The whole process of getting dressed took more than three hours.
The dress itself wasn't the type with a complicated structure that was troublesome to put on. It was just that most of the time was spent on rather improper things, and Daphne had been bullied severely by the scheming Edith all morning.
Fortunately, before nine o'clock, Edith finally helped Daphne put on the dress neatly.
"Gorgeous!"
Edith was extremely excited. She stepped back a bit and looked at Daphne from all angles. Then, as if unable to put her down, she hugged Daphne in her arms and rubbed cheeks with her.
She pushed the trembling Daphne back in front of the full-length mirror. "Cheer up. You are now the Grand Reciter Alina Perkins. You should be aware of your own beauty and nobility." After a pause, Edith smiled again and said, "Perhaps you are even cuter than Miss Alina in your original appearance. Let me keep looking forward to that for a while."
At first, Daphne didn't quite believe it, but when she saw herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.
Pure and flawless white was the main color. Lace trimmings spread along the neckline, cuffs, and the front of the dress, and a white silk ribbon bow was tied at the collar.
The waist was tightly cinched, showing off a graceful and curvy figure. The belt was replaced by an even larger silk ribbon bow tied behind, and the edges of the ribbon were dotted with round pearls.
The skirt that hung down to the calves was layered like the petals of a white lotus. The ruffled folds were light and full of a sense of layering, and the curve of the calves exposed under the hem of the skirt was delicate.
Combined with the long mercury-like hair flowing like a waterfall and the emerald-green eyes, an noble and elegant temperament emerged spontaneously without deliberately regulating speech or behavior.
Looking at Daphne now, no one would imagine that such a beautiful and pure girl was actually a despicable and lowly half-blood.
It would be really hard to be suspected like this, right?
Perhaps it was a good thing to have Edith's protection.
She just had to endure for a while longer. When she became powerful enough to escape without leaving a trace, she would say goodbye to this wretched place forever. She didn't want to be a toy for her whole life.
"Are you charmed by your own beauty?" Edith smiled smugly. "I knew this dress would suit you."
"Well... Could the shoes not have heels?" Daphne noticed that Edith was holding a pair of high heels that were as pure white as the dress.
"No way. You don't have the right to make demands. Everything has to follow my arrangements." Edith kept smiling, but her voice was cold.
"Ugh..."
It was already hard to walk normally and required great endurance. Wearing high heels would be like walking on tiptoes, right? In that case, it definitely would...
Daphne didn't dare to voice her difficulties because it was too embarrassing.
"Go sit on the bed and lift your skirt a bit. I'll help you put them on." Edith said in a commanding tone.
The half-blood girl who had her weaknesses grasped didn't dare to disobey or resist.
She obediently did as she was told, clumsily lifting the gorgeous and elaborate petal-shaped skirt gently, fully revealing her calves and feet that were perfectly set off by the thin white silk stockings.
Her bones and flesh were well-proportioned, and her ankles were as delicate as sculptures.
The small feet of the half-blood girl were beautiful and flawless. Through the thin stockings, one could clearly distinguish the round toes that were tightly packed together like pearls, and the arch of her foot had a just-right, slightly curved shape like the moon, which was captivating.
Edith sat sideways on the floor and lifted Daphne's sole with her hand.
Just by gently kneading it a couple of times, Daphne had already raised her delicate neck, and her eyes were moist and unfocused.
Edith understood tacitly and chuckled silently, which made the half-blood girl tremble slightly, but she still forced herself to endure and not make too obvious sounds.
"Cutie, your feet are so beautiful. Wrapped in stockings, they look like ice creams. Can I lick them a little?" Edith asked softly.
"What? Lick! No, no... That's dirty..." Daphne was shocked by her perverted idea and shook her head vigorously.
"Just kidding. After all, they just look like ice creams."
Hearing Edith say this, Daphne relaxed a bit. She was relieved that Edith wasn't really that perverted, but she didn't expect that it was just a trap to distract her.
Taking advantage of the moment when Daphne's vigilance and guard were relaxed, Edith forcefully put that high heel on Daphne's sole in one go.
Daphne finally couldn't help but scream out.
Edith pretended not to know and took advantage of the time when the half-blood girl was in a daze and convulsing to force the other high heel onto her foot as well, so Daphne let out an even more embarrassing wail.
"Oh dear, what's wrong with you? It's just putting on shoes. I didn't hurt you, did I? Are they the wrong size?" Edith asked deliberately.
Daphne realized that Edith was up to no good, but she didn't dare to expose her on the spot because that would be admitting that she was a pervert who could be affected just by her feet.
"No, it's okay... The shoes... are just the right size, neither too big nor too small..."
Although continuous gasps made Daphne unable to speak completely, it was indeed the truth. It seemed that Edith had specially picked out a pair of high heels in her size not long ago, and they fit perfectly when she put them on.
Daphne was somewhat familiar with these high heels.
They had thin heels about four to five centimeters high. The pure white uppers were covered with shiny diamond chips. There was a string of pearl chains as ankle straps for fixation, and a pair of silk ribbon bows were attached to the heels, making them look both elegant and cute.
They were a pair that Edith used to like the most, but she couldn't wear them now. It turned out that she had kept them by her side all along without throwing them away.
"They are a birthday gift from Father when I was fourteen. You should take good care of them." After putting Daphne's feet back on the floor, Edith stood up, brushed the dust off her dress, and said, "If you damage them, I won't forgive you."
"A birthday gift?" Daphne almost forgot about it herself.
"Yes. Father loves me very much." Edith took Daphne's hands and smiled gently at her. "Alright, stand up and take a couple of steps to try."
So that was it. Daphne remembered. Indeed, there was such a thing.
But, stand up and take a couple of steps?
Just after what had happened, if she stood up on her heels now, she definitely would...
Unfortunately, before the half-blood girl could argue more about her embarrassing situation, Edith, with a gentle and kind smile, lifted Daphne's small hands and forced her to stand up.
She couldn't even let out a wail.
All of her body weight was concentrated on her toes in an instant. Daphne felt waves of electric current surging through every corner of her body like a tsunami and then rushed up to her brain along her spinal cord.
Walking with clumsy steps like a newborn fawn, the sound of the heels hitting the floor was clear and pleasant.
Daphne fell weakly into Edith's arms. Her originally intellectual and elegant emerald eyes were slightly rolled back at the moment. In a daze, she heard the low whisper of the adopted daughter with a chuckle ringing softly in her ear.
"Now I know. Your weakness is right here."