I take a deep breath, hurry over and gently grab his sleeve. "Brother, please don't be so mad. Why are you getting so worked up? Just take a breath, what's going on?"
Orlando's jaw is clenched tight, his eyes blazing. "She's asking me to wait because their staff is busy! I don't want to hear any excuses. I don't even want to hear a word of it. She wants me to wait? To me, Orlando Valerius?! That's absolute madness! How dare she? She doesn't even know her place. I have to teach her a lesson. Let me go, Eleanor!"
"Please, Brother, let it go," I plead softly, applying gentle pressure to guide him a little away from the front desk toward the quieter side of the showroom floor. "Don't act like that. She only said we have to wait a moment. It's completely fine. We can just look at the dresses in the meantime. There's nothing wrong with that, okay?"
Just as Orlando is about to snap back, quick footsteps approach. The receptionist, having smartly sent a junior staff member to fetch the head manager through a side door, scurries over with a brilliant, sweet smile plastered across her face.
"Oh, please, sir, please forgive me!" she says, bowing slightly with practiced grace. "I truly didn't realize you were such an important person of the house of Valerius. Please, just wait a brief moment, I've already dispatched someone to fetch our head manager personally."
Sensing the shift in the air, I look up at Orlando, letting my expression turn slightly vulnerable and wide-eyed. I lean in, adopting a playfully trembling tone. "See? It's fine, Brother. Just go sit on the sofa over there. Please calm down... honestly, you're kind of terrifying me right now. I really don't like seeing this side of you."
Orlando stops dead in his tracks. His fierce glare falters as he looks down and notices my shaken expression. All that arrogant, explosive fury instantly drains out of him, replaced by a wave of sudden guilt.
"I... I lost my temper," he murmurs, his voice softening remorsefully. "I'm sorry, Eleanor. I shouldn't have acted like that. I'll wait right here. You... go ahead and look at the dresses."
Swallowing his pride, he gives the receptionist a stiff nod and walks over to the velvet sofa, settling down quietly.
I let out a long, silent breath of relief, turning back toward the dazzling racks of clothes. Hah, I think to myself with an internal eye-roll. Typical high-born nobles, they really can't turn off that arrogant switch for even five minutes, can they?
As I wander over to inspect another rack of exquisite gowns, my mind races with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
I think to myself, in my world we have to stand in agonizingly long lines just to pay or even browse. There are always crowds everywhere, but at least people have basic patience. Here? The staff treats you like absolute royalty, offering plush sofas and bowing like you're a deity. Yet, the actual nobles are so absurdly arrogant and fragile they can't even handle waiting a single minute. What a weird, exhausting power-struggle society. I'll never fully understand these people.
Still, a small smile tugs at my lips. At least I handled that little crisis like a pro and defused Orlando's temper. Not bad for my first day out.
Meanwhile, the junior staff member hurries away from the showroom floor, rushing straight up the grand marble staircase to the second-floor private offices. She rushes down the hallway and pounds frantically on the oak door of the head manager's room.
"Come in," a sharp, composed voice calls from inside.
The door flies open, and the breathless employee stumbles in. "Madam! We have a problem, a massive problem!"
The head manager, an elegant woman reviewing an expense ledger, looks up with a deep frown. "What is the meaning of this commotion? You know how chaotic things are right now! Ever since the House of Valerius suddenly announced their upcoming party, every noble lady in the capital has been swarming our boutique to order gowns, desperate to impress them. I'm already handling a high-priority guest in the parlor, so what new problem could you possibly have?"
"I'm sorry, Madam, but out in the showroom... there's an incident!" the employee stammers, wringing her hands in panic. "A customer came in, and when we politely asked him to wait a brief moment, he completely blew up! He started shouting, and his temper is so terrifying that none of us could handle him!"
The manager narrows her eyes in irritation. "Who on earth could be so reckless as to cause a scene in our establishment?"
"He claims to be the young master of the House of Valerius, Madam!"
The manager freezes, her pen stopping mid-stroke over the paper. "The young master of Valerius? Orlando Valerius?" She goes deep in thought, her brow furrowing heavily. "Why on earth would he ever step foot inside a women's clothing boutique?"
"He brought a lady with him, Madam," the receptionist explains quickly.
"A lady?" the manager asks, leaning forward. "What did she look like? What were her features?"
"She has striking golden hair and bright green eyes, Madam! She is remarkably beautiful, looking just like a delicate porcelain doll."
The manager's eyes widen as realization slowly clicks into place. "Golden hair and green eyes... the undeniable signature features of the Valerius bloodline. So she must be Duke Valerius's daughter." A sudden, sharp realization crosses her face. "Wait... so the rumors were actually true? I thought they were just baseless gossip, but the Duke really is hosting this grand party solely for his daughter, the black sheep of the family? How fascinating..."
Lost in thought, the manager stares off into space until the receptionist anxiously clears her throat. "Um... Madam? What should we do now? Master Orlando is still downstairs!"
Snapping back to reality, the manager offers a confident smile as she neatly closes her ledger. "You don't have to worry about a thing. Give me just one minute, I am coming right down."
She stands up, adjusts her elegant attire, and follows the employee back down the staircase to face the young master.