episode_0061

Spending time with the employees, slightly modifying the detailed designs, and then the weekend arrived.

“Young master, you have a guest?”

“A guest? Who?”

“Miss Fannie Rachel Auby has arrived.”

“Huh?”

Fannie, the Duchess, had come to the town house early in the morning.

It wasn’t like Duchess Elizabeth, and she wasn’t someone who would visit without prior notice or courtesy, so I was flustered, wondering if something had happened, and rushed to the drawing room.

“Fannie?”

“Ah… Lord William…”

There, Duchess Fannie was sitting with her red bobbed hair disheveled and fanning her face with her hand.

“Greetings, whew…”

Her clothes were light, her face flushed, and she was panting heavily, as if she had rushed to get ready as soon as she woke up.

Looking at her, a chill ran down my spine.

Did something happen to the silk?

Or did an accident happen on the way?

All sorts of anxious thoughts flashed through my mind.

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”

I swallowed hard and cautiously asked the question, and the Duchess smiled and opened her mouth.

“It, has arrived.”

“Arrived?”

For a moment, I didn’t understand Duchess Fannie’s words and just stared blankly, so the Duchess gestured to her attendant standing behind her to place a box on the table.

The box, which had been closed, was opened by the attendant, revealing a mass of ivory-colored silk.

“The materials you requested arrived last night, so I brought them right away.”

I just wanted to get the work done quickly.

“Ah, ah~”

The tension was relieved, and a smile crept onto my face.

“You’ve worked hard since early this morning.”

“It’s nothing.”

As I smiled and offered encouragement, the Duchess shook her head and closed the box.

Then, she adjusted her posture to a more comfortable one and leaned back in her chair.

“When do you think the fabric will be finished?”

“I think I’ll have to talk to Duke Hans this afternoon to know that. If you’re curious, Fannie, would you like to come with me? You might have something else you want to say about the fabric.”

The Duchess smiled weakly and waved her hand.

“I’m curious, but I won’t go. I’m tired from being busy early in the morning.”

“Really? I understand. I’ll try to get it as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

Duchess Fannie, who nodded weakly, picked up the glass on the table and moistened her throat before getting up from her seat.

“Now that I’ve finished my business, I’ll be on my way.”

“Already?”

I glanced at the clock.

It wasn’t even time for breakfast yet.

“Since you’re here, why don’t you have a meal before you go?”

“No, it would be rude to come without notice and even have a meal. I appreciate the thought.”

“Well… then I can’t help it.”

At the Duchess’s firm refusal, I stopped trying to persuade her.

I felt a little sorry, but it would be more awkward to force something on her when she didn’t want it.

“Francis.”

I immediately turned my head and gestured to Francis, who was waiting nearby.

Francis, who came hurrying to my side, bent slightly at the waist and brought his head closer to me.

“Tell me.”

“See the guest off, and move that box to my room.”

“Understood.”

Francis, who nodded and answered, immediately approached Duchess Fannie, gestured towards the door, and led the way.

_

Duke Hans’ weaving factory, which I visited in the afternoon.

Located in the outskirts, even further out than the outer edges of the Imperial Capital, it felt secluded, and unlike the scenery, the sound of the looms turning was loudly echoing.

“It’s busy even on the weekend.”

As I lightly commented on the sound of the looms, which could be heard faintly even in the reception room, which seemed to be soundproofed, Duke Hans, with his long ears perked up, laughed heartily.

“Hahaha~ Well, the peak season is coming soon, isn’t it? The number of people buying new clothes will increase, so we have to prepare in advance.”

“Well, it’s a period that’s too good to miss. I’ve been busy lately because of that too.”

“Thanks to you, I’ve also got a new job, so I’m in a great mood.”

The Duke, with a pleasant eye smile, raised the corners of his lips and took a sip of tea.

Then, putting down the glass and erasing his smile, the Duke stared at my eyes with a serious look and continued to speak.

“In the previous letter, you said you needed a new fabric. What kind of fabric do you want?”

“We recently found a new silk, so we want to use these silks to make a new fabric.”

The Duke’s eyes narrowed.

Then, the Duke, gently stroking his chin with his fluffy rabbit hand, said in a questioning voice.

“New silk? I’ve never heard of such news… Do you happen to have that silk with you now?”

“Of course.”

