Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Headband Dilemma
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A day had passed. After cutting the fabric to fit the section chief couple's measurements, I handed it over to Adelaide.
In the remaining time, I fiddled with the cat ear headbands and frills, combining them into frilly cat ear headbands while waiting for the maid and butler uniforms to be completed.
"Um, Sir William?"
As I was attaching frills to a cat ear headband and decorating it, Mari—who had been sneaking glances at me and gauging my mood for a while—approached hesitantly and spoke up cautiously.
"There's something I've been really curious about. May I ask?"
"Huh?"
I was so startled by Mari's follow-up that I nearly dropped the headband in my hand.
A staff member approaching me first to ask a question?
Unlike the three nobles who spoke their minds freely, the commoner staff rarely said anything first, even if they glared sharply. For one to come up and actually ask a question?
"Sure, sure, go ahead and say whatever it is. What's up?"
"You seem to put so much care into the tails, so why do you make the ears so casually?"
"...?"
I blinked rapidly in a daze, wondering if I'd misheard.
Was that a question?
Or an attack disguised as one?
With her innocent expression and her tail swishing softly, it seemed like a genuine, thoughtless question. But it still scratched at me deeply.
I did put a lot of effort into the tails, but that didn't mean I'd skimped on the ears...
"Wh-what do you mean by that?"
I forced a smile even as my eyelids twitched and asked again.
Her tone might have sounded aggressive, but our staff wouldn't say something like that without reason.
At least, based on everything I'd seen so far.
"That headband. Why is the frill right in front of the cat ears?"
"Because it's more comfortable to wear that way. A cap gets in the way of the ears, and if you put it behind, it slips off easily."
"But from our perspective, it's uncomfortable too. The frill blocks the front of our ears, so sounds are muffled, and it covers our ears, limiting how we express our emotions."
"Huh?"
As she spoke with her tail perked up straight, I stared at the back of Mari's visible ear and felt like I'd just downed a bowl of red pill—like a massive shock hit me.
Primates and humans have almost no muscles for moving their ears, so I wasn't sure, but most mammals move their ears quite expressively.
Even the common cats we see can rotate theirs 180 degrees, and they can point left and right ears in different directions.
Plus, they express emotions through the shape and angle of their ear flaps.
This trait carries over to beastkin races. Excluding rare exceptions, those with ear flaps can move them very flexibly.
So, for beastkin with ears on their heads, how should headbands be designed?
Flat ones for tidying hair don't need much thought.
But ones that cover a wide area of the head like headpieces, or tall ones like frilled headbands, get in the way of the ears.
"What do cat beastkin usually prefer for head ornaments?"
"We don't use them. If we do occasionally, we choose ones that don't cover or get in the way of our ears."
It was reasonable, but not the answer I wanted.
Leaving a maid's head bare was as horrific as a heretic's creed. We'd already compromised on the skirt's fullness, and now headbands too? Plain ones? No way.
I absolutely couldn't accept that.
But Mari's point wasn't unreasonable either.
In fact, my preference-based opinion was the weaker one.
"Everyone, stop what you're doing and gather in the center!"
I called the staff to the central table.
Because the little kid in my heart was about to throw a tantrum, refusing to back down easily.
"Emily, lend me your headband for a sec. Mari, stand here next to me for a moment."
"Yes."
"Okaay~"
As the puzzled staff gathered one by one, I took the headband from Emily, positioned Mari beside me, and waited for everyone to sit at the central table.
"What's this all of a sudden?"
"We have Mari and a headband here."
"Yes."
As soon as Prince Herbert, who sat last after everyone settled, spoke up, I placed the headband directly in front of Mari's ears.
"Like this."
I let the staff see it for about five seconds, then moved the headband behind her ears.
"Which of these looks better?"
"Nyaa?!"
Mari let out a cat-like cry and flattened her ears sideways in panic at my sudden question, with no explanation and just the headband plopped on.
I gritted my teeth, ignored her wide dilated pupils staring at me, and waited for the staff's opinions.
"The front one's prettier, but why ask so suddenly?"
"Agreed. What's the reason for the question?"
