Chapter 98
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Chapter 98
After a long silence, Teresa looked away first. The oppressive aura that had been bearing down dissipated.
"You don't seem to be lying. Besides, if you understood what that technique meant, you wouldn't have taught it to Mikhail and advised him to try it on me."
"Thank you for trusting me."
"I'm not completely trusting you yet. Still...."
Teresa shrugged and placed a numbered piece of paper on top of the open page of the sample book before continuing.
"...Thanks to you, I now understand exactly how that girl should refine her sword technique. I'm grateful for that much. I'll repay this debt someday, I promise."
"No, there's really no need to...."
I laughed awkwardly and glanced at the sample book and the numbered paper that had been bothering me since earlier. I nearly choked at what I saw.
'What, what, what is that? Surely Teresa didn't choose that for herself, did she?'
"...Um, Teresa. Did you come looking for me just to say that? What brings you to the Dress Shop?"
"I wasn't looking for you specifically.... For the banquet at the Sun Festival, I've been assigned as the Saint's chaperone, so I came to have a dress fitted. I happened to see you and called you over. I was planning to meet with you after ordering the dress anyway."
Teresa frowned as if she had a headache. The Saint's chaperone? Teresa was Shay's chaperone? I asked in surprise.
"You, you became the Saint's chaperone?"
"Now that I think about it, that girl does follow you well. The Cathedral would rather entrust the chaperone role to you than to me. Why me, anyway.... Ah, I suppose you're too young to serve as a chaperone."
Teresa let out a deep sigh. I roughly grasped how the situation had come about.
A chaperone for the "Saint." They couldn't just pick anyone, and they couldn't entrust it to a priestess either, so the Changtian Knights must have selected the highest-ranking woman available. The one who ended up being chosen was Teresa von Frang Almari—a Giosa Owner and nobility from the Southern Antwar Kingdom.
"Before age, I lack the status to serve as the Saint's chaperone. I'm merely a Squire, after all."
I responded casually and rolled my eyes to check the open sample book page again. The number written on the paper: 21. The dress numbered 21 in the sample book was an adorable style with frills covering it and puffed-out shoulders.
"Um.... Teresa."
"Hmm?"
"That dress you're choosing...is it for you to wear?"
"That's right."
Teresa tilted her head and examined the paper with a serious expression. Then she asked carefully.
"...Is it not to your liking?"
I wanted to ask if she really didn't know. Setting aside whether the cute style suited her, if Teresa—who had broad shoulders—wore a dress like that with puffed shoulders and dangling frills everywhere, I could already picture the disaster. On top of that, the color was a bright daffodil yellow that absolutely would not suit her. This was even worse than what Fatima had chosen earlier.
'No. That's absolutely not it. Goodness, they're all sword-obsessed fools....'
"It's a pretty dress, but it seems a bit mismatched with your aura, Teresa."
"Then what about this one?"
Having spoken as gently as possible, I was taken aback when Teresa flipped to another page. A floral dress with frills gathered around the neckline and a large ribbon attached. The dress itself was cute and pretty. The only problem was that Teresa was the one who would be wearing it.
"That, that one is also a bit...."
When I shook my head, Teresa showed me another option. The moment I saw it, I couldn't hold back anymore.
"That absolutely won't do!"
My voice rose involuntarily. Teresa's eyes widened in surprise. I cleared my throat and lowered my voice.
"Um, Teresa. How have you dressed when attending banquets all this time?"
"I wore my uniform."
"...Don't you have a personal maid? Knights can certainly have personal maids, can't they?"
"There are servants at the dormitory, but I didn't feel the need to hire a personal maid."
"...Before coming to Agenka, you did wear dresses, didn't you?"
"I wore them when I was younger...but once I seriously took up the sword, I rarely wore them."
"Have you ever been to a social gathering? Tea parties, balls, that sort of thing?"
"I've been too busy training with a sword."
"I'm asking just in case, but you do know how to dance, don't you?"
"The male steps, at least."
It was Alice Winterbell. No, comparing her to Alice would be an insult. At the very least, Alice had attended tea parties and balls before coming to Agenka, and she'd learned the female steps for dancing.
I felt a headache coming on. Why was the Cathedral handling this so poorly? They'd sent a High Priest who knew nothing about children to Shay, and now they were assigning a female knight as a chaperone who only knew the male steps. They were all high-ranking, elite people, so it was an attempt at consideration, but it was consistently lacking in sense.
Teresa was studying me carefully while I held the back of my neck. She'd heard much about Echinacea Loaz, who wore dresses at the Military Academy. She'd seen me directly during monster subjugation and passed by me in the Knights Headquarters.
Regarding Echinacea, while some cadets remarked that she wore dresses, no one said she looked out of place. Every time Teresa saw me, I appeared radiant and beautiful.
The female knights around Teresa were all similarly weak when it came to dresses and social circles. Women had higher average mana affinity than men, but even so, to become a Changtian Knight while overcoming physical disadvantages meant one had to dedicate everything to swordsmanship—perhaps a natural result. Of course, the culture that subtly encouraged such an atmosphere played a role as well.
So ultimately, Teresa had no one nearby to consult about such matters. That's why she decided to trust my judgment.
"Cadet Echinacea, could you perhaps recommend a dress that would suit me? If you would help me, I...."