I placed the box I had brought with me on the table, opened it, and pushed it towards the Duke.

The Duke’s gaze turned to the mass of silk inside the box, and the Duke carefully picked up the mass of silk, looked at it as if he was amazed, and slightly parted his lips.

“I’ve never seen silk like this before. Can it be used for clothing?”

“Yes, we have confirmed that it can be used sufficiently as long as you are careful of high temperature environments.”

“Hoo… I see. So, what you want is to mix these two silks to make a fabric?”

“No, I would like you to mix silk with these two silks to make a fabric.”

“Even silk?”

Duke Hans’ eyes widened like a wild rabbit’s.

“Hmm…”

Then, the Duke frowned and groaned as if in trouble, stared at the silk in the box for a long time, and opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Of course, you have a desired ratio, right?”

“Yes, please do as it is written here.”

“Where… Hmm…”

Duke Hans’ rabbit ears drooped back as he received the paper with the detailed requirements written on it.

Then, the Duke stomped his feet a few times, wrinkled his nose, and put down the paper.

“Three types with different ratios… The difficulty is no joke. I can’t do mass production, even if it’s a small amount.”

“What is the standard for a large amount?”

I expected this answer, so I asked calmly.

The Duke, who looked up, paused slightly and answered.

“Roughly… the amount that fills a carriage.”

“Then what if it’s a small amount of about 10m or 20m?”

“That much is possible, but of course, the unit price will be two or three times higher than other things.”

“That much is fine.”

I expected the price to be high, so it wasn’t a problem.

I asked with a relieved expression.

“How much fabric do you think will come out with the materials here now?”

“If you think of it like regular silk, it will be about 10m, but it will be shorter because it’s unfamiliar silk.”

“Then how long will it take?”

“The time itself doesn’t take that long, because the fabric is short, but I have work to do now, so I can start working on it from tomorrow morning.”

“Can I receive it by Monday?”

“It may be possible as early as Sunday afternoon.”

“Then please have it by Monday morning.”

“Understood.”

Duke Hans, who nodded, pulled the box towards him.

“Do you have any other requests?”

“Hmm… Is it possible to weave it so that it stretches well in the vertical direction and doesn’t stretch well in the horizontal direction?”

It was a question I asked just in case, but unexpectedly, the Duke nodded.

“It is possible.”

“Huh?”

I was slightly surprised that I didn’t expect to hear that it was possible, so the Duke added with a subtle expression.

“But the working time will increase tenfold.”

“Ah, then I don’t need it.”

The heart that was about to be excited calmed down, and I immediately waved my hand.

“Then I will proceed as it is written on the paper.”

“Yes, please.”

_

“The fabric has arrived!”

The fabric I requested from Duke Hans was delivered directly to the store on Monday morning.

The fabric was a little shorter than 10m, but other than that, it was a perfect result with the texture, tension, and elasticity I had in mind.

“Is this the fabric you’re going to use to make the new underwear?”

As I was checking the condition of the fabric, Adelheid quietly approached me with a curious expression.

“Yes.”

“The gloss is a little, mysterious. It feels a little different from silk.”

“That’s right, do you want to touch it?”

“Yes.”

At my suggestion, Adelheid touched the fabric a few times and then began to shine her eyes as if her competitive spirit was burning.

“This, the elasticity is amazing. The shape will be very distorted if you are not careful when sewing.”

“That’s right, I’m not the one to say this with the time limit, but I hope you handle the fabric delicately and carefully. Well… it’s okay to exceed the time a little.”

The time limit was only a hope, so it was good if we kept it, and it was just a pity if we couldn’t.

The most important thing was to make perfect clothes, so I said something to relieve Adelheid’s tension, but Adelheid shook her head and shrugged with a smirk.

“It’s okay, it’s more fun to have such a limitation.”

“I like that confidence.”

“I’ll show you the skills that fully meet that confidence, so please look forward to it.”

“Hehe~ Then I have to do my best to meet that.”

I smiled at Adelheid’s confident answer and turned my head to look at Duchess Fannie and Duke Herbert, who were carrying the designs and cutting tools, and shouted.

“Hurry up and get ready, I have to finish this quickly and throw some work at Katerina, who’s playing around.”

“Yes!”

I listened to their loud answers and spread the fabric wide on the table.