Episode 44. It's Okay to Be Messy
Bianca knocked on the door of the Duke of Valois's estate early in the morning. Lucy went out to the front door and saw Bianca. Lily was standing beside her. Both were dressed and ready to go out.
Bianca said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Is the Princess home?"
Lucy led them inside. Martha came out of the study and saw the two of them.
"Why are you here so early in the morning...?"
Bianca looked at Martha.
"Did you forget?"
"No. I remember."
Martha said to Maxim while getting ready to go out.
"I'll be back."
Maxim nodded. The three of them boarded the carriage. Inside, Bianca took out a notebook and began explaining today's schedule. From choosing a dress at Madame Ellis's boutique and checking basic etiquette to discussing preparations for the tea party in advance, it was meticulously written down. It was typical of Bianca.
Martha listened for a moment and then said.
"We're having a meal on the way, aren't we?"
Bianca looked up from her notebook and saw Martha. She was frozen. Lily covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter. Bianca said.
"If you go on a full stomach, you'll throw up while trying on the dress. You can eat after you pick out the dress. Just hold on a little longer, Serena."
Martha nodded.
"But I'm hungry..."
"What's wrong with her?"
Bianca muttered with a sigh and looked back at her notebook. Martha looked out the window. Lily looked back and forth between the two, unable to completely suppress her laughter.
Madame Ellis Boutique. Lily stopped the moment she opened the door and stepped inside. And understandably so, as this was the place where Lily first met Martha. It was a place filled with fond memories that had led to their current relationship.
Turning back to Martha, Lily beamed, saying.
"Princess Serena, it's been a while since we've been here again. This time, let's go together."
My sweet Lily. Today, I will fill your wardrobe to the brim with the seven colors of the rainbow.
The boutique was filled with dresses. Burgundy, navy, emerald. The colors and silhouettes were diverse. Light descending from the ceiling settled upon the dress. Lily slowly entered, lightly touching various items with her hands. Bianca chatted with Madame Ellis as if she were used to it. Upon seeing Martha, Madame Ellis greeted her politely and welcomed her warmly, saying it had been a long time.
After a brief conversation with Bianca, Madame Ellis began to analyze Martha. Her eyes were sharp. She looked at Martha. Then, she checked Martha's previously recorded measurements and personally verified whether they had changed. The warm gaze that had greeted her at the beginning transformed into the keen expression of a professional.
Madame Ellis slowly walked around Martha once. Then, measuring various parts of Martha with a tape measure, she wrote down her measurements without hesitation on a new chart.
"Shall we try on a few dresses?"
Bianca and Lily sat on the sofa, drinking tea and watching Martha standing at the podium in front of them. Ellis and several assistants began dressing Martha in dresses. The first dress was brought out. It was a shade of burgundy. It was a deep, rich color. It was a color somewhere in between, deeper than wine and darker than a red rose.
The sleeves draped naturally along the shoulder line. The fabric was luxurious. It shimmered softly when it caught the light. The silhouette was cinched at the waist and flared out naturally toward the skirt.
Bianca and Lily sat on the sofa, watching the process. Bianca crossed her arms, scrutinizing Martha with a sharp gaze, and said.
"You need to tighten the waist more! The waist!"
The assistant pulled the belt.
"A little more! More cinched!"
Before Bianca could finish, Martha reacted.
"Stop it, I can't breathe!"
Lily burst out laughing on the sofa. Bianca said.
"More! A little more!"
The assistant pulled once more. Martha squeezed her eyes shut and said.
"Could you get me some paper and a pen? I need to write a will. It was none other than Bianca Drua who killed me."
Bianca said firmly.
"Beauty comes with pain."
"If pain is beauty, then I'll just walk around naked without pain, like a madman!!"
Lily giggled, almost falling backward off the sofa. Madame Ellis quietly raised the corners of her mouth as she looked around Martha. She aligned the shoulder lines, adjusted the waistline, and checked the overall silhouette. The assistants made the final touches.
Then, she placed Martha in front of the mirror. The drawing room, which had been filled with laughter, fell silent. Madame Ellis was silent. Bianca and Lily were silent as well. There stood Martha in front of the mirror. She was simply perfect, requiring no other words. The burgundy dress matched Martha's skin tone perfectly. The deep, rich color harmonized with her golden hair, creating an overall fiery impression. The waistline was sharp. The lines created by the waist straps, which had been tightened so much, completed the dress's silhouette. The shoulder line was natural.
