56. The Homes of Aristocrats and One’s Parents are Challenging (7)

A few days after the party, the Scheneider siblings visited their main residence, saying that the dress was ready to be tailored. Gaizel was still absent because of his work.

“Please try it so we can perfect the adjustments. Afterwards, we’ll start tailoring the main dress.”

Tistye and Elena moved to the next room as directed by Luka. When Elena helped Tistye get in the white dress, she focused on her body lines—such as her chest and her hips.

S, somehow, I look like a real bride…

Although it was just a prototype, it looked the same as a normal wedding dress. The only exception was that there were no flashy decorations or laces.

The appearance of the swaying, fluffy, skirt was also adorable. Looking at her own reflection, Tistye felt a little excited.

Before long, Elena stopped moving her hand. That was the cue for Tistye to say something.

“Pardon me, I’m sorry about the other day.”

“…I, it’s no problem.”

“I’ve done something that made you uncomfortable.”

Elena then shook her head in denial.

“That’s, you aren’t… thank you. Thank you.”

“Is your dress alright?”

“—No, that’s… already—”

Elena lowered her head, obscuring her expression with her long bangs.

Watching her, Tistye pondered.

She must’ve really cherished that dress…

But if Tistye were to ask about the dress again, Elena would surely deny it.

As such—

“—Elena, actually, I have a request.”

“W, what is it?”

“Where did you make this dress? I want to visit your workshop.”

Elena was bewildered by her sudden proposal. Tistye, wondering if she had been too direct as she waited for Elena’s response, internally screamed.

After pondering for a long time, Elena finally opened her mouth.

“I, I’ll ask my brother… he might let you.”

“Really!?”

Tistye joyfully wrapped her arms around Elena. Then, Elena’s eyes, which tended to be downcast, widened. Afterwards, Elena averted her gaze.

Tistye, who saw Elena’s reaction, became embarrassed and hurriedly released her.

It was time to return to Luka and the others so that he could work on Tistye’s dress.

Then, a noisy voice echoed from the corridor.

“—Your Majesty, you really don’t have time for this.”

“I know, but just for a little bit…”

Apparently, the ruckus came from Gaizel and Van. It seemed that Gaizel who shouldn’t have showed up did. Tistye tilted her head.

Instead of the reception room beside them, the door of the separate room where Tistye and the others currently were in was vigorously opened.

“Your Majesty, you got the wrong room.”

“It’s basically one room, anyway. It’s the same.”

The gazes of Tistye and Gaizel collided.

Gaizel remained expressionless as usual, while Tistye was akin to a wide-eyed deer.

“…”

Both of them had lost their voices. Only an awkward silence flowed as they stared at each other.

Eventually, Gaizel’s eyes made several round trips from Tistye’s face to her feet. When his gaze returned to her eyes, Gaizel blushed profusely.

“…I’m sorry.”

“I, it’s alright…”

After managing to squeeze that out, Gaizel closed the door with horrible awkwardness. As the vermillion color flashed across Tistye’s face, a destructive sound echoed from the hallway.

Van’s scream was heard immediately afterwards.

“Your Majesty!? What are you doing!? Now, there’s a hole in the wall!”

While listening to the rumbling steps of the servants and the screams they released, Tistye hurriedly changed her clothes while her face remained bright red.

A few days later, with the consent of Luka, Tistye visited their workshop.

“I’m sorry for how sudden this was…”

“No, this is certainly a good opportunity to see how we work?”

Although it was in the same royal capital and was in a relatively safe area with guards, Luka took the trouble to pick her up at the royal palace. In addition, she was to be accompanied by Luka himself for the entire day.

At first, Tistye was anxious because of that. However, she heard that Count Astel had once faced a period of great distress. Since that time on, the number of servants had been kept to a minimum.

Therefore, it was decided that both Luka and Elena would suffice.

A few minutes after being rocked inside the carriage, Tistye finally arrived at the residence of Count Astel. Two magnificent buildings lined the premise, one of which was the main residence where Luka and the others lived. The other was the workshop, or so Luka pointed out.

When they alighted from the carriage and stepped into the workshop, the craftsmen who saw Luka gave a hearty greeting all at once.

The inside seemed to be divided into several departments depending on the work process. Luka explained the function of each room.

“We usually cut the fabric here, and sew it in the sewing room.”

“Wow, that’s amazing…”

Within the room they first passed, the design was transferred into the fabric based on the pattern made by the designer. After that was done, they’d cut it carefully.

Shelves that reached the ceiling were lined with fabrics wrapped around a core, ranging from heavy to glossy.

In the next room, the craftsmen before the sewing machines were sewing at a tremendous speed. It seemed that there were many parts that couldn’t be handled by machines, and all of those parts had to be done manually.

“Once that’s done, we’ll decorate it and balance it with other accessories.”

“Is that a necklace?”

“Yes, we design it by referencing the empress’ tiara and shoes. It’s important to adjust it to the dress to keep it from standing out too much. At the same time, we have to ensure it isn’t too plain.”

As they moved to the back, they could see the dress’ completed form.

Luka smiled, saying that the fine embroidery could only be done by human hands. If it was elaborate, it could take up to two months just to decorate the dress.

After they slowly looked around the workshop, Luka invited her to the private room in the main residence so that Tistye could take a break.

The large office desks and bookshelves were laid out in a dust-free manner, as if to present the meticulous personality of Luka.

Luka, who sat on the sofa in the opposite of Tistye, gazed at her while she drank the served tea.

“Who would’ve thought that Her Majesty the Empress would be interested in our work. Aren’t you bored?”

“No! It’s a great learning opportunity. This is the first time I have ever seen anything like this!”

“…That’s very kind of you, Your Majesty.”

Suddenly, Luka’s eyes, which were behind his glasses, sharpened.

“Many aristocrats don’t like the way we do things. How we make money, what is it to them?”

“…”

“But we have our method. For that reason, I’ll use anything.”

Silence descended into the room.

Listening to Luka’s words, which was filled with strong determination, Tisyte remembered the list of invited guests—

—Luka Schneider, Count of Astel.

He was an unfortunate count who lost his parents in an accident and succeeded his family at a young age. His only relative was his sister, Elena. They were the sole legacy of their parents.

He was once at risk of losing his title, but his clothing business was a massive success, and he made a huge fortune.

If Gaizel was a war genius, then Luka was a business genius.

The fact that he also handled the designing came as a surprise to Tistye.

If I’m not careful, I feel like he’s going to read my heart…

With a slight sense of tension, Tistye continued to speak with Luka.

Then, Elena showed up, probably because of Luka’s summon.

“You’ve finally decided to come.”

“…Excuse me.”

“Your Majesty, if you like, why don’t you talk to Elena for a while? This girl rarely goes out to play. As you’re almost of the same age, she could make for a good conversation partner.”

Luka’s words caused her to be concerned. Tistye looked at Elena’s face.

Elena remained silent and didn’t argue in the slightest.

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***T/N: Inward, I keep asking why Tistye had so much time to poke her nose into someone else’s business but neglect her husband, the male lead, to a T.

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