episode_0081

“S, sss… Twenty-four!?”

“Shhh!! Be loud, Cosette!”

“Sorry..”

Cosette, who was startled by my words, shouted for me to leave the room, and I immediately covered her mouth. Of course, Agnes and Ayla looked equally surprised. Of course, I also still found it hard to believe.

Accepting the fact that someone I’ve known for over ten years is more than ten years younger than I expected is much harder than I thought.

I glanced at the door. It was okay that Yugram wasn’t in the room because the girls were hanging out in Cosette’s room.. but Yugram was probably waiting in front of the room, so with his good hearing, he probably heard everything Cosette had just said.

You might be thinking, ‘This stupid princess author doesn’t even know my age and is bragging about it to her friends.’

We continued to talk about Yu Gram for a while, and the common question that came up was the fundamental question, ‘What on earth does he do to be so capable at such a young age?’ Of course, since I met Yu Gram, I have only been curious about this question my whole life, but I have never properly figured it out, so I had nothing to say.

The conclusion that he must be a genius was often reached, and soon the topic faded away and turned to ‘What the heck is this crazy academy up to?’

“They said it was a banquet… Why are they holding this and why do they want me to attend?”

“The reason is probably only known to the Dean. No, even the Dean might not know. To be honest, I’ve seen him a few times in passing, but considering his age, it wouldn’t be strange if he had dementia.”

As far as I know, the Dean isn’t that old. I know he looks much older because he’s a little old and his hair has already turned white.

But I didn’t feel the need to correct this, so I just let it go.

“Just opening it… I could just let it go, but the fact that they even asked me to wear a costume was absurd.”

“That’s right! Are you in cahoots with the nearby costume shops? Who brings a bunch of dresses and accessories to the Academy?”

Cosette jumped up and down in her seat at Ayla’s words. It was a very reasonable suspicion, and a reasonable anger. I had been thinking the same thing, to be honest. How many crazy people would bring jewelry and dresses that they would hardly wear for a year or five years, and even men, and things that could be called formal attire?

Of course, this academy is generally attended by such crazy people, but by the standards of the punk aristocrats, there was no need to cram such things into the already cramped dormitory. Even if they bought new clothes to keep up with the trend, they would usually send them back to their parents’ house.

Against this backdrop, very few students, regardless of gender, would normally have clothes suitable for such banquets, and it was natural that more students would simply buy something nearby rather than asking their parents to send it to them in a hurry.

The Dean is not satisfied with wasting our tuition money for nothing, so he uses school events to fill his own pockets, revealing his wicked intentions to the world!

“..Well, there’s no evidence.”

“That’s right.”

Cosette rolled on the bed, hugging her pillow. She looked quite annoyed, and I felt the same way. Well, money is always abundant, and it doesn’t matter since you have the money from the competition, but… isn’t it annoying?

“Honestly, wouldn’t it be okay to just wear uniforms and go? No, if they say you can’t enter, why don’t you just go back to the dorm and rest?”

Agnes seemed reluctant to buy formal attire separately in the first place. Even though Agnes had quite a bit of pocket money thanks to the competition, it would be quite unpleasant for a commoner like Agnes to waste money on such a meaningless event. Aila nodded after hearing this.

“That’s true. It’s not like it’s a class… Well, even if it was a class, it wouldn’t matter if I missed a few times, right? I’ll just not go and sleep in the dorm.”

“Come to think of it, that’s true? Why were you worrying about this?”

Cosette was amazed by what Ayla said. She was also looking at her with a look that said, “How can she think so smartly?” As I listened, I thought it was a pretty tempting suggestion. Why don’t I just not go?

As soon as we reached a clear conclusion, we quickly moved on to another topic and started chatting excitedly.

.

.

.

After having so much fun, I returned to my room and Yugram handed me a bundle of clothes, including a banquet dress that he called a formal dress set, and told me to try them on. I could only accept it blankly.

Didn’t you hear what I said about us not having to go? Should I tell you now?

I was worried, but I also felt sorry for Yugram who had bought it in an instant, so I decided to try it on at least once. Yugram nodded and left the room.

First, I threw the things I received on the bed and sorted them carefully. I thought the luxurious boxes with smooth surfaces were probably accessories, so I excluded them all and placed them on the table. The same goes for the high-heeled shoes. It’s been a while since I’ve worn such high heels.

As I carefully laid out what appeared to be the main dress on the bed so as not to wrinkle it, and placed a piece of cloth that looked like a shawl, which I couldn’t tell if it was for keeping me warm or just for show, the first thing that caught my eye was my underwear.

Of course, if I wore regular underwear, the color might be different from the dress, or something might stand out. I took off the uniform and underwear I was wearing, neatly laid them out, and then put on the underwear I had prepared.

