The Dress That Wasn't Meant for Me
“I’m really fine with it.”
I was in serious danger of ending up with a dress more expensive than the debutante gown of the Saintess, the protagonist of Debutante.
When I hastily declined, Ivetta looked visibly disappointed.
“You don’t want to accept a gift from me?”
Ivetta’s voice grew slightly watery.
“You weren’t planning to skip my debutante, were you?”
Beth also wore a gloomy expression as she asked carefully.
“That’s not what I meant…”
Of course I intended to attend Ivetta’s debutante. I had simply planned to wear something plain and unremarkable, the kind of dress that wouldn’t draw any attention.
Not something that screamed ‘Behold, a master artisan’s masterpiece.’
But I couldn’t withstand the combined gaze attack from Ivetta and Beth.
“Of course I’ll definitely attend your debutante, Ivetta! And I’d happily accept any gift from you, but this…”
“Then it’s settled! You’ll accept the dress too!”
Beth cut me off at the perfect moment.
Hey, you’re supposed to listen to the entire sentence in the Imperial language.
I felt a little wronged, but Ivetta’s eyes were already sparkling as if the matter were irreversible.
The young noble ladies serving as maids subtly egged me on as well.
“You’ll need at least one dress anyway.”
“Exactly. I heard rumors about the Saintess’s debutante have spread, and every atelier in the capital is flooded with orders from nobles. Getting a reservation won’t be easy.”
“Just try it on once. It’s so beautiful.”
“It’s just trying it on, that’s all.”
In the end, I gave in and pretended I couldn’t win against them.
Having secured my permission with the help of the young noble maids, Ivetta triumphantly summoned the owner of the atelier that had created the dress.
The atelier owner was a middle-aged woman with a slightly brusque face who looked more like a bookstore proprietor than a dressmaker.
“Could you alter this dress so that this lady can wear it?”
“Of course! It seems we only need to lengthen the hem a little. My assistant is very quick with hand-sewing. If you give me an hour, I’ll return it looking flawless.”
At the cheerful reply, Ivetta beamed brightly.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Before I knew it, it had been decided that I would wear this dress.
The young noble maids and the atelier owner were deep in discussion about how to alter the garment without spoiling its original beauty.
“Shouldn’t Lina try it on first?”
When the debate grew longer, Beth, who had been waiting quietly, jumped in.
She clearly wanted to see me in it as soon as possible.
“That’s true.”
“I think we’ll get better ideas once it’s actually being worn.”
“Now, my lady. This way, please.”
It was a six-pronged gaze attack, including the atelier owner.
It was overwhelming.
None of them looked ready to back down.
So I chose to escape.
It’s the Emperor’s money anyway.
It was entirely possible that the Emperor’s personal fortune exceeded the imperial treasury. I would bet my entire career in the Ministry of Finance on it; the odds were quite high.
At the very least, they must be on a similar scale.
In that case, a dress like this would be no more than the cost of a single handkerchief to him.
Alright.
I finished steeling myself to humbly accept this unexpected gift.
“Yes.”
When I stepped behind the screen, the junior maids waiting there skillfully helped me change.
One of the younger maids who was adjusting the dress after I had put it on let out a tiny gasp.
“Oh my.”
An older junior maid gave her a stern look.
The younger maid quickly made an excuse, as if she hadn’t meant to speak.
“It’s just… you look so beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
I answered with a bright smile.
“Are you dressed?”
Beth called from outside the screen, having apparently overheard our conversation.
“Yes.”
“Then come out quickly!”
At Beth’s urging, I stepped out from behind the screen, and the waiting crowd reacted with explosive enthusiasm.
It was as intense as when Ivetta had first emerged in her own dress.
“Ivetta has such a good eye. It suits Lina perfectly.”
“You look like a fairy from legend.”
Among them, the most passionate reaction came from the atelier owner.
The way she stared at me with glittering eyes was almost a little frightening.
