The next morning began with a knock.

A violent knock.

Not the polite kind.

Not the civilized kind.

The kind of knock that suggested someone had been waiting outside for hours and had finally lost patience.

Kael opened one eye.

Then another.

Then immediately regretted both decisions.

Someone was pounding on the inn door.

Again.

And again.

And again.

From the other bed came a groan.

"Aina."

"No."

"You don’t even know what I’m about to say."

"I know enough."

The knocking continued.

Kael sat up.

The knocking somehow became more aggressive.

"Why are they angry?"

Seraphina pulled a blanket over her head.

"Maybe they discovered the spoons."

"The spoons have nothing to do with this."

"You don’t know that."

A fair point.

Unfortunately.

The knocking stopped.

Silence followed.

Then—

"MISS DESIGNER!"

Both froze.

Another voice joined.

"MISS DESIGNER!"

Then another.

And another.

Kael slowly looked toward the ceiling.

"No."

Outside:

"MISS DESIGNER!"

"No."

"MISS DESIGNER!"

"No."

Seraphina peeked out from the blanket.

"That’s me."

"Unfortunately."

Her smile immediately appeared.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Twenty minutes later—

The innkeeper looked ready to cry.

The lobby was packed.

Absolutely packed.

Merchants.

Customers.

Young nobles.

Travelers.

Even two guards.

All waiting.

All talking.

All looking toward the stairs.

Where Seraphina stood.

Holding a ceramic frog.

Nobody knew why.

Not even Kael.

A merchant stepped forward first.

"Miss Designer!"

Seraphina immediately corrected him.

"Lady Designer."

Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.

The merchant didn’t even hesitate.

"My apologies, Lady Designer."

That was worse.

Much worse.

The title had survived.

A young woman rushed forward.

"Can you look at my dress?"

Another pushed forward.

"My coat!"

A third appeared. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"My wedding outfit!"

Silence.

Seraphina blinked.

Then pointed.

"You are getting married?"

"Yes."

Seraphina looked horrified.

"Voluntarily?"

The woman froze.

The entire lobby froze.

Kael looked away.

The merchant looked away.

Even the innkeeper looked away.

Because everyone knew.

Everyone knew that was a very Seraphina question.

The bride-to-be recovered first.

"...Yes?"

Seraphina stared.

Then nodded solemnly.

"Brave."

The woman looked oddly proud of herself.

Kael decided not to get involved.

Self-preservation was important.

The crowd surged again.

Questions flew everywhere.

Requests.

Ideas.

Suggestions.

Demands.

Chaos.

Pure chaos.

Seraphina looked increasingly pleased.

Kael looked increasingly concerned.

Because something was wrong.

Very wrong.

People weren’t just interested.

They were invested.

One night.

One single night.

That was all it had taken.

Rumors had spread through the entire district.

Fast.

Too fast.

Kael scanned the room carefully.

Then noticed something.

Three merchants.

Same symbol.

Different clothes.

Watching.

Not speaking.

Observing.

Interesting.

His instincts immediately sharpened.

Businessmen.

The dangerous kind.

Meanwhile—

Seraphina had climbed onto a chair.

For absolutely no reason.

"Citizens."

Kael closed his eyes.

No good sentence had ever started that way.

The crowd somehow became quieter.

"After extensive consideration—"

"You slept for ten hours."

"After extensive consideration."

She continued.

"I have reached a conclusion."

Nobody breathed.

"We need money."

Silence.

Then:

"That’s your conclusion?"

Kael asked.

"Yes."

The crowd nodded.

Apparently they agreed.

Traitors.

Seraphina pointed dramatically.

"Therefore."

Pause.

"I shall establish a fashion empire."

The innkeeper dropped a tray.

A merchant choked.

Someone in the back whispered:

"That sounds expensive."

Kael immediately pointed at the door.

"No."

Seraphina pointed at the crowd.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

The argument continued.

Unfortunately, the crowd seemed to be voting.

And Seraphina was winning.

Then—

One of the silent merchants stepped forward.

Everything changed.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t excited.

Wasn’t smiling.

Wasn’t impressed.

He looked annoyed.

Which immediately made him interesting.

His gaze swept over Seraphina.

Then the clothes.

Then the crowd.

Then back to Seraphina.

"You."

Seraphina pointed at herself.

"Obviously."

"I heard you’re changing designs."

"I improve them."

His expression didn’t change.

"According to who?"

The room became quieter.

Kael immediately noticed.

This was different.

Not a customer.

Not a fan.

A challenge.

The merchant folded his arms.

"My family has sold clothing for three generations."

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Seraphina smiled.

"Congratulations."

The merchant didn’t smile back.

"You altered local styles after one day."

"Yes."

"You don’t understand this city’s fashion."

"Probably."

That answer surprised everyone.

Including Kael.

The merchant narrowed his eyes.

"Then why are people listening to you?"

Seraphina thought for a moment.

Then answered honestly.

"I have no idea."

A few people laughed.

The merchant didn’t.

He pointed toward the crowd.

"Fashion isn’t about standing out."

Seraphina raised an eyebrow.

"I disagree."

"It is about tradition."

"I disagree harder."

