Chapter 13

The assistant didn't soften at all. If anything, her face twisted into a sneer.

"You really want to try them on?"

Hannah was looking down at the garments and missed the expression. She nodded. "Yes. Please take these to the fitting room."

She was already turning toward it when the assistant scoffed.

"Tsk. Look at yourself! You want to try on our clothes? Every piece in this shop costs tens of thousands of crowns. We don't let just anyone handle them."

Hannah stopped short. This woman was even worse than the clerk downstairs.

She frowned. "This is a shop in a public hall. Are you refusing to let customers try things on? What kind of rule is that?"

"Oh dear, it's so expensive," the assistant said sweetly, rolling her eyes. "I'm only worried you'll damage it and I'll never be able to pay for it. Just a friendly warning!"

Hannah was furious, but she held it back. "How do you know I can't afford it? What gives you the right to look down on me?"

The assistant looked her up and down again. Seeing that she didn't even carry a decent bag, she grew more certain that Hannah was a penniless nobody.

"You, afford this? That's laughable! I'm not looking down on you, but look at what you're wearing. Let me give you some advice: every pot has its lid. Take a good look in the mirror. These clothes aren't for a poor wretch like you!"

Hannah's voice turned to ice. "Is this your idea of service? Aren't you afraid I'll complain to the management of this hall?"

The assistant only rolled her eyes again. "Go ahead! Do you think I'm afraid? You can't afford our clothes, yet you dare to touch them. Go and see how much you actually weigh. Complain if you dare. I'm not afraid of you, you poor wretch!"

Smack!

Hannah's palm cracked across her cheek. "You snob!"

The assistant clutched her face. "You *witch*! How dare you hit me!"

She started to lunge back, but stopped. Hannah had pulled the small craft knife from her pocket and driven it into the gown on the nearest mannequin without a flicker of hesitation. A jagged hole opened in the fabric.

The tag on that gown read twenty-eight thousand, eight hundred crowns.

"Ahhh! What are you doing? You've ruined it! You poor wretch, can you pay for that?"

She had never imagined Hannah would carry a blade, let alone use it on a display right in front of her.

Hannah's eyes were cold. She kept cutting, slowly, along the mannequin's body.

The assistant went white and scrambled backward, screaming. "Guards! Guards! Someone has a knife! She's trying to hurt people!"

Hannah didn't flinch. She straightened and said sharply, "Shut your mouth!"

Her glare was so cutting that the woman fell silent.

By now a crowd had gathered, murmuring in confusion and alarm.

"What's wrong with that girl? Why does she have a knife?"

"Is she ill in the head?"

"Heavens, don't stand too close. She might hurt someone."

"Let's go, it's too dangerous..."

Chaos spread through the shop. The manager of the second floor came running. When he saw the knife and the shredded gown, he froze, but still managed to ask carefully, "Miss... what is going on?"

He kept motioning to the guards beside him to step in and seize her.

But Hannah didn't move. She calmly tucked the knife away. The guards slowed, then stopped.

Surrounded by onlookers, she showed no fear at all. She lifted her chin, drew out her black card, and handed it straight to the manager.

"I'll buy the gown on this mannequin."

The manager blinked, utterly lost. "Miss, I... don't understand?"

The corners of Hannah's lips curled in a faint smile, a sharp contrast to her fury moments ago.

"I said I'm buying this gown. Is that unclear? And besides..."

She pointed at the assistant.

"I'm filing a complaint against her. She insulted me and showed me no respect. I cut this gown to teach her a lesson. If you work in service, you do not look down on people!"

An uproar broke out among the crowd.

"So that's it! I knew it. A girl that pretty couldn't possibly be mad."

"Right. That assistant was arrogant and snobbish. No wonder the girl lost her temper."

"I saw her slap that woman. Well done! With that attitude, she deserved it!"

"Look at the price, twenty-eight thousand crowns! And she just ruined it like that. Truly bold."

"But her clothes look so plain. Can she really afford a gown like that?"