CH 43

“Eat one at a time. This is because they’ve been idle while I have been away for so long.” 

Idle? Alexa was blown away. 

The Grand Duchess, who made the people look as if they were ‘idle’ and Alexa’s things as ‘cheap’, clicked her tongue disapprovingly. The Grand Duchess has a special sense of money, probably because she wasn’t a human. She overturned Alexa’s dress room in one day and spent an astronomical amount of money. 

“Goodness, everything is going exceptionally well as expected with Your Highness’ presence. Of course. It should have been like this from the beginning.” The Head Maid said with an exhausted face. 

Alexa raised her hand. 

“Alexa, tell me.” 

“I am growing up now, so I don’t need that many dresses. I will have to wear a new dress next year.” 

She tried to say her opinion. It just so happened that at the same time, the Grand Duchess was in the dressing room and was buying her dresses, having brought all the available dresses from the boutique. 

As Madam Sharon came after being contacted to make the dresses, they arrived to take Alexa’s measurements. Alexa shook her head as more than 20 dresses were already chosen. 

“Goodness. You were very simple and meek. That’s only natural, Alexa. How can you wear the same dress with the same lace and ribbon shapes? You wear a dress for a day, and you wear another one day after day.” 

What? Alexa opened her mouth. She wished someone would stop the Grand Duchess, but the maids looked at her as if it was the right thing to do. 

“I’m, I’m really fine…”

“Tch, I can see just how cheap Visten was. Alexa, you don’t have to worry anymore.” 

“It’s not…”

“Goodness, you are this small? I’m sure I heard you were 16, can you even walk with those legs? You look like you’re going to break at any moment.” 

The Grand Duchess looked at Alexa’s legs with a very worried look. 

“I’m healthy!” Alexa answered with a frantic look. What do you mean my legs would break? The eyes of the people in the Grand Duchy were very strange. 

“I can be considered strong among humans. I am not that short either.” 

As she said that while looking at the Grand Duchess, it was like she was eight-year-old again, whining, ‘I have grown up this tall, Mom! I am an adult now, too!’ Alexa realized that the Grand Duchess won’t bite her even if she raised her voice a little. No, none of the Grand Duchy’s people listened to Alexa in that respect before. It all started from that day. 

Alexa looked at the pile of ribbon boxes with a crestfallen face. The boxes of colorful ribbons piled up taller than Alexa’s height. And when the new morning dawned, more boxes of colorful ribbons piled up. These were the things the Grand Duchess ordered for Alexa. 

“…Head Maid. Can I wear all of these?” 

“Her Royal Highness told you, right? You don’t have to look like that. You just have to wear what you like.” 

Alexa remained silent in response to the Head Maid’s words. Only Ysildus comforts her heart. Ysildus clung to Alexa’s leg. Alexa patted him on the head as he demanded attention. 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Selina watched as the maids carried out lines of dresses one by one she had never worn before. 

“Unnie, why are you taking them out?” 

Did Alexa give them to the maids? Selina hid her vicious heart. 

“No, the Grand Duchess told us to throw these out as they all looked crude. She will make a new dress room.” The maid glanced at Selina and answered. 

Selina’s face became pale white. It reminded her of what happened before, when she hid inside Alexa’s dressing room to try one of those and was lashed out by Terrun. 

Selina gnawed on her lips. Alexa was throwing out things she had never worn before. Why aren’t any of these are Selina’s? 

Selina suppressed her jealousy and said, “Let me help you.”

“You?”

The maids looked at Selina feeling uneasy. In the meantime, Selina raised her chin as if she was different from the maids. The Head Maid teaching her to know her place was of no use. 

The maids had said that Selina would be kicked out or killed in a little while. But now, she was helping them out of nowhere. They shuddered at that, but the maids let her help. 

Selina opened the door of the dressing room widely. New boxes were piled up on one side of the empty dress room. 

“Haa….”

