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No matter how much Justine despaired about her fate internally, she could only helplessly leave to fulfill the demands of her little boss.
Thankfully, Dixie wasn't completely petty, and left her alone after pushing her out of the room with another additional instruction.
Of course, as soon as she was alone, Justine removed her blindfold and scoffed. "A matching scarf? Is she so possessive now that she doesn't even want others to see Emilia's face? Hmph."
Justine couldn't help but shake her head. 'To think that girl pretended to be so obedient before, but turned so controlling as soon as she got what she wanted…'
Although she could begrudgingly admit that the two of them looked good together, that didn't mean that Dixie was perfect! In fact, Justine thought that if she had been born a few years earlier, she would definitely have done a much better job in the knight's place. At the very least, she wouldn't be so uptight, or try to restrain Emilia's freedom.
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Of course, the reason Dixie had asked Justine to fetch a scarf wasn't because she wanted to hide Emilia, but because she thought that exposing the real face of her princess to the world might be a bad idea.
Emilia may not have told her the exact details of why she didn't remain in her original form and reduced her own beauty like this most of the time, but Dixie could pretty much guess on her own.
Since her princess was so gorgeous, her face alone would surely cause her trouble wherever she went. Maybe it was only to bless her eyes that Emilia had exposed herself today, and it was now her duty to prevent such a thing from troubling her while they went out.
Emilia had no idea what kind of misunderstandings her knight was forming, and happily examined the soft scarf wrapped around her neck and face as she settled into the backseat of Dixie's car.
Dixie shook her head with a smile as she slid in next to her and closed the door. "Where would you like to go, princess? Your home?"
Although the knight had no idea how many people would recognize Emilia in this state, her family should definitely be able to so, right?
Emilia leaned her head against Dixie's shoulder, closing her eyes with a grin. "Nope. Let's go on a shopping date today!"
The dark-haired girl could feel her heart skip a beat as her face flushed red at the word. 'D-Date! Hey wait a minute… isn't the order reversed? We're going on a date after having sex?!'
Of course, the will of her princess was paramount, and Dixie instructed the driver to head for the most luxurious shopping complex in the city, unaware of her pummeling image in his eyes.
As someone who also acted as her bodyguard when needed, the man was, of course, quite observant. He had already become quite fond of the girl whom Dixie doted on so much, often calling her 'princess', and thought that their friendship was quite precious. In fact, he even thought that they were very likely to become lovers in the future, given how much the young miss obsessed over the White family's youngest daughter, and the girl didn't seem to mind her company either.
However, today, his young miss had become besotted with another beauty, and bestowed that very same title of 'princess' to her as well. Wouldn't that little girl be heartbroken when she found out?
Unfortunately, whatever his young miss did, he could only keep it secret, regardless of right or wrong. But hopefully, that little girl would never find out. After all, being heartbroken aside, the wrath of the White Deer family was not something they could handle.
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Of course, even though this was the most luxurious shopping mall in the city, the richest of the rich rarely came here. Even Dixie wasn't very familiar with the place, though that was for an entirely different reason. Being a bonafide tomboy, if not for her mother's nagging, she wouldn't even bother with the appearances at all.
Her attitude may have changed a little after meeting Emilia, but it was only to the extent of not bringing her shame by standing together. For her own appearance, Dixie still cared very little.
As for the mall, the place itself looked decent, with a wide open center from which one could stare at the trademarked snow globe that hung almost three stories up. Some people often joked about that thing killing off hundreds of people once it crashed, but their team had repeatedly assured everyone that such a thing was impossible.
The shops here were mostly catered to those who were relatively well off in the upper-middle class and above. So most goods here would be considered 'cheap', or even unacceptable, to someone at the level of her princess. But looking at the things being sold, Dixie thought the quality being offered wasn't actually that different from those of specialized shops. In some cases, it might even be better.
Of course, Emilia looked a little surprised, her eyes shining as they flicked from one shop to another.
It wasn't the grandest sight she had seen, obviously, but Emilia had never imagined that the grandeur of a palace could ever be combined with the liveliness and chaos of a marketplace so seamlessly. Her wonder didn't last long, however, and she soon moved on to browsing through the various offerings.
The first place Emilia 'raided' had numerous gorgeous dresses on display, and had immediately caught her attention even though it was on the first floor.
Emilia had already been attracted to the dress on display from afar, and the closer she looked, the more she liked it. With only a few minor modifications, it should be able to serve her well for the next party. "Ohhh… this one looks quite similar to what I had in mind when I was looking for something to wear to the party, ah!"
Dixie could only shake her head as an enthusiastic young saleslady in a short ponytail approached Emilia immediately after they entered, as if knowing the rich prey by some sort of instinct, and started firing praises for both the girl and the dress to high heavens.
Within three minutes flat, the girl had flattered every part of Emilia's body, and if her words were to be believed, the most expensive dress in the shop was a match made in heaven just for her.
Emilia would certainly not let the girl's words sway her, but she had already made up her mind to buy this dress, and more, so she gave her a generous nod. "I'll buy it! Un un, show me more! Oh, do you have anything like—"
As the crimson-haired girl described what sort of clothing she was looking for, the ponytailed girl nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course, I think we have exactly what you're looking for! Please follow me." The salesgirl knew that today was the day she hit the jackpot, and immediately led Emilia deeper into the store.
Dixie couldn't help but chuckle as she followed them. 'Why does this feel like I've brought my newly wed wife for shopping?'
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~ To be continued ~
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