Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Outdoor Activities Among Noblewomen
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Mother's proposal would have to wait for now.
You couldn't just open a shop after making one or two outfits.
I'd only managed an Empire silhouette so far, and trying to run a boutique and make clothes based on that felt premature.
To draw customers to a new store, I needed far more distinctive designs than what was currently out there—way more than what I had now.
So I told her I'd reconsider once my portfolio was richer, then headed back to my room.
To build up more pieces, the first step was market research.
Until now, I'd made whatever caught my eye or whatever my hands itched to create, but if I was going to run a shop, sticking to that haphazard approach would spell disaster.
"Cough! Y-Young... cough! Master, I g-got... cough! it all!"
"Ah... atchoo! Th-thanks."
That was why Emily and I had come to the storeroom, digging through ten years' worth of newspapers amid fits of coughing and sneezing.
One every two weeks—twenty-six a year, two hundred and sixty over ten years.
Not an overwhelming amount.
If it had been a daily paper, I wouldn't have bothered.
"Cough!"
I hacked up dust crawling down my throat and picked up the oldest issue.
Skipping politics and diplomacy, I quickly scanned the commentaries, society pages, and economy sections.
"Not this... hmm... this one's decent."
I sorted the articles one by one, slowly piecing together the shifts in society.
As the papers piled up, one trend jumped out: stories about outdoor pursuits.
Young nobles were taking up riding, swimming, hunting, and golf in growing numbers. A few years back, His Majesty the Emperor had even officially recognized female knights joining the knight orders.
It didn't seem like a passing fad—commentaries starting with "These days' youngsters..." kept popping up to prove it.
My takeaway from ten years of articles: young ladies were getting more active outdoors.
Yet I'd never heard of any proper activewear designed for women.
Knight uniforms were just men's versions roughly hemmed down, and women who enjoyed the outdoors merely swapped for looser petticoats under billowing dresses—nothing revolutionary.
Existing clothes had all sorts of drawbacks for outdoor use, so you'd think change would have come first there. But ten long years, and nothing.
Were young ladies really ramping up outdoor activities, as the papers claimed?
The increase was real enough, but could it be exaggerated?
"Hmm..."
I replayed Hayes and my older sisters' childhoods in my mind.
Aside from me, they all enjoyed socializing, but not really outdoorsy stuff.
Mother hunted now and then, but most activities were indoor affairs like tea parties or reading circles.
"Tch..."
I clicked my tongue and folded the newspaper I'd been holding open.
Staring at more papers wouldn't yield answers.
I had a rough direction from them, so now I just needed to verify it firsthand.
I stood, brushed the dust off my rear, and glanced at Emily.
"Emily."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Finish sorting the papers, then let's head somewhere else."
"Yes, sir."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Among my family, Hayes was the only unmarried lady still at the mansion. But if I widened the lens to "young noblewomen," plenty resided here full-time.
The recent addition of my sister-in-law, her attendant Charlotte, Letisha serving Hayes, Grace attending Mother—all women under twenty.
Ask them first, then their friends' habits, and I'd have a solid sample size.
So I started with Hayes—closest to me, and Letisha would be there too.
—Knock knock
"Hey, mind if I come in?"
"Huh? Bro?"
I barged into Hayes's room.
Poking my head through the cracked door, Hayes—who'd been embroidering a handkerchief with Letisha—stared at me like, What are you doing here?
"What's up?"
"Got something to ask."
"Take long?"
"Not too long."
"Then come in."
"Thanks."
With her okay, I grinned and stepped inside, approaching the table where Hayes and Letisha sat.
"Flowers?"
Up close, the embroidery came into view.
Not quite finished, but it looked like red flowers on the handkerchief.
"Yeah, roses and tulips."
"For your beau?"
"Hehe~ Practicing for it."
"Urgh..."
Hayes blushed and beamed.
She and her lord seemed head over heels—made my eyes hurt.
Lingering on embroidery talk would just leave me feeling lonely, so I cut it short and got to the point.
"Know what hobbies young ladies are into these days?"
"Young ladies' hobbies? Nothing special—embroidery, reading, tea times, that's it."
"No riding or hunting?"
"Riding or hunting...?"
Hayes paused her needle, eyes widening, lips pursing slightly.
"Heard some do it lately, mostly from knight families..."
"How many?"
"One in ten?"
"Got it."
One in ten matched knight family numbers roughly.
Not a huge number compared to knights' hype, but not negligible either.
Hundreds of ladies in knight houses alone.
I turned slightly to Letisha.
"Heard anything, Miss Letisha?"
"M-Me?"
Startled, she set down her embroidery.
Eyes darting, she spoke with a puzzled look.
"I've... heard southern nobles enjoy sea bathing to beat the heat."
"The sea..."
The Empire's south was the only coastal region, notoriously sweltering.
Just a rumor from Letisha, but from a place where heat never quit and summer retreats mattered—hard to dismiss outright.
"What about golf for ladies?"
"No, even less convenient than riding."
"Right, riding you're on horseback so it's okay-ish, but heels and a dress trudging grass? Shoes keep slipping, mud cakes the hem... eugh..."
Hayes grimaced and shuddered, like she'd been there.
"Some in the north do it occasionally—less rain there."
"Hmm... I see."
The north was remote frontier—vast, claiming a third of the Empire's land but barely a tenth of its people.
Domains were huge chunks, nobles sparse.
Not many lady golfers, then.
"That covers it—thanks. You too, Miss Letisha."
"Wasn't a tough question."
"About clothes, right? Make something cute, show me first?"
"Yeah, you first. Heading out."
"Okay."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After Hayes and Letisha, my sister-in-law and Charlotte, then Mother and Grace, I reached one conclusion.
Young ladies were indeed out and about more.
Not just hardcore stuff like riding or swimming—outings and trips to other regions were up too.
Probably the cultural shift from our Empire's first Empress Consort.
Just a phase?
Nope—steady since enthronement, twenty years strong.
Not one or two years—twenty made it a generational tide.
Hobbies were building fanbases; likely to stick for a generation or two.
Lucky, even longer.
The old guard grumbled, but with the changed generation hitting mainstream now, it was prime time for clothing evolution.
Miss this chance? I'd be a fool.
Direction solid, demand evident—now confirm with my own eyes.
"Emily."
"Yes?"
"Let's take a short trip."
"A trip? Suddenly where to?"
"Summer's here—check the sea, do some riding."
"Ugh..."
Emily groaned like she'd seen a horror, face scrunching in annoyance.
"You'll go even if I say no, right?"
I grinned and nodded.
"Of course."
Sorry, Emily, but she had no say in this.