Chapter 388 Preparing For Battle Again
Just as the girls from Grandchester were about to leave Duke Arbal's house, a messenger from the royal family arrived. Although it looked like an "invitation" to dinner, it was clearly a summons.
"His Majesty is being unreasonable. Women need time to get ready..."
"Since it's a gathering of close relatives, you are told that clothing doesn't matter."
The messenger said this with a calm face, but there were only about 4 hours left until the invitation time. That was far too short for a noble lady to prepare.
No matter how much the king said clothing didn't matter, they couldn't wear a daytime dress in front of the people who come and go at the palace. Especially considering it was the worst timing right after announcing the creation of a fashion department in the Sophia Merchant Guild to the noblewomen.
"Shall we prepare a dress for you here?"
Feeling sorry for her, Victoria spoke to Sophia.
"No, I just made a strong statement a moment ago. I can't go to the palace wearing another designer's dress."
"I understand how you feel, but if you have to go back to the Grandchester house to get ready for the palace, the time you have to prepare will be very short."
"For the honor of the Grandchester family and the Sophia Merchant Guild, I will definitely wear a new dress when I go to the palace. I apologize for the rush, but I must take my leave now."
"Of course. Even if you're a little late, I'll hold the fort for you."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Since both of them are short on time, they quickly exchanged greetings, and Sophia, Chloe, and Sara's golem got into the carriage. As the carriage started moving, Sophia spoke to the golem that looked just like Grazioso, who was standing nearby.
"Magi, please hurry and prepare the dress for the palace. I'll take care of the bath and hair and makeup back at Maiden's Tower, so just have the servants and golems who understand the situation wait separately. Can you also park the carriage directly over there?"
"Understood."
"Is Amelia at Maiden's Tower?"
"She is out today, but since she has a golem with her, we can contact her."
"I'm sorry, but please tell her I need a dozen mana recovery potions. Since it's a gift, could you pack them in a cloth-covered box? I'll also bring the chess set that was prepared earlier."
"Understood."
Feeling curious, Sophia peeked at Chloe, who was silent. After seeing the invitation from the royal family, Chloe had a clearly nervous expression.
"Chloe, what's wrong?"
"What should I do? I'm not ready yet."
Her usual confident vibe was gone, and she looked pale enough for anyone to notice.
"Pull yourself together. It's not like you to be so timid."
"But it's my first time going to the palace. His Majesty and the Crown Prince couple will be there, right?"
"If you want to be part of that, you need to lift your head and show off your intelligence and beauty."
"I can't make that face with you and Sara beside me."
Sophia smiled softly at Chloe.
"Is that so? Chloe thinks about things like that too, huh?"
"I used to think I was the prettiest girl in the social scene. I was sure I would grow up to be beautiful."
"That's not wrong. Chloe is really pretty and cute, you know?"
"I understand that my face is decent thanks to the Grandchester blood. But when I met Sara, I felt embarrassed about thinking I was a beautiful girl."
"It's just a different direction. My looks seem to be more influenced by my mom than my dad."
Seeing Chloe bury her face and start crying, Sophia decided to take a tough stance.
"We don't have much time left. If you're just going to keep crying, I'll leave you behind. I won't help you fix your puffy eyes, okay?"
"But if I stand next to you, it's obvious I'll look worse!"
"Then are you going to give up on becoming a princess?"
Chloe immediately stopped crying.
"I don't want that."
"Of course not. Chloe is a direct descendant of the Grandchester family. Tonight's main event is Sophia, but after all, Sophia is just a common merchant. Since Aunt Elizabeth isn't here today, Chloe has to represent the women of Grandchester. If you say you're beautiful, then think about how to use that beauty to bring benefits to Grandchester."
"But..."
"Don't make that whiny voice and lift your head. Tonight, you will wear the Sophia Merchant Guild's dress and show off your elegant etiquette in front of the royal family. I'm supporting Chloe to become a princess because I believe you can do it. Prince Andrew will continue to have beautiful noble ladies and princesses from other countries as potential fiancées. Are you going to complain like this every time?"
"Do you really think I can do it?"
"It's not about whether you can or can't. You will do it. You promised to work for the Sophia Merchant Guild in high society, so you have to work properly, or it's a breach of contract. If not, you'll have to pay for the dress and accessories. Of course, the cosmetics too."