"I will. Rather, please let me."
I answered immediately. I absolutely did not want to see Teresa appearing in such a dress with Shay as her chaperone. Now that I'd said it, I became extremely anxious about how Shay's dress was coming along. During the daytime ceremony, she'd wear her sacred vestments, so that was fine, but the banquet was a ball, so she'd be wearing a dress.
'I'll check with the High Priest about this later....'
"Beyond the dress itself, I'll teach you the female steps for several dances."
"There's no need to go that far...."
"It's a ball. You're not planning to dance at all?"
"I know the male steps."
"If you dance the male steps in a dress, it won't look right. It's simple—I'm sure someone like you, Teresa, could pick it up in less than an hour."
I pulled the sample book that had been in front of Teresa toward myself and continued speaking.
"Wearing a dress and dancing doesn't make you any less of a knight. You don't need to force yourself to do something you dislike, but if you don't dislike it, there's no reason you can't dress up and enjoy yourself."
Teresa looked at me with a slightly dazed expression. Without meeting her gaze, I flipped through the sample book and selected dress samples that seemed to suit her.
"Dressing beautifully and dancing to music. I enjoy it. What about you, Teresa?"
"...I'm not sure. If I'm being honest, I don't dislike it."
"Then you should enjoy it. It's a rare opportunity. Isn't a ball meant to be enjoyed?"
I smiled slightly and pushed the numbered checklist and sample book toward Teresa. She looked at me as if seeing something unfamiliar, then smiled faintly in return.
"You're right. Since things have come to this, it might be nice to enjoy it for once."
* * *
After helping Teresa order her dress, arranging a time to teach her to dance, advising Fatima and Alice on shoes and accessories, and buying a few things for myself, the sun had already set by the time I returned.
Alice, exhausted, went to the bathroom to wash first, but I wasn't particularly tired. Having indulged in something I loved for the first time in a while, I felt only a pleasant fatigue.
[I didn't find any of it fun. You actually enjoy that sort of thing?]
"It's pretty. It's fun just to look at. Even more fun when you actually buy something."
I hummed a little tune as I organized what I'd purchased. Thinking that the dress I'd bought today would arrive in a few days after alterations made me feel even better. As I cheerfully closed and put away the jewelry box, I heard a knock.
"Cadet Echinacea Loaz of Room 101, you have a telegram."
"Ah, thank you."
The dormitory maid handed me a mana telegram and withdrew. It was from home—a reply to the telegram I'd sent a few days ago. As I casually opened the envelope and read the contents, my expression suddenly clouded over.
"Echinacea, use the bathroom.... What's wrong?"
Alice emerged with wet hair, drying it, and asked in confusion upon seeing my face. I replied, somewhat pale.
"Since the festival period is coming up, my younger brother is coming to Agenka to check on how I'm doing."
"The Agenka Sun Festival draws many visitors deliberately. I've heard that most families of cadets come around this time."
"Will Alice's family members be attending as well?"
"My older brother and father are too busy to come, but my mother said she'd attend with my younger sister."
"Oh, how wonderful! I'd love to meet Alice's younger sister!"
"I'm curious about Echinacea's younger brother too. Though, is something wrong? You don't look well."
"No, we get along fine. I'll introduce you when he arrives."
I turned away from Alice and gazed down at the telegram with a darkened expression. I reread the final message from my parents appended to the dispatch.
―We are sending a portrait of Count Bernst to Lancel. There is talk of him as a potential marriage prospect for you, so do consider it.
I had nearly forgotten. Noble ladies of my age were beginning to marry. In some cases, they became betrothed during their youth and wed immediately upon reaching adulthood. Of course, most matches were arranged by their parents.
Military cadets and female knights typically married later, but until just months ago, I was merely an ordinary noblewoman. From my parents' perspective, they could hardly have adjusted to the reality of their daughter becoming a cadet.
Besides, Count Loaz and his wife were not the sort to force marriage upon their daughter. This was simply a parent's natural duty—to inquire about suitable matches for their daughter of age. If I said I disliked this man, they would seek another. And if I said I favored someone else, they would assess whether he was worthy of taking their daughter before granting permission.
So the problem was not with my parents.
'The problem is me.'
Before the regression, Echinacea would have considered this natural and felt little resistance. But now, upon seeing that message, I was seized by profound confusion—all while using the pretext of a brief journey before marriage to come to Agenka.
Because I had realized I loved Yurien de Harden Kirie. And because he had confessed to me.
'I had decided to pretend it never happened.'
The Diasant Princess still remained at the Knights Headquarters. No betrothal had yet been announced, but it could be declared at any moment.
'Perhaps if I told Yurien I would accept him....'
After such a confession, there was no way he would become betrothed to the princess if I accepted him. No matter how entangled the political complications were. He would somehow manage any danger to Loaz. He was that sort of man.
'But I... cannot accept it.'
So in the end, Yurien would become betrothed to the Diasant Princess. My chest ached as if melting from within. I clenched my teeth.
'...If it's not him, then it matters not who.'
If it truly mattered not, perhaps it would be better to bring joy to my parents. Such a thought crossed my mind. My hand involuntarily tightened, crumpling the telegram. I folded it carelessly and shoved it into a drawer.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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