The drawing room looks way better than I remember it from my prior visit. It's cleaned, for one, and occupied by a lively set of people, giving the air a vibe of a classroom with study in session. One meant to tackle the end-of-term exam, kind of tension.
Of course, the fact that there are multiple papers strewn about the floor and the available two desks help to cement that vision I'm hallucinating. The fact that the two tailors were glaring at each other from their respective corners of the room before I entered also doesn't help me from shaking over the feeling of donning the kindergarten teacher apron as my entrance breaks the stalemate.
"Miss!"
"My lady!!"
"At ease." I wave off the two bowing people, especially after seeing Odilie break into a cold sweat once noticing me – oh wait, that's just acne, I think. "I'm here to.. observe. I hope neither of you mind my presence here."
Arnold turns from merely smiling to grinning with utmost delight, "You may do as you wish, my lady! Please, rest assured and witness my victory!" giving the bombastic side eye on his opponent without a shred of hesitation.
Most of the hesitation seems to have pools on Odilie's shoulders, as she's tense enough that she might snap if I blow air at her wrong, but the girl bows back with sufficient politeness that I can be sure she won't just faint after. "I-I don't mind as well!"
"Then, continue."
Once again waving the attention away, they take that as their sign to return to their work. Arnold sits back on his chair in a regal manner, a bit showy in his mannerisms. Odilie, meanwhile, already sat back down when I turn my eyes over to her, silently working back on the paper she was holding.
I can't say I've felt more rejected than this moment, to be an intruder in this makeshift atelier where I'm playing the role of a nuisance that's bothering people from finishing their work, but the damage is already done. Boredom was never an enemy I had to deal with until now, and with the revelation of my own unstable/altered mental state, I can't say if feeling antsy is just how Carlyanne would react or if I'm now unveiling what it feels like to face boredom head on, now that easy distraction like my phone no longer exists.
Still, it's a good day outside. The sun isn't so strong, the clouds are floating aimlessly like cotton dancing in the wind, and the sound of silent pen nibs scratching against the paper is somehow soothing…
No! Snap out of it!! Don't nap sitting up, the spine will hate me if I do!!! Tsk, if only Sieghart is here to read, I might be able to stave off the impulse to nap just by listening to the plot. Last we left off, it was somewhere around the time when Albert was about to build the first Hortensia Manor? Or was it—
"Miss?"
"?"
Being called so suddenly snaps me out of my thoughts once again. It's really hard to keep the train going too long when all eyes are on me, tsk. "What is it?"
"This might sound incredibly disrespectful, but will you allow me to take your sizes?"
Odilie's tone is calm, though a bit low on volume, as she asks me with a slight bow. Of all people, I wouldn't have thought that she'd be the one to ask for a request first. Is Arnold really that confident in his win?
"Oh? Was Miss Odilie not informed of our lady's size beforehand? Madame Rosetta must have forgotten to instruct you, didn't she?" Yeah he's really like that huh.
Considering that his dig is probably aimed more at her teacher, Madame Rosetta, than the woman herself since there's no real malice behind his words, I don't try to interject and instead, turn my attention to see what Odilie's answer will be. Take it as a chance to learn about her more, and of Madame Rosetta by proxy—
"You are correct."
!!!!!!
The answer that comes out of her mouth! I really don't see that coming at all! The genuine way she replies without missing a beat even makes Arnold flinch back from the sheer whiplash of the surprise!!!
"I hope sire would be kind enough to allow this leeway for me, as the inexperienced one, to have this honor this one time."
Arnold scoffs, clearly looking down on the woman as he gives a shake of his head, "That will be up to our lady, but sure! I don't mind! After all, it is quite an honor to be allowed to touch our lady and admire her perfect visage up close! Do well to remember it for the rest of your life, greenhorn."
Odilie doesn't seem to take much offense to the reply, waiting for my answer instead. Smart. "Very well, let's get this over fast."
