The night passed with not many problems. Estella researched into elves and the beast as much as she could, before calling it a night.
Fenrir patrolled for a small bit of time after she went to bed, but didn't notice any unusual things before quickly returning. Once six am reached, he was promptly forced out of the room as Estella was rushed to take a bath.
Waking up once the water touched her, she shivered a little. It was a good thing she called it an early night, she wasn't sure if she'd actually manage the shopping trip if the maids took another two or three hours to prepare her again just because she was with Aezirian royalty.
When breakfast finally came, she barely had time to take a seat when Ivonne started talking to her, seeing as she was the last to arrive. "We've all decided to go, but we need to hide our appearances first, including you. Royalty shouldn't exactly be seen in public."
What did that have to do with her? She isn't royalty, so couldn't she just go as herself like yesterday? she wanted to ask but chose against it. "Continue." She said instead.
Smiling, she explained. "We'll still be dressed like nobility but we'll be using contacts and wigs, along with you. It's best if the future duchess isn't seen yet until the victory ceremony we decided." Looking briefly at Aesterix, she could feel that was partially his idea, but sighed it off.
Looking at Fenrir, she tried to hide her annoyance. "Please tell the maids to prepare a disguise for me, and for you as well." She ordered. Although Fenrir was shocked that he also had to wear a disguise, he didn't say anything.
It seemed like everyone else understood, though. He was extremely good-looking, no one would forget his face. If he was with her yesterday, he'd immediately be recognised. Estella's only fear now was the fact everyone looked too pretty to be regular nobles.
After breakfast and finally finished getting ready, she had to admit she didn't look too bad with a wig or contacts.
She had mid length black hair and blue contacts, while she wore a semi-fancy dress, with not too much decoration. Fenrir had short grey hair and brown eyes with a cloak covering his face as well, another thing to not make him stand out.
Aesterix only wore blue contacts but changed his hairstyle to be a little messier, adamant about still looking similar to his sister. Hyre and Leila were now blondes, Ivonne and Carsion being brunettes, and Felix had black hair. All their eyes were a mixture of mostly blue, brown, and hazel.
She had to admit everyone looked very pretty, like she had feared. She started to question why they did it again as the younger kids started talking about how fun dress up is. It seems more like they wanted to play and roped everyone else into it.
"You nearly look like a couple with Leila as your child." Felix smugly commented as he looked at Hyre and Estella, making her give him a silent thumbs up in her head, perhaps dressing up wasn't too bad, and neither was this kid.
Seeing the faintest blush on his cheeks, she decided to make a little push to her road of harem. "Then Ivonne and Aesterix would be
your's and Carsion's parents." she said while looking at the two, making him nod and agree with her.
It was like the two shared the same brain for a moment as Felix said what she was thinking. "Then let's go shopping in two pairs of four, with our respective families. I doubt we'd all find what we want in one store, so to save time we could have fun with our groups. We can choose a meet up spot later." Oh how this child was a genius, if he ever needed her help she'd be right over, she thought.
Before Aesterix could disagree, Estella took over the conversation again. "I agree, with too many people to look after it'll be hard to shop or wander around." She said making him grumble a bit, wanting to be with her but giving in.
After the carriage ride, they agreed to meet by a restaurant, Estella's suggestion, to eat dinner at together, since they figured they'd be out most of the afternoon to night. Waving goodbye, they went their separate ways.
It all seemed to work as even Leila was happy to hold Estella's hand while they walked, putting a small smile on her face. Even a villainess was weak to a child's contagious smile.
Thanks to Felix, she had alone time with both her future harem members, and decided to make conversation. "You don't intend to take over the throne, do you?" She asked nonchalantly as they made their way to the first boutique.
Shaking his head, he let out a small "No." it was a little hard to strike a conversation with him, but she wasn't going to give up so easily.
"Then, you'll allow Ivonne to take the throne?" She asked to confirm what she wanted to hear, as he let out a yes.
