Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: I Became a Clothing Designer in Another World
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"Did I say something wrong?"
"This damn... Ha, haha..."
I barely suppressed a curse that nearly slipped out at Viscount Torington's nonsense, only for a laugh to bubble up from sheer absurdity.
"Haa..."
A sharp pain tugged at the back of my neck.
I'd thought he was the quiet, taciturn type since he'd stayed silent until now, but no—he was just plain crazy.
"......"
"Y-Young master, I'm fine, so please calm down, okay?"
Emily must have sensed the ominous vibe as I glared murderously at Viscount Torington while fiddling with my gloves. She hurriedly wrapped her arm around mine to hold me back.
I held off for Emily's sake, glancing at her face.
Besides, hierarchy was hierarchy.
Getting angry at a noble's rude remark to a commoner would just make me look like the weirdo.
"...I can take any criticism aimed at me, but please stop slandering my maid without basis. Emily was rigorously vetted and selected by the Count Hume household."
That said, I couldn't just let it slide.
"Then what do you call shoving your chest out and acting all coquettish like that, if not whore behavior?"
"Grind..."
The grinding of my molars pierced my ears sharply.
I knew it was a ploy to provoke me into something rash, but having Emily and our house insulted together made it hard to hold back.
Emily, whom I treated like family, a slutty whore? And us, deranged perverts who doted on such a whore?
"Ha-"
I let out a heavy sigh and slipped my left fingers into the gap of my right glove.
The moment I pulled it off, ready to hurl it at the man before me—
"That's a very interesting opinion. So the Imperial Knights are idiots who let whores into the Imperial Palace? I heard that right."
"...Elizabeth?"
Princess Elizabeth's voice cut between us.
She wasn't due to appear yet, so I blinked rapidly in surprise and turned my head to spot the princess.
"Sorry, wrong. Elizabeth's not here yet."
A woman with a playful air—similar only in lacking the princess's golden hair and eyes—stood with arms crossed, grinning at us.
...Your Highness the Archduchess?
Why are you here?
I hadn't heard the Archduchess had entered.
"...We greet the Empire's Morning Star, Her Highness Archduchess Alexandrine!"
"H-Her Highness the Archduchess!"
Whatever she was, the woman before me was the Archduchess, so I immediately bowed deeply in greeting.
Emily reacted a bit slower in her fluster but bowed right after me once I did.
"Yes, you may raise your heads."
"Thank you."
"By the way, you look so young, yet where'd you learn such stuffy etiquette? Calling me the Morning Star is embarrassing even for me."
"......"
Anyone could see she was the child of Her Majesty the Empress and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.
That knack for blunt, exhausting questions that were impossible to answer properly was pure genetics.
"Ahaha..."
"Next time, keep it short like the young lady beside you."
"Understood."
As I awkwardly smiled and rubbed my nape, unsure how to respond, the Archduchess pointed at Emily—echoing the Empress's style—then lightly patted my shoulder.
She turned, placing her hands lightly on her hips as she scanned the room, then spoke with an innocent expression.
"So, why are all these other people so stiff-necked?"
"!"
Her casual remark about stiff necks made everyone jolt as if electrocuted.
"We greet Her Highness the Archduchess!"
"...We greet Her Highness the Archduchess."
Heads bowed in unison, filling the hall with greetings.
The Devonshire Duke's household looked reluctant, bowing a beat late, but it hardly mattered.
"Wow..."
The Archduchess, head held high amid the bowed crowd, slowly surveyed the surroundings.
Was this the majesty of the Emperor's eldest daughter, wielder of imperial authority?
Coolness radiated from her like an explosion.
"Everyone, you may raise your heads."
Confirming not a single head unbowed, she waved lightly, granting permission.
They snapped up in perfect unison, like soldiers at drill, eyes fixed on the Archduchess.
"So, Duke Cavendish? Or should I say... Marquess?"
"Please call me Marquess."
"Do you have anything to say about that nonsense your grandson spouted?"
"......"
The Archduchess narrowed her eyes behind a maintained smile, her menacing aura demanding answers for Viscount Torington's blunder.
The three clamped their mouths shut, unlike when they'd hounded me.
Quite satisfying.
"...It was a slip of the tongue."
