episode_0155

Edan had come out of the academy on the weekend to give me the reward for winning the duel against Harold.

It wasn’t as his personal maid that he brought me out, but as the ‘junior noble lady, Lillis,’ to accompany him outside the academy.

Since I wasn’t his maid for the day, I couldn’t use honorifics like ‘young master’ and extreme titles as usual.

Thinking about it, the atmosphere itself felt somewhat like a date.

As I pondered, I couldn’t help but feel a bit suspicious about Edan’s intentions in taking me out.

‘Could it be that he’s trying to recreate a date-like atmosphere to confess again like last time?’

In truth, I had sensed Edan’s strange feelings towards me for quite some time now.

He had even created an atmosphere resembling a confession a few months ago.

Being of an age where a girl like Lillis with her appearance stuck by his side, there was a possibility of him harboring romantic feelings unintentionally.

‘He knows best that he’s the heir of the Blackwood Duke family, so he probably won’t make a foolish choice like making me his real fiancée.’

However, whether he would give up on a fling-like relationship overnight was uncertain.

The academy’s atmosphere was quite liberal compared to the outside society, and positive relationships between nobles and commoner students were not uncommon.

So, swept up in such an atmosphere, it wasn’t strange at all for him to enjoy a free relationship while still a student, even if he were to choose another woman as his fiancée in the future.

‘I feel like I’ve allowed this for no reason.’

Being conscious of it being a date, it would have been better if he had touched my heart once.

The awkwardness of creating an intimate atmosphere between a man and a woman was unbearable.

While I could accept it as a reward for Edan’s efforts, I still had resistance to becoming lovers.

I didn’t think of Edan as lacking as a man, but he was not someone I saw as a romantic interest.

‘It would be nice if Edan had the same thoughts as me.’

However, seeing him give up even on touching my heart and asking for a day of dating, it seemed inevitable that things would take a strange turn.

With things as they were, there was only one solution.

If the atmosphere seemed to be getting better, I had to find a way to break it and prevent any romantic feelings from developing.

With that thought in mind, I asked Edan about today’s schedule in the most natural way possible.

It was important to know where we were going so I could prepare accordingly.

“Um, Edan…?”

“Yeah, Lillis?”

“Where are you planning to take me today, not as your maid but as a noble lady?”

“I didn’t really have a destination in mind when I asked you to come out.”

“Excuse me?”

“I just wanted to take a stroll outside the school with the ordinary noble lady, Lillis. I’ve only ever seen you in maid or formal attire until now.”

“….”

Blushing slightly, Edan cautiously nodded his head.

For some reason, I almost found myself momentarily drawn into Edan’s atmosphere.

Anyway, I was just fine the way I was…

With that thought, as our steps became a bit awkward, walking side by side in the Knowledge Island commercial district, Edan’s steps slowly came to a halt in front of a shop.

I quietly followed his footsteps, matching his pace.

“For now, should we start by buying new clothes?”

“If it’s clothes, didn’t you prepare a lot of spare clothes in the dormitory?”

“Of course not me, I’m talking about Lillis’ clothes.”

“…Are you talking about my clothes?”

“Yeah. Looking at Lillis’ outfit now, it seems like you should start by changing your clothes.”

After hearing Edan’s words, I hesitated for a moment, and then looked around at the clothes I was currently wearing.

It was just a normal maid outfit, so I couldn’t help but express my doubts once again.

“It’s just a normal maid outfit, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It may be normal for a maid outfit, but it’s definitely not suitable for a noble lady.”

“…I see. But it’s a bit strange to wear academy uniform when it’s not a school day.”

“Yeah. That’s why we should buy clothes first. Lillis must be tired of wearing academy uniform and maid outfit only, right?”

…It doesn’t really matter. Even if I continue wearing the uniform and maid outfit.

But I couldn’t refute the claim that it was not a noble lady-like outfit, so I could only nod my head for now.

I was someone who had basic common sense.

And even if I didn’t, the thought of having at least one casual outfit for going out crossed my mind.

Since I had come to fulfill Edan’s ‘request’ today, there was no option to refuse from the beginning.

“Alright, Edan. I also thought I needed a casual outfit for going out.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page, Lillis.”

“However, it seems like this store is a bit expensive, so it might be better to walk a bit further towards the island entrance. It’s a bit burdensome for me personally…”

-Thump.

“…I’ll buy it for you, so don’t worry and come in.”

“….Yes.”

In a moment of surprise, with Edan holding my wrist, I was forcibly dragged into a high-end store that exuded a luxurious atmosphere.

As soon as we entered, several female employees dressed in elegant suits greeted us.

“Welcome. Is there anything you need?”

“Ah, no, it’s just…”

Despite the combination of a noble lady and a maid entering the store, the employees started serving us without any hesitation.

While I was briefly considering how to respond to them, Edan, who was beside me, began to answer skillfully.

“Prepare a few outfits that would suit her. If possible, make her feel like a noble lady.”

