* * *

The Duke guided Ed naturally up the stairs.

A clerk inside opened the door and greeted them warmly.

“Welcome.”

The Duke gave a slight nod and spoke, “I’d like to see some hats.”

“The hats are on the 5th floor. I’ll show you the way.”

As they followed the clerk, who gestured for them to come along, they encountered a magical device prepared to take them upstairs.

The clerk opened a barred door, and both the Duke and Ed stepped inside.

“The magical device might make you feel weightless as it moves. It’s perfectly normal, so there’s no need to worry,” the clerk explained as they pressed the button for the 5th floor.

With a gentle hum, the device began to rise.

Ed glanced around at the slowly moving device, which resembled an elevator.

It stopped at the 2nd floor, allowing some people to board, and the same happened at the 3rd floor.

More people were getting on than off.

As the small space filled with people, the distance between Ed and the Duke shrank until they were standing close together.

The Duke reached out and grasped Ed’s wrist, noticing a handprint on Ed’s black jacket.

‘How did this get here?’ the Duke thought.

He was about to brush the dirt off Ed’s back when it hit him.

‘Ah, it must’ve been from those guys who surrounded Ed earlier on the trail.’

He clicked his tongue quietly.

He couldn’t let Ed keep wearing a jacket stained with those men’s traces.

“The 4th floor is the men’s clothing department. If you’re getting off here, please step forward,” announced the clerk.

The Duke took Ed’s hand and led him forward. Without realizing it, his grip tightened.

He couldn’t quite understand where the tension in his grip was coming from.

Was it because he hadn’t dealt with those thugs properly?

Or was it because he suddenly had the urge to take off the jacket touched by others?

“…”

But then, as he felt Ed’s warm hand filling his own, he realized, ‘I could never hurt this hand.’

The tension in his grip melted away.

---

When they got off at the men’s clothing department, Ed looked confused.

They were supposed to be buying a hat, but after being led out of the magical lift by the Duke, he glanced up at him with a puzzled expression.

“Your Grace, we need to go up one more floor.”

“Hmm, let’s take a quick look around here first,” the Duke replied.

After asking the clerk a few questions, the Duke followed another staff member into the store.

Unlike the tailor’s shop, this was a retail space where clothes were displayed for browsing and trying on.

They were led away from the more open part of the store, where customers were freely selecting clothes, to a more private area.

“You mentioned you were looking for something light-colored. Is there a specific color you have in mind, sir?” asked the staff member, smiling professionally as they addressed the Duke.

“Hmm,” the Duke looked over at Ed, who always wore a white shirt with black trousers and a black jacket.

‘With his light blond hair, fair skin, and blue eyes, he’d look good in any color,’ the Duke mused, arms crossed in thought.

Noticing this, the staff member smiled brightly. “In that case, let me show you something in yellow first, sir.”

---

‘How did I end up here?’ Ed wondered as he changed clothes in the fitting room.

He’d lost count of how many outfits he had tried on already—yellow, red, blue… and now, a light purple one.

‘Does this even suit me?’ he thought, skeptical.

No matter what he tried on, both the clerk and the Duke kept saying it suited him perfectly, which started to feel like a sales tactic.

And, sure enough, as he stepped out in the light purple shirt and beige pants, the clerk clapped enthusiastically.

“Oh, you look amazing in this too!”

‘Is this praise just recycled at this point?’ Ed thought, feeling a little hollow.

But the Duke nodded, “I knew everything would suit you, but I didn’t expect it to be this good.”

“…”

Having someone say that while looking at you like that… It’s incredibly embarrassing.

The Duke himself was dressed simply, in a white shirt and black pants, but he looked so stylish it was hard not to stare.

“Now try this one on, Ed. It’s a bit more understated,” the Duke said, handing him a black outfit.

‘Understated? Too flashy, is it? Does he think the bright colors look strange?’

Ed wondered, noticing the Duke scanning the surroundings cautiously.

With a tilt of his head, Ed entered the fitting room again.