In a matter of moments, I've already poised myself to stand up and get myself ready to be measured, striking the T pose so naturally that I don't register this body doing it until it happens. Score for muscle memory!
It brings back several memories, especially ones relating to school since that would be the only time where I'd find myself getting measured specifically for uniform. Not to make new ones, oh no, it's so that the hand-me-downs I get can be altered to my size without making it too obvious that it wasn't a pristine product.
I mean, just getting a set that's not ripped or having any kind of ink marks on them was already a miracle at that point so what's a few sizes too big? It's such an easy fix and way cheaper than getting a new set made!
And while I do appreciate the convenience of having a rotating ensemble of outfits that I never have to mix and match for the rest of my formative years (I do, I really do, it was so so convenient), I don't want to wear anything resembling uniform ever again. Not unless I'm being paid in my weight in literal gold.
Something about how their fabrics are always chosen for durability instead of comfort (perhaps due to how it's meant for rowdy, sweaty children instead of the calm ones like me) makes me want to break into hives whenever I think back about having to wear them during the hottest summer of the year (it's always the hottest summer of the year, goddamn global warming!), especially if it's for assembly and PE. . .
Yup! Nope, never again!
So it's a little.. what's the word? Comforting? Reassuring? To know that I won't have that little tick (of mine, my trauma) rearing its ugly head while I'm trying my best to just be. Turns out, it seems that most of my problems can be solved by a little bit of wealth and some willingness to try new things, who knew?
Anyway, I don't really get to reminisce too long due to Odilie making true to her words and measuring me in record speed but overall it's a good experience, 10/10. Maybe I should get a more extensive measuring time if it gives me so much time to sort myself without looking like a lunatic!
Once I'm done getting measured I sit back down, take a sip of the room-temperature water that was boiling but has now cooled down (fuck you Dysentery), and continue to pretend that I'm being a good little observer to the contestants.
Those 2 are so much braver than me. I can't do my homework while being monitored, much less given time constraints… Hold on, is this why I do so badly at exams??? Hold on a fu-
"It's about to reach midday miss. Would you like to go back to bed and nap while waiting for lunchtime?"
Sasha who I don't realize has been missing from the room, enters while maintaining a poise that's been missing since chaos wreaked havoc in the mansion for the past month and a half. Also, the meds aren't doing half-bad right now, I can kind of work myself out of the napping instinct since I want to know what kind of sandwich monstrosity Bastian is going to present this time. "No."
"Very well."
And that's the end of that! Huzzah for being a feared villainess! Now let's get comfy and wait for–
"We are ready!"
I blink at the loud voice that almost sends me jumping out of the chair and swallowing the curse words that are about to flow. Gah! Warn me gentler next time! I can't help if I do glare at Arnold due to this surprise, "Are you?"
"I know I am!" The redhead takes it in stride as he pounds his chest with confidence radiating from his smile like Chornobyl waves, all while handing the paper onto the empty tea table like he's bestowing a peerless treasure. Man sure really have his theatrics. "Don't know about the little miss though~"
"I am ready as well." Odilie stands by the table with what appears to be a calm, composed demeanor as she hands in her work.
Seriously, why do these 2 people who contrast one another have to meet on this particular day?? I want to pull my hair for saying whatever and having to take responsibility!!! Fuck you past-me!
"Ahem."
I clear my throat as if it's going to do something to quell my self-made frustration and take the two papers in each hand. It's not like I know much about fashion, though, so I'll judge based on first impressions alone.
Just like the person who drew it, the design that Arnold offers is – for the lack of a better word since I got knocked out by the vision alone – very ostentatious. Frills everywhere, clean lines to indicate where to put pieces of jewelry on the fit, even the heeled boots (why are you giving me heels to ride horses??) aren't spared as if he has some sort of vendetta with underutilized belts. Overall, I get why he's the villainess's designer if this is the kind of outfit he's coming out with for her horse riding suit.
