Biancoro.
The name came from the Italian words “bianco,” meaning white, and “oro,” meaning gold.
It hinted at the brand’s concept of “gold flowing across a pure white canvas.”
In Italy, it was a top luxury brand on the same level as Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana.
Ordinary working-class people rarely came here to shop.
But as the young lady of the Shijou family, Shijou Maki owned quite a few clothes from this brand.
Unlike the young lady of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Kaguya, whose clothes were all prepared by maids, Maki had friends.
So she preferred shopping for clothes with her friends.
Inside the VIP room on the second floor of Biancoro’s flagship store, Maki spun in front of the floor-length mirror.
The hem of her pale-gold dress opened like rippling waves.
The girl in the mirror was undoubtedly a rare beauty.
She had long, slender limbs, deep purple eyes, a small face, and a slim figure like a model.
The black tights wrapped around her delicate legs gave off a mysterious sheen under the light.
The skirt that hid her hips was just the right length.
Its spreading shadow perfectly covered the upper part of the girl’s thighs.
“Nagisa, what do you think of this dress?
Does it look good?”
Maki turned her head, her light-brown twin tails swaying as she looked at the girl sitting behind her.
Kashiwagi Nagisa was Maki’s close friend, and she was also a beautiful girl.
She had shoulder-length black hair, with a red hair clip pinned beside her ear.
“Mm, if you ask me, Maki-chan looks good in anything.”
Nagisa rested her chin on her hand as she sat on the velvet sofa, smiling as she gave her review.
“After all, it’s Maki-chan.”
Maki waved her hand.
“Don’t just be a compliment machine.
I want you to take this seriously and give me actual advice.”
“You want advice?
Hmm…”
Nagisa looked at Maki and thought for a moment before suddenly smiling.
“I feel like the dresses Maki-chan has been trying on lately are getting more and more ladylike~ Is it because Ayanokouji-kun has also started attending Shuchiin?”
Nagisa’s words had been fine at first.
But the moment she mentioned the name Ayanokouji, Maki immediately clenched her teeth and began explaining.
“I-It just so happens that this season’s new designs match my taste!”
“Not because your husband likes them?”
Nagisa continued teasing her.
As Maki’s best friend since childhood, Nagisa knew everything about Maki and Ayanokouji Ren’s arranged marriage.
“There you go again.
Who said he’s my husband?”
Maki was speechless.
Nagisa had been doing this since they were little.
Whenever she had the chance, she would suddenly say something like that.
“Maki-chan, your husband came to see you.”
“Maki-chan, does your husband like you?”
“Maki-chan, when are you and your husband getting married?”
In short, Nagisa would bring it up every time just to laugh at her.
But Maki had always felt that having a husband at such a young age was something incredibly embarrassing.
Even now, she still felt that way.
After all, girls her age had not even dated anyone yet, but she already had a husband.
What kind of situation was that?
So every single time, she firmly denied it.
“Eh?
Maki-chan is already this old, but she still gets shy?”
After realizing that, Nagisa’s expression suddenly turned serious.
Seeing her expression, Maki inevitably became serious too.
“Maki-chan, I’m being honest.
Do you not like him?”
Nagisa asked, her voice carrying no hint of laughter.
Seeing her best friend acting completely different from usual made Maki a little nervous.
“Of course I don’t like him.
I am, after all, the heir to the bloodline of the Shijou family, which is equivalent to the heart of the nation.
How could I just casually fall for him?”
Nagisa suddenly stood up and walked around to Maki’s other side, trying to stare into her eyes.
“Really?
You don’t like him at all?”
Maki turned her head to the other side.
“I don’t!”
Nagisa circled around to stand in front of Maki again.
“Really, really, not even a little?”
“Hmph.
Really, really, not even a little!”
Maki lifted her chin and stared at the ceiling.
This way, there’s no way you can see my eyes.
“Oh.”
Nagisa nodded.
Then she suddenly said, “Then it’s fine if I go after him, right?”
