A sunny afternoon like any other day.
Dalia, lying on the bed, grabbed her head and sat up.
"What on earth was that kiss!"
Unfortunately, she had been in this state ever since she returned from the garden party.
Was there something in her awkward actions when they were left alone that provoked Clayton?
When their lips met unexpectedly, it felt like the whole world had stopped.
Thinking about that kiss again, Dalia's face turned red as she shook her head vigorously.
"This won't do."
Her expression was quite determined.
"At this rate, it's only a matter of time before we spend another night together."
They had already held hands without hesitation and even brushed lips outside; who knew when he might knock on her door at night again?
She had to prepare beforehand to prevent such a disaster.
With that thought, Dalia ran to her wardrobe and picked the most modest-looking outfit.
"I'll go out and see a doctor today."
She couldn't put it off any longer.
Although pregnancy seemed highly unlikely, it was necessary to confirm through a test. She also needed to get a prescription for contraceptives for the future.
Just as Dalia was rummaging through her wardrobe with busy hands, someone knocked and entered her room.
"My lady, it's Jason. May I come in for a moment?"
Startled by the butler's sudden visit, Dalia stepped away from the wardrobe and quickly tidied her appearance.
"Come in."
With her permission, Jason stepped into view.
"My lady, there's a message from Madame Louise's atelier."
"The atelier?"
"Yes, the fitting for the dress you'll wear for the upcoming birthday celebration is ready."
"The birthday celebration…?"
Ah!
Dalia's eyes lit up as if she had remembered something important.
'That's right, the Emperor's birthday! I'd forgotten because of everything else going on!'
"When exactly is the party?"
"In fifteen days."
"Fifteen days."
It wasn't exactly the time to leisurely pick out dresses at the atelier, but a dress for the Emperor's birthday was a different matter.
'While I'm at the atelier, it might be a good chance to find a decent doctor.'
With that thought, she felt a surge of newfound energy.
I'll handle everything as quickly as possible.
"I'll head to the atelier right away."
For the first time since ending up in this place, she felt so full of energy.
But upon arriving at the atelier, Dalia froze in disbelief.
"So… this is the dress I ordered?"
"Oh my, didn't we choose it together that day? As I mentioned before, this is the most fashionable design in the Empire right now."
"Fashionable…?"
At Madame Louise's confident words, Dalia looked at her reflection in the mirror with a doubtful expression.
Even ignoring the overly exaggerated silhouette with its massive puffed skirt, the fabric covering her up to the neck made it feel more like a nun's habit than an evening party dress.
'Come to think of it, weren't all the clothes so suffocatingly designed?'
The social gatherings Dalia had attended so far were mostly outdoor activities. She thought the layered clothing was to guard against the cold.
It seemed that it was simply a trend in itself.
"Hmm…"
Dalia tilted her head as if lost in thought, examining the outfit here and there.
'The silhouette looks stifling, yet the colors are overly flamboyant.'
Perhaps that was why. Instead of looking elegant, it just seemed oppressive and outdated.
As a duchess, she was expected to wear designs in line with imperial trends.
'To wear such an outfit and pretend to be a tragic heroine in front of the male lead? Ridiculous.'
It was out of the question.
But unaware of Dalia's thoughts, Madame Louise cheerfully selected embellishments to add to the dress.
"How about adding some imported fabric ribbons here? Wouldn't that be lovely?"
It might have seemed like an effort to make the dress more beautiful, but Madame Louise had other motives.
'The dress will look even more excessive, but if I add these ribbons, that'll be an extra 500,000 darcs. I'll increase the cost with these ribbons.'
Her intention was to profit as much as possible from the dress. Madame Louise flashed a sly smile.
Although she had popularized these dresses, even Louise couldn't claim they were truly beautiful.
She had designed the dresses to exploit oblivious noblewomen and never imagined they would become so trendy.
For her, the standard of a beautiful dress was purely based on its price.
A bolt of lace cost 1 million darcs, and a ribbon made from high-grade satin imported from the Eastern Empire cost 500,000 darcs.
