Memory (4)
Memory (4)
It was true that I had almost never worn a dress before.
I thought this while registering Alice's expression in one corner of my mind.
"Does it not suit me?"
So I asked directly.
I did not trust my fashion sense. That was because I did not think I had been someone who dressed very well in my past life.
Back then I did not trust my sense either, so whenever I went to a clothing store I would buy whatever the mannequin was wearing, memorize it, and wear it around. Whether it suited me or not was another matter entirely.
Still... there is a saying that a face completes any fashion. And not just the face, but the figure as well.
'Sylvia Fangriffon's appearance, even viewed through someone else's eyes, was absolutely not lacking. If anything, calling her beautiful would be the more fitting word.
So I thought that unless the outfit was truly, absurdly strange, it would suit her.
The garment I wore was a sky-blue dress.
The ornamentation was not excessive. Nor did it reveal much skin.
I thought it was a design with a suitable degree of elegance, but... well, I had no way of knowing how it looked through the eyes of Alice, who had actually grown up in the imperial family.
"Uh, ah, no. It suits you well, really."
And I lacked the ability to judge whether that voice genuinely meant that it suited me, or whether the outfit was actually painful to look at but she could not bring herself to tell me directly and had defaulted to a compliment first.
Alice could read every expression I tried my utmost to conceal.
How unfair.
But I had no intention of getting angry at Alice or venting my irritation, so I asked again calmly.
"Would it be a breach of etiquette to face Baron and Baroness Grace while wearing this?"
Well, I did not think so myself. Wearing dresses was something all nobles did, and this dress had not been particularly cheap. Just in case, I had prepared it when I enrolled but had never worn it once. Still, considering the price, it would at least not violate any 'etiquette'.
"Ah, that is—"
Alice, who had been about to say something, shut her mouth firmly.
For just an instant, I saw Alice's expression turn rigid. I did my absolute best to resist the urge to tilt my head.
If this outfit was so hideously unflattering that the very sight of it was a breach of decorum—
I could certainly imagine that as a possibility.
You know, I had no idea whether such a rule actually existed, but if someone went to a fashion show as a spectator dressed so severely, obviously badly that anyone could tell it was deliberate, that might indeed be a breach of etiquette.
Or dressing flamboyantly for a funeral, or attending a wedding while trying desperately to outshine the bride. So maybe a similar rule existed among the nobility? For instance, an invited guest must not dress more splendidly than the host of the house.
"—No."
But Alice's stiff expression melted away quickly.
And Alice answered hastily, so hastily that to my eyes she seemed almost flustered.
"Is that so?"
Because that behavior seemed oddly suspicious, I asked once more. Alice nodded her head fervently.
"Yes. It suits you. And it will not breach any decorum. If someone picks a fight over it, it will simply be because they do not like your outfit."
"......."
I briefly debated whether Alice's words were a roundabout way of saying, 'It actually looks terrible on you,' but in the end I decided to take her words at face value.
Alice was not the sort of person to lie about something like this. That much I had learned with certainty over the past ten years.
If the two of us ever had to compete, Alice would challenge me fairly and squarely. Just as she had done when we were children.
"Understood."
Seeing me nod compliantly, Alice seemed a little relieved.
*
Realizing that she had almost answered, 'That might be the case,' Alice's face turned rigid.
Since Alice's poker face was far inferior to the skill Sylvia used when she hid her own expressions, Sylvia would have been able to observe that expression plainly as well.
But Sylvia's expression betrayed no particular ripple. Only the faintest trace of curiosity surfaced.
Even so, Alice could not ask in return, 'Why are you dressed like that all of a sudden?'
The words of nobles, imperial family members, and royalty inherently carried many layers of meaning. Sylvia had lived in the imperial household for ten years and would know that fact well.
And if Alice were to say such a thing, Sylvia would be able to perceive that within the word 'sudden' lurked 'why here,' within 'that kind of outfit' lurked 'ordinary clothes,' and within 'dressed?' lurked 'who are you trying to look good for?'
