Chapter 22: Wanting to Become a Beautiful Girl
Putting on the simplest white shirt, adjusting the tidy lace, although the collar was tightly fastened, the snug white still accentuated the curves of her figure without concealment.
She tied her pink hair into a high ponytail, neatly tying it with a black satin ribbon, securing the loose strands at the back with a small wire hairpin and hiding the wire underneath her hair.
Her usual dress was replaced with form-fitting trousers, the long legs complemented that round and delicate figure. She wore a pair of flat leather shoes, the toes making a soft clack against the floor, fitting her feet quite well.
In this outfit, Evelia had a kind of masculine formal feel, but upon closer inspection, the subtle patterns were still feminine in style.
Evelia wore this outfit simply because she wanted to go out.
As for why she dressed this way—she was originally a man.
Though she had adapted to the feeling of wearing maid skirts, triangle underwear, and white stockings, during her free time, she still chose a more comfortable outfit.
Just like Alman, who could eat anything but preferred what he liked, Evelia could wear anything but preferred what she liked.
Evelia was originally an assassin, so she had always covered her true appearance with a black cloak when going out. In the current world, that kind of disguise wasn’t uncommon; she could easily pretend to be a wandering mercenary, after all, such groups always had some mysterious characters.
But now, there was no need to be so mysterious.
She was no longer the nameless “Scarlet Crow,” but Evelia Kroyer, a maid with a legitimate identity, and she could say she had turned over a new leaf, no longer needing to be wary of her past self.
Even if this identity could only last for a moment, Evelia was enjoying the feeling of standing in the sunlight.
After gathering her last few coins, Evelia walked out of the manor; each servant had their own time off, and Evelia was no exception.
Although Alman had left a team of knights at the manor, his actual workplace was at the Royal Knight Order.
When Alman stayed at the manor, Evelia served him; when Alman went to the knight order, Evelia could enjoy some free time, easily applying to the old butler for a short break, with the condition that she could return anytime that day.
Evelia’s outing today wasn’t for a mission nor did she receive any instructions; she simply wanted to buy some clothes.
Initially, Evelia thought that she wouldn’t need to prepare much when going to be with Alman, so she just casually chose a few ordinary dresses as her everyday wear. She believed that someone like Alman could be easily won over without much effort, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be quite difficult to deal with.
Over this time, Evelia had gained a preliminary understanding of Alman. He was the kind of man who seemed very warm yet always maintained a certain distance. Although he always smiled at her, Evelia could still clearly feel his vigilance.
This was the alertness of a hunter, a resonance among hunters.
Sometimes Evelia even felt that she and Alman were cut from the same cloth, but his demeanor was highly deceptive, leaving Evelia hesitant to draw conclusions.
—In any case, she needed to buy some new clothes.
Evelia was out to purchase something to embellish herself.
“When he saw her walk out of the fitting room in that light pink dress, he was momentarily taken aback, as if he caught a whiff of peach blossoms.
Just like the day they first met, that expanse of pink petals had slightly knocked at his heart.
The girl’s face was tinged with a layer of crimson, bashfully looking at the enthralled knight in front of her. After an unknown period, the knight finally wiped his nose and turned his gaze aside, muttering the words, ‘Looks good.'”
—This was a scene from that novel about young girls, and it was also a moment Evelia intended to emulate.
This scene narrated the story of the male and female leads going together to a clothing store to buy ball gowns. When the normally plain-clothed maid donned a form-fitting, splendid long dress, even the frost-like knight had shown a shy expression at the stunning sight.
—So, let’s become a beautiful girl.
Evelia’s goal was quite simple.
She only needed to become a beautiful girl that could amaze Alman.
However, she had no relevant experience, as she had been a man for over a decade and was a man uninterested in the opposite sex. Naturally, she had no idea what counted as a beautiful girl or what would make a woman captivating enough to astonish even Alman.
Evelia even considered that since the rumors suggested Alman preferred horses over women, she might as well ask the Second Prince to transform her into a fine horse directly—simple and resolved.
After all, many people confide their troubles to their pets, and if Evelia became Alman’s prized steed, perhaps extracting information would be much easier than it was now.
But that idea was too fanciful.
After thinking it over, she decided to buy some books as references before purchasing clothes.
A man who had turned into a woman was heading to the bookstore looking for literature that would make him more feminine.
Had it not been for Alman’s dislike of reading and the limited variety of books in the public study of the manor, she wouldn’t have had to venture out to buy these things.
After becoming a girl, Evelia had become noticeably shorter than before, but she still stood at around one hundred and sixty-seven centimeters tall—not particularly tall, but not short either. Coupled with her gender-neutral outfit, it highlighted her dashing side; the word “heroic” was certainly not an exaggeration when applied to her.
Evelia had accomplished significant matters; consequently, her aura was naturally different from that of other young girls. The moment she pushed the door open to enter the store, the considerably taller young shopkeeper felt a hint of pressure. Evelia, with a cold expression, swept her gaze around the shop, completely indifferent to the customer’s stares, and made a beeline for the shopkeeper.
Had this shopkeeper not been an earnest and hard-working person, never having done anything shady, he might have felt so pressured by Evelia’s aura that he would kneel and cry, begging for mercy.
Even the knights around Alman could hardly bear Evelia’s cold yet dangerous presence; how could ordinary people tackle that?
“What… what would you like?”
The shopkeeper, watching Evelia silently approach him, swallowed nervously. While forcing a smile to greet Evelia, he simultaneously replayed in his mind whether he had crossed paths with anyone formidable in business lately.
“…a beautiful girl.”
Just as everyone around was holding their breath, wanting to know what she had come for, Evelia uttered those few words.
“What did you say?”
The shopkeeper doubted his hearing, his expression becoming somewhat strange.
“I want to become a beautiful girl. Do you have any reference books I can look at?”
At this moment, the entire commanding aura Evelia had upon entering the shop instantly crumbled.
