Chapter 145

The madam, looking at the design chosen by Enria and Caldeon, brightened up and asked if she would like to try on a sample she had just finished making.

 

“This dress is a design I truly poured my soul into.”

 

She explained that she had stayed up all night working on it as soon as the design came to mind, saying it felt as though she knew the owner of the dress would be coming soon.

 

“She’ll try it on.”

 

As soon as those words left Caldeon’s mouth—not Enria’s—the Madam quickly turned around, saying she would prepare it immediately.

 

“What kind of dress is it?”

 

“Did you decide?”

 

Seeing this, Roseanne and Belona also showed interest in the dress Enria had chosen. Enria held up the catalog and pointed to the final selection she and Caldeon had made.

 

It was a dress that strictly followed a classic silhouette: a wide neck opening far enough to reveal the shoulders, a tight-fitting bodice, and a skirt that flared out from the waist.

 

However, unlike other dresses, the waistline was seamless, and shimmering gold cubic zircons were embedded between the vertical slits. The entire skirt was layered with a delicate, ethereal lace that seemed to flutter at the slightest movement.

 

It felt as if angel wings had been plucked and attached to the fabric, causing Roseanne and Belona’s eyes to sparkle.

 

“It’s beautiful.”

 

“Truly. I see why the madam was so confident.”

 

Unlike typical dresses that felt simply flashy, they couldn’t take their eyes off this one, which possessed a strangely elegant and mysterious aura.

 

“Could you show me a formal wear catalog that would match this design?”

 

When Roseanne handed her catalog to a staff member, the worker took it quickly, saying they would ask the madam. The term “bridesmaid” was unfamiliar even to the boutique staff, resulting in a subtle, puzzled expression on the worker’s face as they headed toward the madam.

 

“It might be nice if the two of us wore the exact same dress, rather than trying too hard to match Miss Enria’s,” Belona said to Roseanne as she closed her catalog.

 

Though she admired wedding dresses, choosing a bridesmaid dress—a concept she had never seen before—for a wedding that wasn’t her own seemed to be giving her a bit of a headache.

 

At Belona’s suggestion, Roseanne agreed it could be good but wondered if they should still maintain some level of harmony.

 

“Since the origin of bridesmaids is to prevent evil spirits from harming the bride, if we look too different from the bride, it might be a bit…”

 

“Yes, that’s true, but I don’t think we necessarily need to follow the customs of another country to the letter.”

 

Belona mentioned that while Enria was uniquely inspired to have them participate as bridesmaids, it felt a bit odd for citizens of the Empire to mimic foreign customs exactly. Roseanne nodded in agreement.

 

“Then would it be better for us to wear dresses with a completely different feel from Enria’s?”

 

“No, it would be strange if they were too detached.”

 

Shaking her head at Roseanne’s words, Belona reopened the catalog she had closed and pointed to a specific formal gown.

 

“Since it is Miss Enria’s wedding, I don’t think we need to stand out. So, I think wearing something modest and clean like this would be nice. What do you think, Miss Roseanne?”

 

It was an evening gown-style dress that looked overall elegant and demure, with no lace or cubic zircons at all.

 

Roseanne let out a small “Ah” and nodded.

 

“With this kind of feel, we could make Enri’s dress stand out relatively more. Enri, could you take a look at this?”

 

Roseanne held out the catalog to Enria, saying the gown Belona chose had a very modest and noble feel.

 

Looking at the gown in the catalog, Enria’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the subtle pink dress that flowed long without any ornaments, resembling an evening gown.

 

“I think it would be great if we added the same fluttering lace from my dress to this.”

 

When she added that it looked a bit plain now and would be gorgeous with just a little point of detail, Belona asked if it wouldn’t be better for their dresses to remain unadorned to make Enria, the protagonist of the ceremony, stand out.

 

In her original world, it was custom for wedding guests to avoid white-toned clothing for the sake of the bride, so Enria fully understood Belona’s point.

 

However, though she had asked Roseanne and Belona to be bridesmaids, her primary wish was to enjoy the wedding together like a festival, so she felt it would be fine if they wore slightly flashier outfits.

 

“I think it would be nice because it’ll look like we intentionally matched. Since this dress doesn’t have a flared silhouette like Enri’s, covering the skirt in lace shouldn’t make it too flashy.”

 

As Roseanne spoke to Belona, Belona looked at the gown in the catalog for a moment, humming in thought.

 

“I suppose that’s true.”

 

“Then shall we go with covering the skirt of this gown with lace?”

 

“Rahar. What do you think?”

 

When Belona asked Rahar, who was sitting next to her, he nodded vigorously and said it would look incredibly good on her.

