The Bad Ending of an Otome

“…”

I wasn’t aware of Cassio’s comments, but the sun was already high in the sky when I opened my eyes. It was no surprise, given that I had fallen asleep again at nearly daybreak.

It would be customary in a noble home, especially for a lady, to wake up casually around midday, but I had been leading a diligent life even just the day before yesterday…

“Miss!”

I blinked in response to the unexpected loud voice. Kitty was sitting next to my bed, her eyes twinkling.

“…Kitty?”

“Are you finally getting up or will you be sleeping for some more?”

If I mentioned I was going to sleep more, my face sagged strangely, so I quickly denied it.

“Ah, no.”

“Here is the water for washing.”

“…”

Yes, this was a wealthy aristocratic young lady’s life… I quickly wiped my face with water that wasn’t frigid or heated and noticed a silver tray Kitty had brought in. Freshly made soft bread, scrambled eggs, delicate bacon, apples, orange juice, and milk were all on the menu. I immediately bit into an apple and shoved bread with butter into my mouth, thanks to Kitty excitedly monitoring alongside me to check if anything was missing or if there was anything I needed. I drank juice in between.

“What about the Countess?”

“She left very early.”

“…Is there anything scheduled for today?”

“The young master said he has reserved the dressing room and that it’s okay to be late as long as you stop by today.”

‘Sometime today, even if it’s late,’ she says.

There’s no way the dressing room could be so leisurely with the social season right on the threshold, no matter how much you’ve reserved in advance. Because the time it takes to come and go by carriage is large, it would be more convenient to leave as soon as the preparations are finished to avoid accidentally having the dressing room personnel work overtime.

Other young aristocrats may badger and insist that the doors be unlocked even late at night, claiming that ‘they get paid for their work anyway, right?’ But, having had direct experience with unpleasant clients when selling a loaf of bread or a cup of coffee, I had no intention of becoming one of them. However, even the countess has left. Do I have to go to the dressing room by myself, choose an outfit, and get ready? Is it expected that Casio Brahamdorff will accompany me?

I completed my dinner and contemplatively changed into a delicate sky blue dress for a night out. It’s fairly uncommon for partners to go to the dressing room to coordinate clothing, but…

I pulled my hair up high and fixed it with a matching ribbon and hairpin adorned with aquamarines. I finished applying light makeup and put a delicate sapphire necklace around my neck. It felt inconvenient to wear all of these items when I’d have to try on and select a matching clothing anyhow, but it was easy to appear dismissive if I arrived too casually.

I’m not making my debut on my own; I’m making my debut in front of the wealthy Brahamdorff family. In this environment, being careless is as stupid as inviting unneeded criticism. Kitty’s expression was always joyful and eager as she assisted me in getting dressed. The head maid approached me and chatted pleasantly while Kitty was out informing her that I was ready to go out.

“The Countess went to the salon today for an appointment with Lady Martinez. Instead, if you go to the dressing room first, the master will stop by when his schedule has been completed.”

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“I’ve been ordered to serve you without reservation. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“It may be inconvenient for you to travel with only one maid. May I suggest two capable hands?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could arrange for that.”

“Understood.”

I was mortified by the formality with which she talked. Dealing with high-ranking women who demand the usage of honorifics is preferable (since Emilia is of lower noble ranks, she’s saying that the head maid need not to talk to her with such honorifics). Even head maids and butlers in renowned households with a lengthy history are frequently lower-ranking nobility who have served for decades. I had grown up with Ophelia, so instead of uncomfortable honorifics, I used to blend in informal discourse as if we were family while I was in the Marquis’ house.

I couldn’t possibly speak casually to someone else’s dedicated servant who is at least three times my age, and given my near proximity to an invited visitor in this house, courteous language would be inappropriate as well… This was all due to my roots, which were similar to those of a fallen nobility. Although I appeared not to be affected and acted casually, I was as tense as a jar of jam that had been securely shut.

