María walked briskly, the sound of her boots echoing against the cobblestone street as her eyes darted back and forth, searching for any shop that might suffice.

Esmeria’s words kept ringing in her mind.

“Guide Miss Aria…”

It wasn’t that María couldn’t do it. Of course, she could… if only she had any idea where they were.

Every shop she found seemed like a lifeline at first, only to be dismissed for one reason or another.

“Ah, here we go!” María exclaimed upon spotting a small store at the corner. The dresses in the window looked decent, and the place didn’t seem too crowded.

Perhaps they could get in and out quickly with something presentable before Esmeria found something else to critique.

María turned to Aria with a forced smile.

“Miss Aria, this shop looks suitable. Let’s go…”

“The glass is filthy,” Esmeria interrupted sharply.

María blinked, confused, and glanced at the shop window. Sure enough, there were smudges of dust and fingerprints on the glass.

“Well… but we’re not buying the glass, are we?” she replied with a hint of sarcasm, turning to Aria.

The girl, her expression cold and unchanging, didn’t respond.

Esmeria, however, didn’t let the comment slide.

“If they can’t keep the display window clean, what kind of care do you think they put into their products?”

María opened her mouth to argue but promptly shut it. There was no winning an argument with Esmeria—not without jeopardizing her ever-so-slowly increasing salary, at least.

With a sigh, María turned and continued walking down the street, searching for another option.

After a few minutes, María spotted a larger shop with an elegantly carved wooden sign and a sweet aroma wafting from inside.

“Look! This shop seems charming. The smell is so lovely. I’m sure they have high-quality dresses here.”

Esmeria let out a sigh that was almost theatrical.

“High quality? With that smell? It seems like they’re trying to cover something up… like mold.”

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“Mold…?” María repeated, frowning. She leaned closer to the window, taking a deep breath to prove her point. “It doesn’t smell like mold! It’s more like… cinnamon…”

“Are you trying to buy a dress or a loaf of bread?” Esmeria quipped with a mocking tone.

María gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to snap back.

‘Think of retirement… yes… how lovely retirement sounds…’

María turned on her heel and continued walking, trying to steady her nerves.

Finally, after wandering through several streets, she spotted a small boutique in a quiet corner. The place seemed promising: elegant decorations, dresses delicately displayed, and a calm atmosphere.

“Alright, this shop is perfect. Look at how beautiful those dresses are! And the staff seems friendly,” María said, pointing toward a young employee arranging one of the displays.

But Esmeria was far from convinced.

“Can’t you see how they’re looking at Miss Aria?”

“What?” María looked back at the shop.

The employees had barely glanced at them, but Esmeria wouldn’t relent.

“They’re being discourteous. And you want to trust these people with something as important as Miss Aria’s clothing?”

María buried her face in her hands and let out a long, exasperated sigh. This was an impossible task.

‘No matter what I pick, you always find something wrong…’ María thought desperately.

Without even realizing it, they ended up back in front of the shop they had tried to avoid in the first place—the same one Esmeria had criticized minutes earlier.

“No…” María whispered, realizing where they were. Her eyes widened, and a sense of defeat washed over her.

Just then, a group of noble girls who had entered earlier exited the shop, their arms full of packages and boxes.

As they passed María, one of them gave her a condescending look and sneered.

“Are you a farm girl? Don’t worry, maybe you can find something you can afford… if you check the back,” the young woman said venomously before letting out a snicker.

The other girls followed her, laughing as they walked away.

María clenched her fists, lowering her gaze as heat rose to her cheeks.

‘You can’t answer them. You can’t make a scene…’

“Are you done playing around?” Esmeria asked, her tone as icy as ever.

María opened her mouth to protest but couldn’t think of an excuse that sounded convincing. Her eyes darted around desperately for an escape route, but then the thing she dreaded most happened: one of the shop’s employees locked eyes with her.

María’s eyes went wide, and she quickly averted her gaze, running a hand through her bangs in a clumsy attempt to disguise herself.

‘If they recognize me, I’m doomed…’ she thought, repeating the phrase like a mantra in her mind.

The employee, however, seemed intrigued. With a polite smile, she stepped out of the shop and approached them.

“Good morning. Would you like some assistance?” she asked kindly, bowing her head slightly.

María felt her cheeks burn. Instinctively, she covered part of her face with her hand, as if that would somehow shield her from recognition.

The employee chuckled softly before turning her attention to Aria.

“Miss, it would be my pleasure to help you find what you’re looking for.”

Aria didn’t spare María or the employee a glance. With a calm yet commanding tone, she took a step forward and said:

“Show me the best you have.”

The employee blinked in surprise but quickly nodded and gestured for Aria to follow her.

“Of course, Miss. This way.”

Aria walked into the shop with firm steps, leaving María frozen in place outside. The young maid muttered in her mind, almost like a prayer:

‘Please don’t recognize me. Please don’t recognize me…’

In the end, she swallowed hard and hurried after Aria, trying to stay in the background as the shop’s lights and the murmur of customers filled the air.