The more expensive it was, the more beautiful the dress—according to Louise's standards.
In that sense, the Duchess of Sayer was the perfect pushover for her.
Unlike other noblewomen, she didn't interfere with the design and simply nodded along quietly.
Her face was charming enough that anything she wore looked good, so her creations didn't seem lacking either.
Furthermore, the House of Sayer was one of the wealthiest families in the Empire, second only to the Emperor.
On top of that, the current Duke of Sayer didn't mind if his wife's dresses cost as much as a house.
That's why Madame Louise was doing her utmost to sell an even more expensive dress. However—
"My lady, if we add just this, it will be the perfect dress…"
"We'll have to remake the dress."
Dalia's next words were enough to send Louise's heart plummeting into despair.
"...What? What do you mean…?"
"We're changing everything from the colors to the silhouette. Let's go simpler. We'll use as little fabric as possible."
What kind of bolt from the blue was this?
Remaking the dress was one thing, but using as little fabric as possible?
Louise asked urgently, as if to say this couldn't happen.
"Why the sudden change, my lady? If you do as you say, the dress will look plain. The Duchess of Sayer attending a royal party in such a humble outfit will surely draw ridicule!"
Up until now, whenever someone said, "This is befitting of the House of Sayer," Dalia wouldn't argue.
Thanks to that, many luxury goods had been sold to the House of Sayer. But today, something was different.
"No matter what you say, it can't stay like this."
Dalia spoke more firmly than ever.
"This is far too ridiculous."
Thud.
It felt as if someone had struck Louise hard on the head.
"R-ridiculous…? My dress…?"
The Duchess of Sayer was the first person to call a dress made by the Empire's top designer ridiculous.
Even the Empress was busy praising her dresses as beautiful.
But Dalia's barrage didn't end there.
"It's cumbersome and uncomfortable. It feels like someone is squeezing my entire body. And above all…"
Dalia grabbed one of the ribbons on the dress and ripped it off as she spoke.
"It doesn't look delicate or forlorn at all, does it?"
Louise was left speechless by the relentless criticism of her dress.
When Dalia muttered the word "forlorn," Louise suddenly lifted her head.
"Forlorn…?"
"Yes. Instead of this massive skirt, a dress that falls cleanly in a straight line would be better.
Something that, when soaked in rain, would look so fragile, delicate, and evoke a protective instinct.
Do you understand what I mean?"
A woman who looks forlorn… Dalia's ideal female image was exactly that—a woman who seemed delicate and fragile.
And at that moment—
With that one statement from Dalia, the artist's spirit, long buried under capitalism, was reignited.
Somber yet beautiful… fragile yet protective—a dress that inspires these feelings!
Shouting as such, Louise suddenly grabbed a piece of fabric and began draping it over the mannequin.
Thinking of a design that would make Dalia look delicate and forlorn.
"Is this what you meant, perhaps?"
A little later, Louise wiped away a bead of sweat and asked.
The dress on the mannequin was a simple style never before seen in the Empire.
"This is it! But it feels a bit plain."
Maybe it was because she had just seen overly bold designs, but now this one felt a little dull.
As she pondered, her eyes landed on a pair of lace gloves.
Lace gloves studded with tiny crystals.
Yes, that's it!
Dalia quickly pointed to the gloves and said.
"What if we embroidered crystals like those on the gloves across the entire dress? It would look so much prettier!"
"Crystals?"
Crystals were typically used sparingly, placed only on the upper part of garments or on gloves.
That was because hand-embroidering crystals onto a dress required immense labor, and the crystals themselves were very expensive.
But to use such crystals throughout the entire dress?
My goodness.
'Why didn't I think of that?!'
Embroidering hundreds of crystals onto a dress would be far more expensive than attaching dozens of ribbons.
This was the perfect way to fulfill her artistic spirit while making a fortune!
Louise sighed at her own shortsightedness.
Then she turned to Dalia, who was fiddling with the draped satin on the mannequin.
'Could the Duchess possibly be...?'
A tragic genius born into nobility, unable to realize her artistic potential?