“You mean outfits that would suit this lady and give off a noble lady-like vibe? I will prepare them right away.”

With those words, the employees approached with measuring tapes in hand to measure my body size.

The whispers of the employees mentioning my chest size quietly reached my ears.

“100, no, 105cm…”

“…There should be some larger-sized clothes in the store. Let’s look through them first.”

“Yes, of course…”

“….”

Pretending not to hear, I avoided eye contact while the employees moved around efficiently.

After measuring my size, within less than two minutes, one of the employees approached me with a Gothic-style dress that exuded a noble lady-like vibe.

“Would you like to try on this dress first?”

“Ah, yes.”

…There seemed to be clothes that fit Lillis’ body shape after all.

Well, Lillis is the heroine of ‘Luminor Academy’. It’s strange that there are no clothes for Lillis to wear in a game where dressing up the heroine is a content.

Quietly thinking such thoughts in my head, I changed into a black dress with a high-waisted skirt in the fitting room and walked out.

First of all, as it was a gift from Edan, I asked for his opinion on the outfit out of formality.

“How does it look, Edan?”

“……”

“Edan?”

“Ah, um, yeah…. It suits you well, Rilis….”

“Really?”

To me, it seemed more like a noblewoman’s attire rather than a noble lady’s, to be honest.

Well, if a noblewoman grows up, she becomes a lady, so Edan’s opinion that it suited me wasn’t necessarily a lie.

“Alright then, it’s decided. No need to look around for other options, just wear this as it is….”

“Oh, miss!”

“Huh?!”

“Instead of that, how about trying on this outfit as well?! It will definitely suit you!”

“And this one too!”

“Yes, yes?”

The shop assistants, who had suddenly become more assertive compared to before, eagerly pushed new clothes towards me.

Feeling a bit flustered by their persistence, I quietly glanced at Edan for help, but unfortunately, his response was not a rescue for me but rather an agreement with the store staff.

“Well, how about trying on each one at least once, Rilis?”

“Yes?”

“…You never know, there might be an outfit that suits you better.”

“…Alright, Edan.”

Well, since it was the store Edan brought me to, and he was the one giving me the clothes, I had no choice but to obediently try them on.

And so, the impromptu fashion show at the clothing store continued for about 30 minutes.

“How about this one, Edan?”

“Well, it’s pretty, but… um, it might be a bit revealing on the body….”

“Hmm, is that so?”

A simple design flowing from top to bottom, but snugly hugging the body and emphasizing the figure, the midnight dress.

“I would feel a bit embarrassed even if I wore this. I don’t mind others, but an outfit that exposes the thighs too much is a bit….”

“…Yeah. I also think this is not something to wear outside. …It’s pretty, though.”

Made of sheer material layered to reveal the skin, with a short skirt, it was a fairy-style dress with a high level of exposure.

“…Personally, this one feels more comfortable to me. Maybe because I’ve seen this type of outfit a lot before.”

“Wearing this, you look like a flawless noble lady, Rilis.”

“No need to praise me unnecessarily, Edan.”

“It’s not unnecessary….”

From heavily decorated and frilly dresses to the classic noble lady dress with a wide A-line silhouette, after changing into twenty-four outfits for a brief moment, the impromptu fashion show at the clothing store finally came to an end.

“It’s quite tiring to change into so many outfits like this.”

Even in reality, changing into this many clothes would have been quite exhausting.

In a medieval fantasy world where most clothes had buttons instead of zippers, the process of putting on and taking off each piece of clothing consumed more time and energy.

Moreover, noble attire mostly involved wearing layered and intricate dresses, requiring attention to many details.

After hastily trying on various outfits, it seemed like Edan had quietly made up his mind on which outfit suited me best.

In the last attire, the noble lady dress, I asked Edan for his opinion.

Even after changing into so many outfits, there must have been at least one outfit that Edan liked.

“So, have you made up your mind?”

“Yes.”

“Personally, the outfit I’m wearing right now is the most comfortable for me. Of course, your opinion is the most important….”

“…Buy all the outfits from the first one you wore to the one you’re wearing now.”

“…Yes?”

“Yes, thank you!”

Edan’s determination to buy all the outfits, each of which seemed to cost a few gold coins, from the dress I first wore to the one I was currently wearing.

In front of me, my several months’ worth of salary fluctuating so emptily momentarily left me dazed.

“Let’s go, Release.”

“Oh, yes. I’ll carry the luggage…”

“They said they’ll deliver the clothes to the academy dorms later, so we can just go. Are you tired from changing clothes? Should we eat first?”

“Oh, yes…”

Seeing Ethan effortlessly buying clothes that I wondered how many times I would actually wear, I felt momentarily flustered.

…Well, it’s not my money anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

For some reason, the thought of being strangely swayed crept into my mind today.

And so, the weekend date between me in a maid outfit and Ethan in noble attire continued.

Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a date.