Miss Verafia’s exquisite doll-like little face, with her silver hair, turned slightly pale as she despairingly looked at herself in the mirror.
Verafia’s words… At least, she had heard them an hour ago.
As a member of the Blood Race, Flan knew about the etiquette of human nobles, but she never imagined it would be so complicated, nor that it would happen to her.
– Whether it was the ribbon, the corset, or the hoop skirt, it was all torture, and on top of that, she was forced to stand in front of the mirror for several hours, being manipulated by others.
Verafia, who was standing to the side with her arms crossed, humming a tune, naturally didn’t know what Flan was thinking.
Of course, even if she knew, she would probably just stick out her tongue and shrug helplessly… because she was the one who had brought Flan here in the first place.
Not long after yesterday’s dinner, Duke Mays, the lord of Lorinc, suddenly decided to hold a banquet in the ancestral castle the following evening. Many nobles and friends invited to the city by the Marquis, including Duke Boon and Duke Cambell, received invitations.
Although Marquis Mays was nominally celebrating the old Marquis’s recovery… the short notice naturally led many to speculate. Marquis Mays’s move was precisely to pave the way for his only son, Ig, who had defeated the renowned Douglas and avenged past humiliation.
However, Verafia clearly didn’t care about these things.
Coincidentally, Ig was taken away by Marquis Mays with a wry smile early this morning. Verafia, who had nothing to do, was bored, so she grabbed Flan, who suddenly appeared in front of her, under the guise of “wanting her younger sister to become a beautiful little princess at the party.”
It was clearly not a problem for the wealthiest noble family in the southern territory, even if it was just a matter of a formal dress. After explaining the requirements, Verafia, with the help of the head maid, easily found several suitable little formal dresses for Flan, and many maids also helped with the styling.
Pillowing her chin with her little hand, Verafia blinked her golden pupils.
Speaking of which… Verafia suddenly realized that what she had said to Anderdun about shopping yesterday while they were out might not have been just a joke.
At least, in her own opinion, as a girl, she had genuinely started to like desserts and soft, beautiful little dresses. Even now, standing aside and watching Flan being dressed like a doll, gradually becoming more beautiful, she felt a sense of joy.
– Of course, if she had to suffer in Flan’s place, that would be absolutely impossible.
Verafia pretended not to see Flan’s despairing expression in the silver mirror and tilted her little head quite cutely.
“Knock knock.”
A soft knock sounded on the door. Verafia moved her eyes with slight surprise. After the door was pushed open, several young girls dressed in black and white maid outfits appeared. Their dresses and attire, however, were obviously made of expensive materials.
Verafia also noticed that the silver platters held by these maid girls were neatly stacked with formal dresses, and just looking at the expensive fabric and the few exquisite and gorgeous patterns was enough to tell of their magnificence.
However, Verafia felt a faint sense of unease… especially when these maids holding formal dresses walked up to her.
The maid at the front, who did not appear to be very old, bowed slightly to the girl. Then, lifting her delicate, rose-like face, she spoke in a light, melodious voice like a warbler.
“Miss Verafia! These are all the formal dresses we have selected for you… Which one do you prefer?”
The maid presented the formal dress in her hand, and her large, beautiful eyes looked curiously at the girl in front of her.
These past few days, she had heard her sisters praise this girl, who seemed to have a not shallow relationship with the young master, quite a bit. At that time, her mind had already conjured up many plots she had read in novels.
However, upon actually seeing the girl’s face, the maid felt that her imagination had fallen short. Moreover, she felt that the formal dresses they had spent so much time selecting for Miss Verafia before seemed completely unnecessary?
– How could Miss Verafia’s beauty be enhanced by formal dresses and gem jewelry!
Verafia’s gaze fell on the dress held in the maid’s little hand. It was a gorgeous formal dress woven from crimson silk. The silk body of the dress was adorned with intricate lace flowers and ribbons, but it did not appear cumbersome.
Compared to the luxurious and heavy large skirts worn by noble ladies in ordinary royal banquets, this series of dresses was clearly more form-fitting, yet it did not lack a sense of nobility and luxury. Instead, it possessed a brighter and more lively feel.
A very beautiful dress… Even in her previous life, when Verafia had traveled to many royal courts and met countless noble ladies, including noble princesses, she had to admit that the formal dress held by the maid in front of her was considered quite good among those she had seen.
However, Verafia raised her eyebrows, her large, scorching gold eyes looking at the maid in front of her.
“Formal dress? Hmm… Although it looks good, why are you giving it to me?”
“Ah… Miss Verafia, aren’t you attending the Marquis’s banquet tonight with the young master… that’s why we wanted you to choose one…”
The maid did not expect Verafia to answer like that and became nervous, her voice even stammering a little.
“Is that so… But, I don’t need to wear human formal dresses. Isn’t this fine now?”
After speaking, Verafia stood up, holding the hem of her skirt with her little hand and turning around in front of the maid.
As Verafia herself said, although the dress she was wearing was more like casual wear for noble ladies, and its specifications and materials were clearly much simpler than a formal banquet dress, no one could strip the interpretation of “luxurious” from her.
Moreover, Verafia knew how troublesome a formal attire befitting a noble lady could be… Even without her past experience, she could tell just by looking at Flan next to her.
Therefore, although Verafia had long considered herself a girl and had almost never undergone grooming or worn overly complicated dresses…
Anyway, she didn’t need to please others like those noble ladies. Aren’t simple and comfortable everyday dresses good? Why would she go out of her way to cause trouble with these dresses made of heavy fabric, with large skirts and corsets?
“But…”
The maid holding the formal dress seemed to want to say something more.
Verafia’s gaze fell on her again, and suddenly, as if she thought of something, her apricot eyes immediately lit up. She sized up the maid in front of her, and a hint of suspicion emerged on her pale face:
“Wait… you suddenly came to find me, and you brought so many formal dresses. Did that fellow Ig send you?”
