[Chapter 2]
Chelsea trained her imperial arms diligently. As of now, she could not transform into another person, but she wanted to be able to do so in order to help herself and her little sister survive.
With each passing day, she was slowly becoming more proficient, and it wouldn't be long before she could do what she desired.
As she watched the kids play in front of her, she shook her head. If she could, she would have saved them, but she knew she wouldn't be able to. Even if she could, it would draw the attention of the empire.
She walked away from the tree and made her way to the tailor's house to practice embroidery.
Her hands had become quite skilled, and even as a child, she was able to match the skill of some of the village's talented ladies.
Soon, she reached a house made of bricks and straws.
She knocked on the door, and a feminine old voice allowed her to enter.
Upon entering, she saw an old lady sitting on a creaky stool with her back facing Chelsea, but Chelsea could see what the old lady was doing.
In the old woman's hands were some needles, an embroidery hoop, floss and threads, and a linen dress she was working on. Various other tools like scissors and other embroidery supplies lay beside her.
Chelsea greeted her, "Good morning, Aunt Kalie." Her tone was cheerful, befitting that of a 4-year-old.
"If it isn't my sweet student, Chelsea. Good girl, you came at the right time. How about you take the dresses in that cupboard and finish them? I have already prepared everything and just need some finishing touches." The old woman paused for a moment, catching her ragged breath.
She continued, "You can do it, right? Add your beautiful designs to them. The villagers are loving your creations."
Chelsea had been using her past life knowledge to implement beautiful and easy-to-make patterns onto the clothes. This not only increased her reputation in the village but also generated funds.
The old lady would charge more for these 'new designs,' so Chelsea would also receive a bigger share. She couldn't just blatantly ask for all the profits when everything was arranged by her teacher.
This old lady was the one who arranged the customers, fabric, tools for embroidery, and more importantly, taught her the skill.
So, she was happy to receive a larger share. Although the prices were extremely cheap in this village, people often came to have their clothes fixed. If someone tore their clothes, they would bring them to either her or the old lady, mostly the old lady, to be fixed.
In the colder region of the village, wearing torn clothes was akin to inviting death. The old lady would sew them, and Chelsea would add patterns to attract more people.
This had become a small fashion trend in the village, and they found joy in these small things.
But Chelsea could tell that her designs were increasing in popularity, as merchants had started showing interest in her skills. Their eyes were filled with greed, and unfortunately, some were filled with lust toward someone as small as her.
She felt repulsed and disgusted by these gazes. Firstly, she had been a man in her previous life, and secondly, she was just a child. It boiled her blood as she interpreted their gazes, and if she could, she would slaughter them all.
Well, they hadn't acted on it yet, so she was safe for now. However, it wouldn't be long before her clothes and skills spread to other nearby villages as well.
"The village chiefs and merchants are usually wealthier ones, and I can draw some profit as well," she thought as she finally completed the work assigned to her by her old teacher.
"Teacher, I am done!" Chelsea shouted as the old lady raised her head, narrowing her eyes. She had poor eyesight, and there were no spectacles available in their poor village, so she often narrowed her eyes to see clearly.
"Well, that was fast. I don't have any other work for today, so you can leave early," the old lady laughed, happy to have her work done quickly.
As Chelsea got up, she once again heard Aunt Kalie's voice, "Ah, also take the dumplings I made. Make sure to share them with your sister too. I haven't seen that little devil in a while."
"Will do!" She hurriedly got up, wrapped the dumplings in a cloth, and ran back to her home.
Although the interaction was short, it had been an hour almost since Chelsea started finishing the dresses.
She walked for a bit and soon reached her home. It wasn't in good condition, showing signs of aging, and she feared that one day it would collapse on her and her little sister.
She opened the wooden door and entered. There were just two rooms in the whole house. The main room, a large one, served as the living room with an attached kitchen and a makeshift toilet, while the other was a small bedroom where she and her sister slept.
As she entered, the whole place was dark, with curtains drawn and no sign of light despite it being daytime. She sighed. Her little sister was a bit unusual.
Although she didn't want to differentiate between her and other children, she couldn't help it.
As she was lost in thought, she heard a soft voice, "Big sister, you're back?"
It was her little sister's voice. Chelsea saw a small figure come out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes slightly.
The little girl was 3 years old, with small white hair and misty reddish eyes. Chelsea had no idea how her sister got white hair, but she had been like that since birth. Chelsea believed her sister was an albino.
Her sister hated going out in the sunlight and preferred to stay in dark places. She usually covered the whole house to keep the light out.
She was completely opposite to Chelsea.
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