Chapter 27 The Villainess's Great Transformation
"Welcome, Rhiannon Mimi Clahsen. I'm Alice, and I'll be taking care of you today, Lady Rhiannon. Nice to meet you!"
Alice, a tall woman whose age was hard to tell, greeted Rhiannon with a beautiful bow and a bright smile.
"Right this way. The dress is ready."
"D-Dress!? It's done!? I don't remember ordering one!"
Alice quickly pulled a flustered Rhiannon into the back room.
Kaine watched with a smile as Rhiannon was taken away by Alice.
From there, it was a whirlwind for Rhiannon.
In the "back room" that Alice led her to, Rhiannon was immediately stripped of her clothes by the waiting maids.
Of course, shocked, Rhiannon screamed for help, but they ignored her completely.
After that, without any explanation, Rhiannon was washed from head to toe, and soon after, a pleasantly scented cream was applied to her skin, and fragrant oil was carefully worked into her long hair.
"Lady Rhiannon, your skin is already so fine, but using this special cream makes a world of difference."
Alice murmured with satisfaction, while Rhiannon, feeling flustered, asked, "Um, what's this oil...?"
"It's a hair cream made with plenty of rose oil and fragrance that the royals love. The exact blend is a secret, though..."
"Wow, so it's really fit for royalty..."
Hearing Alice's response, Rhiannon maintained a calm facade, but inside, she was trembling.
(How many days at the bakery would it take to afford a bottle of that oil!?)
Rose oil is so rare that you can only squeeze a drop from a whole carpet of petals.
Knowing they used it so generously, Rhiannon had no idea how expensive it must be.
(What about the payment...? There's no way I could afford it with just my allowance... Will they give me a discount since I'm a friend of Halesia...?)
Rhiannon, who was oddly preoccupied with trivial thoughts, was sweating uncomfortably on her back.
Working part-time at the bakery on the corner had completely changed her sense of money to that of a commoner.
Meanwhile, Alice, completely unaware of Rhiannon's feelings, gently stroked Rhiannon's slender cheek while applying her makeup.
"Lady Rhiannon, you're truly beautiful enough without any makeup. But since we're at it, let's go all out!"
"Y-yeah..."
"This is Alice Foreigner, and I'm here to support Lady Rhiannon's transformation with all my might!"
"Transformation!?"
"Ho ho ho, don't you worry. Since it's a request from none other than Lady Halesia, we'll give it our all!"
"H-huh..."
Rhiannon had been confused for a while now.
On top of that, there was unfortunately no mirror nearby, so she had no idea what her own appearance looked like.
All she could tell was that Alice and the maids around her were oddly gleaming with excitement, fussing over Rhiannon's "transformation.".
(Maybe this is Halesia's idea of a prank? If so, Kaine must be in on it too... Seriously, this is a bit too over the top for a surprise. I need a proper explanation later!)
With a small sigh, Rhiannon slipped her arms into the suddenly offered soft sage green dress.
It fit her so perfectly that she wondered if it had been made just for her.
She couldn't recall ever getting measured for a dress since arriving in the capital, which left her looking puzzled.
Alice carefully tied the dress's ribbon and gazed at Rhiannon with a dreamy look.
The other maids also wore expressions of satisfaction, as if they had just completed a big task.
"Lady Rhiannon, you look truly beautiful. Would you like to see yourself in the mirror?"
"Yes, please."
"Then this way. You're sure to be surprised!"
Alice led Rhiannon into the next room.
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Rhiannon covered her mouth with both hands as she looked at her reflection.
"Wow, this is amazing..."
This wasn't the usual awkward outfit that Kaine picked for her, nor was it the typical villainess look.
Instead, there stood an intelligent and beautiful noble lady, looking stunned.
"This is me..."
"Yeah, your impression has totally changed, right?"
Alice placed her hands on her hips and smiled confidently.
"Lady Halesia requested the toughest challenge: 'Change the impression 180 degrees without losing the original material and maximizing its potential...' but I think we nailed it."
"Yeah. It's incredible... I actually look like a nice person..."
Rhiannon pinched her cheek in disbelief.
It hurt, so it seemed this wasn't some kind of illusion.
Her beautiful but sharp features had transformed into a soft, gentle face, thanks to the combined efforts of Alice and the team.
She looked like a completely different person from the typical villainess she usually portrayed.
Plus, the dress made Rhiannon even more attractive.
The sage green dress hugged her body perfectly, making her fair skin look even whiter.
The design was sleek, with wide-open shoulders that revealed her delicate frame.
This dress suited her better than anything she had ever worn.
"This dress is amazing~desuwa."
"Yeah, it's custom-made. I heard Mr. Kaine gave detailed instructions to the designer."
"Kaine?"
Rhiannon reflexively asked, but quickly understood.
The dress fit her perfectly as if it had been tailored to her measurements because Kaine had already provided all her body size details.
As far as Rhiannon knew, Kaine always had her waist size down to the millimeter.
(I wonder just how much Kaine knows about my body shape...)
At this point, it was beyond just feeling weird; Rhiannon was honestly impressed.
That aside, she was happily watching her completely transformed self when a realistic problem suddenly crossed her mind, making her pale as she looked up at Alice.
"Uh, um, what about the payment for this...?"
"Oh, it's already been paid in full by Sir Kaine in advance."
"From Kaine!?"
Just as Rhiannon was taken aback, there was a knock on the door, and in walked Kaine himself.
"Oh, Kaine!"
Rhiannon smiled innocently at Kaine.
He paused for a moment, eyes wide in surprise, before breaking into a polite smile.
"...You look lovely, my lady."
"Right!? After all, I'm known as the Pearl of Tortone!"
"Ah, you seem as refreshingly the same as always on the inside."
With her usual narcissism, Rhiannon puffed out her chest proudly, while Kaine looked at her with a somewhat relieved smile.
Alice and the maids, with expressions that said "we've done what we needed to do," quickly bowed to Rhiannon without giving her a chance to thank them and returned to their duties.
Kaine, looking at Rhiannon again, bowed deeply and took her hand respectfully.
"Well then, let's go; the carriage is waiting."
"Huh, a carriage?"
"Yes, we're going to the ball now."
"Huh? Huh──!?"
At the sudden announcement, Rhiannon let out a silent scream.
She hadn't heard a word about going to a ball.
The whirlwind of events seemed far from over.
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