The Readymade Queen

Chapter 11

****

“…this case can be said to be the most important case in Pelobert’s royal investigation. Do you remember what happened in our Grantonia during this time?”

“The war between Molga and Genovia territories?”

“That’s great. And…”

“Ah, the assassination of Empress Terosa.”

“How did you remember the first week, when you couldn’t even wake up like a sick chick? Your Highness is truly wonderful! You understand quickly, but your memory was so excellent at the moment that I wasn’t expecting any long-term memorization. However, I didn’t know you would remember it in detail until this time. I’m amazed at everything I teach you.”

Well, this much.

The truth was she was lucky to know the latter among many things she had forgotten and few things she remembered, but Abigail laughed shamelessly, shrugging her shoulders arrogantly at Kyle’s pouring flattery.

It wasn’t without reason she made a name for herself as an academy surrogate exam in the errand agency guild. Even that elite recognized herself.

Has it been about three weeks? Having lived shamelessly among the shameless all day long, I only added shamelessness.

“Okay. Compliment me a little more.”

“Of course this is because I’m so good at teaching…”

“No, It’s me who gets the compliment. Why do you compliment yourself for doing well?”

“As Your Highness knows, I do history, right? History was the most important major in the academy.”

“What’s the relationship between your major and my hard work? I am the one who studied so much that my hair fell out, but why do you compliment yourself?”

“That’s what made your hair fall out!”

“How dare you talk like that to the hair of the Princess! It’s easy to compliment me! It’s easy to do it!”

“Something like that is a fact!”

“What!”

Without feeling Luderick’s pathetic gaze from the doorway, Kyle and Abigail argued like they had no dignity and no value.

Both of them behaved unproductively, and sometimes something like this happened to disprove that they were getting close to each other.

Luderick clicked his tongue while looking at his brother.

After meeting the Princess, he felt like she seemed nostalgic in her old academy days or her mental age had rapidly deteriorated.

However, their childish speech soon ended with Rakiel’s sudden appearance.

“When did I split your office hours so that you could hang out with the Princess?”

Rakiel kicked Kyle out of his seat with cold words and sat right there.

The man was as elegant as usual but had a somewhat irritable and nervous atmosphere.

As Abigail looked carefully at Rakiel’s eyes, the silence became stuffy and eventually, she asked first.

“What’s wrong? You came suddenly.”

A sharp gaze was looking at her, but she could tell that the target wasn’t her. This man should be able to tell this much with his eyes…

“The Emperor’s edict has come.”

“…yes?”

“The Emperor is looking for you sooner than expected.”

With just those words, the inside of the room froze.

*****

“Please reap the edict.”

“It looks like Edelgard’s servant’s footsteps are faster than the Imperial messenger. How can there be no difference between the return of the messenger and the Empress’s presence in the office?”

Without looking at Pasacallia in front of him, Ludwig gave a cold reminder to the staff chief standing beside him.

“Tell Marcus to cut the ankles of the messenger.”

“Yes.”

It’s already been over 20 years since she lived next to that Emperor’s madness. She stopped asking him to correct his madness one by one after she lost her five-year-old daughter.

Pasacallia simply expressed her regret for a moment to the messenger, whose feet would soon become one of the countless examples of his madness.

She couldn’t do anything for that poor, innocent man anyway. If she opened her mouth about him, the Emperor would likely cut his neck instead of his ankles.

“What’s wrong with my edict?”

“Ten days are too early. Let her stay in Edelgard a little longer.”

“Why should the Princess stay outside the palace?”

“The child needs stability.”

“How can the Emperor’s daughter find stability outside the Imperial Palace? Isn’t her home here?”

Emperor’s daughter.

Pasacallia gritted her teeth without realizing it. What a hollow mouth.

“She has been through a lot in the Imperial Palace.”

“Would you keep her outside the Palace forever?”

“I’m not saying I would keep her outside forever. It’s just that it’s not now.”

“What on earth is the Empress’s cute nephew up to? I’m curious about his intention to keep the Princess in his arms and not show her.”

“The Duke of Edelgard just wants to keep Edelgard’s only successor safe.”

“Now the Duke, who just passed the terms and conditions, is worried about my succession already?”

“My nephew died less than two months ago after my father died suddenly. I believe Your Majesty understands that too.”

At words politely aimed at him, Ludwig twisted his mouth and laughed.

Ludwig lifted himself from his desk and slowly approached Pasacallia. As he got closer, a crack broke out on his face that was beautiful and elegant like ceramics. Ludwig laughed lowly as if funny.

“Yeah, I also understand. If Edelgard is in a state of emptiness, even for a moment, the damage to the Empire will be severe. It’s wonderful that your nephew is aware of his position as a family head.”

“So…” Pasacallia stopped talking at the terrible distance right in front of her nose.

Ludwig, who took a step closer to her, leaned into Pasacallia’s ears. “So, the Princess should come back to the Imperial Palace even more.”

Pasacallia tried to step back without realizing it, but Ludwig was faster than her. He snatched her arm and dragged her mercilessly in front of him.