 

Tearen also told Roseanne, who was looking at him, that it would be pretty, causing the corners of Roseanne’s mouth to lift. Enria was happy in her own right about the dresses having a subtle “matching” feel.

 

“We’ll purchase that other one separately.”

 

When Caldeon suddenly suggested buying the dress that revealed her cleavage, Enria’s eyes immediately narrowed into a suspicious squint.

 

“Who buys two wedding dresses?”

 

“Me.”

 

“Forget it, it’s a waste.”

 

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime wedding. Buying two isn’t a big deal.”

 

“But you won’t let me wear that one in front of people anyway, will you?”

 

She asked because she figured he would never allow her to wear a dress that was far more provocative than the off-the-shoulder one, and as expected, Caldeon had no intention of letting Enria stand before the guests in it.

 

“Of course. I am the only one allowed to see your body.”

 

“No, I mean, that dress doesn’t exactly reveal everything…”

 

“It’s provocative by my standards. Honestly, the one we just chose has a lot of exposure too, but I only agreed because the veil will cover your shoulders to some extent.”

 

He added that his heart’s desire was to dress her in something that covered her from neck to ankle without a single gap, regardless of how pretty the dress was, but he was compromising a lot since it was Enria’s first and last wedding.

 

Enria looked at him with an incredulous expression before letting out a small, dry laugh.

 

“What on earth is that supposed to mean?”

 

“Wear one just for me.”

 

Ultimately, since the person she wanted to look most beautiful for was Caldeon, wearing a dress exclusively for him would have its own special meaning.

 

With a short sigh, Enria nodded and agreed. A satisfied smile spread across Caldeon’s face.

 

Just then, Silri and Eva called out to Enria and Caldeon.

 

Turning their heads, they first saw Hayden’s grumpy face between Silri and Eva.

 

Following that, they noticed the white and black jackets draped over Hayden’s shoulders, and the white and black pant legs on each of his legs.

 

“What is that?”

 

Caldeon’s brow furrowed instantly, and Enria’s eyes blinked rapidly.

 

“Parents, choose. Is it the white formal wear or the black?”

 

Silri asked bluntly, causing the couple’s gaze to shift to the mismatched outfit.

 

It seemed they couldn’t decide between the two, so they had him wear both at once to seek Caldeon and Enria’s opinion.

 

“Both would suit him.”

 

“I agree, both would be so lovely.”

 

Caldeon and Enria spoke as they looked at Hayden. Naturally, the two of them also seemed to fall into a dilemma, unable to choose.

 

“Both look so good that it’s hard to give up one.”

 

“We plan to have him wear both, so don’t worry about that. We’re just deciding which one to have him wear first.”

 

When Enria spoke, Silri waved her hand dismissively, and Caldeon frowned, asking why that even mattered.

 

Then Eva interjected.

 

“It matters. It’s important, so pick which one he wears first. You must think carefully. Since it’s your sacred wedding, naturally a white tuxedo would be fit—”

 

“Don’t subtly push the color you’re rooting for, Eva.”

 

Silri frowned irritably, and Eva shot her a disgruntled look.

 

Because of this, Enria and Caldeon realized that Eva was pushing for white and Silri was pushing for black.

 

“Ha-Hayden. Which one do you like?”

 

Enria asked Hayden.

 

She felt she couldn’t make the choice herself, so she asked the child who would actually be wearing it, but Hayden also seemed to find the choice difficult and just shook his head vigorously at Enria.

 

Panz, who was perched on top of Hayden’s head, squawked that he was getting dizzy.

 

“Just pick one quickly. You said he’s wearing both anyway. Why are you dragging this out over something so trivial?”

 

Rahar, watching from behind, spoke with a face of utter incomprehension.

 

At that, everyone’s eyes turned toward Rahar.

 

“You choose, then.”

 

“Please choose, Rahar.”

 

“Uncle, you do it.”

 

When Caldeon, Enria, and even Hayden pushed the task onto Rahar, he was momentarily flustered but then gave a nonchalant shrug.

 

“Obviously, white for the entrance and black for the exit—Gah!”

 

In an instant, Silri sent Rahar flying into the air with a whirlwind and tossed him a good distance away.

 

“Rejected.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

Eva looked at Silri with raised eyebrows, as if her reaction made no sense.

 

Silri stood with her chin up and arms crossed, answering with a confident expression.

 

“My contractor has zero sense of fashion, so he’s disqualified.”

 

Rahar had become a person with bottom-tier fashion sense just by making one choice.

 

Roseanne, Belona, and Tearen instinctively kept their mouths shut.

 

All three of them silently resolved never to step forward, lest they end up in the same state as Rahar.