Chapter Twenty-Three: Dressing Up
“Become… a beautiful girl…?”
The shopkeeper forced himself to endure the overwhelming presence of Evelia as he nervously assessed her from top to bottom.
Isn’t the girl before him already a stunning beauty among a hundred? Why does she still need a book on becoming a beautiful girl?
Such sweet and charming girls are not rare in this era; rather, girls like Evelia who do not hide their brilliance are a rare breed. If Evelia wants to transform into a sweet type, as a man with good aesthetics, the shopkeeper would find it somewhat regrettable.
“Yes, a beautiful girl. Is there such a book?”
“Ah… it should be in the Women’s Section. If you turn left, there are some books on outfit matching; you can take a look.”
But since this was a request from a seemingly intimidating customer, the shopkeeper could only point to the Women’s Section nearby. Although having eye-catching women is good for physical and mental health, if one loses their life, then what health is left?
“Thank you.”
Evelia simply nodded and walked directly towards the place the shopkeeper recommended. The people around her were very curious about Evelia, but no one wanted to attract her attention; they could only steal glances at what this unique girl was going to do.
But who is Evelia? As an assassin, she certainly wouldn’t miss the gazes of others. After noticing someone watching her, she casually glanced around, but that sharp gaze frightened everyone, causing those who had just been looking at her to drop their books and flee in panic.
The shopkeeper felt unjustly wronged, running a bookstore and seeing all his customers scared off by Evelia.
As for Evelia, she was not the kind of person to feel sorry for such things; instead, she felt quite at ease with the surrounding quiet.
She stood silently in front of the bookshelf in the Women’s Section, her slender fingers gliding over those seemingly meaningless Chicken Soup Literature books. During this time, she also saw the book “The Maid’s Knight,” which the previous maid had lent her. This book seemed particularly popular, with the trial copy already worn out and torn.
Is the story of the girl and the knight so desirable?
Although Evelia regarded that novel as her strategy guide, she was still pondering why the so-called knights could be so popular.
Is it because knights are gentlemen who understand decorum?
Recalling Alman’s appearance, Evelia shook her head.
That guy doesn’t look like a gentleman at all.
Is it because they are powerful and handsome?
Using Alman again as an example, Evelia could admit he was powerful and handsome, but the cost of that “power” was heaps of corpses. Did those women really like such murderers?
Then—could it be because knights are gentle and kind-hearted?
Evelia paused in her thoughts.
Alman… seems to deserve such a description.
But the word gentle doesn’t really suit a warrior.
Evelia picked up the worn-out novel and glanced through it quickly. She hadn’t actually finished reading the story; she only saw that the male and female leads had completed their adjustment period. As for what happened after their feelings stabilized, Evelia hadn’t read that part because she felt she only needed to learn how to capture Alman’s heart. What to do after that was another stage.
“Galeia and her beloved knight walked up the church’s long steps, guided by the flower girl to the priest amidst the excited and eager gazes of the crowd.
Beside the sacred statue of the God of Love, they proclaimed their vows of eternal love for each other.
The layer of white veil in front was cautiously lifted. Although they had already confirmed their feelings, the knight’s hands were still nervously trembling.
Even in life-and-death situations, the knight had never been this tense, but facing the happy smile of his beloved, he instinctively took a deep breath.
Amid the cheers and applause, the knight and the maid stood in the light streaming through the stained glass, sealing an eternal chapter for each other.”
“…Ha.”
Seeing this, Evelia closed the book.
She didn’t like such a happy ending because that kind of reality felt too far from her own life.
How could she like something so unattainable?
Evelia placed the girl’s novel back on the shelf, wedging it between other unknown titles. The pink theme of “The Maid’s Knight” stood out, but its damaged cover was lost among a pile of dark books.
Evelia glanced around and finally settled on a book titled “Final Battle: Secret Outfits.” Pulling it from the shelf, she noticed the promotional line on the first page that caught her attention.
“Do you want to become the center of attention? Do you want to be the target of men’s affection? Do you want to attract more opposite sex? A hundred outfit styles for your reference!”
Isn’t this exactly what Evelia wants? She didn’t need to attract too many people; just capturing Alman’s attention would be enough.
However, Evelia suddenly saw the word “Volume II” in the lower left corner. Seeing there was no “Volume I” on the shelf, she leaned out from behind the shelf and waved the book in her hand towards the shopkeeper.
“Is there a Volume I for this book?”
The shopkeeper squinted at the book in Evelia’s hand, then pulled out his inventory notebook to check and shook his head.
“Sorry, there isn’t. This set was a bestseller a while ago, and the one you have is a reprint, the later batch. Volume I sold out long ago.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Evelia didn’t ask further and pulled back, curiously flipping through the once-popular book in her hands.
From the preface, this book was divided into “Volume I: Preparation” and “Volume II: Final Battle.” The first few pages of this Volume II included a summary of events, which broadly indicated that it indeed taught proper dressing, with plenty of adorable style suggestions that looked sweet enough to give a toothache.
However, the specific contents of Volume II seemed to veer away from the seriousness presented in the summary.
The reason Volume I was called Preparation was to attract others’ attention outside, while Volume II’s Final Battle… was naturally about “overpowering your opponent in a one-on-one showdown.”
Simply put, this volume was entirely about decisive underwear.
Traditional, childish, pure white, lacy, feathered, role-playing, lace, triangular, bodysuit, three-piece sets, sheer and translucent, with ribbons, body-hugging, stickers, holey, tight-fitting, and even ones that you could drink straight from the package; this book summarized dozens of styles of decisive underwear as if reading a menu, leaving Evelia’s eyes spinning.
What does a man like him know about these things?
“‘Inner’ beauty is true beauty; with hundreds of options, there’s bound to be one that suits you and your loved one!”
“…”
For the first time, Evelia swallowed hard from the overwhelming amount of information. She had always thought women’s underwear was just a few pieces of fabric; she didn’t expect there would be so many intricacies.
Isn’t it just about getting undressed? Do you really need to showcase the underwear?
Is this a necessary step? Light a candle and pull the curtains?
Evelia looked at the various styles of outfits introduced in the book, filled with questions and struggling to accept it, but in order to complete her mission, she forced herself to read through the entire book.
“…Phew…”
While for other men, watching so many models showcase their figures in sexy underwear might be a pleasure, Evelia only felt a bit suffocated.
—So many outfits… where am I going to find the one that Alman likes?
I can’t just ask directly, right?
Evelia sighed, hugging the book to her chest.
Forget it…
She thought to herself.
Just buy them all.