In contrast, like any good cliches, Odilie's design looks a bit more normal compared to the parade of wealth that her competitor offers. It looks very basic, in fact, that I can't find any fault with it since I can see it in all of the isekai shojo manhwas moments where the heroine has to wear a riding suit, just with a perhaps laced(?) shirt to make up for the 'fashion points', still accompanied with the heeled boots. Seriously, why the fixation on boots??
Besides that, the two have also graciously drawn the hairstyle I might have while accompanying their fit. It helps me to get a clearer image of how it'll look on Carlyanne's body.. Not that any of them will look bad on her body, dang it! Why is it so hard to just take a pick!?
In any case, my personal opinion obviously favors Odilie's design more, due to it being the least cumbersome to wear, and I can't find myself being dishonest about this.
There's some consideration I have to take, however. Especially since I'm sussing the Countess for the one making this mess in the first place, then I have to act carefully, since I still don't know who's reporting to whom even among my entourage.
After all, there must be a reason why Carlyanne has a personal tailor and Joanne doesn't! I don't think she's that capricious to just have him on the payroll just because, so there's gotta be some reason why she kept him around, right??? If I behave like I don't favor Arnold, won't that give something away to the staff, since they call him a loyalist?? If I can even trust that.
The more I think about it, the sharper the tension that floods the room. The words stop in my throat, stuck, like telling me to think this through. Especially after I take a good look at the nervous staff! You'd think I'm appraising trying to cook them alive with how they're behaving, waiting for my answer, and they're not even the ones that are getting judged!
At that moment I got some bad, bad feeling that if I decide on just one winner then it's going to spiral into another misunderstanding… I've been doing so well on the no-grovel counter (until it got reset again this morning), there's no way I'm going to let it reset again! "This.."
An audible gulp fills the room.
"-are disappointing. I don't like either of these."
For a moment it feels as if the temperature drops several degrees due to the chill that climbs up my spine. No one speaks and no one moves either, even the 2 tailor's expressions are still as if masks are glued onto their face.
"One is too simple, unbefitting of a Count's daughter of my post while the other," I wave Odilie's design as an emphasis, then reach into the deepest depths of my insult barrel before Arnold's face can morph into a smug, triumphant smile. "- is too elaborate, are you telling me to ride a horse or some noble's son at a party?" That wiped his smile in an instant.
"O-Our apologies!!!"
"My sincerest regret miss!"
The tailor bows deep while standing, Odilie with both hands tucked on her skirt while Arnold clutches the lapel of his elaborate peacock-colored suit as if he's about to undergo a cardiac arrest with how his face is crumpling inside the skull.
'Thud!'
And before I think the guy might faint he fucking grovel, "I.. can't believe I've disappointed you twice, miss! Please, give a fitting punishment to this lowly one!" and hits his forehead on the floor loud enough that it will bruise for sure?!
'Thud!'
"Please, allow me to pay for this disgrace with my neck!!!"
Hell naw! Who the fuck do you think I am, a French executioner??! "No one is getting their head off today."
Fuck off, just listen to me will you?! I look around the room to the entourage side in hopes that one of them will throw some sense to this blockhead or at least stop him from banging his head on the floor. Ina, as if waiting for that permission, moved forward and subdued the man before he could bang his head another time. "You blockhead! Listen to the miss! She's giving you another chance!"
"But.." Arnold hiccups between his crying and starts to wail again. "I'm unworthy! I've sinned and broken the miss' trust in me, I must pay, and it can only be my life!!!" Which makes Odilie, who catches my eyes, turn extremely fearful in an instant.
No girl, don't listen to him! I ain't killing you as well, don't look at me like that!
"Then pay with something else." her tone turns harsher, perhaps letting off some steam too, after what she'd told of her dislike of the man. "You're inconveniencing the miss this way..!"
"Then how else should I-"
"..How about combining them?"
