Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“Miguel. Give me your honest opinion about this style. I promise I can take it.”

If someone was going to be asking me what style suits them best, I’d really have preferred it to be the woman I’m to marry. Miguel, who had never dated a woman, swallowed his despair and clapped mechanically. “You look incredible. Nay, you’re nothing short of a work of art.”

“Of course I am. My face is the perfect accompaniment to any outfit.”

“Of… course.”

“I’ll have to tell my people in the shop to start selling this style.”

Isidor also operated a boutique in the Horrun District, which was making bucket loads of money. All the clothes he wore were sourced from a boutique called Carlos’, which was owned and operated by the Blanchard Guild. It had been seeing incredible success as of late, and private fittings were fully booked for the next 6 months. This was because any nobles interested in fashion were secretly mimicking Isidor’s style.

“Lord Miguel. Do you know where Lord Isidor bought his waistcoat?”

At times, nosy individuals would ask Miguel where Isidor had bought his clothing since he was a close associate of Isidor’s, and as instructed by the guild master he would let slip the name of the shop. It hadn’t taken more than half a day for the name Carlos’ to spread throughout high society.

Other well-known boutiques were scrabbling to mimic Isidor’s style, but Carlos’ had already set itself apart as the shop of choice for the most popular men in the empire. The white silk tie Isidor had worn with a white shirt for a cleaner style and his gloves spun from mountain goat wool were constantly out of stock.

Isidor, however, was not entirely happy despite how incredible business was. Despite his best efforts, Lady Deborah hadn’t so much as glanced in his direction. Only one second... Really?

Miguel felt a mixture of irritation and wonder as he looked at Isidor’s chagrined expression. A slight change in outfit meant he now looked like a wandering minstrel straight out of legend.

Isidor cupped his chin with his hand, staring at the design Lady Deborah had come up with, and mumbled to himself with shapely lips. “Come to think of it, she’s an excellent artist as well.”

“I’m sorry?”

“She must have worked hard designing this with those tiny hands of hers...” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he flexed his hands. He seemed lost in thought. He was recalling the feel of her hand as he was setting the magic pouch’s coordinates, so she’d be able to summon it. A pleasant feeling tingled through him at the thought of her small pale hand—it had fit so neatly into his.

“My lord, don’t tell me...” Miguel’s eyes narrowed as he watched his liege’s neck turn slightly pink, still studying Lady Deborah’s drawing. He watched as Isidor’s eyebrows rose.

“What is it?”

“Are you hot?”

“Yes. I think that might be it...”

“That makes sense. Spring this year will be much warmer than last, I’m told. It was so stuffy while I was hiding. I could use a lighter shirt really— Ahem. Pardon me, forget I said that.” Miguel rubbed his palms together craftily, glancing at Isidor. He was also hoping to score an outfit produced at Carlos’—he didn’t want to fall behind the trends, either.

“Go have an outfit fitted at Carlos’. Tell them you work for me and they’ll give you priority.”

“Of course. As ever, I am your faithful servant!”

“Since you are my right-hand man, I’ll give you a discount. One silver—you need only pay nineteen gold and ninety-nine silver.”

“Right...” Miguel trailed off, unsure whether his liege was joking.

Cookie, who had been staring at the entrance through which Lady Deborah had left, suddenly began to growl angrily. The withdrawal symptoms had begun again. Isidor hurried to calm the beast as it seemed to become suddenly furious, similar to a boy going through puberty.

“Cookie. Are you upset that I haven’t played with you yet? I’ll give you your favorite snack as soon as we get home,” he promised sweetly. He removed his glove, running his hand down Cookie’s back several times. The big cat’s glaring eyes relaxed a little. As he ran his fingers through the soft fur, he began to wonder—what would it have felt like to hold Lady Deborah’s hand without gloves?

But this curiosity, which drifted through his mind like a frail snowflake, vanished as soon as he arrived home. Arriving at the townhouse, the entrance framed by imposing golden pillars engraved with dragons, Isidor went inside wearing an impassive expression.

* * *

I’ve been seeing a lot of men wearing round-rimmed glasses at the academy lately. I suppose it’s because of him. Noticing Isidor, surrounded by people, as usual, I shook my head. He had shown up at the academy looking like a scholar and his new look had caused big waves at the Academy.

To think he’s even targeting the ladies with a thing for glasses! Veleque used to have the market cornered on that particular niche. Isidor’s hair fell over his forehead tousled naturally as if he hadn’t brushed it at all, and his dark blue vest drew the eye to his slim waist. The gold rim on his glasses, which matched his golden hair, made him look like the perfect dandy boy.