"That would be a problem."
"Get ready for it."
"Okay."
Chloe nodded quietly. Then, the golem Grazioso spoke up.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation. I believe we should switch Lady Sophia and Miss Sara at the dinner party."
"Why is that?"
"The king might want to check Miss Sara's magic. Since golems can't use magic, it would be a problem if he asks to see it."
"I forgot about that. You're right..."
"That's right, Sara. You are the one stopping Prince Andrew's magic from going out of control!"
Chloe agreed with the golem's opinion.
"The fact that Lady Sophia can use magic hasn't leaked out. It shouldn't be a problem to switch."
"But, is it okay if they ask about the Sophia Merchant Guild?"
"There's probably no problem. Just a moment ago, I learned about the song played by the broken music box that the merchant guild's employee dropped."
"Oh, the music box broke? It's not the big one, right?"
"It's the largest one that has many of Beethoven's piano sonatas."
"Isn't that priced like the national budget of Avalon?"
"The culprit is Marius. It's likely he was following Kojimo's orders."
"Oh my... he has some nerve."
"Marius insists it wasn't on purpose."
"For now, we don't need to detain him. But keep an eye on him so he doesn't escape."
"Understood. By the way, only the outer box was damaged, so the magic stone inside is safe. The golems have already collected and stored it."
"That's a silver lining. But the craftsman who carved that box retired after finishing it. We need to find a skilled craftsman."
"I'll make a list of candidates."
"Thank you."
While they were chatting, the carriage arrived at the Grandchester estate's annex. Sophia, Chloe, and the golem Sara quickly entered Sophia's room and immediately set up soundproof magic. Then, Sophia easily transformed back into Sara and cast magic on the golem to turn it into herself.
"The dress and accessories have already been brought in."
"Young ladies, the men are using the outdoor bath today, so we've prepared the bath in Miss Sara's room."
"Got it. Since I just need to get ready, I don't need the outdoor bath. Can you help me with the bath?"
"Thomashiina and the others are already waiting, and we will accompany you as well, Miss."
"I understand."
Sara created a path to Maiden's Tower using magic and left Chloe in Thomashiina's care. Then, she returned to Maiden's Tower with a golem that looked like Grazioso.
"Welcome back, Miss Sara."
A small indoor golem without a physical body greeted Sara.
"I'm back. Um, what unit are you?"
"I'm Unit No. 17. I was sent to the Grandchester Knights' dormitory and have had many opportunities to assist Lady Amelia. I prepared some magic recovery potions as instructed by Lady Amelia."
"Oh, thank you. By the way, where is Amelia going?"
"Today, she is helping at Mr. Alexander's clinic."
"Is the fever still as bad as ever?"
"The number of patients is still high, but Magi predicts that we have passed the peak and are heading towards a resolution."
"I really hope that's true. By the way, is the knights' dormitory okay?"
"Yes. The ban on entering was lifted yesterday. We are gradually returning to normal life."
"That's quick. I thought Rihito would be a bit more cautious."
"Sir Rihito didn't seem very enthusiastic, but right now, we can't focus only on the knights' dormitory."
"Then there's nothing we can do about it."
While listening to the report on the unit no. 17, Sara and Chloe were being washed all over by the golems in the same bathroom. Sara's room was remodeled from the one Rihito used to mainly occupy, so it has a spacious bathroom. However, when Sara moved in, the bathtub was significantly changed, and a large tub for soaking and a shower booth for washing the body were installed.
After getting out of the tub, Chloe had rose-scented hair oil massaged into her hair, and a body cream with the same scent was rubbed all over her body. On the other hand, Sara also had hair oil and body cream used on her, but the scent was adjusted to be quite subtle.
"Hey, Sara, is this just for me?"
"You noticed well. Since you said you like roses, I had a special variety of strong-scented roses grown just for you. I'm also arranging for some solid perfume, but it will take a little longer to be ready. Oh, but we have plenty of rose oil, so I'll deliver some later."
"That's so luxurious!"
"Yes, right now, you're the only one who can wear that scent. It seems like you can't grow it in Avalon without the fairies' help, so it can only be made here. I've already invested a lot in you, so you have to become a princess for me."
Hearing Sara's words, Chloe's excitement started to rise little by little.
"Hey, Sara. Can I really become beautiful?"
