Chapter 236
Chapter 236
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Cosmic Dress Dilemma
"Just what are you staring at the same sketch for days on end?"
Having stirred up the work myself and returned, I'd spent days agonizing over how to arrange the jewels and silver thread to maximize the beauty. Unable to stand it any longer, Elizabeth rested her chin on my shoulder and leaned in subtly, her tone laced with a hint of irritation.
"It's the details?"
"Details? It just looks like foolishness to me."
"Well... it might seem that way, but the placement of the jewels is more important than you think."
"Sure, but..."
How to place the jewels—of course, the shapes themselves weren't my role.
That was for the dress artisans to figure out. What I needed to worry about was the density of the embellishments.
Where to concentrate more jewels, where to weave in more silver thread to make it sparkle beautifully—that was the dilemma.
If it were just fabric, I could make it and see. But with jewels and silver thread as materials, I had to start with the mindset that failure was not an option.
What if revisions were needed?
I'd have to pry off each jewel one by one and recover the silver thread without damaging it as much as possible. Do that, and the artisans might just kill the fool who ordered the changes.
"So, what's the difference between these two? They look the same to me."
"Whether to concentrate the jewels around the hem, or spread them evenly from the legs up to the veil's edge—that's the difference."
"And you have a reason to agonize over that?"
"I'm thinking of expressing a comet and the Milky Way."
I hated science, but if there was one field I liked, it was astronomy.
It's just so beautiful.
And among them, the two most beautiful were comets and the Milky Way.
Gazing at that procession of stars stretching across the darkness stirred emotions in me I couldn't quite name.
The problem was how rare these sights were.
The Milky Way only barely showed itself on clear nights without moonlight in specific seasons, and comets only came around the planet occasionally, making their beauty hard to appreciate.
They were the kind that rewarded only those who craned their necks skyward every day.
That's why everything felt like such a dilemma.
"If I cluster the jewels at the hem, it looks like a comet trailing stardust as it advances. Spread them evenly, and it feels like strolling across the Milky Way."
"Oh... yeah, now that you put it that way, it does."
Only after hearing my explanation did Elizabeth nod, rubbing her head against my shoulder as she narrowed her eyes slightly and focused on the sketch.
"...Both are pretty? Showing both would just leave them happily torn, so why agonize?"
"Of course. I'm definitely planning to show both."
"Then why the endless worrying?"
"What if I'm missing something? What if there's something even prettier, and I'm just fixated on my tastes?"
"Then why not ask around instead of suffering alone?"
I shrugged the shoulder not occupied by her chin and tapped my head lightly.
"For something like this, I need to wring my brain to its limits first before asking."
"...?"
Only after pushing my mind so fiercely that no preconceptions remain can I absorb others' opinions purely, without bias.
That's how new perspectives finally open up.
Maybe others were different, but that's how it was for me.
So I always suffered alone before asking.
"So, what do you think?"
Feeling like five days of brain-wrangling was enough, I tossed the question to Elizabeth, who stared at me as if I were incomprehensible.
"One thing I'm curious about—if sparkle is key, why not use glitter? It'd be easier to revise later, too."
Having scrutinized the sketch, Elizabeth glanced at me and added casually.
"Glitter?"
Glitter—friendly term for sparkles.
Sequins, treated similarly, were shiny bits the size of fingernails, while glitter was powder or rice-grain sized.
In modern times, it was plastic mixed with minerals; in the past, stone powder, glass dust, or even insect shells.
Uses were mixing into dyes or cosmetics—much the same as modern days.
"No way."
But using it elsewhere didn't mean it was fine for clothes.
Just because flour was edible didn't mean sprinkling it on outfits. Glitter on clothes needed serious consideration.
Large shiny bits like sequins had adorned clothes since ancient times, past and present.
Call them sequins, but think of them as finely polished jewels and gold pieces decorating garments.
Everyone did that much.
