Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

Late summer. The usual afternoon, the usual "Button Shop Norman," the usual everyday life.

To me, it was just an ordinary day... until a somewhat unusual visitor arrived.

“Excuse me! I was introduced here by a certain someone! Could I have a moment of your time!?”

The moment the door opened, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen burst out loudly.

Her silver hair and face somewhere between “cute” and “charming.” Judging by her accessories and the tailoring of her dress, it was clear she came from a rather prominent family. Behind her stood a woman in formal attire, likely her lady’s maid, holding some luggage.

“...Ah, yes. Please wait a moment.”

At that time, I was finishing up some delicate work on a brooch at the counter. Carefully setting tiny gems onto a metal base, securing them by bending the prongs around the stones. Glues would dull the sparkle, but if the prongs weren’t bent tight enough, the stones would just fall out. It was a task that required my full attention.

“Button Shop Norman” was originally not a shop but a workshop. Prioritizing finishing already accepted orders over entertaining new customers, no matter how wealthy or noble they were. That was what Grandpa Norman had taught me, so I decided to make the young lady wait.

Using thin pliers, I bent each prong with steady pressure. When finished, I flicked the brooch with my finger, turned it upside down, and gave it a rough shake. Good, nothing fell off. It was complete.

“Thank you for waiting. Um—”

When I looked up, our eyes met at close range. Far from angry at the wait, the young lady was intently watching my work. Her puppy-like, round eyes sparkled. I couldn’t help but soften my expression. Oops, no, I quickly put on a curt tone.

“Introduced by who? We have most ready-made buttons here, but if you want custom work, it’ll take some time. Grandpa Norman, the craftsman, is currently hospitalized.”

“Oh, so you’re not the one making it?”

“I’m just an apprentice. Only the shop attendant.”

“Hm? But your craftsmanship looks marvelous. You seem like a professional.”

The young lady said that so easily, I almost burst out cheering. I hastily pulled my hat down deeper and looked away.

“Don’t flatter me. This was just a special request from a regular customer... I’ve only been here six months—well, I did patch together old clothes at home, so I can handle minor fixes. But my specialty is sewing clothes.”

“Oh, so you’re the tailor. Then it’s just as Marie told me.”

Marie? ...That must be my sister, Marie Shadelan. Does that mean this young lady is connected to the Granado Family?

Before I could process it, the young lady gestured to her attendant, who took out a bundle of papers from a bag. She spread dozens of high-quality sheets in front of me. I blinked in surprise.

“Wh-what’s this?”

“Design sketches. The young lady drew them herself,” the attendant replied. She looked young, too, but with long bangs covering half her face, large round spectacles, and her hair braided tightly—her expression was utterly unfriendly. I just gave a noncommittal response, unsure what to say, which made the young lady raise her voice even more.

“Yes, I worked hard on these! Ever since I saw a costume you designed on a certain occasion, I’ve been obsessed with it, unable to get it out of my mind!”

“Huh?”

“Due to my status, I’m not allowed to wear this myself… but I have many personal maids. If we made this their uniform, every day would be rosy, wouldn’t it? Thinking that way, I simply couldn’t stop and started drawing designs for an order—then I just kept going—”

“...I see.”

I picked up a few sheets. The model was female... probably. The trunk looked like a log with red hair, and the chest area was puffed out. The outfit was flashy with ribbons and fringes. Is this a crest? It looked like a crushed frog, but also somewhat like a wing-spread hawk...

“But I found it difficult to put what’s in my head onto paper. I deeply regret having skipped art class all this time...”