Chapter 7: Dress-up Torture

The carriage carrying the two rolled down the main road. Inside the smoothly gliding carriage, Iris stared intently at Evrys.

Evrys, seemingly oblivious, gazed out the window with fascination.

Watching her, Iris recalled a conversation she had with one of the family knights before leaving.

“Did you see what happened in the training grounds?”

“What happened?”

“Someone cleanly split a dummy in half. With a wooden sword.”

“…”

“Whoever it was, they’re a blessing to our Knight Order. Though it’s annoying they didn’t even clean up after themselves.”

Iris was the only one who had used the training grounds before the other knights arrived.

The dummy had been fine when she left, so it couldn’t have split on its own… And if one of the knights had done it, they would have boasted about it, not run away.

That left two possibilities.

Either it was one of the knights who panicked and tried to hide it, or… it was the girl currently glued to the window.

Iris’s blood-red eyes scanned Evrys from head to toe, carefully scrutinizing every detail. It wasn’t a malicious gaze, but the discerning eye of a warrior assessing an opponent.

The lines of her body, flowing gracefully from head to waist, were beautiful. But there were no signs of training. Her pale arms, devoid of muscle, were the same.

Even her bare legs, visible below the hem of her dress, showed no such signs. She was well-proportioned, but… she didn’t have the physique of someone capable of such a feat.

Iris couldn’t believe it. Or rather, she didn’t want to believe it.

Even without examining her body, Iris knew Evrys was responsible. Logically, she understood.

The truth that this small girl had done it.

‘Were the past ten years of my training meaningless?’

The thought that this seemingly frail girl possessed such skill evoked a strange feeling in Iris. It was different from what she had felt yesterday. Darker, stickier, and… inferior.

This unfamiliar feeling felt like cracks forming on her usually impassive face.

“Something wrong?”

Evrys, noticing the change, tilted her head and turned from the window to face Iris.

Meeting her questioning gaze, Iris tried to calm her emotions.

But the more she suppressed them, the more they raged within her.

‘I shouldn’t judge people by their appearance. She isn’t an ordinary girl. Perhaps not even human. So, it’s only natural that she’s stronger than me.’

If she didn’t think that way, if she didn’t suppress her feelings, she felt like she might grab that pale neck in her hands.

Iris clenched her fists and forced a calm expression, as if nothing had happened.

“Nothing.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

Evrys turned back to the window.

Only then did Iris relax her grip. The imprint of her tight grasp remained on her gloves.

‘For the heir of the North to be consumed by emotions and have such wicked thoughts… This is all due to my lack of training.’

Sensing the negativity of her emotions, Iris blamed her lack of discipline.

For the time being, all she had to do was follow Evrys around, which was practically a break. Considering it an opportunity, she resolved to train harder.

Her mind filled with training plans.

Brutal ones.

The carriage stopped, and the door opened.

Evrys hopped out without hesitation.

Iris’s outstretched hand, meant to assist, grasped at empty air.

Watching her for a moment, Iris berated herself for her complicated, unpleasant thoughts and stepped out of the carriage.

However, she couldn’t bring herself to look Evrys in the eye.

“Oh my, that looks wonderful on you!”

“Do… do you have anything else?”

“You don’t like this one? Let’s see…”

“No, it’s not that─”

“How about this? This style is all the rage in the Imperial Capital right now. It would suit your hair color perfectly.”

‘This is driving me crazy.’

‘I meant something other than a dress, like pants! Why does she keep showing me the same things…?’

‘Did I not make myself clear? I definitely asked if they had pants.’

This woman was overly enthusiastic, desperate to put me in as many dresses as possible. I needed everyday clothes more than dresses.

‘I underestimated the romance fantasy world…’

‘I thought no one would be this pushy after seeing the Dukedom crest. Either the Duke has a great reputation, this woman has a death wish… or she has powerful backing.’

‘I thought she’d understand and bring me something else, but we’re not on the same wavelength.’

I looked at Iris for help, but she was staring at the ceiling with a serious expression, lost in thought.

“Miss! Wouldn’t it be better to try it on? It’s hard to tell just by looking. We have plenty of time, so how about it? Girls, help the young miss.”

She was a one-woman show.

The shop was closed to other customers, seemingly focused solely on me.

I wanted to yell, “Stop!”

But the Confucian blood that should have been coursing through my veins, but wasn’t, made me hesitate, and I ended up being dragged further inside.

I could have resisted with the strength I discovered this morning, but it would be troublesome if someone got hurt.

At least I was used to wearing dresses from my time in the mountains, so the discomfort was lessened… ‘But still, isn’t this a bit much!?’

“I apologize, Miss… Our madam has been searching for someone like you. She seems to be… overly excited.”

That sounded strangely pointed. This must not be the first time…

“What kind of person was she looking for?”

“Well… it’s not really our place to say…”

I had a feeling I knew.

“Miss, please, just this once, for our sake…”

Seeing them like this, resembling office workers forced to appease unreasonable demands from their boss, my heart softened.

‘If I try on a few, maybe she’ll calm down and show me other clothes? Right?’

“I’ll try on a few.”

“Thank you so much!”

Their faces lit up at my reply.

‘Just how much have they suffered…?’

The two who had followed me inside started undressing me. Since I wasn’t wearing much to begin with, it was over in an instant. Before embarrassment could set in, a measuring tape was wrapped around me. The employee taking my measurements gasped softly.

“You won’t even need a corset.”

“…That’s… good.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for this to be over. My body trembled slightly.

“I feel like I’m committing a sin…”

“Me too…”

The two helping me change muttered something, but it was too quiet to hear.

More importantly, I needed to stay calm and not flinch every time their hands touched me.

After what felt like hours, counting stains on the ceiling, I was finally dressed. Only a few minutes had actually passed.

“We’re done. Shall we go out?”

“Yes…”

The curtains opened, revealing the madam, already fussing in front of the mirror. Seeing her near tears, I couldn’t bring myself to complain.

The reflection in the mirror was undeniably pretty.

A girl with long silver hair, blushing in a bright party dress. If it weren’t my own face, I would have been mesmerized too.

“What do you think, Your Highness?”

Disappointed with my lukewarm reaction, she seemed to have decided to target Iris instead.

If this were a game, this would definitely be a bad choice. I expected Iris to be even less responsive, or just ignore her.

“…Not bad. We’ll take it.”

‘Huh?’

“As expected! You have excellent taste!”

I met Iris’s eyes.

Her expression was still unreadable.

‘What is she thinking?’

She seemed to become self-conscious and avoided my gaze.

‘Even you, Iris?’

“…Are we done now?”

“Oh my, not at all!”

“What?”

“This is just the beginning!”

“W-Wait!”

I looked at Iris with pleading eyes, hoping she would help me this time, but all I received was cold betrayal.

‘How could you do this to me!?’

“This one is expected to be back in fashion this year─”

After several more forced wardrobe changes, the torture finally ended. I probably tried on more clothes today than I had worn in my entire life.

‘Maybe not that many.’

And every time I came out in a new outfit, Iris insisted on buying it. I wondered if this was some kind of romance fantasy flex, but I couldn’t understand why she was doing this.

‘I’m probably not going to wear most of these. Why is she buying so many? I thought Iris would understand…’

‘At least the madam subtly suggested getting pants too, so she must have heard me.’

‘…Well, it’s better than nothing.’

My eventful first outing ended after sunset.