Chapter 89

“Sofia, today I need to go out for a while because of the dress, is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t something I disliked enough to postpone what had already been agreed upon.

I was just amazed that my dress would be entrusted to an incredibly skilled tailor who had connections with the imperial family.

Probably anyone would be amazed, not just me.

Even most nobles wouldn’t enjoy such luxury.

The Imperial Princess personally introducing me and helping me, it’s absurd even to me.

I was fortunate to have a good disciple, or rather, a temporary lover.

“Then we’ll go after having a meal with Her Highness.”

“Okay.”

A dress, I still couldn’t believe it.

To think all this was happening because of a ridiculous excuse about not having the right size.

Aren’t the Imperial Princess and Kyle too impressive with their initiative?

If it were me, I would have postponed answering, saying we should think about it a bit more.

*

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Of course.”

“What about Sofia?”

“I feel the same way.”

Although she had asked us yesterday too, the Imperial Princess deliberately asked us again.

I don’t know if she was asking out of courtesy, or if she truly intended to throw it away and make something new if it didn’t suit our taste.

Of course, it suited my taste very well, so I said it was delicious.

Kyle wasn’t picky about food to begin with, so he said it was fine.

Anyway, it was delicious food.

The place Kyle and I went to before was sufficiently delicious, but it still wasn’t comparable to the food served at the Imperial Palace.

Or more precisely, the same level as what the Imperial Princess ate.

But perhaps because there was such a high-ranking person as the Imperial Princess?

It didn’t feel as comfortable as that time.

“I’ve already spoken to the tailor, so you just need to go in person. Just listen to some explanations and get your measurements taken.”

“Ohhh…”

I see.

It was fascinating because I had never bought clothes that were custom-made to this extent.

There must have been many processes before this, but fortunately, it was all sorted out at the Imperial Princess’s level.

“…”

“The worried person over there can stop worrying, because what you’re concerned about won’t happen.”

“?”

Who?

Is she talking about me?

I wasn’t worried about anything at all.

When I turned my head to look at Kyle, he wasn’t doing anything in particular either.

Is she crazy?

Probably not.

I must have just misunderstood something.

*

“Your Highness the Imperial Princess, it’s been a while. Have you been well during this time?”

“Yes, I’ve been well. I hate tedious things, so shall we get straight to the point?”

“Yes~”

The building we entered by carriage was strongly reminiscent of a clothing store to anyone.

Not extremely large, not too small, just the size of a shop that might be found in a neighborhood.

“…”

“…”

I was a bit surprised that the owner of such a shop had connections with the Imperial Princess.

Both Kyle and I were.

“Both of you, please come in quickly. What are you doing out there?”

“O-Okay…”

I followed Kyle inside.

Contrary to my expectations, the owner was a young woman.

Still older than me, but the word “owner” made me imagine someone completely different.

“By the way, Your Highness, aren’t you interested in a new dress?”

“Well, I have plenty of those.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

The Imperial Princess and the tailor seemed very close.

It was like a relationship of people who had known each other for years.

“So, is that the person who will wear the dress?”

“Ah, yes.”

I reflexively answered when the owner pointed at me.

Working at castles and various places had made me respond reflexively.

“Hmmmm…”

“…?”

The owner suddenly examined my body, slowly moving her gaze from top to bottom.

Is this also part of the creative process?

The gaze felt a bit ticklish, but it was just looking.

I was fully clothed anyway.

“Shall we take off your clothes first?”

“What!?”

“Ah, I mean, to take proper measurements.”

“Ah. Oh…”

That’s… what she meant.

Yes, we came to have a custom-made dress, so of course measurements need to be taken.

I was just startled because she suddenly said to take off my clothes.

“…”

“…”

“….”

And we all looked at Kyle.

There was one reason.

The Imperial Princess, the owner, and even I are women.

But Kyle?

“…I’ll step out for a moment. Will 10 minutes be enough?”

“Five minutes will do.”

Kyle sighed once and went out of the room.

He looked a bit pitiful.

Being suddenly driven out.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Despite everything, showing my body to Kyle would be embarrassing.

Showing a woman’s body to a woman and showing it to a man were completely different matters.

“…”

“Well then, please undress except for your underwear. It might be a bit embarrassing, but it’s for the dress.”