There was so much to like about him, I didn’t know where to begin. He was like a professional idol from my world. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to give you a nine out of ten this time. Too bad. Wearing a regretful expression, I turned away from him.

Why did he have to popularize the round-rimmed glasses, of all things? I’d been forced to take a point away from the mental score I’d been assigning to his look of the day, just because I felt like I’d been transported back to my old engineering campus.

There is a perfect rim shape for every face type, but they’re all just wearing the same glasses as him... I frowned in distaste whenever I encountered another young man wearing a sloppy imitation of Isidor’s scholarly style.

But why don’t they even try to hide the fact that they’re copying him? This academy was rife with unscrupulous individuals who seemed all too willing to imitate the style other people had dedicated time to developing. Isidor didn’t seem to like it very much, since he was always changing his hairstyle and outfit, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

Everything he tried spread like ink in a puddle. I supposed it must be quite annoying. Sucks to be that handsome, I guess. I never thought fashion icons would be a thing inside the novel’s world, too. I suddenly recalled a celebrity who’d made whatever they wore a success. The clothes and shoes they wore always ended up selling out within seconds.

Using him to advertise products would be extremely effective. Lost in daydreams about all the money I could rake in from such an arrangement, I belatedly realized that I’d become lost. I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings, the solemn silence very different from the Academy’s main building with its beautiful gardens or the magic building.

I guess it’s not the elementalists’ building, either, since I have no memory of this place at all. Deborah had spent a lot of time loitering around that particular building in an effort to strike up a conversation with Pilav. All other possibilities eliminated, I came to the conclusion this was either the knights’ training facility or the theology building.

But knowing what this place is won’t help me figure out where I need to go. Why am I thinking about this at all? I looked around for a bit, eventually finding a small path that wove between the thick trees. It seemed to stretch on forever.

I’d never had a very good sense of direction and was growing very concerned. I wouldn’t have had this problem if I had a lady-in-waiting I could trust. How does Deborah not have even one devoted maid? I thought a trusty companion was one of the basic essentials in any reincarnation story! But I didn’t have one.

It wasn’t common for the daughter of a high-ranking family to be walking around alone like this. Though young men could wander around freely, noble ladies from esteemed houses like Deborah’s would usually hire a trustworthy noblewoman as a lady-in-waiting.

Such a position came with many benefits, and when Deborah first entered the Academy many ladies had vied for the role. Not long after being accepted, however, they’d learned they could not stand Deborah’s personality and demanded to quit with tears in their eyes.

She burned through over thirteen ladies-in-waiting. No less than nine of them ended up suffering from mysterious digestive disorders and stress-induced hair loss. This year, only two girls had applied for the job—two girls that I knew I would fare better without. Their names were Melly Mayance and Aisha Doche.

I had felt a chill run down my spine as soon as the duke’s aide had shown me their names. They were miscreants who’d willingly joined Deborah in her atrocious behavior toward the female protagonist in the novel.

The reason I’d been so repulsed by them was thanks to the way they’d acted in the novel after Deborah had been put on trial for blasphemy. The two ladies-in-waiting had pretended to be victims themselves, pinning their misdeeds on Deborah. They were as unreliable as they were cruel, doing whatever they needed to satisfy their selfish ends.

I suppose Deborah wasn’t much better, though. But I wasn’t really Deborah so why would I want to be accompanied by those wretches? That was why I insisted early in the semester that I did not want a maid.

I was realizing now, though, that going around alone wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped it would be. I had no sense of direction, and I needed someone to guide me, in addition to sniffing out the rumors and various useful tidbits I needed to hear.

How do I find someone who’s talented and faithful enough for the role? Lost in thought, I leaned my exhausted body against a nearby tree trunk. I turned my head when I heard a rustle in the distance, hoping it was a person.

I’ll have to threaten them until they take me to the rear gate, where my carriage is waiting. With a plan worthy of the villainess I was playing, I approached the sound. I froze and began backing away the moment I spotted pink hair, however. Goddamn it. Who’d have thought I’d bump into the one person I least want to see?

“Eeek!”

I tried to sneak away, but as it happened, Mia Binoche screamed noisily and tripped over at that moment.

“Ow...” She groaned, sprawled on the ground, then turned large, tearful eyes on me. “My lady... I’m sorry, but could you please help me? I can’t seem to stand up.”