Chapter 4

Over-inflated sleeves, cheap glossy fabrics, imitation jewelry ornaments that looks like toys, and lace of designs far from fashionable.

I couldn’t go out wearing this.

“I’m guessing she sent me a dress like this—”

It’s the first time I’ve been invited to the Princess’s social party, but it’s not like I’ve never been to a party.

Before I completely closed my mind, I had several chances to go to the party where even young ladies could attend.

I, the daughter of the Duke, was of course has more prominent position than Sharon. Marianne, who hated it, bribed my maids to make me look like a total mess.

Loose hair has become disheveled and made my complexion look even worse because of the lack of food I ate during that time. Of course, I didn’t even wear a simple make up that gives color to my face.

The dress was also a mix of red, yellow, and blue with primitive and baby-like design. The size didn’t fit my body, so I felt a sense of humor because some parts were so tight and the other parts were so uptight.

Marianne, who had sent me to the party first and arrived a little later, made a fuss and acted as if she had not known.

“Oh my God, Riana! Who made you look like this? I get it, those witches! I heard that you’re not good at speaking these days and there are women who are disrespecting you, but I can’t believe this is how they’re gonna bullied you! Don’t worry, they’ll be kicked out as soon as we get back to the mansion.”

She advertised my condition in a very loud voice.

There was, of course, nothing Marianne would do to drive out the maids. Far from kicking, they’re still close to each other.

I have since been absent from the party because of the mocking chatter.

With this happening, it was easy to guess that it’s a trick to provoke my trauma and force myself to give up on attending.

If I just wear it and attend, Marianne’s position as a caring mother who takes care of her stepdaughter in delicate manner would be a bit difficult, but I’ll be the laughing-stock.

It’s not a real damage. It won’t be much of controversy if she just make a proper excuse, whether blaming the maids like the last time or something else.

With no official debut yet, the Princess’s social party was my best opportunity to announce my presence. I couldn’t miss this.

I double-checked the date on the invitation. Two days later … oh, it’s short.

I looked at Leah who was restless, and spoke to her, “Bring the sewing kit.”

“Yes? Don’t tell me … are you going to mend this dress?”

“Of course. Does it look like it’s worth wearing?”

“That’s true, but— my lady, I’m not confident.” Leah spoke in a low voice.

Leah’s poor workmanship may be enough to sew a stiff hem, but I guess it’s hard to repair a dress.

“I won’t ask you to do it, so don’t worry and just bring it.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll get it, my lady.”

Leah, who had just left the room, brought me a sewing kit shortly after.

Among the items Leah brought were the high-end items the nobility were used to make embroidery, as well as items used by maids.

The high-end section are made up of things that only really fit for a number purposes, so the types of items used by maids were more diverse.

“All right, this is enough. So, shall we start?”

“Yes—what?”

“Dress repair. I don’t know what would happen if Mother and Sharon knew, so I want to keep it a secret. Please cooperate.”

“If you order me to keep it secret, I’ll obey. But I don’t know how to repair….”

Leah’s question was reasonable. There was only me and her in the room, and there was no one to help with the repairs.

There’s not even a second-hand man skilled in sewing at Crescente’s mansion!

There are many employees but I never even wanted to call them.

I don’t know where my words would flow from, and even if I let them join the team well, Marianne might find it suspicious if the employees who didn’t usually enter my room started to come and go.

So I have to repair it myself.

I’ve learned embroidery before, but I quit before I even had enough skill. So the experience is not very helpful.

Instead, I had a previous life experience. The experience of getting tired of wearing worn-out old clothes.

“I’ll do it.”

“Oh, my lady?”

I quietly pulled the necessary tools out of the ring. As I skillfully threaded the needle, Leah opened her mouth without even realizing it.

The first step was to remove the jewelry and lace. It look better than it had been for the first time when all the cheap jewelry gone.

When I opened the closet, I found some of my childhood dressed were still there. It’s small and can’t be worn, but all of it is high-end products made by top designers. I thought it would be a good material if I took it apart.

The cloth began to be carefully dissembled to prevent it from being damaged. The finish was meticulous so it wasn’t easy to tear off.

There is a part that can not be cut and used incorrectly, but a lot of fabrics included in the dress of the nobility. A lot of cloth came out except for the one that was ruined.

“This should be enough.”

While breathing for a moment, I heard a knock and quickly hid my dress and cloth in the closet. Leah pushed the ring under the bed.

“Come in.”

The maid who opened the door bowed politely, “My lady, I’m here because you didn’t come down for dinner.”

“Ah….”

Is it dinner time already? I was so busy fixing my dress that I had no idea. Come to think of it, I felt the hunger. I must have been so focused that I didn’t even know I was hungry.

At first, I said in a somber voice, pretending that I have no appetite to send the maid back.