“Y-Yes…”

I took off my pants and blouse.

It wasn’t as embarrassing as being seen by Kyle, but it was still unavoidably embarrassing.

“Does Your Highness the Imperial Princess also need to watch…?”

It wasn’t like the Imperial Princess was Kyle, and it didn’t seem right for her to just freely look at my body without any reason.

Kyle had seen my body a few times, but the Imperial Princess hadn’t.

It was still embarrassing even in underwear.

“I need to see so I can tell Young Master Kyle later.”

“Pardon…?”

“What style suited Sofia, what the exact breast size was, what the hips were like, what the pelvis was…”

“…”

As I listened to the Imperial Princess’s words, I really began to worry about the future of the empire.

Anyway, the owner brought a measuring tape and began to measure my body.

Height, waist, hips, chest, all the parts needed to make clothes.

There could be some errors when wearing clothes, so that must be why.

I understand.

Clothes can look strange if those measurements are off.

“Ohhh… They’re big.”

“…”

Anyway… that’s how the measurements were taken.

Strange comments came out occasionally, but she didn’t do anything inappropriate.

The owner’s ethical consciousness was normal in many ways.

“Is it done?”

“Yes.”

Before I knew it, I was wearing a light cotton garment over my underwear.

I was also wearing very short pants.

It was a bit embarrassing because the skin of my thighs was all visible, but I couldn’t wear long or baggy clothes because I needed to try on the dress.

She had me wear clothes that would come off quickly if needed, or clothes that wouldn’t be visible underneath if they didn’t need to be removed.

“Now that we’ve taken all the measurements, let’s try fitting a rough version of the dress. You’ll probably need to come back a few more times.”

“Yes.”

I’m not a fool, I didn’t think the dress would be made right away.

In fact, I thought today might just be for taking measurements, but fortunately it wasn’t just that.

The owner brought high-quality fabrics in front of me and compared…? evaluated…? anyway, did something like that.

She was probably checking if it would suit me well.

“Hmm…”

By the way, the fabric I’m looking at now is probably the material to make the black dress Kyle requested.

I could tell from the excellent quality of the fabric.

It gave the impression of being as luxurious as, or even more luxurious than, the dresses worn by nobles at the debutante’s social gathering before.

Is it because the color is black?

Black really is the best.

There’s a reason I always have Kyle wear black clothes.

“This should be enough for today. If there’s anything else you need to come for, should I send a letter to the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes, don’t send it to any strange place, always to me first, as usual.”

“Yes.”

And so the first preparation for making the dress was completed.

It ended faster than I thought, and we also did more than I expected.

“Owner? Let’s have tea together next time. We’ll be going now?”

“Have a safe journey back.”

We lightly greeted the owner and left the shop to get on the carriage.

The time was still before evening.

Are we going straight back to the Imperial Palace?

“This is roughly how it will proceed. Sofia, you understand, right?”

“Yes.”

Following today’s format meant that the owner would continue to do things, ask me questions, and I would answer, like that.

“Probably towards the end, Young Master Kyle will be able to request the design or style he wants. Despite how the owner appeared, she has more pride than you might think.”

“Hmm… I understand for now.”

There wasn’t much to say today.

It just ended with checking the size, deciding on the fabric, and exchanging a few words with the owner.

*

So we ate dinner at the Imperial Palace and returned to our room again.

All I did was work on the dress-related matters and have dinner with the Imperial Princess, so why do I feel so drained?

Well, I roughly know the reason.

“Why does everyone stare like that…”

It was damn uncomfortable.

In Eristirol, the domain residents had good sense, so they didn’t particularly stare.

Even if they did, it was just a quick glance?

There weren’t people who stared at me intently like here.

Except for maybe Kyle.

“That’s probably because Sofia is pretty.”

“Me?”

They stared because I’m pretty?

That can’t be.

“If I were that pretty, then every time I went down in Eristirol, I should have drawn attention, but I didn’t.”

The people here are just strange.

They’re just unusually interested.

If it were because I’m pretty, wouldn’t someone have asked for my phone number—ah, there are no phones here—maybe my home address?

I would have to have been hit on to know.

“Anyway, it’s not that, it’s just that the people in the capital are too interested in others.”

“Sigh…”