episode_0178

The last week of January, after Emily’s birthday was pleasantly celebrated.

This was the time when the Empire was generally the quietest due to the lack of special events, but this year, it had become quite tumultuous due to a rather unusual incident.

It was the death of a nobleman named Marquis Illy in a carriage accident at the start of the week.

Carriage accidents are common during seasons when the weather easily damages the roads, like winter or summer. However, the victim of this accident, Marquis Illy, was a well-known nobleman in the western part of the Empire, and the coachman was unharmed, while only Marquis Illy suffered severe injuries and died. This made many nobles in the Empire deeply interested in the case.

It was such a suspicious incident that artificial intervention was suspected by anyone, so on the first day the incident was known, various speculations, such as succession disputes or conflicts between territories, were rampant.

However, the Illy Marquisate hastily concluded the incident as an accident without investigation and showed a bizarre attitude of conducting the funeral in a slipshod manner, so everyone roughly grasped the truth of the incident and stopped mentioning it.

Perhaps the Marquis had committed a serious wrong to ‘someone very high up’ who could put pressure on the Marquisate that dominated the west, so the Marquis took responsibility by ‘having an accident’.

It was truly terrifying.

I pledged to live my life carefully so as not to suffer such an accident, lightly wished Marquis Illy rest in peace, and brainwashed myself that there were no strange incidents like that suspicious case.

Someone who failed to get on the right side had become a star in the sky, and the living must go on. So, I took out the artistic spirit that I had suppressed for a short time because of Emily’s birthday and shifted my gaze to the paper.

“Ugh~”

And clutching my head, I groaned. I blew embers into the artistic spirit that had cooled down slightly due to the holding period and tried to revive the feeling and inspiration of that hot moment when I felt like I could do anything.

Freedom and liberation.

The emotion I felt most strongly at that moment when I was able to close the case with a light punishment.

If I were to project these emotions 100% onto the clothes, it was obvious that Bishop Bianca, who had given me a warning and left, would return with a grim expression, so I shouldn’t. However, I wanted to focus the concept of the clothes I would steal this time on freedom.

The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to freedom is a miniskirt, but this is impossible within 100 years unless it’s a special case like an Imperial Knight.

The Imperial Knight is in an ambiguous position to be simply treated as a woman, and thanks to the specificity that His Majesty the Emperor has condoned, it was barely included in the subjugation.

Even this one comes down to the knees, so it’s not a mini.

But suddenly, if I were to drop a skirt that barely comes down to the upper thigh line, I could be physically cut.

So, what kind of clothes can reveal freedom while maintaining good morals, not disturbing public order, and having a safe design that Bishop Bianca would also recognize?

This is just my personal feeling, but if I had to pick such clothes, I think it would be the attire of cowboys.

It may seem out of the blue to think of cowboys, but isn’t there a slight feeling like that for the outlaws of the Western frontier era, who are commonly seen in the media, rather than rigorously verified shepherds?

Wandering around in places where the law doesn’t work properly and acting as they please.

This should be seen as abandonment and chaos rather than freedom, but anyway, it has a free-spirited feeling.

And it’s cool.

I don’t usually pay attention to men’s clothes, but cowboys’ attire was one of the few clothes I was interested in under the guise of ‘style’.

A wide-brimmed leather hat, leather boots with spurs, uniquely shaped leather leggings to protect the legs, and denim jeans.

Here, a revolver holster is attached to the thigh or waist, and a cigar is stuck in the mouth.

And a lonely wolf walking across the desolate desert and vast prairie on horseback…

Ah… romance itself.

The Empire has prairies in the north rather than the west, so if it were a shepherd or nomad here, it would feel strongly Mongolian, but I can’t give up the romance of the western frontier.

The natives who lived there might think a little differently…

Anyway.

I wanted to say that cowboy attire is a free-spirited attire that does not deviate from good morals.

And in just about two months, spring will be in full bloom.

As the weather warms up, more and more people enjoy horseback riding and outdoor activities.

If I release it slyly at the right time, there might be some demand for it, right?

It’s the perfect outfit for riding around here and there.

Besides, Adelheid had also said that she wanted to try leather-related work, and since the material isn’t expensive, I can pass it on to the guild if the trend catches on.

