Raised in Dungeon

Felicia and Allen walked only a few meters from the market district to Carla's house.

Carla's house turned out to be a small ruin on the second floor of a butcher shop. There were only stone walls and windows. There is no roof, just a cloth that covers the ceiling, probably leather; the many stitches on the fabric indicate that it was worn and patched many times. It was a butcher shop downstairs, so the stench made Felicia want to vomit when they got there, so she used her gloves to cover her nose and mouth.

From inside the butcher shop emerged a large man with a fat stomach but bulky and muscular-looking arms. He was wearing a green apron splattered with blood.

"Hey Carla, I've been looking for you to deliver the order; what took you so long? Where have you been-" the man's angry face immediately turned into surprise as he saw Felicia and Allen behind Carla.

From their clothes alone, the man knew Felicia was a noble and Allen was her bodyguard.

"We-Welcome dear… lady," he said nervously while gaping.

He then pulled Carla's hand and whispered to her

"Hey! What's going on?! Did you end up doing something dangerous?!"

"How rude! I won't do it!"

"You're a crazy woman, so I wouldn't be surprised by what you did!"

"Stop talking like that! I really did nothing!"

Carla then looked at Felicia and introduced her to the shopkeeper.

"Uhm... Lady Felicia, let me introduce you; this person is Ulfketel, whose name is hard to pronounce so you can call him Ulf, kettle, shopkeeper, or uncle butcher man. He is the one who has picked me up since I was stranded in this world."

Ulfketel placed his hand on his chest and bowed to Felicia.

"Good afternoon," Felicia murmured.

"Lady Felicia came to see the clothes I've made. So don't think anything strange," Carla said to Ulf.

Ulf, who was still bowing his head, said,

"Lady Felicia, thank you for giving this girl a chance. I apologize if she has been rude to you-NO-I'm sure she has, but she is not a bad person. Please give her a chance," Ulf said.

Carla then smiled a little, listening to Ulf's words. Then she punched Ulf's shoulder and said

"Stop being rude! I haven't done anything to the lady!"

'No, you really have, if you met another noble, your head would have been cut off,' Felicia thought.

Seeing the relationship between them, Felicia was finally convinced that Carla wasn't someone she needed to worry about. Although it was still possible that she was an imposter, she should at least give her a chance.

"It's my pleasure; I just came to look around," Felicia said.

"Thank you very much," Ulf said.

"Then, please come this way," Carla said as she led them to the stairs beside the house to go to the shop's second floor.

Felicia looked at Allen who didn't seem too bothered by the smell.

"Allen, why are you okay when you smell this?"

"This is nothing compared to the smell of goblin's pee and blood,"

"Wh-what?! Smell of pee- what!"

Felicia just remembered that Allen was raised differently from her.

"Hahaha, your reaction is the same as when I first came here, but over time you'll get used to it," Carla said.

After climbing a few flights of stairs, they finally reached the front door of Carla's house or room.

"Welcome to my sweet home," Carla said as she opened the door.

Felicia stepped inside and immediately felt overwhelmed by the mess she encountered. She'd heard stories about what the inside of a peasant's room would be like, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw. To her left was a table filled with stale bread and meat, and to her right were bedclothes that looked stretched thin and frayed with age. A mix of wood scraps and the tattered fabric was scattered on the floor, making it difficult to see the floor.

Yet amidst the clutter and filth, one thing stood out from the rest and caught Felicia's eye. A dress, perfectly modeled and displayed on a wooden stand at the center of the room. It was a garment of the highest quality and totally out of place among the squalor. It was in sharp contrast to the surroundings, and yet in its peculiar way; it provided a sort of beauty amidst the chaos.

The dress seemed to shine in Felicia's eyes inside that dark, ugly room. She felt a spark in her heart as she noticed the vibrant yellow fabric and the intricate lace detailing. In the dim light of the room, the dress seemed to take on a magical quality; the fabric almost seemed to sparkle and the delicate ruffled flourishes appeared to glimmer like gold. Though she knew the fabric wasn't gold, Felicia felt the dress was indeed a treasure. She knew nothing could compare to the beauty of this handmade dress. As Felicia marveled at the sight of it, she couldn't help but feel a deep appreciation for whoever made this masterpiece of the time and respect for its valuable beauty.

"It's beautiful," Felicia murmured absentmindedly.

