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This was Radis’ first time making handicrafts.
Just holding the round doll’s head still while sewing on the hair was, surprisingly, quite the challenge for her.
“Lady Radis, it’s okay if it’s a little crooked. I’ll put a ribbon on top later.”
“But since I’m doing it already, I want to make it pretty…”
Radis glared at the tip of the needle.
‘Alright. Let’s just think of this as training.’
She let her mana trickle out. Very, very weakly.
Thinner than even hair!
“Oh my gosh!”
April’s eyes widened with surprise and admiration as she watched Radis’ hand moving so fast that you could hardly see it—even though she was using a thick needle.
“Lady Radis, how can you be so nimble with your hands? You must have a talent for handicrafts, too!”
“Nothing like that.”
Bashfully, Radis shook head vigorously.
From some distance away, Elise had been watching Radis in the meantime. Her own hands had gotten red from using the thick needle, but when she saw Radis, her mouth just gaped open.
‘Lady Radis…? H-How did you do that? What’s the difference?’
Radis finished sewing the doll hair in an instant, then she looked around and spoke up.
“April, the doll clothes that you’ve made are so cute.”
“Fufufu, I’ve collected small pieces of cloth here and there just for this day.”
“The corsages that you made, too, Elise. They’re so pretty.”
Radis smiled warmly as she admired the corsages that Elise made for the girls.
‘I never thought it’s possible for me to make children happy like this, too.’
Cookies, handkerchiefs, little dolls, corsages and other similar things.
From an adult’s point of view, these items might just be negligible things. But after receiving gifts like these, children would be very, very happy—as if they had received items that were necessary for their everyday lives.
Radis wanted to help out more, but she wasn’t confident when it came to making doll clothes.
Sitting next to Elise, she asked.
“Elise, can you teach me how to make a corsage?”
“Yes? Y-Yes, of course! It isn’t hard. First, choose the pieces of cloth that you think will go well with each other, then hold it here while…”
Black cloth was the most abundant in the pile, so she took a piece of that to practice on.
She didn’t have to ask why there was so much black cloth.
Just as Elise said, it’s not difficult to make corsages.
After trimming and folding some pieces of cloth to make the corsage’s shape, you’d only need to decorate them with some pieces of lace, then attach a clothespin at the bottom to hold it together.
Staring at the first black corsage that she ever made, Yves suddenly flashed through Radis’ mind.
‘I think I went too far a while ago. And it’s also been a while since I last saw him…’
She stared at the corsage more seriously.
With a huge smile on Elise’s features, she praised Radis.
“Lady Radis, you’re really good with your hands.”
Elise was also pleasantly surprised to see the corsage that Radis made.
“Wow… It’s so pretty!”
Not used to hearing compliments, Radis shook her head. She was blushing hard.
“No, no. It’s all because you taught me, Elise. The way I made this is too clumsy. I don’t think it’ll be good to use it as a gift.”
“Then, Lady Radis, would you like to practice more?”
After Radis hid the corsage in her pocket to hide it, Elise suggested this with a sincere tone.
‘I practiced a lot before this and finally got used to it, but Lady Radis is really… really so amazing!’
Elise drifted into her thoughts as she stared at Radis’ side profile while she was choosing which piece of cloth she’d next make into a corsage.
Truthfully, Elise was cowardly, and she was afraid of men.
The boys back in her hometown were, to put it simply, like a pack of wild animals.
That’s why she liked the marquis, who acted in such a refined manner. He was like that with even his employees.
The men in this place were all generally gentleman-like.
Even so, Elise was still afraid of men.
She freezes up just by being in close proximity to them.
With the situation that she was in, she couldn’t even imagine being in a relationship.
‘If Lady Radis was a man…’
Radis’ hair was cut short, and she was taller than most girls her age. She also had a well-trained physique. Thanks to that, Radis a peculiarly androgynous charm to her.
She was too handsome to call her a woman, but at the same time, she was too beautiful and gentle to call her a man.
Feeling Elise’s stare, Radis turned to meet her gaze.
At this, Elise hurriedly lowered her head and went bright red.
Smiling at her, Radis raised the checkered corsage that she just finished making and placed it on Elise’s dark brown hair.
“I chose this color because I thought that it would suit you.”
“……!”
Then, shyly, Radis added.
“I’m sorry for giving you something that I made for practice, but I want to thank you for teaching me.”
“…Hiic…”
“Elise?”
“…I’m so sorry…!”
Elise suddenly burst into tears, then she jumped up from her seat and ran away in an instant.
Shocked by this, Radis gripped the corsage in her hand tighter.
And Nicky, who was decorating the cookies some ways away, shook her head and murmured.
“Lady Radis… What a sinful person you are.”