“Get denim and leather from Prince Hans, ask Patrick for the spurs to attach to the boots… Shoes… It would be better to outsource this…”

Judging that it was doable, I muttered to myself and roughly scribbled down the necessary things and plans on the paper.

It’s a bit different in style from the clothes I’ve been making, so there’s a little more to prepare in advance, but this is also a challenge and sincerity for the sake of style.

I can gladly accept it.

_

“I’ve come up with a new design, what do you think?”

When the first draft of the journey towards freedom and style was completed.

I wanted to share this joy with the staff faster than anyone else, so I summoned the staff to the center table after a long time. Then, with a proud smile, I unfolded the design and plan to show them.

““Hmm…””

After being quiet for a while for various reasons, I suddenly brought new clothes, so the staff looked at the results I brought first rather than asking questions, and carefully examined the drawing.

“The first impression is quite wild.”

“It also feels rough.”

“The material is… leather and denim… I don’t know what it’s for.”

“There are spurs on the boots, so isn’t it for horseback riding?”

“Hmm… Howard, sir.”

The three noble dressmakers, who had examined the results, threw out a word each and shared their opinions about the first impression. Then, they turned their heads like meerkats at the same time and called me.

“What is this outfit for?”

“It’s a riding outfit. I focused on durability and activity. The existing riding outfits are a bit uncomfortable, aren’t they?”

“Hmm… Does that mean you’re thinking of nobles as customers?”

“Yeah, what do you think? Doesn’t it look bad?”

A question asked with a bit of anticipation.

“Umm…”

“Uhmm…”

“Hmm…”

But what came back to me was a triple hum.

They frowned as if they had made an agreement and looked back and forth between me and the drawing. It was obvious that it didn’t look good, so I was instantly discouraged.

“Is it bad…?”

“First of all, if it’s for nobles, it’s going to be a complete flop. The reason why nobles’ riding clothes are uncomfortable is purely because they value luxurious designs more. They won’t pay much attention even if you push this.”

“You’re out from leather and denim. Nobles would use high-quality leather, but it’s too expensive to use roughly, and they won’t even look at denim in the first place.”

“It seems too wild, too. It has a stronger image of hunters or shepherds than nobles, so I don’t feel like reaching for it.”

“Is that so…”

I don’t want to deny the opinions of the three, but I didn’t think it was to the extent that they would nail it that it wouldn’t be popular so thoroughly.

“Isn’t it cool?”

“The coolness… I don’t think it’s felt that strongly.”

“I think commoners would enjoy it, but since commoners don’t have a chance to ride horses, how about changing the concept slightly?”

“That’s right, if you’re going to target nobles, it’s better to fold it up neatly.”

“Well… still, wouldn’t it be okay to try it once? We’ve tried quite a lot of strange things.”

“Well…”

Elizabeta, who had a lukewarm expression, shrugged with a cynical smile on her face.

“William, it’s about time you failed once or twice.”

“It’s a surplus, so it’s okay to lose money once or twice.”

“If you put up an advertisement for one prototype, it’s not even a loss, right? It’s just the price of a dress at most…”

“No, why is everyone assuming it’s going to fail? It may not be popular, but there may be some cult demand from a small minority.”

“This is too far removed from the sensibilities of our customers, isn’t it?”

“Regardless of likes or dislikes, it’s not the sensibility of nobles. I guarantee that if you push ahead without modification, it’s a lot if this sells even three sets.”

“Maybe these clothes would come out if you pick only the elements that are far from the nobility. Ah, limited to plausible clothes.”

“……”

It hurt so much because there was no room for hope.

It was at the level of nailing the coffin and exhuming the body for dissection because they were digging so thoroughly.

Even so, you don’t have to say it’s only worth three sets…

And even if there’s really no answer, you can at least give me one slightly hopeful observation.

I’m a little upset.

“I believe in the possibility of this outfit, so I’m going to push it as it is.”

“Okay, do as you please.”

“I won’t stop you.”

“Humph.”

I snorted at the three, who had a lukewarm reaction, and collected the designs and plans.

It’s like they’re one-eyed people who don’t know the coolness of this outfit. I’ll prove it with this and make them eat their words.