A few days later.
So this is what they were talking about.
Iris stood quietly inside the dress chamber. Normally, her attendants would assist her with changing, but this time, she simply couldn’t bear the embarrassment to ask for help. She spent a long moment gazing at the garment Cedric had handed her.
Where could he have gotten this…?
In her hands was the academy uniform. At first glance, it seemed similar to others, but upon closer inspection, it was not. At the academy, tie colors signified grade levels. The tie on this uniform was pure white—the exact shade Iris had worn.
“Madam, are you finished?” came a voice.
“Oh, no, sorry.”
After changing completely and facing the mirror, a strange feeling crept over her.
Was it always this short?
Perhaps it was because she had grown taller since then, but the skirt, originally meant to cover the knees fully, now hovered awkwardly above them. She tugged at the hem repeatedly, but a tailored garment would not stretch.
No choice, then.
Buttoning the blazer to perfection, Iris tied her hair back with a ribbon and gently opened the door.
Cedric, leaning against the wall, lifted his head.
“Are you done?”
Unlike Iris, who was clad strictly according to regulations from head to toe, Cedric looked rather careless—his tie loose, his shirt tail untucked.
Iris had never worn the uniform so sloppily before, but somehow, on Cedric, it seemed the natural form.
“Ah, yes.”
As Iris stepped out, Cedric narrowed his eyes, taking note.
That blazer… so that’s how it’s supposed to be buttoned.
Cedric had never buttoned all the buttons himself, finding it stifling. And the tie tightened perfectly around the neck—probably uncomfortable, but since Iris wore it properly, he said nothing.
Fidgeting awkwardly with the blazer’s edges, Iris whispered,
“I’m not supposed to appear before others dressed like this… right?”
“Not yet.”
What that meant, Iris couldn’t tell.
Cedric stepped past her and picked up a decorative vase from the room.
“Cedric?”
Without warning, he knocked it aside. The vase shattered loudly on the floor, making Iris shudder.
Oh no.
Vincent would be devastated if he found out.
Iris expected Cedric to flee, but he did not. Instead, he confidently rang the bell calling Vincent.
“To pretend to be a student, you need teachers to chase you too. Let’s go.”
“W-wait!”
Iris tried to stop him, but Cedric grabbed her and bolted.
Though she felt she ought to inform Vincent, the shame of wearing the uniform in public made her unable to stop.
“Good grief!”
“M-mistress?”
The astonished faces of servants who passed by the two running figures showed clearly in the hallway.
So embarrassing.
Iris’s gaze kept dropping to the floor.
“Hey!”
Vincent, surprised by their sudden appearance as he checked his ledger, raised his hand.
“…Mistress?”
And yet, that silhouette… looked exactly like the academy uniform.
After a moment’s thought, Vincent smiled warmly.
“Heh. Well, well, you two.”
Those must be the joys of newlyweds and youth.
Recalling his own younger days fondly, Vincent chuckled softly and returned to the room where the bell had just rung.
His expression hardened at the miserable state of the chamber.
“Mistress!!”
That man was something else!
After running around for quite a while, Cedric and Iris finally hid in a study room deep within the library.
Iris’s face was flushed, but Cedric remained calm, seemingly unfazed by embarrassment.
“Honestly, this time, the Grand Duke is at fault,” Iris said clearly.
She knew how hard Vincent struggled to keep the ledgers in order and felt even more sorry.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You know how much care Vincent puts into surviving the winter.”
Cedric crossed his arms, making a thoughtful sound as he watched Iris, who was scolding him with clenched fists.
“Just out of curiosity, may I ask—”
“Are you really worried about some trivial compensation? Don’t fret. I am the head of the Yordin Sect—what could possibly go wrong?”
Camilla’s throat tightened as she subtly avoided her father’s gaze.
He remained unaware.
‘How should I even tell him?’
For now, it hadn’t yet interfered with his affairs much, but it was only a matter of time.
‘The only one who can change this situation is the Grand Duke.’
But the Grand Duke—
The cold sensation of a blade’s edge flashed through Camilla’s mind, and a chill ran down her spine.
“Camilla, are you alright? Darling, can we really manage this? Our noble allies are vanishing one by one…”
“I told you, it’ll be fine! Do you know what kind of Sect the Yordin Sect is?”
Baron Yordin’s voice rang confidently, unaware of Camilla’s inner distress.
“Our family’s wealth alone will demand forgiveness.”
Though whispers claimed they’d been cast out from the social circles, in truth, the Yordin Sect’s financial power was indispensable.
The Baron had always handled matters with such unwavering boldness.
“I will go plead our case soon, so all of you just stay calm.”
Camilla was left speechless.
The next day, an official decree arrived: the Yordin Sect was disqualified from northern trading privileges.
From that moment, the Yordin Sect’s business partners began severing ties one after another.
Due to their exile from northern cultivation society, the Yordin Baron family only learned of this after the damage had already taken hold.
Chapter 48