“Perhaps I should add lace and embroider more along the neckline…”
The atelier owner was muttering with her eyes closed, clearly inspired by something.
Then she suddenly opened her eyes and sent her assistant on an errand.
“Run to the store right now and bring the lace from the very bottom compartment of the safe.”
In this world, all lace was handmade. That was why every atelier competed fiercely over who possessed the most beautiful, delicate, and unique lace patterns.
If they kept something like that locked in a safe, it was no exaggeration to call it this atelier’s secret weapon.
The situation was clearly growing bigger, but everyone just looked thrilled.
“It will take longer than the hour I promised, but I will create an even more beautiful dress to make up for it.”
When the atelier owner made her declaration, Ivetta clapped her hands in delight.
“Time is no problem! Just make it as pretty as possible. It may not be my money, but this is the first gift I’m giving, after all.”
“Of course.”
The atelier owner gave a short reply while looking at Ivetta, then her gaze locked onto me again.
“It already fits quite well overall, but with a few more adjustments, it will look as though it was originally made for you, my lady.”
The atelier owner stuck marking pins all over the dress to indicate where changes were needed.
I ended up covered in so many pins that I could have been mistaken for a hedgehog’s relative before I finally heard the words, “We’re done.”
She was practically making me a whole new dress.
“I’ll take it off and come back out.”
Feeling slightly exhausted, I hurried behind the screen again.
The atelier owner kept pleading with the junior maids helping me change, her face desperate, begging them to be careful so the pins wouldn’t move.
She looked ready to dress me herself if necessary.
Fortunately, I managed to remove the dress safely before that happened.
I changed back into my original clothes and returned to my chair, once again becoming a spectator.
Then, hoping the topic would stop revolving around me, I naturally urged things forward.
“I’ve caused a delay. If we want to try on all the dresses brought from the ateliers today, we should hurry.”
Ivetta looked like she wanted to shower me with compliments about how I looked in the dress rather than focus on her own clothes.
“Otherwise we might have to come back again tomorrow.”
When I quickly added that, Ivetta finally stood up.
Repeatedly taking clothes off and putting them on was no small feat. Especially with complicated garments like dresses, the fatigue was far greater.
I’m already tired after changing into just one dress.
Ivetta, who had tried on far more dresses than I had, probably didn’t want to drag this shopping trip out until tomorrow.
“We still have seven places left, Saintess!”
Lady Regia told her the number of remaining ateliers as if to cheer her on.
That meant fourteen more dresses to try on.
It was no small number, but Ivetta was full of energy.
The atelier owner left, saying she would return once the dress was altered, and people from the next atelier came in.
After repeating the process six more times and enduring another long discussion, Ivetta’s debutante dress selection finally came to an end.
The dress that was supposed to take a little longer than an hour still wasn’t finished by then.
When I returned to my room and was resting while waiting for Everett, I heard a knock at the door.
“You may come in.”
The visitors were the atelier owner and a junior maid who had come to guide her.
“The alterations were just finished. I wanted to show it to you as soon as possible—I mean, I wanted you to see it right away.”
The dress the atelier owner had brought on a torso mannequin had changed dramatically in that short time.
The hem had been lengthened with lace woven from platinum thread, and small amethysts—matching the color of my eyes—had been densely added as decoration.
She must have worked on the dress nonstop ever since leaving the small salon; the atelier owner’s eyes were bloodshot.
The passion of someone who had reached the pinnacle of their field could sometimes burn far too hot.
The thought that I could have just tried it on tomorrow morning crossed my mind for a moment, but I didn’t say it aloud.
I might as well try it on quickly.
I glanced toward the drawing room connected to the terrace.
When I came out after putting it on with the junior maid’s help, the atelier owner’s eyes grew misty.
“It’s exactly as I pictured it in my head.”
Her voice trembled toward the end.
Just then, a sound came from the drawing room.
It was the soft noise of a small stone hitting the wall and falling.
It’s Ed.