Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Captain's Custom Order
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“I hadn’t heard any news since your release, so I’d set aside my expectations, but you’ve finished it at just the right moment.”
“It was possible thanks to getting out a little early.”
“That’s fortunate indeed.”
After letting the captain know that I’d finished the new ears and everything else, he came rushing to the Atelier bright and early the next morning.
“Then, I can take it right away?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to hear an explanation about the clothes first?”
“Hmmm... Very well.”
“I’ll guide you to the lounge right away. Emily, could you bring the clothes from the worktable?”
“Yes.”
I led the captain—who seemed eager to grab the clothes and run straight off—to the lounge to calm him down.
I seated him in the place of honor and served him the tea I’d prepared in advance. Emily quietly entered the lounge, placed the requested clothes on the table, and retreated to the corner.
“Ho... Even at a glance, the finish looks impeccable. You really made this in just four days, despite having other things to do?”
“It was leisurely compared to when you were protecting me during the busy season.”
“Even so, it’s an astonishing speed to my eyes.”
“Thank you.”
Praise always feels good, so I smiled and bowed my head.
“Do you need an explanation of the maid uniforms or butler suits? They’re the same as usual, except for the tail hole on the hips.”
“In that case, no. An explanation of just the ears and tail will suffice.”
“Understood.”
I showed the captain the position of the tail hole and set the maid uniform and butler suit aside.
Then I lifted the drawers and garter belt with the tail attached, orienting them so the tail faced him.
“These are the undergarments. This one’s for men, this for women. They’re identical to regular drawers and garter belts aside from the tail. The tail comes out through the hole in pants or dresses.”
“Ho...”
The captain fixed his gaze on the tail, murmuring in vague admiration as he brought a hand to his lips.
“May I touch it once?”
“Of course.”
I handed him the garter belt.
The captain took it with the utmost care, as if lifting a newborn babe, his eyes sparkling as he examined the tail from every angle.
“Heavens... I expected something like a belt with a tail attached to the waist, but this is far more sophisticated than I imagined.”
“With several beastkin working at the Atelier, I had plenty of chances to hear their stories.”
“Ah, I see.”
One of the Atelier’s employees was even a catfolk.
Having referenced that, it’d be a crime if the details weren’t spot-on.
I watched the captain nod as if struck by sudden realization, then set the drawers back in the basket and brought out the headbands with ears, placing them on the table.
“These are cat ear headbands. The ones to match the butler suits have no frills, while the ones for maid uniforms do. Unlike the tail, the ears don’t move freely, but I’ve made them able to rotate about thirty degrees.”
I’d wanted to add a full 180-degree swivel, but it looked awkward aesthetically, so I scrapped it.
Since the base rotated with them, it made the ears feel too disconnected.
“You really made these in four days? No matter how I think about it, there wasn’t enough time.”
“It’s not as hard as it looks.”
“It’s enough to shatter my sense of common sense...”
The captain frowned at the bridge of his nose, staring at the headband in disbelief.
I could understand his reaction; it was the kind of schedule that’d be impossible without Adelaide.
“Hmm? Sir William, why are there three headbands? I remember requesting only two...”
“Ah, that’s because the frill position changes the meaning, so I made an extra one.”
“The meaning changes?”
The captain’s head tilted slightly to the right.
He’d probably never heard of such a thing before.
It was a meaning Elizabeth and I had come up with just yesterday, after all.
Beastkin were rarely employed as maids in the first place, since they weren’t always suited to the work compared to humans.
Mari’s paws made fine tasks difficult.
Adelaide’s large build made human-sized furniture and homes uncomfortable.
An elf might even be someone served by my great-grandfather’s generation, which would carry no small burden.
There was no reason for beastkin maid attire to have any special meanings or rules.
But put another way, that meant I could define the rules myself.
If none existed, why not set the standard myself?
Elizabeth’s letter yesterday had truly moved me.
Defining the relationship with one’s maid through frill placement—what romance!