Selina swallowed a sigh filled with envy and looked around the dress room. Among the things arranged to be thrown away, these were the things Selina would never have for the rest of her life. 

Selina lifted them up pretending that she was to take them outside. Even if she stole some of these, no one would notice. Selina looked around more and shoved some jewels in her pocket. She came as she pretends to be working hard moving things. It was because she knew that it was better to have money than nothing, and the more she had, the better. She envied Alexa more. 

As the bedroom of the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess opened, the Grand Duke’s Castle was livelier. The number of people coming and going also increased. Selina intended to take advantage of the opportunity. She had a wicked smile on her face. 

(T/N: Once you feel envy towards a person, it will inevitably grow inside you and make you think of wicked things. It is better to be content with what you have, instead of constantly comparing yourself to other people.)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Alexa’s main concern was the amount of money the Grand Duchess spent in a single day. But unlike her worries, the maids were still focused on how to make Alexa beautiful. 

“This is alright now. We’ll have to choose a dress for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” 

What did I just hear? Alexa thought, feeling dispirited. 

She was now waiting to have lunch with the Grand Duke as she held Ysildus in her arms. The Grand Duchess told the maids to dress Alexa up so that she won’t be lacking in front of the Grand Duke. What the Grand Duchess meant was that Alexa could sit at the table with the Thersion family. The duty of the maids became of great importance. 

“We can’t do more today. The Grand Duchess’ arrangements were happening soon today… so I think this is the best.” 

“Alexa, it’s all done.” 

“… Thank you for the hard work.” Alexa muttered quietly. 

In the eyes of the Grand Duchess, Alexa looked nobler and prettier than usual. 

“Ysildus. Do you also think she’s pretty?” 

“Kiiing?”

Ysildus tilted his head as if asking what she was talking about. 

“What does Ysildus know? Alexa, you’re so pretty.” 

“I was worried because your body was way too small, but I think you’ve grown a little taller. You can fit into a prettier dress next year.” 

Alexa nodded her head as she didn’t want to bother about it anymore. 

Click – 

“Are you ready?” Waiting at the front door all along, Terrun asked. 

Alexa nodded at him, and he walked in with a sullen face. Terrun went to find Alexa as soon as he woke up in the morning, but he was ruthlessly scolded and kicked out of the door for peeking in at the unfinished lady’s toilette. 

He learned the word toilette for the first time from the Grand Duchess. He carefully asked a maid about it, in which she answered, ‘That’s what you call a room for a woman to dress herself.’ And in another sense, it was the process of how the dressing up goes. Toilette is a place where no man can enter without permission until the noblewoman allows it. 

(T/N: If you want more information, you can go to this link.)

Anyways, thanks to that, Terrun has that face. As Ysildus was a puppy, he wasn’t kicked out. Ysildus greeted Terrun triumphantly. 

“Arf! Aarf!”

You were kicked out, right? I wasn’t. He looked at Terrun as if telling him that. 

Seeing Ysildus gently waving his tail, Terrun bit his lips. With a gloomy face, Terrun said, “Me too….”

“Huh?”

“I want to be a girl too.”

The maids burst into laughter at what Terrun mumbled. 

“Oh my, Sir Terrun. Then Sir Terrun, would you also like to try on a dress?” The maids asked him playfully. 

Terrun alternately looked at Alexa and the annoying Ysildus, then nodded his head. 

“Yes!”

“Oh?”

Alexa was so embarrassed for him that she didn’t have the time to say that it wasn’t necessary. The maids smiled and came inside Alexa’s dress room for the largest and longest dress. 

“What do you think of this dress, Alexa? Can Terrun try it on?” 

“It doesn’t matter…”

You’re going to wear a dress so you won’t be kicked out of the toilette? Are wolves always this unique? 

While Alexa was thinking about how to tell Terrun that simply wearing a dress won’t make him a woman, but that it might be possible if he removes what is underneath that dress.