Clothes Chosen Only by Him

If he was going to buy a new one, why insist on throwing away the one from Harold?
To begin with, the reason for buying him a new one was hard to accept.

“I know best what suits you.
So, only wear what I pick out.”

“Yes, understood.”

He still couldn’t understand his intentions, but Eren had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
The clothes were already burnt, and he had to abide by Kazen’s decision.

“Good.
My schedule is free today, after all.
We can go out now.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare right aw… W-what do you mean, go out right now?”

Answering out of habit, Eren belatedly jolted in surprise and asked.
Kazen had told him to cancel all his appointments, so he thought he was unwell.
For him to suddenly suggest going out now was bewildering.

Moreover, canceling the tailor’s visit, which was on today’s schedule, had been Kazen’s own doing.
Yet now, out of the blue, he wanted to go shopping for Eren’s clothes.
Eren had no idea what he was thinking, and it was frustrating.

“Yes, now.
Is there a problem?”

But Kazen retorted with a shameless face, as if asking if there was a problem.

“Ah, well, there’s still the morning work I need to do…”

“You can do that later.
I’m going to change into my outdoor clothes, so get ready quickly.
I’ll have the carriage prepared to leave in thirty minutes.”

Kazen, having said his piece, didn’t even wait for a reply before turning on his heel and leaving the drawing room.

As if waking from a dream, Eren stared blankly at the luxurious box left on the table.
Belatedly feeling regret over the burnt clothes, his heart ached.

There was the disappointment of losing something expensive, but more than that, he was saddened that his first-ever gift had disappeared.
As he was about to carefully store the remaining clothes, he snapped back to reality.
He had to be ready to leave within thirty minutes.

‘There’s so much to do this morning…!’

It was impossible to finish all the morning tasks in that short time.
So, he had to move quickly and take care of the urgent matters first.

He simply didn’t have time to sort the mail, so he had no choice but to entrust it to Brennen, unreliable as he was.
He decided to handle the documents when he returned and gathered Kazen’s formal wear to be given to the tailor.

Then he wrote a letter canceling Kazen’s evening appointment.
After instructing a servant to deliver the letter to Count Durum and Lady Emilia, he hurriedly threw on his coat and practically ran down to the first-floor entrance hall.

“Let’s go to the boutique right away.”

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t late, as he saw Kazen just putting on his hat.
Watching him board the carriage leisurely, Eren reluctantly followed.

Even though all appointments had been canceled, Kazen seemed anxious about being late for something.
He even took his pocket watch out now and then to check the time.

“Do you have an appointment, by any chance?”

Wondering if there was some secret affair he didn’t know about, Eren asked curiously.
Kazen’s face immediately twisted into a scowl, as if asking what nonsense he was talking about.

“I said I canceled my appointments due to a hangover.
Why are you asking something you already know?
Are you suggesting I lied?”

He could have just said no, but the way he pressed on seemed suspicious.
But as always, Eren couldn’t say anything to Kazen.
No matter what, he shouldn’t doubt or interrogate him.

So he just pursed his lips tightly and looked out the window.
The sky was gloomy, as if it might rain.
The somber, rain-laden dark clouds seemed to perfectly represent Eren’s state of mind.

“Do you remember what I told you yesterday?”

“You said so many things yesterday, Your Grace.
If you could specify exactly what you’re referring to, I could recall it more clearly.”

In truth, he had a rough idea what Kazen was going to talk about, but hoping otherwise, he asked in a roundabout way.

“About getting close to Mr. Harrison.”

But contrary to Eren’s hope, Kazen’s answer didn’t miss the mark in the slightest.
He desperately wished it was a bad joke, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Yes, I remember.”

“I’ve gathered some information personally, just in case you don’t know.
Take it.”

He took out a piece of paper he had stuffed carelessly into his pocket and handed it to Eren.
Breaking the seal and opening it, he saw brief personal information about Mr. Harrison.

Arnold Harrison.
The youngest of three brothers in the Harrison family.
Age twenty-eight, fluent in four languages, studied law abroad, and worked as a lawyer.
It noted that he hadn’t been involved in the family business for long and was primarily handling railway-related matters.

