The Journal I
"Milady the carriage has arrived."
"Thank you, Lester."
Laura closed her book and placed it on the table and left her room. After having an intense fight with Tine she had a hard time calming herself down and so she distracted herself with a book.
The coachman opened the door for her and helped her get in the carriage. Laura couldn't wait to wear a dress made by Serena since she makes her dresses with care and it was always beautifully made.
Jaded Tailor is a shop operated by the Smythe family who's known to make beautiful dresses and suits for both commoners and nobles. Back in the orphanage, Laura had a dress bought from that store and she loved it as the dress was comfortable and affordable.
Minutes later Laura arrives in the store, and before getting out of the carriage, she put on a black hood to avoid people looking at her since her hair would stand out. A shop assistant welcomed Laura as she walked in and had asked politely to remove her hood.
Laura felt troubled as she didn't want people to see her hair and make a fuss, and so she had to ask to see Serena specifically and have her be the one to assist her. The shop assistant was hesitant because she suspected Laura.
"I-I will call the shop manager first."
The shop assistant quickly called her manager and asked for her help to deal with Laura, who had asked for Serena. The shop manager walked towards Laura and once again politely asked Laura to remove her hood as this was one of the shop rules.
"Please let it go for now. Can you call Serena?"
"I'm sorry I cannot. Please follow the shop rules."
"What's going on?"
A young man who had resembled Serena carefully walked down the stairs and took his eyeglasses off. He removed the measuring tape around his neck and folded it neatly.
"This lady doesn't want to remove her hood and so-"
"I understand. Your lady Laura Alvarado, right? Serena told me a friend of hers is coming in the afternoon."
"Yes, that's me…"
"Anston please escort her to Serena's office."
"Yes, sir."
Anston, the shop manager, escorted Laura to Serena's worktable. And on the way there he had apologized profusely for being rude. Laura shrugged it off as it was partly her fault as well. They arrived in front of Serena's office and he knocked three times before entering.
"Lady Serena, miss Laura is here to see you."
Serena looked busy as she was using the sewing machine. She was so focused that she didn't hear the knock and the door opening.
However, when she felt someone's presence behind her back, she turned around to see someone wearing a hood and jumped out of her chair, frightened. Laura saw that she had accidentally startled Serena and started laughing as she removed her hood.
Serena's face lit up and gave Laura a hug. Anston excused himself and went back to his work.
"How did you get here while wearing a hood?"
"That... a young man who resembled you helped me. I almost caused a commotion downstairs and luckily I was saved."
"Oh, that's my older brother."
"You guys look alike."
"Yup, it's because we have the same eye color and our eyes are small."
"I should thank your brother for helping me."
Serena pushes Laura towards a stand and starts measuring her. It was her first time being measured, and so she felt awkward. After measuring, Serena asked Laura to take a seat and got a color pallet out to think what color would fit Laura.
Laura laughed softly as she saw the face Serena was making as she focused and worked hard to dress her up. It could be because she was making a dress for someone she had liked.
However, she felt sad as she knew that Serena couldn't become a tailor despite having a passion for tailoring. Laura continued watching Serena as she was picking the color. Serena took two colors out and compared which color would look better on Laura.
She couldn't choose which color to pick and ran out of her office dragging someone in. Serena was seen dragging his brother into her room and told him to choose. He looked at Laura and was amazed at her black hair.
Serena had softly hit his arm and noisily told him to pick. Laura laid her eyes on Serena's brother, and she couldn't stop comparing the two siblings. He noticed that Laura kept looking at him and slightly blushed.
He rubbed his ear and gave her a smile, making Laura embarrassed for staring at him. Serena once again hit her brother on the shoulder and told him to focus and choose. He sighed and pointed at the saturated purple.
Then Serena quickly pushed him away and walked back to her workbench.
"I'm sorry. Once my sister becomes too focused on her work, no one can stop her from doing so."
"It's all right, I enjoy seeing her like this. I never knew she was this hardworking."
"I haven't told you my name, did I? My name is Scott Smythe. It's nice to meet you."
"It's also such a pleasure to meet you. You're renowned for making suits for the crowned prince, after all."
"That's such a great compliment, thank you very much."
Scott and Serena have a very big resemblance. They both have black small eyes, brown hair color, and both were tall. Laura envied Serena's height because she was tall and even taller when she wore heels.
Scott had a nice and gentle character, which made Laura have the idea that he had captured tons of women's hearts. Laura excused herself to the restroom and wore her head hood again.
As she was going down the stairs, she saw a guy yelling at the shop assistant who seemed troubled once again. The man was drunk and Anston had asked the customer to get out politely since drunk people aren't allowed to enter the shop.
The drunk man turned raged and was about to punch Anton in the face not until another person in a hood had stopped the drunk man from doing so. He pulled the drunk man towards him in a swift move and hit him at the back of his neck, making him unconscious.
Other men in blue uniforms had followed in and carried the drunken man out of the shop. Anston thanked the man in the hood for helping them and asked how he could repay them. The man in the black hood looked up at Laura and gave her a smile.
Laura knew he looked familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was. They all suddenly left the shop one by one until none of them could be seen. The night had fallen and Laura lost track of time as she was enjoying her time talking to Scott. Sadly, Serena wasn't able to finish her dress and said that she will bring it to the estate tomorrow.
Serena and Scott then escorted Laura to her carriage and said their goodbyes as she left to go back to the estate. Laura removed her hood as she sat in the carriage. She looked out the carriage and saw a familiar person walking.
She asked to stop the carriage and requested the coachman to stay at the side of the road, as to not block the other carriages coming through. She walked towards the familiar person, and as she lifted her face up she saw Tiyne.
"So do you believe me now?"
"I do, and I have so many questions to ask you."
"But you can't ask now can you?"
"Right...it's dark outside already."
"I'll give you this journal first and make sure no one reads this except for you or else something dangerous will happen to you."
Laura agreed to what the Tiyne said. The old lady then got a journal out of her pouch and handed it to Laura. Laura looked at the journal and loved the worn-out touch to it.
As she was about to thank Tiyne, she noticed that the old lady had vanished and was nowhere to be seen.
Laura looked everywhere. However, there were no signs of the old lady. Laura was confused as she looked at the journal and quickly walked back to the carriage. She was confused about why Tiyne had to disappear all of a sudden.
A while later, Laura safely arrived home and was greeted by Lester, who escorted her to the dining hall. Laura gave Lester the journal and told him to keep it safe and secret in her room and warned him not to open it.
She entered the dining hall and saw an unfamiliar man sitting beside Tine. But then later realized it was the second prince of the empire. He looked at Laura and was stunned by her beauty and didn't notice that his mouth was agape.
"I greet the second prince of the empire, may you forever be prosperous."