A soft, gentle voice breaks through the crusting tension that's nearly reached a boiling point. I rapidly scan for the source and find it, who else, but Sonya!
Sweet, wonderful Sonya, who gasped as if she hadn't meant to air her opinion and covered her lips in a hurry with regret and panic on her shaking green eyes, "Ah! My apologies-"
God if I have to hear another apology right now I'm going to mald. "Elaborate."
Another audible gulp, this time, of pure nervousness. It takes no time at all for Sonya to register the words, contemplate, and the resulting determination that's plastered on her face as if girlie is about to go to war. Man, am I still that scary? I thought I'd toned it down a bit!
Sonya talks in a soft tone, unlike her usual calm countenance, while looking at Arnold with clear pity in her eyes. "I mean, since our Miss doesn't seem to mind for you to work on it further, why not combine them? Miss Odilie has elements that our lady likes and dislikes, same with sir Arnold's design, how about we just.. combine it??"
"Combine.. it?"
Arnold's brows rise so high that it disappears behind his bangs. Odilie remains silent, but her dark eyes glimmer with the familiar sight of curiosity. While Ina,
"Yeah! Let's combine it!"
-becomes rejuvenated by the response and takes over the talking with renewed enthusiasm, "We should combine just the good parts! Like- like, picture a sandwich!"
"What's this 'sand which' you're talking about?"
Ina swats Arnold's head to silence him. "Just listen! Picture a platter of ingredients for a dish presented to you! Due to certain reasons, you don't like all of them, just a select few, but you can't just cook the dish with ingredients you like, right? That's where the magnificence of the sandwich comes into play!"
"With a sandwich, all you need to do is combine those ingredients you like to produce new kinds of flavors!" Ina claps her hand as if praying, eyes on the ceiling as she recites the wonder of sandwiches, "That way, the original charms of those individual ingredients may shine and perhaps even concoct a harmony of taste like never before!!"
Yup. Judging from the weird looks she's getting, neither of the tailors gets it. Do I have to interject after all…
"Ahem."
Thankfully Sonya chose to take back the megaphone, hiding away the cringe that must have come from a secondhand embarrassment looking at the younger girl's tangent. "She means that, since your works are so polarizing, you two should work together to bring a vision that will satisfy our miss. Meet in the middle, if you would."
"Working together.." Odilie says in a whisper, airy voice as she slowly stands straighter, "I.. wouldn't mind working together with sir Arnold, if he agrees that he'd respect my opinions."
Oh, smart girl, throwing this to the other party with your own conditions! To tell the truth, this entire situation has been his doing, so I'm not complaining if she wants a little bit of payback.
Arnold glances down at Odilie, his eyes stink of unwillingness, but since all it takes to suppress it is my glare I'd consider that a cheap price. "I suppose it wouldn't be such a bad experience for a greenhorn like you to get more experience before you return to your parlor. Very well! As our miss wishes, cooperation and.. mutual respect, is what she shall have."
Alright, wonderful! I somehow got through the bad vibes!! Sasha took out her clock just as the midday bell chime so.. time to fucking bail! "Then I shall wait for the result of this collaboration, and retire to my room. You are welcome to continue your discussion here if you wish."
"Yes miss!"
"And Ina, you are to stay here and attend to all their needs while they are here."
Ina's face turns dejected in 0.01 seconds flat, but she still nods even with a deep pout. "Yes, miss…" Good girl! I'll try to negotiate with the boss if you can get a salary increase after this!!!
Now that that's done, responsibility thrown away, I stand up and begin to metaphorically pack up. The conversation continues behind my back even as the door opens for my exit, stage left.
"..With all due respect, may I speak candidly?"
"Sure, sure! Let me hear your suggestions, hm?"
"Sir Arnold, your design was way off in terms of measurement."
"WHAT?! YOU-"
A~ah! I'm so glad I ran away! Time to go nurse this anger headache away!!! Au revoir, les amis!