And if one connected all those hidden words together, the single word contained within them could be condensed into one: 'jealousy.'
Wasn't that a little... childish?
She had never asserted it once in her whole life, but recently Alice had begun claiming that she was Sylvia's 'older sister.' It had started after Claire began calling Sylvia 'sister.'
Sylvia did not yet seem to be seriously pondering the matter, but if Alice crossed only a few more lines there, Sylvia would be able to recall the fact that Alice was jealous of Claire.
This jealousy was not a black, sticky thing. It merely, simply, contained the thoughts and feelings of an Alice who lacked honesty, regarding the questions she could not bring herself to ask Sylvia directly.
So, it was like this.
Did she resent being kidnapped by Lucas and brought to the imperial household?
Beyond the faint emotions perceptible through that expressionless mask, did a tiny sliver of resentment toward Alice actually remain?
Had she never once thought of Alice as a sister and regarded her only as a tool for ascending the imperial throne, either to create a future she desired or to avoid something else?
Were those fleeting, human emotions that surfaced now and then, in truth, nothing more than a pretense meant to deceive Alice—
"It has grown late."
Alice's trailing thoughts were cut off by Sylvia.
At Sylvia's words, Alice blinked her eyes.
Beyond that blinking gaze, Sylvia looked as composed as usual. Perhaps that incongruous sky-blue dress made her appear even more composed.
Of course, Sylvia was pretty. Most any garment would likely suit her well.
But, how could she put it.
Sylvia's shoulders were held far too stiffly. Now that she thought about it, those shoulders were always rigid whenever Sylvia wore her academy uniform.
She saw now that it was not because of the uniform but was simply how she was.
It seemed that her ordinarily excessively soldier-like bearing had hardened into a habit.
Once her thoughts reached that point, the tension drained from Alice's shoulders and they slackened. It was nearly a stroke of luck that she did not snort.
Sylvia was Sylvia.
If Sylvia's appearance seemed different, then that was simply because Alice alone was seeing Sylvia differently.
"I think it would be best if you started your preparations now."
"Before that, Sylvia."
Hearing those words, Alice rose from her seat.
Then she stepped lightly over and stood before Sylvia. This was not the casual stance she used at the academy, but the dignified posture of an imperial princess.
To someone else's eyes, doing so in her pajamas might have looked strange, but in any case the only people here were Sylvia and Alice.
Just like before.
"You have too much tension in your shoulders."
"......."
There was no reply, but Sylvia's eyes were looking at Alice. Seeing a flicker of puzzlement pass through those deep, dark pupils, Alice felt oddly reassured.
"When you wear a uniform or a formal military dress, it may be fine,"
Alice raised both hands and tapped Sylvia's shoulders lightly, just as the governess who had taught etiquette had done when Alice was young.
"But walking around in a dress with your shoulders tense makes you look far too rigid."
"Is that so?"
What came back was pure curiosity.
"You truly know nothing."
Alice sighed without realizing it. Melted and mixed into that sigh were the worries and hesitations from a moment ago. As she exhaled those thoughts, her heart grew lighter.
"Alright, then. Just wait until I wash up. I will give you a crash course on the movements you need when wearing a dress."
"...... There are dress-specific movements?"
Should I just change clothes right now?
It was also pure luck that she did not burst out laughing reading that thought, which seemed close enough to grasp.
They must have learned from the same governess, so why was there such a difference in what they had retained?
"Understood? Wait right here. We came here representing the imperial family, so we cannot afford to be embarrassed."
Alice urged her emphatically and hurried toward the shower room, then realized that in her good mood she was not holding her underwear and change of clothes and turned back.
With a slightly bashful expression, she returned to her bed, pulled clothes from the trunk beneath it, and headed for the shower room again.
...... Truly, it was a good thing she was sharing a room alone with Sylvia.