Chapter 15…
After meeting Cleas, Ellie couldn’t tear herself away from the mirror.
“Am I really that pretty…?”
Strictly speaking, Cleas had only complimented Ellie’s outfit, but when someone says you’re “pretty,” such details hardly matter.
“Pretty” was not the kind of praise she could often hear from her brother.
It wasn’t that her brother was stingy with compliments, but he only ever said things exactly as they were. Soft, fluffy words like “pretty” simply weren’t part of his vocabulary.
‘Brother, this flower is so pretty!’
‘It’s a white flower.’
‘It’s tiny! Looks like a grain of rice!’
‘Yes, the petals are quite small.’
That was how it usually went.
Even when Ellie tucked the flower behind her ear and asked, “How do I look?”, it was the same.
‘It harmonizes well with the color of your hair.’
‘…What does that even mean?’
‘Hm… The color combination is perfect?’
It seemed even her brother wasn’t sure what he was saying.
But unlike her brother, Ellie had learned from books the exact meaning of the word “pretty.” She also came to understand what it meant in her heart.
People had different standards of beauty, she read. The same thing could look beautiful or unpleasant depending on the heart that looked at it.
So, she was delighted that Cleas had a heart that saw her as pretty.
“You are lovely. Our princess is always so lovely.”
Beside her, Madam Laval showered her with her usual exaggerated praise.
Ellie pouted and finally stepped away from the mirror.
She had truly been happy when Cleas called her pretty, but Madam Laval’s words were just so-so.
“Then shall we go look at dresses again today?”
“Dresses?”
“Yes, one can never have too many dresses.”
“Uh, hm…”
Ellie grew a little tense at Madam Laval’s suggestion.
Pretty dresses were wonderful. But she remembered the story of Princess Ellia, who bought too many dresses and was eventually driven away.
She mustn’t walk the same path.
What made it worse was how irresistible dresses were. When she saw them, she wanted them, and when she wanted them, it was hard to keep herself in check.
“As the seasons change, you must prepare clothes suited to each. And since you’re growing, if you don’t have new dresses fitted each year, soon you’ll have nothing left to wear.”
It was as if Madam Laval had read Ellie’s heart, giving her a perfectly reasonable excuse to buy dresses.
When Ellie lived with her brother, clothes were simply something to cover her body.
They served only to keep out the cold and bugs.
When her body grew and her clothes no longer fit, her brother would somehow bring back new ones. He never brought more than two or three.
The forest where they lived had no real seasons. It was always cool, except for the rare days that were too cold and needed a fire, or too warm so sleeves had to be rolled up.
But in the world of books, there were spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And she had read that people needed clothes suited for each season.
“That’s why you must buy clothes in advance, before the season changes.”
“Ah!”
“And since you will become queen, you’ll need even more splendid, finer clothes.”
That made sense.
A queen couldn’t dress too poorly.
Ellie gave a small nod.
“Then tomorrow, I’ll summon the Minister of Finance, and we’ll draw up a dress plan.”
“Okay!”
“And shall we pick who to invite for lunch tomorrow?”
Madam Laval handed her the guest list again.
There was a small star drawn next to Cleas’ name.
Since he had already been invited once, calling him again would be seen as favoritism.
Ellie had also heard Cleas was busy, so she hadn’t thought of calling him again anyway.
‘I’ll just go to him instead!’
But of course, she couldn’t simply visit whenever she liked.
A king’s outing required much preparation.
And she was told that if she didn’t spread invitations fairly, others would be hurt.
“Duke Berndt was a fine companion last time since he was of similar age. Why don’t we invite some young ladies again? The ones I recommended before.”
“Mm…”
Ellie hesitated.
The girls Madam Laval had suggested last time were indeed Princess Ellia’s real friends. But her brother had said bluntly they weren’t very good friends.
‘Friends who only play with you when times are good aren’t true friends. True friends help you when times are hard.’
Those girls had abandoned Princess Ellia when she was in trouble.
They were the kind of friends who made you lose the desire to see them before you even met them.
But still, Ellie thought she should meet them herself to find out.
After all, Cleas had been of little significance in Princess Ellia’s life before—but after meeting him, Ellie found him wonderful.
Maybe it would be the same with these girls.
“Alright! I’ll meet them!”
Ellie decided bravely to challenge herself with making new friends.
“A splendid decision! I’ll send word at once.”