Right?
Well, whatever.
If it pleased me, that was enough.
“Heh heh...”
I flashed a confident smile, picked up the cat ear headband with frills, and showed it to the captain.
“Maids are basically expected to hide their emotions and have their attire and roles restricted by their employers.”
“Indeed.”
Even ladies-in-waiting dressed more plainly than their mistresses, in slightly outdated fashions out of courtesy. For commoner maids or butlers, the restrictions were even stricter.
Fabric colors were limited, accessories required explicit permission, and some households didn’t even allow low-ranking maids to appear in public.
“Beastkin with ears that stick up like this use them to express emotions.”
“Ah, that’s a key element in beastkin interrogation techniques. Their tails and ears are hard to conceal, making emotions easy to read.”
The captain helpfully chimed in at just the right moment.
It saved me a lengthy explanation.
“Exactly. For a maid, the inability to easily hide emotions is a flaw. So whether a beastkin maid shows her ears or not serves as a symbol of the relationship between employer and servant.”
“A symbol?”
“It means the maid whose ears are allowed to show has proven her worth to her master.”
A maid who wouldn’t err even without tools.
Or one whose true feelings could be bared without issue.
Either way, it required deep trust from the employer.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason to grant such leeway in expression control.
Who’d hire a maid who couldn’t manage her face in front of her employer?
“It’s rather complicated. Does it really hold that much meaning?”
“Haha, honestly, no. It’s just one detailed flourish. Nothing more than a way to show how close and trusting the maid is with her employer. So feel free to have them wear whichever suits your fancy, Captain.”
“......”
At my Atelier’s miracle of an interpretation, the captain’s lips parted slightly as he stared at me in a daze.
He probably felt like he was talking to a snake oil salesman, but these things mattered more in the dreaming than the dream itself.
A frill’s meaning could flip entirely depending on perspective.
I saw it as a tool to hide expressions, but others might see it as ‘I know you so well, ears or no ears.’
The same cover, opposite implications.
If it seems forced, think of thumbs-up: praise in one culture, insult in another.
It’s like that.
“Heh heh...”
As I pondered these idle thoughts while awaiting his reaction, he let out a delayed chuckle and leaned back against his chair two beats later.
With a complex, subtle expression, he said to me,
“How can everything be so perverse? It seems you need to be locked up again, Sir.”
“Uh...”
My mind reeled in confusion.
What had I done wrong?
This wasn’t even that lewd, honestly?
I’d just detailed how catfolk maids worked. That’s all.
What was the problem?
“Hahaha! I’m just joking, Sir. If I had you arrested, I’d be hauled in too for commissioning it. You think I’m mad enough to do that?”
“Haa... When someone like you makes jokes like that, anyone would react this way...”
Tension that had spiked suddenly drained away at the sight of the captain clutching his belly in hearty laughter, leaving me utterly spent.
He was human too, and it had only been four days since I’d been jailed for an absurd reason—it hadn’t felt like a joke at all.
“I thought we’d gotten somewhat friendly, but I suppose there’s still a ways to go. I can’t stop with jokes like this until we’re closer.”
“Heh heh...”
I gave an awkward laugh and gently set down the headband.
The captain was sneakily wicked, unexpectedly.
“Any questions up to this point?”
“None.”
“In that case, just pay up, and you can take it right away.”
“Mm... Here.”
Without the slightest hesitation, the captain proffered a pouch full of coin.
A plump pouch, generous compared to the material costs for a custom order.
I took it with both hands and checked the contents: gold and silver coins gleaming brilliantly.
“...Yes, confirmed. Thank you for trusting me with the commission.”
“Nonsense. I’m the grateful one for making it so well.”
With the payment and clothes exchanged, we rose from our seats, extended hands, and shook with smiles.
Locking eyes with the remarkably cool captain—who asked far fewer nitpicky questions than other nobles—I hoped he’d patronize us more often in the future.