This time, the outfit was thick and black.

---

The racetrack was abuzz with festive energy, matching the mood of the event in Ila.

Held in the famous resort town of Ila, the horse races attracted many nobles from different regions.

Naturally, the racetrack became a popular social venue for the aristocracy during this time.

The exclusive premium seating area was packed with nobles, some wearing glasses, others waving fans.

These seats offered the closest view of the horses and had plenty of space, making it a comfortable and cool spot to watch the races.

The first-class seats below were shaded by canopies, with spectators in their elegant outfits eating and watching the races through binoculars.

The second-class seats below had no canopy, so many spectators wore hats or shaded their eyes with their hands.

The rows of seats were packed together like a movie theater in Korea.

A slight movement of your arm could touch the person next to you, and leaning back even slightly would make the chair squeak.

‘The Duke must be so uncomfortable,’ Ed worried.

He kept wondering if the Duke was bumping into people every time he moved or if the noisy, chaotic environment was overwhelming for him.

This was exactly why Ed hadn’t wanted to come here.

He glanced at the Duke, who was sitting beside him, and rolled up the sleeves of his slightly too long, new clothes.

“Are you alright?” Ed asked.

“Hmm? What?” The noise from the crowd, some of whom were blowing into toys that made loud honking sounds, made conversation difficult, even though they were sitting next to each other.

The Duke leaned closer to hear better, causing their wide-brimmed hats to bump into each other.

The Duke smiled softly, tilting his head and meeting Ed’s eyes, silently asking what he had said.

“Is the seat uncomfortable for you, Your Grace?” Ed repeated.

“Ah,” the Duke shook his head.

His gaze lingered on Ed’s blue eyes, which sparkled in the sunlight that filtered between their hats.

Cheers erupted just then.

White horse Shu and black horse Pearl had entered the racetrack.

Hearing the loud cheers, Ed broke eye contact with the Duke and looked toward the horses, whose figures were visible in the distance.

Shu and Pearl, racing in the third event of the day, were introduced over the loudspeakers, prompting the crowd to rise and cheer excitedly.

“Go Shu! Run like the wind today!”

“Pearl! Show Shu who’s boss!”

The spectator next to Ed stood up, waving their arms and shouting, and the Duke reached out, pulling Ed by the shoulder toward him.

“…”

“…”

Their bodies pressed against each other, their hats briefly touching, before they broke apart.

And just then…

Bang!

With the sound of the starting signal, the first race began.

Taaang!

With the sound reverberating through the air, the horse race began, and the spectators erupted in cheers.

The racetrack buzzed with excitement.

In the midst of the loud clamor, the Duke asked, “Are you alright, Ed?”

“Ah, yes, yes! I’m fine!” Ed responded, pressing his hat down firmly.

But he wasn’t fine.

It wasn’t because the person next to him had swung their arm. It was because the Duke was sitting too close.

As Ed subtly tried to put some distance between himself and the Duke, he fiddled with his hat.

He remembered how it had been back when they bought his black outfit and went to pick out a hat.

The staff and the Duke had enthusiastically made him try on all sorts of hats, but in the end, he had chosen a wide-brimmed black one.

Turning his head, Ed looked at the horses dashing ahead.

Six horses with riders raced through the wind.

The spectators shouted with joy and anticipation, their voices full of excitement as they cheered for their horses.

Ed lowered his gaze, looking down at the ticket in his hand.

He had marked which horse would win each of the three races today when he entered the racetrack, stamping his predictions with an official seal.

‘They said there’s a prize if I get them all right.’

That’s why the spectators were so focused on cheering for the horses they had bet on.

Ed was cheering for horse number 5.

The horses had already passed the halfway point, and it was becoming clear who might win.

The gap between the first and second place wasn’t large, so the audience watched with bated breath.

It was a race between horses 1 and 3.

The Duke had simply chosen horse number 1.

Watching him, Ed thought to himself, ‘I thought the Duke would make a logical, rational decision based on some kind of accumulated information.’

* * *