In front of the mansion stood a lovely and elegant carriage, as if to display the affluence of the Brahamdorff family. Inside the vehicle were two servants who seemed to speak little and Kitty. Kitty feigned to enjoy the scenery outside the window calmly next to me, whether she was aware of the other maids, but couldn’t stop herself from periodically talking to me.

The street where the dressing rooms were mostly located could be identified from a distance because carriages belonging to wealthy families were heavily parked in front of each establishment. A carriage with a recognizable crest was parked close to the dressing room we were looking for.

When we arrived, one of the maids who had come with us seemed to have been informed in advance and got off first to speak with someone who appeared to be a staff member. I stepped out of the carriage with Kitty gently. A middle-aged woman, who appeared to be the dressing room’s owner, rushed out to welcome me.

“Did you come from the Brahamdorff family?”

The maid next to me nodded instead of me. With a nice grin, the woman guided me.

“Brahamdorff family reservations are always welcome. I’m Madam Edire, the clothing magician! Please enter! Come on in and relax. Clothes are usually a leisure product. Can you notice clothing when you’re rushing about like a rabbit? I always use the best tea leaves. Take a deep breath and savor some treats…”

“It appears you have another visitor.”

“Hohoho, just as butterflies are attracted to flowers, so are customers to beautiful clothes.”

The maid who spoke shifted her demeanor subtly. But she couldn’t say anything since she was frowning. I laughed bitterly and walked inside silently. The Brahamdorffs appeared to have made a wholesale appointment, but the dressing room had taken another customer in the interim.

“Do I just sit here and wait?”

“Just take a deep breath, just take a deep breath. Take a look at this catalog…”

“Oh my goodness!” 

An outcry arose from a distance as Madam appeared to be taken aback and began to create a fuss.

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful lady!”

“This is a reversal, a turn of fate.”

“It’s as if the flower of this season has already been decided.”

Madam masked her discomfort with a faint grin, called an employee to serve the tea, and moved out of the way when she heard that exclamation. With a frightened expression on her face, Kitty whispered to me.

“It appears that there was another guest, despite the fact that we had made a reservation…”

I answered casually.

“That’s possible.”

The Brahamdorff family’s filthy fortune may allow them to hire the full dressing room for a season, but other families would never back down as well. It’s hardly surprising that they’d take other clients in the interim, especially because we didn’t specify when we’d arrive.

Furthermore, the craftsmanship was pretty outstanding, judging by the garments hanging on the mannequin and those depicted in the catalog. Lip service such as ‘the customer is the best’ and ‘the customer will stand out this season’ is commonplace. I stopped turning the pages packed with patches of fabric while I was leisurely glancing through the catalog, thinking I should remove the clothes that didn’t appear to suit me at all.

The dressing room door opened once again. Someone entered the room.

It was a man I had never expected to see here.

He wore spectacles and had long blue hair pulled back. He clutched a bouquet of white lilies that appeared to overflow in his arms. It was a scene I had never seen before, not even in my fantasies. The man’s expression seemed strange. To put it simply, it was… yeah. It was a ‘in love’ expression. A face completely consumed by emotion, seeing nothing else.

Even a tiny bend of his head would have shown that I was seated on the sofa, gazing at the catalog, but the man didn’t look around or pause as he marched deeper into the dressing room.

At first look, he appeared to be of good quality, with his dark blue suit, white cravat, and pocket watch pinned to his breast. At first sight, he appeared to be a man with such a chilly and cerebral demeanor that no one would approach him, but today was different. His face was filled with a faraway ecstasy, as if a glacier had melted into a June sea. (Summer sea)

“Lady Elodie.”

The guy had a euphoric expression, as though in love, regardless of who said what.

“I am terribly late.”

A gentleman who kneeled on one knee and humbly handed a bouquet of flowers. A quiet exclamation could be heard all around. It appeared to be from the workers. And quite deservedly so. A woman’s form emerged from the changing area, which was disguised behind layers of curtains and screens. A woman as lovely as a flower in bloom. Natural silver hair, light and flawless white skin, and green eyes that even the best emerald cannot equal.