"Tch..."
The quick-witted staff foiled my attempt to sneak it through.
"I'll explain!"
Mari perked her ears up and thumped her chest confidently.
"Cat beastkin don't like headbands that bother our ears. If the frill stands tall like this, it's uncomfortable in every way, so we don't wear them, or if we do, we put them behind where they won't bother, or even far back."
"Hmm..."
"But Sir William's headband has the frill right in front of the cat ears. So I said a cat beastkin maid probably wouldn't wear it like that. But Sir William seems to prefer it in front."
"I see~"
The staff nodded at Mari's explanation, exchanging glances.
With the boss and a beastkin clashing, no one wanted to speak up rashly.
"...Mari, how uncomfortable is it if something like a frill covers your ears?"
Judging it hard to give opinions right now, Prince Herbert cautiously raised his hand and asked.
"It tickles, and my ears feel stuffy... I can tolerate it, but it's annoying once you notice."
"Then, Sir William, is the headband absolutely necessary? With ears already there, do we really need to add it...?"
"Right, it might be fine without."
"No, aprons and headbands are non-negotiable. Why do you think I make Emily wear hers even outside? For a maid, missing those two is like worship without scripture or a church without a cross."
"Hmm..."
Wrinkle lines deepened on the staff's foreheads.
Murmurs of uncertainty filled the workshop, and silence stretched on.
"...If the headband is essential, I agree with Sir William. For actual maids, practicality matters more, but since this is for nobles disguised as maids, we should prioritize aesthetics."
Prince Herbert, rubbing the desk with his finger while looking troubled, spoke first.
Princess Fanny immediately frowned and countered.
"But, young master, this isn't just any maid—it's a cat beastkin maid. Shouldn't we consider Mari's opinion more?"
"I want to side with Mari too. Being uncomfortable isn't a pleasant experience."
"Th-that... if that's the reason, I, I like what Mari sis says too..."
Princess Fanny's logic-based argument, Adelaide's words while glancing wistfully at her once-injured fourth leg, and Ellen chiming in shifted the balance decisively toward Mari.
"Ugh..."
These tai chi masters... If it were just Fanny or Adelaide separately, maybe, but together, blending reason and emotion perfectly, neither side could be refuted easily.
"But it's not real ears, so what's the big deal?"
"If it's just for a short time, wouldn't the prettier option be better, even if uncomfortable? It's for a ball."
As I racked my brain, Prince Herbert—cutting through with pure logic—and Caterina, who just liked pretty things, joined in.
"Exactly. It's a ball, so beauty wins. Front it is, discomfort or not."
"Is the tail hole for beauty too?"
Seizing the moment, I piled on, but my past deeds tripped me up.
"...But frilled headbands are more aesthetic than functional, so front should be fine, right?"
"Well... yeah."
My thoughts stalled, words nearly catching, but I powered through somehow.
One slip, and I'd have been shut down without a chance to argue.
"Hmm..."
The debate hit a lull.
We hadn't talked long, but based on experience, no one seemed willing to budge.
Their expressions screamed lack of conviction.
"What now?"
"Hm... Walter, what do you think?"
"M-me? Um... I like the pretty one..."
"Grr... It's a tie then."
If numbers were uneven, majority rule. But a perfect tie.
I briefly considered calling a servant or Sir Benian upstairs for input, but decided against it—non-staff, non-customer meddling would just heat things up.
"Alright, I've heard everyone's thoughts. I'll mull it over more and get outside opinions too. Thanks for your time—back to work."
"Yes."
"Sir William, please make the right choice!"
I tabled the decision and sent the staff back.
Talking among ourselves would just waste time with no result. I'd supplement with the key client's view and absent staff opinions before deciding.
I could make both and let them choose, but dragging it out felt off, and ending vaguely left a bad taste—like lacking a firm atelier stance.
So even if I lost, I wanted to firmly pick mine or Mari's.
"......"
Usually, I'd happily defer to clients, but Mari's "Why make it so casually?" had gotten under my skin. Not that I wanted closure out of pettiness.
Absolutely not.