Carla immediately smiled and quickly said

"You have a good eye!"

Felicia approached the dress and reached out to it.

"Aaah, so delicate," Felicia murmured as she gave the dress a touch of admiration. Her eyes glazed over, and her heart raced, as she fell in love with the dress in front of her.

After a few seconds, Felicia came to her senses and excitedly asked Carla.

"So, who made this dress?" she asked.

"I told you, I made it!" shouted Carla.

"Don't lie; you don't even care for your clothes; how can you make such a beautiful dress?!"

Carla was getting angry, so she picked up the paper on the table and showed it to Felicia.

"Look at this!"

"I-this! Don't-don't tell me…"

"Right, that's the final result of the dress."

"No way! So this is how the final result will be?! So beautiful! I thought this dress was finished."

"Of course not; that's just the base."

Looking at the picture on the paper, Felicia was once again amazed. She wanted to put it on and surprise everyone in the castle; she wanted to appear to be the most beautiful in the palace and make her father proud.

"W-well I believe you now. So, when can you finish it? I'm going to buy this dress," Felicia said with some embarrassment, trying to cover up her interest.

"That's actually what I wanted to discuss. I want you to buy this on terms and a contract on the paper of a nobleman's agreement," Carla said seriously.

Hearing that, Felicia's face also turned more serious,

"A filthy peasant like you, where do you know about the nobles' agreement?"

"it does not matter where I know about it. I wanted to ask if you could do it or not. Just so you know, I'm just a peasant; even without your buying it, you can snatch this dress; that's why I'm showing you this half-finished product."

"I see… I've heard about people from other worlds, some of them are highly knowledgeable and participate in the development of culture in this world, but I didn't know that people from other worlds also pay attention to fashion."

Felicia bowed her head, thinking deeply about the contract she had mentioned. The noble's agreement was a contract made on two papers using the blood of each party. If one party violates the contract, the other party will get the church's "judgment."

However, this contract usually only applied to the two nobles; she had never heard it could be used for a peasant because peasants had no rights from the beginning, so the nobles could arbitrarily take away their belongings.

"Well, I might be able to do it; tell me your terms and conditions," Felicia said.

"Really?! I'm glad you're listening!"

Then Carla laid out her terms

"First, I want the rights of commoners,

Second, I want you to wear this dress to the prince's birthday party and introduce it to the nobles as my brand.

Third..."

There was a slight pause in the agreement, which made Felicia think that the third was the worst of the previous two.

"Third... Please give me the money now!" Carla said it while kneeling and bowing her head.

"Wh-what?" Felicia was confused.

Carla lifted her head, then embarrassedly said,

"Actually... I didn't finish the dress because all my money was gone. I've been stranded in this world for five years; This dress is an effort of my five years of hard work. Now my money is gone just to make this base."

"Haaah, I thought you would ask for something else impossible earlier."

Felicia immediately took out her pocket and then handed her three gold coins.

"T-THREE GOLD COINS?! ARE YOU SURE?! I REALLY JUST NEED ONE GOLD COIN!" cried Carla in shock.

"Right... I can give you three gold coins; in exchange, I need you to trust me."

"Trust?! You want to buy my trust with money?!"

"I didn't mean it that way!"

Felicia sighed, then continued

"Unfortunately right now, I'm just an only little girl who is neither the heir of a family nor a fiancée of a famous noble; I'm just an immature child,"

'Eeeeh?! Really?! I thought she was a high-ranking noble or one of the princes! She looks too smart and mature for a child! The age in this world is a bit later than I know, and as far as I know, children are forced to mature faster in a certain era; maybe that's why she sometimes looks like an adult?' Carla thought.

"I can't give you anything right now other than money. I can't take care of your noble contract either, so you can't become a commoner soon. But, I want you to become one of my aides, working under me and with my family. That way, I will give you enough money for all your work, a decent place to live, and decent food to eat. Decent food and life to the shopkeeper's uncle too,"

At first, Felicia's words didn't tease her until she mentioned the shopkeeper.

Felicia extended her hand to the kneeling Carla, then she said

"Do you want to work as my subordinate?"

Carla was mesmerized by Felicia's face at that moment, a face that was honest and charismatic, so she unconsciously took Felicia's hand and said

"Yes, my lady."

Felicia smiled and thought,

'With this, I will create my own company to guarantee my wealth in the future, and I will make Mr Waldo more proud of me."