The way the skirt draped toward the floor was dignified and elegant. Above all, the posture Marta posed in front of the mirror wearing that dress was perfect. It was a posture etched into the body of someone who had spent decades adjusting and correcting the postures of noble princesses. It was a posture that came naturally, without conscious effort.
Martha looked in the mirror. There she was. Looking at herself, Martha thought. 'I've spent sixty years dressing noble princesses in dresses and adjusting their postures. Have I ever worn one like this myself, even once? Oh... It's pretty. Miss Serena was really pretty. I... I'm really pretty.'
Martha smiled softly at her reflection. Seeing that smile, Bianca said.
"Do you like it, Princess?"
Martha replied..
"Yes. I like it."
Lily clapped her hands and gave Martha a thumbs-up. The second dress was brought out. It was navy. A deep, dark blue. It felt like it fell a bit more neatly than the first dress, but the design slightly emphasized the bust line. The fabric flowed flexibly, naturally revealing the curves of the upper body.
The moment Madame Ellis's assistants dressed Martha in the second dress, Martha froze when she looked in the mirror.
"Isn't this a bit too revealing?"
Bianca said.
"Where? It looks just right."
"No, the bust is a bit..."
Martha tried to cover her chest with her hand.
"Cover this a bit more. Can't you have the fabric altered to come up higher?"
Bianca looked at Martha with a bewildered expression.
"Princess Serena, your bust is exceptionally full and beautiful, so why cover it up? You should show it off!"
Martha said.
"It's so indecent! Cover up!"
Bianca said.
"If you cover everything up, you look all gloomy!"
Martha said, grinning after looking in the mirror for a moment.
"I'm not a gloomy woman. I'm quite the lustful woman."
Crazy. At that moment, Bianca covered Lily's ears with both hands as she sat beside her. Lily looked at Bianca with wide eyes. Bianca looked at Martha. Martha looked calmly at the mirror. Madame Ellis looked into the distance. Bianca sighed and removed her hands from Lily's ears.
Lily asked.
"What did you mean?"
Bianca said.
"It's something Lily doesn't need to know yet."
Martha let out a snicker. In the end, they decided to go with the navy dress according to the original design. Martha had held out but eventually gave in to Bianca. Bianca had refused to budge on her insistence that it shouldn't be too dark. Instead, they reached an agreement with Madame Ellis to add just a very light lining. Burgundy for the tea party. Navy for the official event.
While Bianca was finishing up with Madame Ellis, Lily stood beside Martha and said.
"You look really beautiful today, Princess."
After choosing Bianca and Lily's dresses as well. The three of them sat on a sofa in one corner of the boutique. As refreshments were prepared, Bianca opened her notebook and said.
"Now, let's review basic etiquette before the tea party."
Martha nodded. Bianca looked at her notebook and said.
"Starting with how to hold a teacup. Like this, with your thumb and index finger."
Martha was already holding the teacup. Perfectly. Her thumb and index finger were in the correct position. Her wrist angle was natural. Her elbow position was just right. Bianca froze. She looked at her notebook, then at Martha, then back at her notebook.
"N-next is how to greet. Bending slightly at the waist like this."
Martha stood up from her seat. And she bowed. More elegantly than Bianca. The angle of her waist was precise. Her gaze was natural. The timing was perfect.
Bianca froze again. Lily sipped her tea to suppress her laughter. Bianca looked at Martha, then at her notebook, then at Martha again, and spoke.
"Where did you learn this?"
Martha said as she sat down.
"You'll find out as you live."
Bianca said.
"That really scares me now."
Martha said while drinking her tea.
"Then shall I teach you?"
Bianca looked at Martha. Martha began to teach Bianca this way and that way. Wrist angle, eye contact, foot position, the timing of pausing briefly before speaking. Bianca wore a bewildered expression, but she still followed Martha's every word with her actions. As she followed along, Bianca said.
"My Lady, I don't know if I'm learning or teaching right now."
Martha said.
"Both."