“I don’t want to eat much because I’m sad. If I’m hungry, I’ll send Leah to bring me some food, so you don’t have to worry about my meal. The same goes for tomorrow.”

“I understand, my lady.” The maid bowed down again before closed the door.

As soon as the door closed, I said to Leah, “Go to the kitchen and get some simple food to eat.”

“Yes? You just don’t want to eat—”

“We don’t have time. I can’t afford to enjoy a leisurely dinner.”

“Oh, I see! I’ll get it!”

Leah nodded and went out of the room. And after a while, she came back with a tray of bread and milk.

As I just tore the bread with my hand and mumbled it, Leah looked a little shocked. Leah’s meticulousness with her fork and knife was useless.

While chewing on the bread, I nudged my fingers hard and put the needle down for a while. This body, which has a low level of strength and stamina, has already become sore here and there, but it’s especially painful….

“….my fingers are a little sore.”

In my previous life, sewing was easy because of the calluses of my fingers, but now it’s not because what I am today.

I couldn’t take a break because I need to finish my work before the party.

I searched the box and found the thimble.

“I don’t like it because it’s too big, but I have no choice.”

The pace has slowed down a little, but it’s better in the long run because I have to sew for another full day.

The skirt area required a large piece of cloth, but the cloth from the small dress was relatively small. Therefore, I had to keep the stream a little by little.

After carefully following the balance between the right and left, the grafted part creased so as not to be so noticeable.

It took a long time for me to wrinkle because I’ve only tried it for fun a few times in my past life so it wasn’t very familiar.

My hands have become damp with sweat.

Even if the shape is a little messy, it becomes awkward. It is said that it will stretch and loosen the wrinkles several times. It’s not a splendid and luxuriant wrinkle that the expert has worked on, but still … it’s not bad.

The repairs continued until late at night.

Even in the early morning, when everyone was sleeping, I still managed to cling to the line of my dress.

Simple part did not take very long, but it took quite a while to require complexity and delicacy, so I had to save a little time.

Leah didn’t seem to know what to do because she couldn’t help, but if she was a capable girl, she wouldn’t have been my maid in the first place.

Although I felt a little tired, the work went along smoothly for the day.

***

On the day of the party, Marianne and Sharon were busy dressing up since the morning.

Leah, who had gone out to get some water for a while, told me because I was busy repairing the dress without a single step out of the room.

Just as I thought it would be time to start, there was a knock at the door.

I made sure I was hiding the dress, and Leah opened the door.

A middle-aged maid came in and bowed down, “The madam and the young miss are ready and they call for you, my lady.”

“Really … how can I do this … I’m not ready—”

“Then, shall I tell them so?”

“Um … no, I’ll tell them in person and see them off.”

Since I didn’t come out of the room and didn’t eat properly, it was highly likely that my stepmother and sister have already haphazardly speculating that I had given up on going to the party because I was deeply hurt.

But since there was only one, it certainly seemed better to show up in person to erase their guard.

When I looked in the mirror before I left the room, I found that I had spent the night with dark circles under my eyes. This was enough to keep Marianne and Sharon off guard.

As I went down to the first floor, I saw Marianne and Sharon who were very stylish with colorful dresses, jewelry, rich hairstyles, and feather hats.

“Mother, you’re so beautiful. Sharon, you’re pretty, too.”

“That’s enough of the obvious. But you….” Sharon whirled me up and down.

“Why are you still wearing your pajamas? Aren’t you going to the party?”

I didn’t answer and made a sad face.

Marianne and Sharon laughed cheerfully as if they liked my sad expression.

“That’s great. If you were to go there, you would be humiliated.”

“I’m so glad you realized it yourself, Riana. Then, we’ll go.”

The two walked out of the mansion with light steps. There was no time to see them climb the carriage. I quickly returned to my room and grabbed the needle again. The overall repair was finished, leaving only the finishing phase.

The jewelry was placed with a point in the chest, and the skirt is decorated with lace and ribbons.

“It’s done….”

I put down the needle and took the thimble from my finger. Leah murmured in admiration while seeing a dress that was completely different from the first.

“I really didn’t expect you to have this skill.”

“It’s not the right thing to do, but— can you call in some maids to dress me up?”

“Yes!”

Leah called in some maids. The maids at first seemed a little perplexed. They must have guessed that I wasn’t going to the party, either.

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Not having been instructed by Marianne, they were puzzled and began to help with the make up.

They powdered my face white, painted my eyebrows darkly, and painted my lips red, then breathed life into my cheeks with pink.

After finishing the make up, they combed my hair finely and applied perfume to make it glossy, then decorated it with ribbons and jewelry pins.

Meanwhile, Leah rubbed my shoulders and arms that had been overworking in sewing.

“It’s done, my lady.”