Madam Laval was delighted at Ellie’s choice.
Seeing Madam Laval so happy, Ellie too grew cheerful.
To make a good impression on her new friends, Ellie put extra effort into her appearance that day.
Ordering new dresses was something to be careful about, but dressing up splendidly in the ones she already had should be fine!
The result:
Flare! Flare!
“Your Highness… perhaps if we just trimmed one ribbon?”
“No!”
“Then at least the flowers—”
“No way!”
At Ellie’s firm refusals, the maids retreated with tears in their eyes.
Her taste had not changed.
“You seem to have put in even more effort than usual today, Princess,” Madam Laval ventured cautiously.
But the advice was phrased too much in the subtle style of high society, and Ellie completely missed the point.
“Of course! I’m meeting new friends! They’ll all come dressed up, won’t they? Since I’m the princess, I need to be even prettier!”
“Ah, I see…”
Madam Laval could only sigh.
Well, if the princess says ‘Flare’ is pretty, then the world must change its perspective accordingly.
And so the princess stepped out, embodying her full “flare,” to meet her new friends.
The maids followed behind, picking up the flowers that fell from her dress with every step.
“Princess Ellia, we greet—oh my.”
“Wow!”
The two young ladies each let out their own exclamations of wonder.
Madam Laval shut her eyes tightly. She knew exactly what kind of “wonder” that was.
They had raised this princess so carefully, so beautifully… She was supposed to continue growing into a sweet, charming young lady. But with her lost memories overlapping with the stubbornness of a seven-year-old, things had taken a disastrous turn.
“Nice to meet you!”
Still, the two girls quickly collected themselves at Ellie’s greeting.
“I am Fabian, eldest daughter of Count Senol.”
“I am Juruna, second daughter of Marquis Chent.”
The two young ladies curtsied gracefully, their petal-like dresses fluttering prettily.
Ellie was astonished at their refined manners.
‘They look more like princesses than me!’
Fabian was older than Ellie, which gave her a far more mature and composed air.
But Juruna was not far behind. Though she looked childish, she carried herself with a surprising dignity.
Ellie suddenly felt her confidence falter.
‘Am I… okay?’
Ellie valued everything being bigger, fancier, and more plentiful.
Fabian and Juruna, however, valued harmony in the whole picture.
It wasn’t so different from what the maids and Madam Laval had advised her earlier.
“You’re both so pretty…”
Ellie’s honest compliment made Fabian and Juruna giggle behind their hands. Even their little laughter sounded elegant.
So this is what sophistication means, Ellie thought.
“Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness.”
“Your Highness is also very pretty.”
At Juruna’s words, Ellie’s drooping head snapped up.
“Really?!”
“Yes, I want to wear that royal ribbon too.”
“…!”
Since Juruna had pointed it out so specifically, it had to be genuine.
She even went on to inspect Ellie’s outfit closely.
“That lace pattern—I don’t think I’ve seen it before. May I ask whose work it is?”
“Hm? I don’t know.”
“Ah… then where might I find beads like the ones on that ribbon?”
“I don’t know either…”
Ellie was bewildered by the detailed questions.
Was she supposed to know such things?
“I believe the lace may be the work of Madam Saran,” Fabian interjected.
“Her lace always has teardrop-shaped knots at the ends. Unless someone imitated her…”
“Ah! As expected of Lady Fabian!” Juruna clapped in admiration.
Fabian bowed modestly, but pride gleamed in her eyes.
“Lady Fabian knows an incredible amount about fashion and decoration.”
“R-really?”
“Yes! Next time, let’s go choose dresses together, Your Highness!”
Juruna’s excitement made Fabian bow her head again in graceful humility.
“It is excessive praise, but it would be the greatest honor to select dresses alongside Your Highness.”
“Uh… o-okay…”
“After all, it will be Your Highness who leads the fashions of high society from now on.”
“M-me?”
“Of course! Everyone will strive to copy the dresses you wear, the accessories you put in your hair, even the shoes on your feet.”
Fabian spoke with certainty.
But rather than feeling proud, Ellie grew uneasy.
If it wasn’t just about enjoying the pleasure of wearing a pretty dress, but she had to study and develop fashion trends… that was something entirely different.
Unlike these girls, Ellie had no intention of diving into dresses so professionally.
She realized then that dresses weren’t truly her hobby after all.