“For the Emperor’s daughter, the Imperial Palace is the safest. It is the same as your daughter, who has the right to inherit the title of Edelgard. Unless you dare to say that the Duke estate where you lived when you’re still a maiden is safer than the Emperor’s Palace, the Empress should no longer make excuses for her personal affairs.”

Swords are everywhere, but the Imperial Palace is the safest place for my daughter. Such a ridiculous thing to say. However, if the Emperor said so, there is nothing I could do about it. 

Pasacallia looked at Ludwig with her calm eyes.

Ludwig slowly released her arm. “Tell your nephew that too. I’m sick and tired with the messages your nephew sends.”

“Your Majesty’s words are valid. I will do as you say.”

“Good.”

The smile and the touch that touches her neck affectionately and gently was cool.

But Pasacallia also smiled.

Someday. Someday, I will put a knife in this lunatic’s throat.

*****

Less than an hour after receiving the shocking notification that it was only 10 days later, Agnes came to the Duke’s estate. She also had someone behind her.

“I didn’t know that our time would be so tight.”

“Agnes, the lady behind you?”

“This is Baroness Seymour. She is in charge of Her Majesty, the Empress’s clothing.”

Agnes hurriedly introduced her in the middle, omitting the direct greetings as if she was in a hurry. Baroness Seymour, dressed in splendor, greeted briefly.

Soon afterward, they threw all the men out of the room, including Rakiel and Luderick. Then, they took off Abigail’s dress, leaving only the chemise.

After that, the two women, who followed the Baroness, came with a tape measure and began to take measurements of her whole body while the Baroness wrote it down in her notebook.

Abigail’s face turned red. No matter how many women were in the room, she couldn’t help but be embarrassed when she was the only one who was in chemise in front of people she had never seen before.

“Your Highness is 170 centimeters tall and you are quite taller than ordinary ladies. The romantic style that has been practiced in Pelobert over the past few years is popular in the capital, characterized by deeply slit shoulders, incredibly puffed sleeves, and exaggerated headdresses. But it looks ridiculous when it’s worn by tall or short ladies. It will not suit Your Highness at all. And as Her Highness, the Third Princess made it popular, you must be completely different from her.”

The romantic style was still popular since the Third Princess wore it to the ball a few years ago. Sometimes, if not as much as its enthusiasts, some were cynical at its elegant ridiculousness. Unlike the refined Pelobert’s style that the Third Princess originally wore, Grantonia’s fashion was exaggerated day by day. As the days went by, the sleeves swelled up and the headdress became huge. Abigail also laughed at its ridiculousness, no way it would suit her.

She wanted to refuse violently if they made her wear that. As Baroness Seymour said, it couldn’t be more ridiculous if she had something on her head and big sleeves.

“The thin muslin dress you were wearing before doesn’t go out of fashion and it looks good on you, but it doesn’t match the dignity of a Princess. Especially, you shouldn’t show it to the men who have gone outside before. Show it to your husband only later. Do you understand?”

In Abigail’s memory, muslin dresses were quite luxurious that the wives and daughters of wealthy capitalists sometimes wore. She just came from a small nobility in the periphery and because the class she was dealing with while working wasn’t completely upper-class nobles, Abigail thought this was the case. She just wore it because it didn’t look burdensome among the dresses in this room, but to them, it was secret clothing that she would show only to her husband.

Somehow because of the class trickiness, she had been getting stuffy, but on Baroness’s face who lectured her like a mother, Abigail nodded softly.

“Your Highness’s body shape is more voluptuous than it looks. You look good because you have a moderately large chest. However, your waist should be reduced by an inch from now. Then you will be perfect. Your shoulder line and skeleton are smooth so it is well held. Looks like your clothes will look great. Compared to your height, your skeleton is fortunately slender…”

Abigail’s head went down without her knowing. Standing in front of people while wearing a chemise, she was evaluated in detail and noticed that she had some flesh on her stomach.

Now, my face got hotter and hotter.

It was even more so because it was the first time in her life that someone evaluated her body. No matter how polite people were, it was inevitably shameful.

“Can’t I get dressed now?”

“Not yet.”

Agnes cut her words coldly and gestured to one of the women behind her. The woman groaned and brought dozens of clothes that looked good enough.

Agnes and the Baroness, who was distracted by the splendid clothes, struggled with each other, looking at each color beneath Abigail’s face.

“This indigo color is fine.”

“She looks better with vivid red than this dark red.”

“This ivory color is silk from the East Continent this time, and it’s like the golden sand shines because it is gorgeous, right? This color suits you best.”

“It’s not this color.”

It was only after she tried dozens of them one by one that the two fell from Abigail.

While Agnes was writing down the colors that were classified as acceptable in the Baroness’s notebook, the Baroness took out several luxurious albums and opened them in front of Abigail.

When Abigail, who was admiring silently, was ashamed, she sat down on a chair in her sheepish chemise and was given the albums one by one.