Perfect, she thought. "Thank you for your honesty. I too, hope she'll be able to take the throne." She said, no hint of sarcasm. She decided not to ask the question just yet, but rather when they were in the north, when he actually trusted her more.
As they entered the first boutique, a woman was there to greet them immediately. It wasn't the fanciest place, but it had a cozy feel that she really enjoyed. "Good afternoon! Please come this way." She said with a friendly smile plastered on her face.
How refreshing, a bright smile and no word stumbling from a stranger for once, she thought. As the woman took them to a separate room, she asked what they were looking for.
"I have a bit of a long list. Do you also do custom orders?" She asked, while Hyre and Fenrir sat quietly in a corner staring at them, unsure what to do in a woman's boutique.
Hearing a yes from the woman, she continued. "I'd like to look at dresses for us, along with accessories, oh also boots. I'd also like something warmer, and coats. I'd also like to know if you have any pants or blouses for myself. I'd also like to see gloves." She went on, making the woman's eyes swirl a bit from trying to keep up.
"Excuse me, we don't have any pants or blouses for ladies." The woman explained. It seemed like wearing anything but dresses wasn't exactly common.
Humming, Estella snapped her fingers with her free hand. "That's why I asked if you do custom orders,, you can surely do it, can't you? I can definitely pay whatever the price." She informed the woman who quickly nodded and got some paper to write it down.
If she was going to explore the north, there was no way she was going to do it without pants and a blouse, plain and simple. She didn't care if she had to custom orders it. There was no way she'd walk in the snow wearing a dress and heels.
Taking her measurements, the woman quickly jotted it down without questioning why she'd ask for such a thing, along with the general colours or style. After, she quickly began to show the two dresses.
She had to admit, she didn't expect such pretty designs from a random shop, but then again, she was in the capital for a reason, perhaps it wasn't so strange.
There were so many dresses it made her dizzy, but at least Leila was enjoying herself, she thought. She tried them on repeatedly and showed them to Fenrir and Hyre, who were probably the worst choices to bring.
Fenrir thoroughly gave his opinion on literally every detail, whether it be the colour, the waist, even if he didn't like the way it was sewn. "Just because I let you decided the guards uniform doesn't make you a fashion designer." She thought.
Meanwhile Hyre was the opposite. He just nodded or shook his head, barely giving commentary other than it's good, or I like it.
It took forever, but she finally decided on a few dresses to start off with, nothing more than five for herself, and three for Leila, who also wanted to match Estella at least once.
Moving onto the coats, gloves, shoes, and finally accessories., it took another hour and a half to finish with just the first boutique. "We'll come back in three days for my other items." She said.
Without even asking the price, Estella handed ten gold coins and handed the items to Fenrir and Hyre to hold and walked off with Leila to find the next place. The woman was frantically trying to say it was too much, but Fenrir said just take it as he followed.
This pattern continued for two more hours, before she was finally satisfied with all her's and Leila's orders. Finally, she allowed the guys to shop.
Perhaps this was what people meant by splurging or having a fun shopping spree, she thought as she looked at the amount of stuff the guys carried.
She watched as it was her turn to sit with Leila, as Fenrir was extremely picky and Hyre picked whatever was closest to him. At least one of her harem members wasn't difficult to take care of, she thought.
"So he's a breast man, huh?" She thought to herself as she looked at the ceiling. Whenever he saw her chest, he'd immediately blush and gave little input, she noted, before snapping out of it as Leila tugged on her sleeve.
It seems like it was their turn to show off what they tried on, per both of the girl's requests. "Pick something tighter." Estella thought to herself as she gave Fenrir a thumbs up and Hyre a thumbs down.
This was going to be awhile with his bad fashion sense, she thought as she got comfortable. Turning her attention to Leila, she began to play and talk with the little girl as Fenrir began to give Hyre a long list of critiques. But in a way, she didn't hate it.