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Chapter 15
Since most nobles harbored resentment toward the Sahardian—and toward the monster prince’s consort in particular—I thought that at first they would whisper behind closed doors, but in the end there would surely be more people looking for dresses like that.
That was why I truly hoped El would choose that dress. However, the moment she put it on, she took it right back off and insisted on wearing a bizarre pair of trousers masquerading as a dress.
I had made it myself, yet I couldn’t shake the thought that it was a failure. If she showed up at the banquet wearing this, she would become the object of ridicule, and Neria’s reputation would plummet. I had to stop that, no matter what.
“……”
But then—
“Why are you staring like that?”
When I actually saw El come out wearing the pants dress, I was rendered speechless. She pulled it off just as well as the red dress.
I couldn’t tell whether it was El who made the dress shine, or whether the dress itself was truly good.
“Isn’t this beautiful as well?”
“……Yes. You are beautiful.”
The lace fabric draped along the sides fluttered softly. From the back it was unmistakably a dress, yet from the front it wrapped around the trousers just enough, giving it a subtle, peculiar charm.
Seeing Neria at a loss for words, El smiled with satisfaction. Of course, not everyone reacted the same way Neria did.
Among the maids, opinions were split. Some looked impressed; others looked baffled.
“Lady El! You’re so pretty!”
Lari thought El looked good in anything—pass. And those who lived with flattery constantly on their lips—also pass.
“Thank you. Neria, I’ll be wearing this dress.”
“……Your Highness, you are indeed beautiful, but please reconsider. The Empire values tradition and is conservative. No one will welcome such a dress.”
“Tradition is fine when preserved, but it’s also dull and boring. Is there such a thing as an eternal tradition? Time flows, and perceptions inevitably change. You, as a designer, should know that fashions exist even in dresses. This dress may be pointed at today, but there may be those who follow in step. And even if there aren’t, that’s fine too.”
“……”
“I’ll do as I please, regardless of others’ gazes.”
“……However—”
“Do you think I’ll listen to you? Enough of this pointless argument.”
“……Yes.”
After that, it was less El’s fashion show and more Soon-Dubu’s fashion show.
We’d had around ten outfits tailored for him as well, and El insisted on trying every single one. Seeing him strut around proudly in little tailcoats adorned with ribbons of various colors was unbearably cute.
“Ugh! So cute!”
“He really looks good in everything.”
Even the maids who normally hated dogs were smiling quietly, apparently finding Soon-Dubu quite adorable in his tailcoat.
“Which color suits him best?”
“Why don’t you ask Soon-Dubu to choose?”
“Shall we? Soon-Dubu, want to pick?”
El was more enthusiastic about Soon-Dubu’s outfit than her own dress. In the end, she chose a white tailcoat like her own, embroidered with gold thread.
Neria moved her lips as if to say something until the very end, but after El effectively dismissed her, she left in dejection. El, meanwhile, looked at the receipts for the dress and jewelry with a satisfied smile.
Perhaps because she was an empress, her sense of money seemed slightly dulled—she had spent about the equivalent of the empress’s annual budget.
Hats, gloves, shoes she would never wear, and jewelry—she bought only the most expensive ones without hesitation.
Only then did it feel like she was getting her money’s worth for attending the banquet she’d been invited to.
She had spoken politely enough to Madam Neria, but the idea of earning the nobles’ resentment only made it better. Being able to be cursed at freely—perfect!
“Ah, I really wish the banquet would start already.”
“Are you that excited?”
“Yeah.”
She was looking forward to it.
It was the second prince’s birthday banquet, yet absurdly, he himself was absent. One had to wonder whether an invitation had even been sent to him.
In any case, El deliberately arrived late, entering the hall when she figured a fair number of nobles had already gathered.
Those who saw El standing proudly at the entrance with Lari in tow all stared in surprise.
The attendant guarding the entrance snapped back to his senses and asked belatedly,
“May I have your name?”
“Laella Landmiken. And this child is Soon-Dubu.”
“……!”
The attendant’s eyes widened before he announced her name in a trembling voice. The doors to the hall opened, and El entered under everyone’s gaze.
“……Is that the rumored princess consort?”
“They say she’s from Sahard—her skin…”
“That dress…?”
“She really brought a dog. My goodness.”
Whispers spread. Some even spoke loudly, as if daring her to hear.
Regardless, El calmly took a seat and sipped her champagne. Everyone merely glanced her way, hesitant to approach.
As expected, she had become a zoo monkey. Most of these people would probably never see her again anyway.
El swept her indifferent gaze around the hall and waved at those whose eyes met hers.
Given that the looks directed at her were already far from friendly, this only filled everyone with shock. What on earth was wrong with that lunatic?
Still, El was relieved that no one came over to pester her with conversation. She let out a long yawn—she’d just arrived and was already tired.
She figured she’d disappear discreetly once the emperor showed up, when—
“His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and Prince Reynard, with his consort, enter!”
A booming announcement rang out. Though it was the second prince’s birthday banquet, he was nowhere to be seen.
