episode_0076

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, it’s good to see both of you.”

After several days of no response from either the Order or the Imperial Family, I was half giving up, but just in time for the newspaper release, Centurion Sophia and Rachel appeared at the store, whom I had met when handing over the underwear.

“A letter from the Imperial Family to Sir William.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

[His Majesty feels great joy in your actions and praises you.]

[Accepting your request, we dispatch knights until deemed unnecessary.]

“As written in the letter, Sir William, we are tasked with preventing disturbances around you until a new order is issued by His Imperial Majesty or His Royal Highness the Prince Consort.”

“Wow! It worked?”

A genuine exclamation burst out.

Even if I can’t stop the storm, I’ve managed to get into the eye of the storm.

The outside will be a mess, but isn’t it better than us dying?

“First of all, thank you for accepting the request.”

“Give your thanks to the Imperial Family. So, what is it that we need to do?”

“Nothing today. Relax and enjoy yourselves.”

“Hmm?”

Centurion Sophia’s eyes narrowed.

My spine tingled, and Rachel, standing next to her, swallowed hard and flinched her shoulders.

“Centurion Sophia, have you perhaps read today’s newspaper?”

“I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I did hear other colleagues talking noisily about it.”

“Um…”

Ah, this is a bit awkward.

“Emily, bring me a newspaper.”

“Yes.”

Explaining would be easier if they read the newspaper, so even though I was scared, I asked Emily to bring one.

Opening to the advertisement section and handing it to Centurion Sophia and Rachel, I started explaining with as neutral an expression as possible.

“This is the advertisement for our atelier that was published in today’s newspaper.”

“……”

Centurion Sophia glanced at the newspaper, crossed her arms, and blinked several times.

“Indeed… a rather radical advertisement. I understand that you have done something that would make you feel guilty, but why did the Imperial Family order us to protect you? Shouldn’t we be arresting you instead?”

“Well… it’s not my will, but the will of the Sun.”

“Oh… my…”

Centurion Sophia frowned, looking genuinely sorry, and gently shook her head.

Any strange thing becomes common sense when the two words “the Emperor” are attached.

“You’ve had it rough.”

“Thank you…”

Centurion Sophia lightly patted my shoulder, which had been swept up in the natural disaster known as the Emperor.

Then, with a serious expression, she raised a question.

“But, if this is a problem, wouldn’t it be even worse to do nothing? There must be more than a few people who won’t take it well. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to do nothing?”

“The newspaper with this advertisement was just distributed today. Most people will have just read it.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s difficult to react to the newspaper they received this morning right away. The earliest would be around this evening, but by then, we’ll all be off work.”

“Ah, I see. I understand now.”

“From tomorrow, the storm will rage. So, please relax today, and if there’s anything you need, please tell me.”

“Understood. I will.”

Watching Centurion Sophia nod coolly, I gestured to Marie, who was setting up tools around the workbench.

“Marie! Stop what you’re doing for a moment and guide these knights to the second floor!”

“Yeees~ Just a moment!”

“If you wait a moment, that Myoin girl will guide you to a room you can use as a lounge. You can use it from now on.”

“A big cat…”

Centurion Sophia muttered something as her gaze fell on Marie.

I couldn’t hear it well, but she seemed to be looking at the demi-human employee with wonder.

Is it difficult for even the Imperial Knights to encounter demi-humans?

Well, the Imperial Knights did rush out when demi-humans gathered, so it’s not something you can encounter often.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes?”

“I need you to come to the lounge for the clothing design.”

“Okay.”

The important thing is that today is the last day we can spend quietly.

I had to make good use of the last time I could properly concentrate.

_

“Young lady, I’m sorry.”

“I’m so sorry for touching you without permission.”

“…?”

When William said he wanted to discuss the design and moved the location to the lounge.

The scene I faced was Sera and Emily grabbing my arms and dragging me to the dressing room.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, my young master asked us to change Elizabeth’s clothes, so we have no choice…”

“……”

When I asked with a displeased expression, Emily looked truly apologetic and explained her situation.

I expected this maid to act like this, so I wasn’t surprised, but the important thing was Sera, who was silently pulling my arm even in the midst of all this.

“Emily, I can understand you, but Sera, what are you doing?”

“After listening to what Sir William was saying, I thought it would be more fun to do this, so I betrayed young lady.”

“Betrayal? Weren’t you my lady-in-waiting?”

“We’re still officially friends, aren’t we?”