"You ask such a strange question when you already know you're beautiful."
"I mean more beautiful than Sophia!"
"Roses, dahlias, and lilies are all beautiful in their own way. Do you want to decide which one is the best?"
Chloe let out a small sigh.
"I really think they're all beautiful. I'm such an idiot."
"Chloe's image is a red rose. Right now, it's just a light-colored bud, but as it grows, I plan to make the image color more vibrant."
"If that's the case, then Sara and Sophia are white lilies."
While they were talking about this, the massage ended, and Sara and Chloe left the bathroom in their robes.
"Hey, I think it's time for hair and makeup, but should we dry our hair completely? Or is it easier to style when it's a little damp?"
Thomashiina answered this question.
"It's fine to dry it, Miss. If needed, we can use oil while styling."
"Okay."
Sara used magic to dry both her and Chloe's hair in an instant.
"Let's finish the hair and makeup over there. You'd want it done by a human Lady-in-Waiting, right? The golems have great skills, but if we take their job, they might get sulky."
"That's true."
Sara and Chloe started to giggle. Then Thomashiina stepped forward.
"Well then, I'll take care of Sophia's hair and makeup here. Let's have Grazioso finish the dress and accessories over there."
"Okay, I'll keep the hallway clear for a while."
"Yes, Miss."
The hallway connected to the Maiden's Tower and led to Sophia's bedroom in the royal capital, so Sara and Chloe left the bedroom and headed to the dress room. In the dress room, Maria and Chloe's Lady-in-Waiting had set up the hair and makeup station and were waiting.
As soon as the girls arrived, the maids and lady-in-waiting gathered around them, applying light makeup and styling their hair. If someone looked closely, there were 2 dress mannequins neatly lined up against the wall, ready for today's outfits.
"Hey, Chloe. With this dress, don't you think I look more like a nemophila than a white lily?"
The mannequin had a small blue dress hanging on it, decorated with tiny blue and light blue flowers. The headpiece also had many of the same flower decorations.
"Well, it's cute, so it's fine, right?"
"Hmm, well, your dress looks more like a pinkish-orange than red. The rose decorations made of fabric are pretty."
As Sara pointed out, Chloe's dress had a color like orange roses, and there were many small rose decorations on the chest area. There was no headpiece, but there were lots of satin ribbons that matched the dress. They would probably braid these ribbons into her hair.
The skirt had a princess line and a cute vibe, but the chest area was more open than usual, making it look more mature.
"What should I do, Sara? I don't have a chest like Sophia!"
"If you had a chest like hers at your age, that would be weird! It's properly sized, and they added a little padding in the back, so you'll be fine."
"That makes me feel better. Lucas really does a good job."
"I heard the seamstress suggested it. They say girls your age want to look more grown-up."
"Really? I can't just let Jasmine make fun of me like this. Lucas and the seamstress are working hard too."
"Right. While we're in the capital, should we look for a craftsman to recruit?"
"Sounds good. Let's do that."
While Sara and Chloe were talking, a cute headpiece decorated Sara's hair. Her shiny silver hair was intentionally left down.
On the other hand, Chloe's hair was styled with a ribbon woven in, creating a loose updo. She had several small pins with rubies that sparkled red every time she moved. A necklace made of small but high-quality rubies adorned her chest, which was a bit more exposed than usual.
"This necklace is lovely."
"Thank you. But it's made from artificial gems I created."
"Still, a ruby is a ruby, right?"
"True, but I don't want it to be widely known, so please don't sell it or give it away."
"Okay."
"Now, let's move on to this."
Following Sara's words, the nearby golem Grazioso took out a small velvet box. Inside the box were earrings that matched the motif of the necklace.
"You have earrings too, Sara!"
"Since your hair is up, it would look empty without something for your ears."
"Thank you, Sara."
"You're welcome."
Thanks to the efforts of many golems and servants, the girls were ready. The one who took the longest to get ready was the golem Sophia. However, since Thomashiina styled Sophia's hair while she did her own makeup, the total time was quite short.
"Do you think we can make it to the carriage on time?"
"Hehe. Don't worry, Chloe. I sent an empty carriage ahead, so we just need to connect to it along the way. I think we have plenty of time."
"I see. Sara, you thought of that! It really saves us a lot of time!"
And so, the girls headed once again to the glamorous battlefield.
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