But powder? That's different.
First issue: adhesion.
Without modern adhesives, fixing powder to fabric was tough.
Even modern glittery clothes shed complaints; without proper fixing, it'd be a walking dust storm.
Second: the materials themselves.
Stone powder showed color too obviously.
Sprinkling multicolored stone dust on a pure white dress to hide it was tricky.
Mess up, and it looked like dust on the dress.
Metal powder? It darkened a lot when powdered.
Might look like black dust—iffy.
Glass? Could ruin fabric or injure people.
Of course, carefully grinding them could make them safe and pretty-colored.
But that effort? Better to cut thousands of diamonds or quartz...
"Absolutely not for clothes."
"Uh, yeah, okay..."
I repeated it twice in all seriousness, and Elizabeth blinked wide-eyed, lips twitching in slight panic.
"What? It seemed fine to me."
"Really? What about concentrating jewels on the upper body?"
"It'd obscure the face. Fine if you want a strong first impression on entrance, but constant sparkle throughout might tire the eyes."
"Exactly, right?"
Yeah, no heavy jewels on the upper body.
Both the Crown Princess Her Highness and Elizabeth had fine looks—drawing eyes to the dress would be a loss.
Plus, the Crown Princess had a figure that didn't overly emphasize the chest in clothes, so balancing face and upper body was best.
"Which do you prefer?"
"Me...?"
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, her lips pouting.
"Both are meh."
"Why?"
"I'd rather do the wedding dress in black than white."
"Black's unusual?"
There was no rule against black.
But it evoked funerals—not popular.
Better red or blue.
"I want to hide my figure a bit. Don't want to look vulgar at the wedding."
"Hmm..."
A somewhat pitiful reason.
Was Hayes worrying about the same?
I'd have to think seriously about that sometime.
"Wait a sec."
Pondering Elizabeth's issue, an uncomfortable truth hit me.
"If both are meh from your view, isn't that a failure?"
If Elizabeth disliked them, it was an emergency.
She had good eyes, and her perspective matched the Emperor His Majesty's closest in the Empire.
"The Emperor His Majesty and Crown Princess Her Highness wouldn't mind, right?"
"Probably not."
"Really? You said they'd be meh on you."
"For me, it's the color. Mother won't care about color."
"But she opposes anything not flashy enough—could white be meh too?"
Elizabeth shook her head with a grin.
"Mother would love it even if I went out as a bunny girl—or naked. 'An emperor with nothing to hide from the people,' she'd say."
"Then why all this...?"
"As emperor, she wants to build the heir's dignity. Mother went through a lot early on."
"Oh..."
I kept forgetting her competence amid all the teasing.
She rose through civil war, and nobles acknowledged her as emperor despite impulses—because of ability.
"If you stud it with jewels like you think, Mother will pass without a word."
"Good to know."
Then no problem.
For the Crown Princess, the silhouette was modest, looking like a pure white dress at a glance—I'd done plenty.
If I'd gone this far, convincing others was their job, right?
"All set, then. This is what I'll show."
I rolled up the paper and dropped it into the basket under the workbench.
Then I cupped Elizabeth's chin, gently lifting her head from my shoulder.
"Time for me to go."
"Where?"
"To report. Her Highness the Princess is urging when the results will be ready."
"Didn't you finish this two days ago?"
"Yeah."
Elizabeth stared at me blankly.
"...Are you insane? You spent days more agonizing over the same sketch while Aunt is rushing you?"
"Call it artisan spirit."
Elizabeth shook her head in exasperation, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Take me with you to Aunt's... I'm suddenly anxious."
"Sure? Works for me."
I'd felt uneasy going alone—perfect.
Having Elizabeth there would ease my nerves.
"Sigh..."
Elizabeth eyed my beaming grin with half-lidded suspicion, letting out a deep sigh.
She looked exasperated, but what could she do?
Falling for a guy like this was her mistake.