Second Arc: Thirty-Second Chapter

"Today was wonderful. The duel is your victory. Congratulations."

Her Majesty the Queen, her retinue of ladies in tow, was smiling radiantly. Among that retinue, of course, was my own mother, beaming away, plainly delighted.

Spreading out the pleats of my two-part costume, I made a deliberately graceful curtsy.

"Why, Your Majesty. You're too kind. Thank you."

"Hee hee, no need to stand on ceremony. …I am ever so interested in that costume of yours! I should dearly love to hear all about it at leisure."

Fluttering a fan trimmed with the white feathers of a waterfowl, the Queen threw me a mischievous wink. Her noble face — surely the source of the crown prince's own good looks — was charming beyond what you'd credit for a woman with a child of sixteen.

For the outdoor hunt, perhaps, her lustrous silver hair was loosely gathered up, and a hat adorned with a little-bird ornament sat perched atop her head, quite adorable. Her dress was simply made, with little ornament, but used a splendid fabric anyone could see at a glance was of high quality. The whole ensemble was simple, yet lost nothing in dignity or grace, and set off her lively charm. As one would expect of the Queen, who sways the fashions of high society.

…A bewitching beauty, truly. If this woman gave her approval, the culotte trousers would surely explode into fashion among the great ladies.

I swallowed hard, scolded my own heart — soaring with nerves and anticipation — and opened my lips.

"…As expected of Your Majesty! You have a discerning eye indeed! Yes, yes. The fabric of these culotte trousers is silk. Ah — the jacket? This one has been improved again and again for ease of movement… Georg."

"Haa-up!"

At my cue, Georg leapt from the horse he'd been riding, added a twist to a forward somersault, and landed splendidly on the ground. At that magnificent flip, the great ladies gathered around me let out an "Oooh!" of delight.

Toward Georg, who waved both hands raised high in answer to the audience, I pressed my fan to the tip of my chin and gave a bold smile.

"You've really raised your game, Georg."

"…Heh! Nothing is impossible for me! BUT — THIS JACKET, THE EASE OF MOVEMENT, WONDERFUL! THE ARMS, THEY ARE VERY EASY TO RAISE-U."

Ngh… Georg, why are you talking like that?! I suppose getting Georg to deliver lines really was a stretch after all. I'd figured it would be wooden line-reading at worst, but I never expected it to sail clean past wooden and into fake-foreigner territory.

Before the nobles, frozen at Georg's ham-acting, I clapped my hands together with a great SMACK! and drew all eyes back to me.

"Everyone, did you see?! This jacket I'm wearing — it's actually the very same as Georg's! This astonishing stretch! The secret lies right here!"

That day, my culotte-trouser design, the jacket included, was flooded with advance orders. Thanks to my mouth running away with me while I was on a roll, envoys from noble houses descended on our earl's household in droves — the tea-party nightmare all over again. Nagged senseless by a furious Sissi over it, I reflected on my ways — and so it came to be that I founded a clothing division within Signora.