"Thought so~? The knights guarding the palace can't be that pathetic, right?"
"Yes, exactly."
As silence dragged, the reluctant marquess bit his lip and admitted fault. The Archduchess's aura softened instantly, lightening the heavy air.
For a moment, I glimpsed the Emperor and Empress in her—chills ran down my spine.
"By the way, Marquess."
"Yes."
"Why come to the eve banquet? Not even fitting for the youngest Baron Bolton... What business does a man with great-grandchildren have at a playground for youths?"
"Well, these days the young ones are so lax, I thought to give some guidance..."
"Is the trend now to insult innocent young ladies as whores under the guise of guidance? I'm not up on outside affairs, mind you."
"......"
"Marquess, cat got your tongue? Or shall Viscount Torington speak? Wasn't it your own words?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Why do something you'll apologize for? In the Imperial Palace, no less. With His Imperial Majesty watching quietly lately, you think we're a joke?"
"......"
"Ugh~ Look at them clamming up when cornered. Not even children..."
The Archduchess thumped her chest in exasperation at the trio opting for silence over blunders, then turned her back on the Devonshire household.
"I came down personally to leave some boring lecture for the innocent youths and ladies on this joyous night, grab a drink... but instead, I get to watch ugly old fools. Can't tell if this is the palace or a marketplace."
She muttered a faint lament just audible to Emily and me, then glanced back like a judge pronouncing sentence.
"I'll report this to His Imperial Majesty, so be aware."
"Yes..."
My gut unclenched with relief.
This was absolute power?
This was imperial authority?
For a split second, I nearly revoked my support for the imperial family and pledged myself to them instead.
No wonder imperial fanaticism was dangerous.
"A minor disturbance, but now back to what I planned. Ahem! Hm!"
Quietly watching the Devonshire trio slink to a corner, tails between legs, the Archduchess muttered to herself, cleared her throat lightly, straightened her slightly lax posture, and gazed ahead with regal poise.
"First, allow me to thank you all for attending the eve of the 782nd Founding Day. The Empire endures thanks to your dedication and efforts, and with you to uphold it, we dream of a brilliant future. Truly an honor."
She paused briefly to catch her breath, then continued with a gentle smile.
"Normally, I'd declare the eve banquet open and step down quietly, but tonight there's one thing first.
As some know, I have a younger sister two years my junior. For various reasons, she's stayed out of public view, but tonight she makes her debut into society here.
" Lights in the banquet hall dimmed one by one, save the stairs to the upper level. The Archduchess turned slightly toward it.
"So, please give a warm welcome to Her Imperial Majesty Empress Frederica's second daughter and my sister, the Empire's second Imperial Princess, entering the banquet hall."
"...Victoria Elizabeth Charlotte Isabella, the Second Imperial Princess, enters!"
Almost immediately after the Archduchess finished, a palace attendant's booming voice echoed through the hall. Simultaneously, someone appeared on this floor.
"U-Uwaa... Y-Young master, th-that person up there..."
"Yeah..."
That all-too-familiar hair, that all-too-familiar dress.
Emily clutched my arm tightly, murmuring in a trembling voice as she pointed upstairs.
Only her profile showed yet, face not fully visible, but hair and dress alone told us who this woman slowly descending was.
She walked toward the stairs under everyone's gaze, finally rounding the corner to face the hall directly.
Princess Elizabeth paused, scanning below with haughty grace. Her eyes darted busily, locked on one spot, and a faint smile curved her lips as she descended slowly.
Beautiful golden hair shimmered and swayed with each step, her clear, vivid golden eyes fixed unblinkingly on me.
No ornate decorations, but the pure white dress's embroidery and long fur stole evoked elegant antiquity.
Up to here, just a pretty noble lady in a pretty dress.
But as an imperial princess, with lighting perfectly controlled, it amplified the mystique, drawing out the gown's allure to 110%.
"Waa..."
"Ah..."
Everyone gawked at Princess Elizabeth, sighing in admiration without exception.
"Uwaa...!"
"Ha..."
Emily and I were no exceptions among them.
Aside from her family, no one was more familiar with Princess Elizabeth than us.
Even so.
The princess before us now was incomparably the most beautiful woman in the world—no exaggeration.