Oh…
I recovered from my surprise at the sheer length of the rack procession in approximately two seconds, and then I was already pressing forward with a rapidly beating heart to look at what the Madame had made.
And I—
Could not help producing a sound of amazement even greater than the one before. My eyes went wide and my mouth fell open.
My hands had already started clapping.
“Perfect…!”
The outfits the Madame had created were extraordinary.
She had reproduced contemporary designs — ones that might have seemed cryptic from her perspective — with flawless execution.
I hadn’t realized her skill extended this far.
Eyes shining, I grabbed the Madame’s hand before I had quite decided to.
“Completely perfect! These are exactly what I had in mind. This exceeds every expectation!”
The tense, audition-day look on the Madame’s face slowly dissolved. She was clearly trying to maintain her composure, but the corners of her mouth were trembling with poorly concealed joy.
“I’d like to continue working with you going forward, if you’re willing?”
“It would be an infinite honor, my lady. Whatever you entrust to me, I will give everything I have to meet your expectations.”
I finished the handshake with a wide smile — and then Axel appeared at my side. His hand found my arm and gently drew me a step away from the Madame, steering my attention toward the racks.
“What is all of this?”
“The outfits I mentioned — the gift for you, Your Highness!”
Axel’s expression tightened immediately as the nature of the clothing registered. He looked thoroughly uncertain how to respond.
And I had, in all my scheming, been counting on exactly that.
All according to plan.
I hid every trace of the calculation behind a perfectly bright smile.
“Please try them on, Your Highness.”
All of them.
“Full marks, Your Highness. Ten out of ten. You look incredible! This is the best!”
“Oh indeed! Absolutely magnificent, if I do say so!”
“My goodness. This outfit was made for the Grand Duke.”
In order — my assessment, then Xenon’s, then the Madame’s.
From the clean, student-like design to the effortlessly cool leather jacket — Axel wore each of them as though they had always belonged to him.
Faced with his staggering natural talent, I pressed my hand over my mouth. I pounded the cushion on the sofa with my fist, over and over.
I nearly didn’t get to see this. I nearly missed this entirely.
A small flare of anger toward the Crown Prince surfaced — and then dissolved entirely the instant I looked at Axel’s face.
Among all the designs I had commissioned, the one I had been most excited for was the black suit.
Axel walked out wearing a clean, sharp black suit. The fit could only be described as extraordinary — it was as though it had been created for no one else.
I would stake everything on this: no one in the world wore a suit the way Axel did.
Unlike me, who was thoroughly beside myself with excitement — Axel’s patience, after several hours of continuous fashion parade, appeared to be approaching its limit. The tightening at his brow made it obvious.
I moved quickly to offer a carrot. It came entirely from the heart.
“…Honestly, you’re incredible, Your Highness. Truly. You look amazing in everything. This has to be clothing only one person in all the world could pull off. I have never seen anyone wear every single thing so perfectly. This is a talent that transcends human limits!”
At the extensive praise, the corner of Axel’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly — but only briefly.
The carrot had been working in the early rounds, but after several hours, the effectiveness had clearly run dry.
The deep crease in Axel’s brow was showing no sign of smoothing out.
Sensing imminent danger, I was about to rush him along to the next outfit — when Axel stepped forward, walking toward me.
My heartbeat picked up with each step. The handsome really were best appreciated up close.
I was staring at him, slightly breathless and blank, when his brow creased and he spoke.
“…How many has it been now, Lady Melberine?”
“Exactly eleven.”
The speed of the answer left Axel briefly thrown. He exhaled faintly.
“…Right. Eleven, as you say. But don’t you think eleven is quite a lot?”
I replied with a slightly subdued expression.
“There are still a few more left…”
“…How many?”
“Oh, about ten?”
Axel’s face went rigid all at once. The relentless pace of the whole endeavor had, it seemed, worn him down considerably more than I had anticipated.
Sensing that something had to give, Axel’s expression set with sudden resolve.
“…Enough. I can’t continue. We are done with the outfits. Ask me for something else.”
“But.”
I looked at him with a perfectly transparent gaze. My lips and the corners of my eyes dropped gently downward.
“I’ve been so excited all day thinking about seeing you in these outfits, Your Highness, and I cried every single night during the misunderstanding… but if you’re finding it hard, I’ll stop… I’m sorry.”
I dropped my gaze and covered my mouth with one hand. The long lashes trembled as though tears might fall at any moment.
There was a muted sound — Axel biting down on his lip. Then the rough sound of a hand dragged across his face. And then, with an air of someone consenting to something against every instinct:
“…Now that I think about it, a few more outfits would probably be fine.”
“Really, Your Highness?”
I placed both hands together at my chest and beamed at him with full, unclouded radiance. Every trace of the near-tears expression had disappeared without a trace.
I held out the next outfit to him with a cheerful flourish.
“Then, this one please!”
Axel received it in something of a daze — and the expression on his face was that of a person who had just realized they had been had. Well. What could he do. He had walked right into it.
I smiled serenely. There was no refusing me now.
He looked at me for a long moment, let out a very quiet sigh, and returned to the dressing room with the outfit.
“Come back safely, Your Highness! Fighting — almost there!”
I waved after his rather tired-looking shoulders as he disappeared behind the curtain.
While waiting for Axel to emerge, I turned to Xenon.
“Come to think of it, Lord Shuian is nowhere to be seen today. Has he gone somewhere separately?”
Lord Shuian had a rather rigid sense of propriety, and I had been somewhat worried he would object loudly to putting the Grand Duke through a fashion parade. Fortunately, he was nowhere in evidence today.
I looked at Xenon.
“Oh, that’s, um…”
Xenon hesitated, looking as though he found this slightly difficult to explain.
What? Has something happened?
After a prolonged internal deliberation, Xenon finally opened his mouth.
“He was, ah… exiled — I mean, dispatched temporarily to a region short on personnel.”
“Ah, I see.”
I thought I heard Xenon say something before dispatched but it was too quiet to catch.
As Xenon and I exchanged light conversation, it seemed Axel had finished changing.
I quickly composed myself into the full and proper state of readiness for devoted admiration. The curtain opened, and Axel emerged — and we greeted him with another round of applause.
“Oh!”
At the front entrance of the manor, Father apologized to me with a genuinely sorry expression.
“We had plans to have lunch together, and now I’m leaving you alone like this — I’m sorry, my dear…”
“Not at all, Father. I’m perfectly fine. Lunch can happen any time. Please, go ahead.”
We had been planning to have lunch together for the first time in a while, but he had been called away by something urgent.
Father, deeply moved by my response, pulled me into a brief embrace. He offered a final goodbye.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Please travel safely.”
I waved as I watched him go. The moment he disappeared from view, I was already preparing to head out.
The canceled appointment was no great loss.
After all, I could simply go see Axel.
I had already told Axel I wouldn’t be coming today because of plans with Father.
“I’ll surprise him by showing up anyway.”
It wasn’t as though it would be much of a surprise — I had been showing up every day lately without exception — but in its own way, it was a kind of impromptu visit.
I finished getting ready quickly and set off for the palace.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I had visited the office during the afternoon, after lunch.
I knocked at the office door as usual and quietly let myself in.
“Hello, Your Highness! I’m here, isn’t this a complete surpr— hm?”
Mid-announcement, I stopped and blinked.
The office was empty.
That’s strange. Where has everyone gone?
I walked over to Axel’s desk and looked at the schedule on the table. Next to today’s date was written: Knight Training.
My eyes lit up with a new kind of interest.
…Knight training?