“Wow, are these sketches all yours?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing. Not only Pelobert but also Irencia and Zennet’s eight-nation fashion, these are dresses that I researched and designed in my own way. Is it alright?”

“It’s not alright! Hmm… for my body type, this one and this one too. I think this line will look good on me, right?”

“You have a good eye. As soon as I saw Your Highness, I thought of this first. I just brought this dress in advance. Would you like to try it on now?”

Baroness Seymour beckoned back when Abigail, who looked lovingly at the dress, nodded excitedly.

The dress was made of high-quality light green satin that was gorgeous, but unlike these days, it had short sleeves that are tight and the shoulders are dizzy. The line was beautiful by putting a few layers of petticoat inside, but it wasn’t too much.

When she wore the muslin dress, it was difficult to breathe because she suddenly wore a corset that was not necessary, but she could forget the inconvenience. Even when she was wearing everything and looking at herself in the full-length mirror, Abigail couldn’t realize that she was wearing this kind of clothes, so she stood blank for a while. It was the first time since she was young to wear such nice clothes.

Even with the maid’s roughly braided hair in the morning, her heart fluttered as if she had become a princess in a fairy tale book.

“I knew it would suit you. You looked so beautiful.”

“Oh my god, you fit it really well.”

As a series of embarrassing praises erupted around her, Abigail became so conscious that she turned around in front of the mirror, smiling awkwardly.

Baroness Seymour was standing with a different dress in her hand. “This suit is from the frugal Ernst kingdom. It’s a popular style, but in Grantonia it’s sometimes worn by women working outside. The top is a blouse, so it’s relatively comfortable. Usually, they wear a dark and calm colored skirt like Ernst to give a neat impression, but I made it a little fresher and more colorful with red. The width of the dress here is also a little wider and the wrinkles are gorgeous. Like a scholar, it looks intelligent and proud, strong yet feminine, practical and fancy. I think it’ll fit well with the image of Your Highness that Sir Thornton gave, and it would be nice to wear it comfortably as casual attire, so if you like it, I will change it a little and make it in a variety of colors.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Abigail replied quickly, as if she had waited for her to feel breathless.

“Good. Please do that.”

Abigail also saw several times that the guild’s executive women or the lady running the upper part wore a dress of a similar style.

Of course, what was in front of her was so gorgeous that she couldn’t even compare. The appearance was so fascinating that she almost came out without knowing that it was the first time she saw a dress like this, and then she went in by a hair’s breadth.

Of course, the Princess lived in confinement all her life, and it was much rarer to see it for the first time.

After that, it was only after Abigail had worn more than ten sets of clothes that Agnes and Baroness Seymour continued to work hard to come up with a few rough styles.

A little less feminine than this, more proudly than this, a little more gorgeous than this, a little more intelligent and noble than this…

At the end of the story, Agnes rushed back to the Imperial Palace, and Baroness Seymour stayed for a while to re-dress Abigail the light-green satin dress that Abigail first wore.

“Do you like this dress the most?”

Abigail smiled and nodded.

“This is my gift to Your Highness. I’m not going to charge Her Majesty, the Empress.”

“Thank you! I really liked it.”

“You’ll enjoy it more in the future than before. Your Highness Violetta.”

Abigail’s breath stopped for a moment at the affectionate blessing, but Baroness Seymour smiled unnoticed.

Then she touched a few more times, tidied her dress, and left the room after taking an example.

Abigail’s smile, who had left alone, stiffened awkwardly.

Standing vaguely in the middle of the room, she slowly approached the mirror and stood face to face.

A name was called as a sign of familiarity, with an unknown woman standing in the mirror.

To someone who knew nothing, it’s the first time she had been called. It wasn’t the same as being called simply to be precious. She couldn’t even compare it to when people called her the Princess.

Her throat was hot as if swallowed a fire.

Violetta is dead. I saw it with my own eyes. She died before my eyes. Abigail also died.

The funeral without the body is over. The bereaved family of the meritorious subject, who saved a royal family, leave the capital after being given a burial ground in Zilter. 

That’s two weeks already.

Then who is the woman in the mirror?

Violetta is dead, Abigail also died… who on earth are you? Are you still alive and why are you standing here wearing something that Violetta hasn’t enjoyed in her life?

She was bursting with tears. The mirror was distorted by the blurry vision. However, she couldn’t shed it because she was shameless.

Violetta died, and Abigail enjoyed Violetta’s. And that Abigail died, and Violetta was alive. Then who on earth was the woman who survived in that distorted mirror?

Abigail opened her eyes a little wider. The view that was covered by water became a little clearer. Still, the woman was unfamiliar.

“Now you look like a princess.”

Abigail, who had been standing in front of the mirror blankly for a while, loosened her stiff expression and turned around halfway.

Before she knew it, Rakiel, who had entered the room, was staring at her.

“Is that the dress that Baroness Seymour brought earlier?”

“Yes. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“Is it good?”

How can he make the word “good” so bad?

Thinking that way, Abigail replied with a coy face, perhaps she was adapting now.

“Have you seen a woman who doesn’t like dresses?”