“?”
Maki’s eyes went blank.
“Eh, eh, eh?
What do you mean?”
“Because you don’t like him, Maki-chan, but you’re still bound by the engagement.
That means you can’t pursue the person you actually like, right?”
Nagisa spoke seriously.
Then she suddenly smiled.
“But if I go and make Ayanokouji-kun mine, then your engagement can be dissolved.”
“T-That, that…”
Maki dug both hands into her hair.
Who said I wanted to dissolve the engagement?!
But how could she possibly say that out loud?
The clever Maki suddenly thought of another method.
“But what about you, Nagisa?
If that happens, won’t you be the one tied down?
What about your future happiness?”
“As your friend, I can’t bear to see something like that happen!”
Nagisa felt quite happy hearing those words.
With Maki’s dishonest personality, saying something like that in front of her must have required a lot of courage.
So Nagisa took Maki’s hands.
“Maki-chan!
I’m really happy you said that!”
Maki nodded.
“Nagisa, when you said that just now, I was also very—”
“But!”
Before Maki could finish speaking, Nagisa brought in the twist.
“It’s fine, you know.
I feel like being with Ayanokouji-kun would probably make me happy too.”
“After all, he’s very handsome, his family is rich, and his grades are excellent.”
“To be honest, his reputation among the girls in our class is really high.
He’s in the top three on Shuchiin’s list of boys girls most want to date.”
A “?” expression appeared on Maki’s forehead.
“Wait, why don’t I know about this ranking?”
“Because Karen-san only talked to me about it last night.
She just joined the Newspaper Club and got first-hand information.”
Nagisa smiled as she spoke.
“So I kind of want to try dating Ayanokouji-kun too.”
“It’s just that when I think of him as your fiancé, Maki, I can’t bring myself to say it.”
“But now that you say you don’t like him, if I pursue him, wouldn’t that solve two problems at once?”
“…”
She did not know what expression she should make.
But if she did not say something soon, her fiancé really would be stolen away.
Damn belly-button-hairclip girl.
Ever since we were kids, you’ve always had to copy everything I had!
Nagisa watched Maki’s lips moving as she muttered to herself.
“Maki, do you want to say something?”
“I…”
Maki cursed inwardly.
Fine, I’ll say it!
“Actually, n-now that I hear you put it that way, I feel like maybe…
maybe trying things with him…
might not be impossible…”
Her voice grew quieter and quieter.
Maki lowered her head, red clouds flying across her cheeks.
Even her neck had turned completely red.
“Try what?”
Nagisa smiled.
“Try…
Try…
dating first…”
Maki’s voice was almost too quiet to hear.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t like him?”
Nagisa smiled.
“I…
don’t like him…”
Maki froze.
Then she suddenly realized Nagisa had been messing with her.
“So what if I don’t like him?
I don’t have a choice!
My mother wants me to marry him, so what am I supposed to do?
I can only listen to my mother!”
“Ah, damn this feudal system!
What era is this, still playing around with arranged marriages?”
“Sigh, there’s nothing I can do.
I hate it.
Well, if he took the initiative to come confess to me, maybe I’d be a little happier.”
“Sigh, but I still want free love more.
Damn arranged marriage.
Damn feudalism!”
Maki kept saying incomprehensible things like, “How can an arranged marriage count as liking someone?”
The air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Nagisa covered her mouth and laughed softly.
She absolutely loved seeing the dishonest Maki get shy.
Mm, but how did Ayanokouji-kun feel about Maki-chan?
Did he actually like Maki-chan?
As Nagisa thought about that, she walked to the railing.
Then, suddenly, she saw a somewhat familiar figure.
Blond hair and golden eyes.
She hurriedly rushed back into the VIP room and shouted at Maki.
“Maki-chan, your husband is downstairs!”
“Who said he’s my husband?!”
Maki habitually clenched both fists and snapped back.
But when she saw Nagisa’s excited, panicked expression, she suddenly froze.
“He’s really downstairs?”
…