RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

22. Am I Missing Something?

Evans Kraus. Although he was over sixty, he was still quick to calculate profit and loss. A businessman to the bone, he was reluctant to get into the politics of the Ruford Empire, preferring to focus on his commercial ventures. There was nothing very helpful in the report, but it was better than nothing.

'...I wonder if Kookie knows what I'm thinking.'

If Jungkook also knew all this information, he would have wanted to muster support from the Kraus family. But there must be a reason why hadn't.

Lalisa entertained the possibility that Jimin might've concealed information from her. Although she did not necessarily doubt Jimin, she could not solely rely on him. In a fraught political field she could not unconditionally trust whatever she was given, and she would need to confirm everything for herself.

'There's a lot to be done.'

For now, it was urgent that she and Jungkook meet at the ball and officially become married, but there still many more mountains to climb before he could be crowned emperor. She was calculating the scenarios in her head when she heard a knock

She checked her watch and saw it was time to board the carriage.

"Are you ready, sister?"

At Roseanne's voice Lalisa began to roughly shuffle the documents on her desk.

"Yes, I'll be out now."

Their journey had been slow, but after some time they had finally entered the capital area. Perhaps by the end of the day they would reach their father's mansion. When Lalisa emerged from her room, she saw Roseanne waiting by her door.

"Oh, sister, about the gowns for the ball. Shall we stop by the dress shop on the way?"

"The gowns? Are you wondering how they're made?"

"Yes. I wish we had the dresses delivered to Blaise Castle, but I said we'd pick it up at the capital in case they got wrinkled. And I want to see how they look myself."

Currently, all of the dress shops were swamped with orders due to the royal ball. Luckily, Lalisa and Roseanne had already ordered their gowns quickly, and were informed they were already finished. Lalisa nodded happily, as the dress shop was on the way to the mansion.

"All right, then."

"I can't wait!"

Lalisa boarded the carriage with her beaming sister. No matter how fancy the lodging was, it was finally the day when the monotony of carriage and inns would be over. Her spirits were as high as Roseanne's.

They did not arrive at the dress shop until late afternoon. Lalisa and Roseanne stepped out from the carriage and went inside.

The first thing they heard when the opened the door was the busy sound of a sewing machine.

Normally the work was done on the second floor as to not disturb the visitors at the entrance, but the work had spilled out onto the first floor due to the sheer number of orders. Anco's Tailors was one of the most famous shops in the capital area, and was where Lalisa and Roseanne ordered their dresses. Madame Mitchell, the owner of the Anco's Tailors, saw the visitors enter and hurried out to greet them.

"Welcome, My Ladies. Are you the Blaises that sent a notice in advance?"

Roseanne, who was already looking forward to the dress, answered first.

"Yes, we're here to pick up our order."

"Come this way, please."

Madame Mitchell had a smoothly impassive expression, but she began to guide them inside as politely as possible. It was when they walked through a corridor to an antique dressing room that they saw two dresses hanging on mannequins.