“Lately, the Harrison family has been recklessly buying up territories, and our family’s lands are included.”

Eren already knew this fact, as he was the one who had sorted those documents.
He too had found their proposal puzzling.

They weren’t originally a mining family, so why were they suddenly investing huge sums to buy mines?
Moreover, they weren’t just buying mines but indiscriminately purchasing imperial lands.

As Eren was lost in thought, the carriage came to a stop, drawing Kazen’s attention outside.

“We’ll talk about the rest later.”

Checking his pocket watch one more time, he shrugged his shoulders and spoke.
Then he strode out of the carriage and entered the boutique.

“Y-Your Grace, the Duke of Clifford! Welcome!”

The boutique was in an uproar at the unannounced arrival of such a distinguished guest.
Employees rushed out, breathless, to attend to Kazen with utmost care.

“We’ll prepare your usual coffee.
If you could wait here for a moment, Mr. Chris will be right out.”

Eren handed over the clothes he had brought for Kazen to a boutique employee.
Since they were here anyway, Kazen’s clothes needed to be fitted to avoid any issues when wearing them to the party.

“My goodness, Your Grace!
What brings you here?
I was just about to leave myself.”

The tailor, Mr. Chris, who had rushed out as he said, was dressed for outdoors.
Kazen pointed a finger at Eren, who stood by his side like a shadow.

“I’m here to buy clothes for this man today.
He needs a formal suit to wear this week.”

“Pardon?”

Chris and Eren often chatted, as they met frequently and shared the common ground of being employees.
So Chris also knew very well that Kazen had no reason to buy expensive clothes for Eren.

“Are you going to make me say it twice?”

“No, I understand.
I’ll prepare it for you immediately.
I’ll bring a few items I can recommend. Please make yourself comfortable and wait.”

Guided by the staff, Kazen relaxed on a luxurious sofa with tea.
Meanwhile, Eren, led by Chris, found himself trying on various garments, one piece after another.

With each outfit, he sought Kazen’s approval on whether it suited him.
Kazen leisurely sipped his coffee, rejecting them one after another, saying he didn’t like the design, the material, or the color.

Finally, on the fifth candidate, he gave a nod.

“That one seems best.
It’s the most decent among all you’ve tried on so far.”

The outfit Kazen chose happened to be a dark color, the exact opposite of the formal wear Harold had gifted him.

“Isn’t it a bit too dark?”

It was the tailor, Chris, who answered Eren’s cautious question.

“It’s fine.
Dark colors inherently give a sense of trustworthiness.
Avoiding patterns as much as possible and giving points with buttons or ties adds a more sophisticated feel.”

“Ah, I see.”

Eren preferred comfortable, functional clothes over luxurious, trustworthy ones.
But he decided to accept whatever Kazen chose for him.

“Then, we should take your measurements.
Could you try it on and come out?
There’s a fitting room over here.”

Though reluctant, Eren obediently took the clothes Chris handed him and headed to the fitting room.
Letting out a deep sigh, he changed and stepped back out, where Chris adjusted the buttons and tie.

“My word, you look so much more distinguished dressed like this.
Let’s go show His Grace.”

Even looking in the mirror, Eren found it hard to understand what feeling ‘more distinguished’ meant.

Wearing the dark navy frock coat gave a neat impression, it seemed.
Moreover, perhaps because the fabric was luxurious, he looked somewhat elegant.

Ah, so this is what looking distinguished means.

“Your Grace, do you like the outfit?
Could you please give your final approval?”

Chris, leading Eren over to where Kazen was sitting, asked.

“Hmm.”

Kazen, who had been reading a newspaper, slowly looked up.
Then, as if appraising him, his gaze slowly swept over Eren from head to toe.

It was the first time he had been scrutinized so thoroughly by him, and coupled with wearing ill-fitting clothes, his embarrassment doubled.

“I think it looks a bit awkward, after all.
Should I take it off right now?”