There was silence. Lily burst into laughter. After a while of conversation, Lily leaned back on the sofa, her posture becoming unsteady. Her back was completely bent over. Her legs were slightly stretched out. It was not the posture a noble lady should be sitting in. Martha noticed this. She was about to point it out but stopped.
"Ah, so what? Nobles are human too. We can be a little more relaxed, at least when it's just us."
Martha said.
"Just be comfortable. You shouldn't be uncomfortable."
Lily looked at Martha. Bianca looked at Martha with a surprised expression.
"You are saying that, Princess. Just moments ago, you were teaching me etiquette."
Martha said.
"Etiquette is for the other person, not to constrict me. Learning how to hold a teacup is to show courtesy to the other person, not to sit uncomfortably. If you are too rigid, you suffocate. It's not a bad thing for us to be comfortable with each other, even if it's just the two of us."
The drawing room fell silent for a moment. Bianca spoke as she picked up her tea and set it down.
"I was taught that way since I was young. That I must always appear perfect. Even when I'm alone, I should be polite as if I were with someone. Because I am a noble lady of the Marquis de Drua."
Martha looked at Bianca. Bianca continued.
"I keep feeling like I have to look even more perfect. That there shouldn't be any flaws."
Martha looked at Bianca. Her gaze was different from before. It wasn't the look of a queen of society. It was just the look of a nineteen-year-old lady. Martha spoke.
"Bianca."
Bianca looked at Martha.
"Trying to appear perfect is different from actually being perfect. Right now, Bianca, you are actually doing a perfectly good job. Even without trying to show it."
Bianca looked at Martha. Something welled up in her eyes. Lily spoke from the side.
"Me too. I hear that I always have to be demure because I am the daughter of the Viscount Muller. You mustn't run around, and you mustn't laugh loudly."
Martha looked at Lily.
"Lily just needs to be Lily. That's the best way."
Lily hugged Martha. Martha stroked Lily's hair. Bianca watched the scene, then averted her gaze and spoke softly.
"I wish I could hear that, too."
Martha looked at Bianca.
"You too, Bianca."
Bianca looked at Martha.
"Just being Bianca is enough. Thank you."
Just then, the boutique door opened. Martha looked up and stopped. It was Prince Leon. He said that he had visited the Duke of Valois to deliver documents to the young lady, and that Maxim had informed him that Martha had gone to the boutique with the young ladies.
He had stopped by to deliver the documents in person. Prince Leon stopped as he stepped inside. Martha was wearing a dress. It was a burgundy dress. It was the one she had chosen earlier. Martha was sitting on the sofa wearing it. She was holding Lily.
That scene caught Prince Leon's eye. Prince Leon stopped. Siegfried stood beside him, looking straight ahead. He grinned, revealing his dimples.
Martha looked at Prince Leon. She saw him. As their eyes met, Prince Leon lowered his gaze before looking back at Martha.
"...You are here, Princess."
Martha said.
"Yes. Do you have business here?"
Prince Leon said, picking up the documents he was holding.
"I have something to deliver. I will give it to you personally."
Then he quickly turned his gaze away. He paused just as he was about to leave, turned back to look at Martha, and spoke.
"Your dress is very pretty."
Martha watched Prince Leon's retreating figure. And without realizing it, she lightly placed her hand on her chest. This heart of mine is at it again. Eh, so what? I'm human, after all. If you're human, your heart beats; that's all.
Bianca looked at the door Prince Leon had exited through, then looked back at Martha.
"Serena. What's wrong with your face? You're all flushed red."
Martha said.
"The waist of the dress is too tight."
Bianca looked at Martha. Lily stifled a laugh. Madame Ellis looked into the distance.
The three of them left the boutique and walked side by side to the carriage parked a short distance away. The evening sunlight settled on the street. It was warm. Bianca walked, looking straight ahead. Lily walked holding Martha's hand. Lucy took out her notebook as she watched the three of them walking from a distance.
[Lucy's Secret Shock Journal Episode 44]
Today, the Princess said, "Etiquette is for the other person, not to constrict me."
That remark has strangely lingered in my memory for a long time.
The Princess, Miss Bianca, and Miss Lily all looked a little different today.
The Princess said her face turned red because of the dresses... it can't be true, can it?
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