Chapter 86
“Smile. Everyone, I made you all smile.”
But the tailor shook his head, looking pale.
“Lady, saying you’re beautiful was absolutely not false flattery!”
Don’t make excuses—just mock me already!
The assistants hurriedly pulled out other fabrics. It’s fine!
And Elber, ever the promising knight, rushed up to me at an impressive speed and tried to switch his stance.
“So, you picked this fabric yourself? Good choice. It suits you perfectly!”
“…But you said it was dull.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t really mean it was dull… Upon closer look, the fabric is truly beautiful!”
“Brother, that’s not the fabric. Don’t talk while holding the wrong one.”
“….”
Complete failure at posture switching. I cut him off before he could apologize.
“What did you come up here for?”
“I… I was just wondering if you had breakfast and how you were doing… I-I’m not especially worried about you or anything!”
Trying to maintain his tsundere act combined with embarrassment made the situation a mess. I swallowed a sigh.
“I’ll come to see you after it’s all done, brother. Please eat first.”
I purposely used formal speech to sound firm. Realizing I had no intention of conversing, Elber fumbled like an un-oiled machine and dashed down the hallway. Just a slip of the tongue, but why does he act like he’s running from a disaster?
Once Elber disappeared from sight, the tailor spoke up.
“I truly wasn’t lying! It’s true that dressing extravagantly at the spring banquet can be tacky! Lady, this fabric really suits you!”
“I understand. My brother just misspoke, so don’t worry too much.”
“Perhaps… Your Grace, the Duke, might misunderstand…”
Even this confident tailor is afraid of the villainous duke. I replied lightly on purpose to reassure him.
“It’s fine! Father only trusts his natural instincts with faces and knows nothing about fashion. He’ll definitely agree with you, tailor!”
“….”
He still looked uneasy. What exactly do I have to say to calm him down?
“…When I said something like ‘here comes the dull sister,’ it was just a joke. You said something nice earlier, tailor—you said I’m pretty. I’ll trust that.”
“R-Really…?”
Oh, he reacted.
“Yes, really. Thanks to you, tailor, I believe it. I’m not dull—I’m beautiful!”
“Exactly!”
“Anything suits me! That’s why I chose this fabric!”
“Yes, it will really look great!”
“Yes, I am beautiful!”
“….”
The moment I shouted that, I made eye contact with the maids, who looked at me with ‘What’s wrong with the lady?’ expressions. My face immediately heated. I just wanted to reassure the tailor!
Luckily—or unluckily—the maids naturally intervened to save the situation and spare me embarrassment.
“Oh my, using this winter sea-colored fabric? It will suit your black hair perfectly, milady.”
“What style will you wear? You don’t like overly puffy skirts, right?”
The calmer tailor showed me the dress designs he planned for me.
The fabric was a faint sky blue. But where the fabric overlapped like waves, silver threads were woven in a chain pattern, preventing a dull look. It truly looked like I had waves draped over me.
“It’s beautiful…”
“The real thing will be even more beautiful. Look forward to it!”
Finally, the tailor relaxed and left, leading his assistants. Ah, I’m really exhausted!
The moment I collapsed on the bed, a maid knocked on the door.
“Milady, are you alright?”
“I’m tired… I haven’t eaten lunch and just want to sleep…”
“If you do that, His Grace will bring the dining table up to your room.”
“…I’ll eat. Should I go downstairs now?”
“No. Today, milady, you must stay in your room all day to prepare for the banquet. You will also eat here.”
“Wasn’t the hardest part just fitting the dress?”
“There are a few more schedules left. If it’s alright, we’ll bring the next person in.”
“…Yes…”
I got up with a creak. Still, now that the dress is fitted, isn’t the hardest part over?
…But my illusion collapsed when the next people entered the room.
“Hello, I’m here to fit milady’s shoes. Two pairs for dancing, one for walking.”
“Gloves will also be prepared.”
“I’ve come to fit a necklace, earrings, and ring set. Let’s start with sizes.”
“From today, we’ll be treating your hair with oil. In just a week, it will be as silky as silk…”
Duke, I feel like I’m going to wear out completely.
Lunch was eaten in the room.
Dinner was eaten in the room.
For the sake of the tailor who said I was beautiful, I tried to respond sincerely to everyone, but by the afternoon I had turned into an automatic responder.
“You’re really beautiful. I’ll trust your sense, teacher. Please take care of it.”
How many times did I repeat that? I have no idea who I even met.
Yet amidst all the professionals, the sound of one pair of footsteps in the hallway reached me clearly. I didn’t even need to ask whose they were.
After the last professional and maid left, I called out to him.
“Elber O—”
“Yes.”