The crowd immediately backed away slightly.

Because everyone could feel it.

A collision.

Not swords.

Not magic.

Ideas.

The merchant looked irritated.

"Fine."

He gestured toward one of the dresses.

"Improve that."

The room fell silent.

Kael felt something click into place.

For the first time—

Someone wasn’t worshipping.

Someone wasn’t impressed.

Someone wasn’t agreeing.

Someone was challenging her.

And strangely—

Seraphina looked delighted.

Actually delighted.

Her golden eyes brightened.

A grin appeared.

The kind Evelyne would recognize immediately.

The kind that meant:

Finally.

A rival.

"Gladly."

The merchant smiled.

Not pleasantly.

This wasn’t about a dress anymore.

And for the first time since discovering fashion—

Seraphina’s next move wasn’t guaranteed to succeed.

The merchant stepped forward.

The crowd parted instinctively.

Not because he was important.

Because he looked certain.

Certain people were dangerous.

The dress he carried wasn’t ugly.

Far from it.

Deep blue.

Silver embroidery.

Elegant craftsmanship.

The kind of dress that had clearly sold well for years.

The merchant held it up.

"Improve it."

The challenge echoed through the inn.

Several people exchanged glances.

Others leaned forward eagerly.

Even the innkeeper stopped pretending to work.

Seraphina examined the dress.

Then examined the merchant.

Then the dress again.

Her expression slowly became serious.

A rare event.

Kael immediately noticed.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Because she wasn’t looking confident.

She was thinking.

Actually thinking.

The merchant noticed too.

"You seem hesitant."

Seraphina ignored him.

She stepped closer.

Touched the fabric.

Examined the stitching.

The cut.

The sleeves.

The shape.

A full minute passed.

Nobody spoke.

Then she did.

"I wouldn’t change much."

The merchant blinked.

The crowd blinked.

Kael blinked.

That answer had not been expected.

The merchant folded his arms.

"I thought you improved things."

"I do."

"Then improve it."

Seraphina pointed at the dress.

"This already knows what it wants to be."

Silence.

The merchant’s expression shifted slightly.

Not agreement.

Not approval.

Surprise.

The crowd looked confused.

Seraphina continued.

"The stitching is good."

She pointed again.

"The proportions work."

Another point.

"The embroidery supports the design instead of fighting it."

The merchant stared.

Now genuinely staring.

Because she wasn’t criticizing.

She wasn’t showing off.

She wasn’t pretending.

She had identified the actual strengths.

Kael suddenly understood.

This wasn’t a scam.

This wasn’t random talent.

She genuinely saw things differently.

Unfortunately—

That realization lasted approximately four seconds.

Because Seraphina suddenly pointed at the collar.

"This part annoys me."

There it was.

Normality restored.

The merchant looked down.

"The collar?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It looks arrogant."

The collar somehow looked offended.

The merchant looked at her.

She looked back.

Neither moved.

The crowd waited.

Finally—

The merchant laughed.

A real laugh.

Unexpected.

Short.

Genuine.

The first one he’d shown all day.

"You’re strange."

Seraphina nodded proudly.

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t praise."

"I accept it anyway."

That sounded more like her.

The merchant shook his head.

Then something surprising happened.

He handed her the dress.

"Fine."

Kael immediately became concerned.

Whenever people handed Seraphina things, reality usually suffered.

The merchant pointed.

"Show me."

Now the room became truly silent.

Because this was different.

Not theory.

Not comments.

Not opinions.

Proof.

The challenge had become real.

Seraphina stared at the dress.

Then at the cloth nearby.

Then at the merchant.

Then at the crowd.

For the first time since yesterday—

No confidence appeared.

No dramatic declaration.

No villainess speech.

Just thought.

A lot of thought.

And for some reason—

That made Kael more nervous than anything else.

Because he knew something the crowd didn’t.

Seraphina had only just remembered this dream.

Yesterday.

Not last year.

Not ten years ago.

Yesterday.

She wasn’t an experienced designer.

She was a girl who had once wanted to become one.

Those were not the same thing.

The crowd didn’t know that.

The merchant didn’t know that.

Only Kael did.

And suddenly—

He wasn’t worried about the business.

Or the money.

Or the crowd.

He was worried about her.

Because if she failed now—

For the first time—

It would be something she actually cared about.

Not villainess nonsense.

Not competitions.

Not spoons.

Not chaos.

Something real.

Seraphina looked down at the dress again.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the fabric.

A tiny movement.

Barely visible.

Most people missed it.

Kael didn’t.

Because for perhaps the first time since he’d met her—

Aina looked nervous.

The merchant noticed it too.

His eyes narrowed.

Not cruelly.

Carefully.

Studying.

Then he said quietly:

"Go on."

No mockery.

No pressure.

Just expectation.

Which was somehow worse.

The room waited.

The crowd waited.

The merchant waited.

Kael waited.

And for the first time in a very long time—

Seraphina Valois didn’t immediately know what to do.

Far away, beyond the town—

A black crow landed on a wooden signpost.

It tilted its head.

Watching.

As if it already knew something was about to change.

And for once—

The outcome wasn’t obvious.