“Now, voilà!”
Mary, who would jump into a fire pit if Violet would say so, smiled brightly.
The other maids, on the other hand, felt quite unenthused about Violet’s decision to wear pants. Still, they couldn’t deny that they’re impressed by Violet’s appearance the moment they saw her dressed up.
“You’re so beautiful, Milady.”
Rather than just pretty, she truly was beautiful. The words that the maid uttered was one that best suited Violet.
A brooch adorned with purple gemstones glistened as it was fastened to Violet’s lapel. Apart from that, the clothes she was wearing fit perfectly along her body line, and this could be attributed to the skill of the seamstress who made it.
‘Not bad.’
She wondered if she should dress up for the crown prince’s birthday celebration as well. She could wear a dress on the first day, then a suit on the second day…
Violet’s thoughts strayed to the wrong place.
In the world where Violet lived, gods existed, magic and alchemy were quite developed, and magic tool engineering was being pioneered. Compared to how things were in her previous life, there were parts that were outdated while there were also parts that were innovative.
Here, gender stereotypes were on the old-fashioned side, so if Violet were perhaps to walk down the streets in pants, a tabloid article would appear the next day with this headline:
[ Is the Wicked Woman of House Everett Aiming to Become the Next Duke? ]
Of course, something like that would be Roen’s headache and not hers, so she didn’t worry about it.
As Cairn went outside first, he applauded when Violet showed up. Unfortunately for Roen, he had been summoned elsewhere so he wasn’t able to see Violet’s wonderful appearance.
“Oh, Witch. You look kinda cool.”
“Witch, you say! Please watch your mouth!”
“What’s wrong with calling her a witch when she is one? I guess it’s because you don’t know her true personality—”
“But Milady is an angel though? What do you even know about her? Hmph.”
Unexpectedly enough, Cairn and Mary had become quite close as of late. Though Cairn was this household’s third young master, he didn’t care all that much about people’s social standings anyway, so it was only natural that he found no faults in Mary’s behavior even if she was addressing him like this.
Violet also heard that Cairn had more commoner friends than aristocratic friends.
Mary had been afraid of Cairn at first, but it had come to a point where she’s comfortable enough around him to shout at him directly.
Some might say that such an act was degrading for an aristocrat and that it was a matter of honor, but since Cairn and Violet were allowing it, no one could say anything against it.
“Seriously, there’s no one in this entire household on my side.”
“If you speak nicely, Young Master, I might think about giving you a cup of delicious pudding.”
“No, I mean, how old do you think I am…”
“So you don’t like pudding?”
“…I like it.”
“Then, please don’t call Milady a witch. Address her properly!”
Mary was even taming Cairn now.
Seeing the helpless smiles on the other maids’ faces, who might be thinking that there’s nothing they could do, Violet shook her head.
“That said, Sister. Shall we go?”
Cairn offered a hand to Violet in accordance with proper etiquette. He’s usually so rough and reckless, but whenever he must act politely, he’s the very image of an elegant duke’s son.
Violet smiled.
“Actually, I don’t wish to be escorted by you, Sir, so I would have to decline.”
It was a cold rejection.
While Cairn’s face turned red after being turned down, Mary giggled beside Violet. The other maids tried to hold back their laughter.
“Huh? Hey! Wait for me!”
Cairn faltered for a moment as he was left with the grief of being rejected, but he soon hurried after his older sister, who was striding forward in the distance.
* * *
“It’s been a while, Sir. I heard that it’s your day off from work today, so thank you for your time.”
“No way, that guy’s only coming because you told him to. It’s not like an imperial knight has the time to go eat and hang out with other people a lot.”
The siblings gave their greetings.
Violet let out a low sigh as she observed Cairn’s rude words and actions. On the other hand, Cairn felt that he was being wrongfully accused, but no one here was listening to him, really.
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“Do you feel uncomfortable? You don’t have to care about him if it’s because of this fool.”
“Not at all, it’s just… Your Ladyship is so beautiful that I forgot how to speak for a moment.”
Aldin’s words were entirely sincere. He was originally someone who kept his expressions impartial and aloof, but as Cairn read the shyness on Aldin’s face right then, he became dumbfounded.
Hesitating at first, Aldin offered a hand in a knightly manner and politely asked to escort Violet.
“Thank you very much for inviting me out today,” Aldin said.
“Oh, what do you mean. It was not me who invited you, Sir, but Brother Roen. Still, it’s not so common to have a chance to build a friendship like this.”
Their conversation flowed as smoothly as water. And, naturally as well, Violet accepted Aldin’s offer to escort her.
Off to the side, completely baffled, Cairn just looked at the unfamiliar appearance of those two.