind of knight too right?’ And I said, ‘yes, you’re one of those knights, aren’t you?’ And she said, ‘no, well, i think it’s not right as a knight, but it’s not something bad.’ so she thinks, it’s an affair if others do it and romance if she does it? It’s really annoying.”

“But, Sigrid is not a person who applies different standards to others though?” Rowen Green tilted her head. Sigrid was an annoying person, but she was not a double standard. She was not a person who said, ‘it’s bad if others do it, but it’s right if I do it.’

“But that’s how it was!”

“So she said, it’s bad for you to wear it, but it’s not bad for her to wear it?”

“No, no. ‘it’s not right as a knight, but i don’t think it’s a bad thing.’ what does it even mean?”

“Yeah, what does that mean?”Rowen Green was lost in thought.

Then Marisuez continued her words with pouting her lips, “I don’t know, it must be bullshit she is spouting as an excuse. Anyway, that kind of kid is the one that disgraced the reputation of the female knight.”

With a loud snort, Marisuez puffed her chest out and leaned out to the edge of the box seat. Her new dress would be unveiled to the world. 

Marisuez was the third daughter of a count. Her family was not big enough to buy such an opera box seat. The box seat belonged to Rowen Green. No, to be exact, it belongs to the Alsekidna family. Rowen Green, the eldest daughter of Marquis Alsekida, praised Marisuez’s dress when she saw it.

“It’s a new dress? So pretty.”

“Yes, it was specially tailored in the Violet Boutique. Isn’t the embroidery so pretty?”

“Yes, it’s finely crafted. It’s even prettier than a real flower as it’s made with jewels.”

The opera box seats were like small salons. Having a box seat also meant that the family had power. Thus, when the Ingrid Opera House was built, Marquis Alsekidna invested a considerable amount of money, that was why he had a lot of box seats.

Rowen green sat in the inside part of the box seat and showed no appearance to the public, but Marisuez liked to show off her own beauty, and she was confident in herself.  

“But certainly, Sigrid is weird these days.”

Marisuez turned her head at Rowen Green’s words. However, her straight body that emphasized her chest and her smiling face remained unchanged.

“What is it?”

“She even took a long vacation. She bought some new clothes….” 

Marisuez smirked and lightly slapped her palm with a fan. “Maybe there is a guy she likes?”

“A guy she likes?”

“Yeah, that kind of kid is the kind of person who is usually out of their minds when they have a lover. Perhaps, she got caught by a bad guy somewhere, and is getting her money ripped off by the guy.”

At the sarcastic remark, Rowen Green frowned. For Marisuez, who liked to doll up herself, Sigrid was a natural enemy. So it wasn’t that Rowen Green didn’t understand Marisuez’s animosity, but….

‘Let’s meet her once – nope, let’s not mind it.’ 

Rowen Green shook her head and ordered the attendant to bring more refreshments. What did Sigrid have to do with anything? Rowen green buried herself deep in her chair and listened to the high-pitch singing of the singer.

***

Sigrid was sitting under a tree in her garden. Repeatedly breathing deeply and exhaling, doing meditation, she tried to make an aura core. The aura flocked to the pit of her stomach at her call and scattered repeatedly. After a while, a few auras stayed at the pit of her stomach, but they weren’t enough to produce a core yet.

However, Sigrid was satisfied with the little amount of aura she collected. Aura was like a snowball. It was hard to produce a nucleus for the first time, but it would be so much easier after it grew to a certain extent. 

After getting up, passing through the garden and terrace, Sigrid went into the house and changed her clothes. Then she went to the boutique.

‘I have to get Echo from the Knights.’ Sigrid was a bit excited. She was ready to pick up her horse. 

Etwatz greeted her when Sigrid entered the boutique. Sigrid became a small but decent—strangely passionate—customer for the boutique. She had been matching some clothes in the boutique several times. Also today, she picked up some clothes she ordered not too long ago. Etwatz handed over the new shirts, pants, vests, jackets, and cloak that had different designs to Sigrid. Etwatz recommended matching some dresses to Sigrid, but she felt that dresses were still a bit too much for her. 

‘There is nowhere to wear them anyway’

Sigrid then stopped by the hat store. She didn’t buy a hat as she didn’t have dresses, but she bought a hairpin and hair stick. Since the price of jewelry went up endlessly, she could only buy the cheap ones. Still, it was good to see the sparkling beauty.

Sigrid found out that dressing up was much more enjoyable than she thought. She also bought a pair of long boots and middle boots with silver decorations, and for the first time, she drove home in a carriage because of her shopping bags. She also found that paying and giving tips to the driver who dropped off her shopping bags was also refreshing. Eventually, it was not until she’d filled one of her wardrobes that she stopped buying clothes. 

‘It’s full of clothes’

Usually, one full wardrobe wasn’t enough for anyone, but for Sigrid, it was amazing for her to have a full wardrobe. She closed and opened her wardrobe several times, admiring the clothes hanging side by side. Then she dressed slowly. She was kind of nervous because it was her first time dressing up like that and going to the Knight Order. Sigrid checked herself in front of the mirror and took a deep breath, then left the house.