“Ha-”

How absurd.

The day when she would be treated equally to me was not far off, so wasn’t she afraid of the consequences of doing this?

… No, for Sera, immediate pleasure would take precedence over future consequences.

I didn’t want to act without dignity and struggle, so it seemed easier to indulge Sera’s prank until William arrived.

“So, what is Sir William trying to do?”

“He says he’s going to use young lady as a mannequin.”

“A mannequin…?”

“He says he can only make pretty clothes if he compares them directly with the real thing. I don’t know much about design, so if an expert says so, I have to believe him.”

Is he going to make me try on some samples?

But there’s not nearly enough time to make samples?

I had no idea what he was trying to do.

Should I struggle now?

“Young lady, I’m going to take your clothes off now.”

“Huh?”

When I came to my senses, I was already inside the dressing room.

The dress had slipped past my shoulders and down to my waist.

“Sera, wait… Emily? Why are your hands so fast… Ah…!”

_

While Sera held me, Emily very skillfully took off my clothes and put on a new dress.

I struggled, and I tried to obstruct them by waving my arms around, but it was all in vain.

No matter what movements I made, they skillfully used them to take off my clothes, and I was thoroughly manipulated on Emily’s palm to the point where I felt a sense of defeat.

So much so that Sera, a talented lady-in-waiting, was watching Emily’s movements with sparkling eyes.

For the first time in my life, I envied someone else’s maid.

“Haa…”

I felt a little tired.

I sighed deeply and examined the dress that Emily and Sera had forced me to wear.

“Sera, isn’t this the dress I wore last year?”

“Yes, that’s right. Sir William told us to bring a dress to throw away and have you wear it.”

“Hmm…”

I still don’t know what he’s trying to do.

It’s not like we’re an impoverished family, and we’re not so shabby that we’d use a dress to throw away for production…

“Are you done?”

“Yes, you can start right away.”

While I was making various guesses, William entered the room with a small box in his arms, having been called by Emily.

“Thank you for your hard work, and Sera, thank you for your hard work too.”

“No, I’m just happy to see young lady in trouble.”

“Ah, yes… I see.”

William made a sullen expression and answered vaguely, then turned his head and glanced at me, pointing at the dress.

“Is this a dress that you’re throwing away?”

“Yes, you can do whatever you want with it since we’re throwing it away.”

“Understood.”

William, having received permission from Sera rather than me, nodded and approached me with the box.

Then, placing the box on the floor and squatting next to me, William opened the box and said.

“Then, excuse me.”

“Yeees-”

What William took out of the box was a pair of silver sewing scissors.

After cutting the thread a few times to check if the blades were sharp, William lightly grabbed the right hem of the skirt with his left hand, brought the scissors close, and lightly pulled on the hem, splitting the dress all the way up to my hip.

“Heh?”

Through the slit in the dress, the chemise that covered my knees and my fair calves were revealed, and William intently examined the cross-section of the dress he had cut, as if nothing had happened.

This happened in a time when there was no room for reaction or anything.

“???”

What on earth is he doing?

I didn’t care about the dress.

But.

The fact that William was nonchalantly ripping a lady’s dress like this, without saying a word, was something I couldn’t understand.

I knew he was a pervert, but he wasn’t the type to do something like this without saying anything.

Judging by the fact that Emily and Sera were calmly watching this, it was clear that he had talked things over with Sera.

“……”

“Haha.”

When I glared at Sera as if I was going to kill her, Sera smiled broadly and looked at me and William with great interest.

I roughly knew who was the cause of this terrible situation.

That prankster must be scheming in the middle.

“Sir William.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Can you explain what you’re doing?”

“Huh…?”

William, sensing something was wrong, slightly raised his head and made eye contact with me.

Each time he blinked, William’s eyes began to shake violently.

“Um… Elizabeth? Did you perhaps not hear anything from Sera?”

“I heard that you were going to use me as a mannequin.”

“Surely that’s not all? Didn’t you hear anything else? Really, you didn’t hear anything else?”

“No.”

“Ha- damn it…”

William, his face turning pale, covered his face with both hands and muttered a swear word quietly.

“I’m sorry…”

Then, in a dying voice, he apologized to me.

Hmm…

“Hehe…”

A laugh naturally flowed out at William’s thoroughly subdued appearance.

I caught one of his weaknesses, thanks to Sera.

Sera may not have intended this, but things have turned out not so badly, so I should be generous.