Surprisingly, this medieval fantasy world is full of proper functional women’s underwear, including stockings. If the person who created this is still alive, I’d like to personally send them a thank you message. They may have simply made it to make some money, but the wearer would be so grateful.

Even if I just look at this garter belt that I just put on my socks and connected it to my underwear, I feel like it contributes more to eroticism than actual functionality. The original intention of fixing it to prevent the socks from sliding down was not right no matter how I looked at it. The socks were already stuck to my body tightly and elastically, no matter what I did, so there was no need for it.

I gathered my chest and put on a bra, and checked myself in the mirror. A small, cute girl was looking at me in the mirror. I realized once again that I hadn’t grown much since leaving the palace. Agnes was also growing little by little… why only me…?

And now, at the moment when I was about to put on the dress… I realized that I was faced with a rather big problem. The clothes I had picked up thinking that I could just put on like a one-piece dress were not one piece. To be exact, what should I say… Should I say that I have to wear several layers of clothes to wear it properly?

The problem wasn’t just that there were so many clothes that it was annoying, but that there were so many parts that I couldn’t even tell where or how to wear them. It was to the point where I couldn’t tell if I was trying to put on clothes or trying to put a puzzle together. ..There was nothing I could do. I went to the door.

“..Yugram, are you there?”

“Are you done already?”

Yugram burst through the door and came in, and our eyes met, as I was wearing only underwear. There was a brief moment of silence, and Yugram hurriedly closed the door with an expression on his face that I had never seen before. What kind of expression was that?

“..Miss, what are you doing?”

“Yugram, this is really a big deal. I don’t know how to wear a dress.”

When I spoke seriously, Yugram sighed. It probably meant something like, ‘How difficult is it to just learn how to dress?’ Of course, it was definitely because Yugram didn’t check my dress properly.

Even though Yugram was scolding me about my outfit… It’s not just anyone else, it’s Yugram, so underwear shouldn’t be a big deal, right? In the first place, whenever I regularly check my body for any problems, I expose my naked body, so now it’s like underwear is a big deal…

As proof, I didn’t feel even a bit embarrassed while showing my underwear to Yugram. For some reason, my face felt hot, my ears felt hot, and my heart was pounding a little… but this was natural since it was still quite cold outside and I was only wearing underwear in a chilly room.

Anyway, when I confidently pointed to the ‘pile of dresses’, I saw Yugram’s eyebrows twitch. He was embarrassed, I thought, giggling inwardly. I tried to hide my smugness and said.

“How is it? It’s not easy, is it?”

“..Yes, I admit it.”

Yugram set aside the uniform and underwear I had taken off, and began to dismantle the pile of dresses. It was quite interesting and funny to see him neatly arranging each part on the bed as if he was working on a puzzle.

“..Looking at the material, it seems like this is the next piece of clothing to wear after underwear. And this is..”

“Aha, then add this to it..”

There were some clothes that were easy to recognize and comfortable to wear, but there were also some pieces that made me wonder what they were supposed to be. I was a little suspicious that maybe they were not clothes but scraps of fabric for repairs.

As a result of Yugram and I, who are probably two of the smartest people in this academy, putting our heads together and struggling, we managed to put on the dress perfectly, although it was quite difficult. After wrapping the shawl that was carelessly thrown around and looking in the mirror, I felt like a young lady from a high noble family had forced herself into an outfit with a similar concept to her mother.

To put it simply, it means that the clothes were a bit too adult-like for my height and body type, so they didn’t really suit me.

The silver-glittering fabric of the dress, as if sprinkled with stardust here and there, the outfit that boldly exposes the shoulders and collarbone to emphasize sexiness, and the countless accessories and shawls that haven’t even been opened yet, it’s definitely a very beautiful and alluring outfit. It just doesn’t suit me that well.

I just smiled to myself, threw away my shawl, and took off my shoes. Now that I had tried them on, it was time for Yugram to neatly organize them and put them away somewhere.

“Yugram, I brought it and wore it, but I don’t plan on attending the banquet. It’s annoying.”

“..If possible, I wish you had told me before I wore it.”

Yugram muttered as she cleverly accepted the dress I was quickly taking off and quickly folded it.

“So, you must have worn it at least once because you brought it. It would be a bit bad to just put it in the closet. Whether it’s to Yugram or to the clothes.”

“I don’t know about clothes, but I hope you feel a little more sorry towards me.”

After lightly ignoring Yugram’s joke, I quickly took off my dress and threw away my underwear, including the garter belt, which I hadn’t had much chance to wear since leaving the palace, and then I put back on the underwear I had taken off earlier and took out my pajamas from the closet and put them on. It was almost time to go to bed.

I need to change my clothes quickly and get under the covers. I can feel my face getting hot again, so I’m afraid I’ll catch a cold if I keep doing this.