Before I could finish, Elber immediately knelt at the door. He didn’t even enter.
“Why the formal speech?”
“Well…”
“I get it. Is this the first time you’ve ever made a slip of the tongue to someone?”
“…Yes.”
Wow, how carefully must he normally speak.
“Since it’s your first time, you didn’t know what to do, so you’re acting polite.”
“…Yes.”
“Alright, come in. Let’s talk.”
Elber hesitated but entered my room. Even with his shoulders slumped, he filled the space.
“Now, be honest. What did you do wrong?”
“….”
Looking at that gloomy expression, you’d think he destroyed the world. In the original story, he could break dozens of soldiers’ bones and still act proud. Maybe I raised him too gently.
Elber finally spoke.
“I didn’t respect your taste.”
“…Not wrong.”
“And above all, I didn’t trust you. Honestly, my father and I wanted you—”
“Me?”
“…We just wanted you to have fun with your friend! And to do that, it’s better to wear a pretty dress!”
He seemed to be mumbling something. Was it just me?
Anyway, Elber continued.
“But I was surprised by the plainness of the fabric. I thought… maybe you’d think, ‘This is enough for me.’”
“Ah…”
“But the dress design I later received was really beautiful. I hadn’t trusted your eye or your strength.”
“….”
“I should always trust you, and yet I say such foolish things…”
No, Elber. You’re thoughtful and kind enough to roughly guess what I’m thinking. But if I praised that, I’d hear, ‘No! You’re beautiful!’ again.
I banged on the table to grab his attention.
“Brother!”
“Yes, yes!”
“If Father saw his new coat and said, ‘What is that rag?’ as a slip of the tongue, what would you do?”
“Prepare to flee.”
“Sorry, bad example. If the maids prepared a meal for you and he said, ‘Is this food to be thrown away?’ as a slip, what would you do?”
“…That would really be bad.”
“Yes, bad. I know you’re not that kind of person, but mistakes happen suddenly. What would you do?”
“I’d apologize sincerely.”
“Same here. Just apologize.”
Elber nodded. He seemed to understand.
…But only in his head.
“Why do you worry so much, brother?”
“I… I’m afraid of leaving even a slightly bad memory for you. No, I am afraid.”
He spoke without even looking at me properly. Humans, huh.
I grabbed his cheek firmly.
“Have you only had good memories with Venen, brother?”
“Oh, no!”
“And Father, that goes without saying, right? Even if you get along now, it doesn’t erase the times he troubled you.”
“…Right.”
“Family members can give each other a hard time. And I honestly don’t mind. If anything, it’s more annoying when you cling to me out of innocence.”
“….”
“If you really care about me, apologize, straighten your shoulders, and go. The one I want as family is you, Elber, not a ‘perfect human.’”
This time, Elber seemed to understand my explanation. He carefully released my hand and bowed.
“I’m sorry for my mistake. And I apologize for troubling you for my own satisfaction, Sol.”
“I accept your apology. You’ll make up for it by escorting Seraphina so well at the banquet that she’ll completely fall for you!”
“Ahaha, alright. She’s your friend, so I’ll do my best.”
Only after Seraphina was mentioned did Elber regain composure.
After showing a gentle smile, he closed the door and left.
“Haah…”
More exhausting than being surrounded by tailors. But more worrisome is Elber’s attitude earlier.
Afraid of leaving even a slightly bad memory? That’s not a thought usually held among family…
I remembered what Eugene said:
“We live as a family to be happy. Don’t overdo it trying to adapt.”
Maybe it’s Elber who’s overexerting himself to be my perfect family.
Fool. Any resentment about being dragged along vanished long ago.
Since I had to leave for the dormitory at dawn, breakfast was very early. Naturally, in the dining hall.
The duke, looking a bit tired, drank some cold water.
“Sol, did the designer we called yesterday seem skilled enough?”
“I thought so. Even though the style was different from Madame Leschti’s, everything was fine.”
“Good. Elber and I also checked the designs, and they were fine.”
His words reminded me of what Elber had said yesterday. He had trailed off mid-sentence: ‘Actually, my father and I wanted you—’
“Father, was there another reason you wanted me at the banquet…?”
“To involve your friend.”
The duke’s expression was stone cold. Ugh, I’ll never get this villain’s intentions!
As I pondered other things to say, the duke cut me off.
“I heard from the maids that yesterday you shouted in the hallway, ‘I’m beautiful.’ Is that true?”
“Y-Yes…? Well, it is true.”
“‘Is true’? Did someone force you to lie?”
“No, but there were circumstances…”
“If it’s true, that’s enough. I won’t ask further.”
Wait, ask more! If your child screams nonsense in the hallway, you should worry. Why are you smiling like your fatigue vanished?
