Saving The Villainous Monster From The Male Lead-Chapter 102 - 101: Baroness Dress Making Shop

After that, for an entire day, Eleanore didn’t talk to her brother. She felt extremely sorry for Stella and at the same she felt a wave of regret to ever utter those hurtful words to her own brother.

"We are going to meet the Baroness." He says on entering her room suddenly.

"What?" Eleanore got out of her chair, setting aside her crochet, half woven bag. It hadn’t been long since she started learning this skill.

Instead of sitting in her bed for a whole week, while her leg recovers, she preferred learning something to pass her time.

"I have realised that you were right. Blaming is not okay. So, let’s go." He says, his voice sounding desperate as, he turns around to leave and Eleanore follows him out.

"But why do you need me?" She asks, as they descend down the stairs.

"Moral support."

Hours later, they arrive in front of her boutique. Eleanore came with him till here but from here, he must go alone.

Hael looked at his sister, his hands creating a net with his fingers, while his legs tapping on the wooden floor vigorously. She noticed his nervousness and that was somewhat hilarious. He has never looked so nervousness even before he left for the most dangerous mission.

"Are you finding it difficult to apologise?" She asks.

"No, I am worried she might refuse to talk to me." He replies, turning his gaze to the shop named ’Baroness Dress Making Shop’.

It was the name of her boutique/ home. Before she received that title it was just Stella’s Boutique, then turned to the name she had earned with hard work and a little help from Caelestis.

Her shop was huge, with windows displaying some of her amazing works or rather piece of arts. The golden, shimmery dress in the middle of the outer three, caught Eleanore’s eyes almost immediately.

"I want that golden dress on display. Will you buy that for me?" She shows the dress to her brother.

"Buy it yourself." He frowns.

"No, you must buy it. I am not coming with you." Hael’s frown started to vanish on hearing that. He started to understand what Eleanore meant. "Buy two. One for me and another for her."

He smiles, closing her eyes and accepting her help. "Fine. Don’t go too far."

"Yes."

Hael leaves the carriage and stands in front of the door to the boutique. With a loud exhale, he opens the door. Entering the shop with a ting of the bell that had been attached above the door.

The assistant working under Stella, bowed and welcomed Hael. She guided him to a sofa in the busy shop and handed out the book that contained dress designs. Hael pretended to look through it, as he observed his surroundings.

There were noble ladies, gathered on the other sofas, talking about the design. Laugh at a few and then being completely stunned, when one of them walked out the changing room in a dress she had picked to try. The design must have looked unimaginable but when worn, it looks mesmerizing. This is how her dresses are, unimaginable but wearable.

People who entered her stop would ridicule her design even after gaining such a strong hold in the market. Then shamelessly, the same people would leave with more than ten of her dresses.

"Hypocrites." Hael whispered.

Stella’s only assistant placed a cup of tea on the table, ahead of him. "Who are you buying the dress for, duke?" She asks, hoping to give some advice.

"My sister." Hael replies.

"I see. I know Lady Eleanore’s taste very well and we also have her measurements with us, so you do not need to worry."

"I see." Hael answers, scanning the room, as if looking for someone.

"Please wait here, I will get some samples, until then you can skim through some of our designs in that catalogue." With that she disappeared behind the red curtain, hanging in front of him.

Hael opened the book and skimmed through some of the amazing designs; Stella had drawn herself. As he went through several pages, his eyes stopped at forty fifth page. The color that dress had was the same he had seen that day, when he allowed her to come along to meet Eleanore.

The assistant appeared again, with some bold colors, the kind original Eleanore like. They weren’t bad, but just too bright and eye catching. She started pulling out a few but Hael stopped her at the third one.

"I want the golden one on the display." He says pointing at it.

"That one? Are you sure? The last time Lady Eleanore came here, she said she hated that color the most." The assistant tries to confirm his order.

"Is that so?" Hael wondered, what made Eleanore change her taste. Then he dismissed it off, thinking she might have said that before, in her jealousy for Stella.

"Anyways, I still want that one."

"I understand." The assistant asks one of the staff there to send the order to Stella.

However, before the staff could leave Hael stopped her. "I also want this one." He points at the blue gown that had caught his eyes.

The staff leaves and Hael turns to the assistant. "I want to meet the baroness."

"The baroness?" she hesitates a little. "She is a bit busy." It was an excuse.

"I know her. She was staying at my place a few days ago. She forgot something, I need to return that." Hael lies, trying to get the assistant to let him meet Stella.

"Let me ask the Baroness." She quickly rushes through the red curtain and comes out in seconds. "She doesn’t want to meet you. Also, she said, whatever it was that she forgot, you can keep it."

Disappointed Hael, get out of the sofa and buttons up his suit. Then starts walking to the curtain. The assistant tries to stop him, but he ignores her and walks across the curtain.

Stella was sitting on her machine, the usual humming sound of the machine, echoing in the room. She had noticed him entering her workshop, but she ignores him and continued running the machine. A kettle had been set on the stove in the left corner, which squealed, seconds after Hael had entered.

"Halen, turn of the stove and bring the tea here." She orders stopping the machine for a while.

Halen obeys her boss’s order and turns off the stove, then serves the tea to Stella. They both completely ignored the existence of Hael in that space.

When her assistant saw him standing there helpless starring at her, she clenched on her serving tray. Then turned to Stella. "My lady, the duke is here." She says, but Stella ignores her and continues drinking her tea.

"Baroness." Hael calls her out.

"Yes, duke. Your order has been taken; it will be delivered in a week. You can leave now." She says, returning the cup to Halen and starting her machine again. It’s humming sound once again filled the room.

As she concentrated on her stitching, the humming sound of her machine got mixed with a foreign tapping sound. She eventually realised it was Hael’s shoes. He was coming closer.

Stella got distracted, as she tried to see how far along, he had come. In her negligence, she injured her figure. She hissed in pain, as the machine turned off and Hael rushed to her.

He pulled her finger and wrapped it with his handkerchief. "Bring some water and bandages." He ordered.

Halen quickly rushes to find the first aid kit and brought it to the duke.

Stella pulls her finger out of his huge palm and said, "I will take care of it."

"No, let me do it." He takes the injured finger back and kneels to the ground pulling out an antiseptic from the first aid and cleaning the wound, then moving ahead to banded it.

After he had the finger cleanly wrapped by the banded, his gaze turned upwards to Stella’s face. His thumb rubbing on the back of her palm. "I’m sorry." He speaks up.

"It wasn’t you fault. I got distracted—"

"You got distracted because of me."

Stella sighed. "Why are you here, duke?" She asks.

"Eleanore told me everything. You saved her life and yet I blamed you, because it was convenient and an easy excuse to feed my ego. I felt helpless and couldn’t digest the fact that once again, while I was gone, she was attacked. Still, I shouldn’t have said those words." He truthfully said how he felt.

However, Stella went quiet. It was a genuine apology. A heartfelt one. Yet she could find herself forgiving him. She was still angry by the words he had uttered yesterday, and she couldn’t let go. So, she frowned and pulled her finger out of his hand.

"At this moment, your apology sound fickle to me." She says, getting out of her chair. "I need time to settle down my thoughts and digest those words, that the duke just uttered."

"Stella—"

"Let us talk later. I have a lot of work to do today."

Hael’s face drops as he feels a pang of guilt in his heart again. He felt defeated and helpless at the same time. He cannot force a person to accept his apology, no matter how legitimate it was.