The next morning, Mirabelle guided Elena into her room with her small hand. Elena’s eyes were closed as she blindly groped her way forward, until finally Mirabelle stopped.
“Tada!”
At the word, Elena slowly raised her eyelids and looked at the scene in front of her.
Immediately hanging before her was the dress Mirabelle had taken yesterday. For the most part it looked like her neat white and green dress. The problem before was that the sleeves, waistlines, and skirt were too plain, but now the dress she saw felt completely different from that of yesterday. Lace was added to the sleeves and shoulders, and a mesh with beads was added to the skirt to make it more elegant. The lower neckline showed her bust, and the dress had been modified to emphasize her narrow waist line.
Despite the short notice, the modifications on the dress were almost indistinguishable from that of a professional tailor. She felt her mouth drop open in astonishment.
“You did this yourself?”
“Yes, I did the overall design, but the maid helped me a lot.”
“Incredible. I didn’t you know had this talent.”
She spoke from the bottom of her heart. Since Elena was a little girl, she had been completely illiterate when it came to fashion. She always like the traditional and simple rather than dazzling and glamourous. Instead of enjoying the attention of others, she always wanted to blend in rather than standing out, are there was not much to boast about. From a dress to a tea cup, her selections were so lackluster that Elena didn’t consider herself to be very feminine. She couldn’t afford luxuries after her family died anyway, but her tastes were still the same when she lived as a noblewoman. She didn’t expect Mirabelle to have this gift.
“Do you think I would look good in it?”
“Who do you think you’re talking to? You can tell just by looking at it.”
Mirabelle said lightly.
“Do you want to study this?”
“No matter what I think, Father will say that a woman should be modest and stay home.”
Elena didn’t want to argue with her father, but she didn’t want to restrain Mirabelle either. If Elena became a princess–then empress–as planned then Mirabelle would not be so free in the future. But her sister wanted to live more freely than anyone else. If Mirabelle wanted a professional job, Elena was willing to give her all the support she could.
“Father’s opinion is important, but you have to decide your life on your own. I’ll help you if you want, so just tell me if you feel that way.”
At Elena’s warm advice, Mirabelle nodded and a grateful smile spread on her face.
“Yes, thank you, sister.”
“You’re welcome. I’m very grateful to you, Mirabelle.”
Elena’s dress was satisfactory, although Mirabelle’s dress had to taken apart in pieces to provide the lace and the mesh. Elena felt a little guilty for having ruined Mirabele’s new dress to fix it. From the small to the large, Mirabelle thought only of her. A warm happiness filled her body.
“Heh. How embarrassing…”
Mirabelle scratched her nose, then pointed to the altered dress and spoke again.
“Would you like to try it on?”
“Of course.”
Elena hurried to put on the dress with the help of her maid. She thought it would be wonderful to wear a dress that Mirabelle create herself from start to finish one day.
Chorreuk–
After changing into the new dress and making the necessary adjustments, the maid drew open the curtains of the dressing room. Mirabelle’s mouth opened. In actuality Elena might have gone a little overboard with her praise, and while the dress was well mended, the fact that the original dress was still out of style had not changed. But as soon as Elena wore it it was transformed.
Sun-kissed blonde hair and clear pale skin made the dress multitudes of times more valuable. The pale flesh of her cleavage enchanted the viewer and the curves of her body cinched into a small waistline. Mirabelle had only added a mesh with lace and beads to her dress, but it made the dress feel more elegant than any other dress in the world.
The dress was not important. The wearer of this dress, however, was magnificent. As Mirabelle stared with fascination, Elena spoke softly.
“Is it weird?”
“Oh, no! It’s so pretty, sister! It’s the best!”
Mirabelle stretched out her arms and gave her two thumbs up. She meant it without a hint of sarcasm. In fact, it occurred to Elena that if Mirabelle hadn’t mended the dress, Elena might’ve thought the original was perfectly acceptable. She gave a twirl in front of the mirror and admired her sister’s creation.
“It’s all thanks to the dress you made.”
“Someone might misunderstand if they hear you, sister. I only fixed it up a little bit.”
“No, I love it. This is Mirabelle’s first work, so I will keep it in the future.”
Mirabelle felt a sense of pride as she saw Elena enjoying her dress. Mirabelle didn’t know if she had a some sort of talent, but seeing Elena enjoy it so much made her want to make more. Burning in her heart was the fresh discovery of a new talent.
Mirabelle’s gaze suddenly fell on Elena’s naked neck.
“Sister, do you have any necklaces? It would be nice to have something to draw the eye to the collarbone.”
“I have a few, but I’m not sure if I have any that match,”
Elena said with an awkward smile. Mirabelle probably knew what was in Elena’s jewelry box better than Elena did. She still only had a few jewels from their mother, and some she had bought for herself. Mirabelle felt sorry for Elena, who was always saving money even when they were not lacking.
‘…Big sister, you can be a little more extravagant.’
Elena was such a lovely woman who could do with a few more adornments, but she would still be more beautiful than all young people at the tea party. Mirabelle smiled secretly to herself as she remembered Helen, whom she had only seen once before.