“Don’t say such a thing, Mr. Edmund…”

A clean and pure voice, trembling as though shy, rolling on a silver platter like a pearl.

“I don’t know how to repay everything you’ve given me, Mr. Edmund.”

“Do not make such heartbreaking remarks.”

As though overcome with emotion, the guy stifled his voice and put the back of Elodie’s palm to his brow. It was a respectful gesture. The sight was absolutely like something out of a picture. It was the perfect lady and hero from classic romantic books. The dressing room personnel were smiling as they watched the spectacle.

In other words, everything was well-staged, my company and I felt like extras in the action, sitting next to the well-prepared table and sofa. I talked gently to the maid who was standing by my side.

“It appears that we should depart now. Does the carriage remain nearby?”

“…I will summon it.”

The maid discreetly vacated her position. As I slid the catalog to the side of the table, I realized that all of the Brahamdorff family’s personnel are capable.

It was inexcusably perfect timing, whether coincidence or not. It was so intense that I became skeptical of who may have orchestrated it.

I didn’t anticipate running across anyone I’d known before when I decided to make my debut in high society. There was always the chance of bumping into them previously. The social season was approaching, and many nobles had traveled up from their own kingdoms to prepare.

Yes, hardly many dare to come in and seek time in the popular dressing room frequented by the Brahamdorff family. Edmund Gloucester was much too important a person for a little dressing room to continually diminish. It’s better to go softly before they become too involved in their own world and see me…

“Besides, there are other customers here. If I continue to be a bother…”

“Other customers, you say?”

…Is it too late to escape now?

The man’s gaze scanning the store paused directly at me, with a tone implying–in fact, a tone full of the purpose to kick out any tiny fry who dared to make problems here–that questioned where other customers were.

The man, who had been looking about confidently and perhaps smugly, froze on the spot in an instant. The transformation was so powerful that I mistook myself for a corpse for a time. The lily arrangement he was carrying in one hand shattered on the floor, producing a loud noise. The lily bunches collided, and their distinct pungent perfume wafted into the air.

A rush of wind blew through the man’s blue eyes. He just gazed at me, as if he couldn’t believe it. Everyone held their breath as the atmosphere abruptly changed. Even Elodie, who had just received Edmund Gloucester’s fervent courting, was looking at me with wide eyes. It was terrifying for me.

Aren’t you worried that the girl you’ve been pursuing with a bouquet of flowers is likewise scared? Didn’t you even have those eyes when Ophelia died?

Kitty trembled and clutched my arm, as though to shield me from the man. To calm Kitty down, I softly touched the back of her hand. When he saw me, my hand, and Kitty clutching to my side, the man’s glare sharpened even more.

“What is this… you.”

The man approached me, casually stomping over a smattering of flowers on the floor like explosives. The dressing room staff, the maids who had come with me, and even the lady who raced out when the situation turned severe, maybe while gathering clothing, all gazed at me. Sitting on the sofa, I responded quietly.

“…Are you a regular at this shop?”

“Why. Are. You. Here. Right. Now?”

As though gnashing his teeth, the guy spit out his remarks. His stare was threatening. Even when confronted with the most dangerous foe, the eyes would be gentler than that.

“I’m in front of you.”

I was actually agitated. The man’s eyes were viciously trembling. To the uninitiated, we seemed to be lovers who had secretly eloped, and I had suddenly appeared arm in arm with another man. The dressing room personnel did indeed gaze back and forth between me, Elodie, who was perplexed by the circumstance and was emitting a menacing aura towards me, as if assessing the likelihood of a love triangle.

A love triangle… a love triangle, indeed. It’s a typical occurrence in social circles, but what about that man and me? What about the woman in the middle? For a brief period, I was taken aback by the unexpected circumstance, but my cool gradually returned. I maintained my cool.

“Please follow the etiquette Sir Edmund.”