On the first day, the palace lights never went out from morning until late at night. But even once night fell, he probably wouldn’t come. A birthday banquet without its guest of honor.
The emperor took his seat on the throne, with the empress and prince sitting beside him, followed by a brief commemorative address.
“I hope you all enjoy this banquet.”
The empress hadn’t been mentioned much in the original story, so El had little interest in her, but she knew the first prince, Reynard.
When war broke out and the current emperor died, Reynard inherited the throne—only to prove incapable of ruling properly.
He was portrayed as utterly incompetent, and until the novel ended, the monster prince never appeared.
No one even knew whether he was alive or dead. The Renne Empire simply fell into becoming a vassal state of the Sahard Kingdom.
Just looking at him, he seemed dull and unimpressive. If he’d resembled the empress, at least he might’ve been handsome—but he’d taken after his father.
By contrast, the prince’s consort was an astonishingly pure and delicate beauty—so much so that El found herself staring blankly.
At the emperor’s gesture, music began to play and the nobles once again grew lively.
Then, a noble young lady wearing the most flamboyant, eye-catching dress in the hall approached El, trailed by several followers—clearly someone of high status.
“I am Robadin Sedel.”
“I’m Leani Moderna.”
“Meta Forshed.”
More introductions followed, but there were too many names at once, leaving El confused.
She half-listened until it finally seemed to end.
“Lady Robadin is the daughter of a marquis.”
“I see.”
So what?
El wasn’t sure what reaction was expected. In Sahard she’d been a duke’s daughter; here she was a princess consort. Naturally higher in status than a marquis’s daughter.
“You were a duke’s daughter, weren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“Sahard is a small country and Renne is a great empire, so wouldn’t a marquis here be equivalent to a duke?”
What kind of absurd logical leap was that? Was she asking to be treated as an equal?
She was also subtly belittling El’s homeland. Not that El cared—she didn’t consider it her homeland anyway.
“So?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m the princess consort of Renne now. Does my status before marriage really matter?”
“…Ha! Not all princess consorts are the same, are they?”
“So? What do you want?”
“…Your Highness, your speech is quite rough. Is it because you’re Sahardian and uneducated?”
El snorted. It seemed “because you’re Sahardian” was this empire’s favorite refrain.
“Even if I am Sahardian, I think I’m far more educated than you, Lady Levin.”
“It’s Robadin!”
“Oh my, is it? Lady Robedin.”
“…It’s Robadin.”
“Ah, I see. As a Sahardian, Imperial pronunciation is difficult for me. Please forgive me, Lady Robern.”
“…Do you hear yourself?!”
El shrugged. After being ignored all this time, it seemed the jab about being Sahardian struck a nerve when turned back on her.
“Oh my, just because I’m Sahardian doesn’t mean I can’t speak.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Then what did you mean? Why are you getting angry?”
Realizing that attacking Sahard wouldn’t faze El at all, Lady Robadin—or Robedin, or Robarn—changed tack.
“Have you met the prince?”
“I haven’t seen him since the wedding.”
Though El felt no inconvenience at all from the absence of a husband, the people around her began expressing pity. They seemed unable to openly criticize him since he was royalty, but implied how heartbreaking it must be to receive no love from her husband.
El blinked calmly and said,
“You ladies are still unmarried, correct?”
“Well… yes?”
“I say this out of concern for your way of thinking, but one’s worth is not defined by a husband’s love. What remains if you depend on others to flaunt yourself? Learn to love yourselves.”
“…Ha? Are you lecturing us right now?”
“If that’s how it feels to you, then so be it.”
Unwilling to back down even a single word, El made Lady Robadin tremble with anger.
She realized El was someone you couldn’t reason with, and that this approach wouldn’t succeed in humiliating her.
El was already wearing a dress that shattered all conventions with utter confidence. No matter how people whispered, she didn’t even blink.
If they pushed further, they’d only make fools of themselves. After all, it wouldn’t look good for a mere marquis’s daughter and her followers to keep tearing down a princess consort.
They didn’t want to retreat quietly, though, and were exchanging glances, planning to ruin El’s dress and have her expelled from the banquet—when Prince Reynard approached.
“Forgive me for interrupting your conversation, ladies.”
“It’s quite all right, Your Highness.”
“I have something I’m curious about regarding my second brother’s consort.”
“Yes. We’ll take our leave.”
The noble ladies withdrew tactfully. Reynard smiled in satisfaction and lifted his chin arrogantly.
“So you are that fellow’s wife?”
“Yes?”
There was not a hint of goodwill in his expression. Soon-Dubu, who had been sitting quietly, let out a low growl, wary of Reynard.
“I am Reynard of Renne. I will soon become the crown prince.”
Unlikely. The emperor would never hold a coronation ceremony for a crown prince until the moment he died.
“You really are pitiful. I don’t know what Father was thinking, marrying you off to such a monster. If you grow lonely, come visit me. I won’t treat you coldly.”
What kind of insane nonsense was this? El let out a scoff, but at the same time, a hand brushed her cheek and shoulder with a sticky familiarity.
