Chapter 18 - Over The Top

Anyway, Emmeline was just a kid who had not gone through puberty yet, so she did not need a bra right now. And her body could easily work without a corset, thus, Kim Su Won suggested that. When she ended up wearing the dress without the corset, she realized how out of shape the dress looked. It was probably because the dress had stretched enough in its lifetime as Cecilia's attire.

"Ugh, can you please arrange some pants and blouse for me Anna? This looks ridiculous," Kim Su Won turned around to see her dress in the mirror but it looked awkward from all angles. What was the use of such a beautiful face when there were no good clothes to match with the beauty?

After a week, Anna had gotten slightly used to out of this world's suggestion from her miss. Pants? She was a female and female only wore frocks and gowns! What did she mean pants and blouse? These kinds of crazy ideas, however, were still hard to process for the maid.

"I am sorry miss, this is the best we can do at the moment," she gave up. Her deadpan eyes without a hint of emotion told Kim Su Won that she had crossed the line for ridiculous ideas.

"Alright, then finish the hair and let's go. The scheduled time is approaching," Kim Su Won replied, running her fingers through her silky hair. This was probably her favorite activity throughout her day. The hair on this new body's head was just of such great quality that Kim Su Won touched it a hundred times in one day. Anna still could not understand her miss's obsession with her own hair but she brushed it under the rug as usual. Since the incident, she had just accepted that her miss had changed somehow and had stopped questioning her.

The maid styled Kim Su Won's hair in high ponytail. She let go of putting on make-up on the young girl's face. She was naturally beautiful and did not need any. Her milky white glistening skin was an object of envy of many, including her elder sister Cecilia Whittemore.

Kim Su Won twirled around once again, very happy with her face. She so wished, at moments like these, that her jerk of ex was here to see her transformation. This pretty face was really a great boost to her confidence. But she really wanted to style her frock with something, otherwise, it just looked like a sack hanging on her body. No matter how much she wanted to show her poverty to her father, this would be bad for the first impression, especially since she was going to ask for a favor from him.

"Anna, show me the wardrobe, there must be something to hide this sagging waist," Kim Su Won decided to take the matters in her hands. Anna opened the small closet. The clothes were so neatly arranged that sometimes Kim Su Won suspected of Anna having OCD.

The gowns were lined up by color hanging on hangers on a rod. The color palette, however, was not very varied. There were only blues and greens, one purple and one yellow dress. There was no red color at all. The closet had multiple black and white frocks though. It felt more like wedding-funeral closet rather than a rich young girl's wardrobe.

Since the things were hands-me-downs, the accessories were more for mature girls rather than a twelve year old. There were black clutches for hair with golden and silver colored gems, even the necklaces were heavy for a kid. Kim Su Won understood that this was a society where the girls were expected to dress up all the time and jewelry and such were actually indicators of wealth. But this was just too much. Her heart throbbed with pain. She had no idea that real Emmeline Whittemore was neglected so much. She had to throw all these things away. But it would all depend on how her negotiations would go with her father. If he were more like her own dad form her original life, then he would be a reasonable man too. She just needed to give him convincing reasons. Otherwise, she would need to earn money by herself.

On the bottom shelf, shoes were neatly arranged. Anna had already chosen matching pastel blue ballerina shoes for her miss. But most of the pairs were tasteless as well.

In the corner, Kim Su Won spotted a few jackets and belts. Most of them had fur on the collar, deeming them rather unsuitable for the hot and humid climate in what she thought was the peak of summer. She went through the pile and finally found something that could really work here. It was a white broad belt with crisscross laces to tie it up at her back. It was probably something the maids in the house used to keep their waists in shape but it was just lying there for her. Most probably, it was deliberately placed there.

"Ah! Miss, that is not supposed to be there! I just cleaned this closet a few months ago, who keeps putting stuff like this here?" Anna snatched the dangling belt from her miss's hands. Every season, Cecilia's maids would send a huge pile from her discarded clothes to this wing and Anna carefully selected and refreshed her miss's wardrobe to the best of her ability.

Given how willful her miss was, there were a few things she never retaliated against. For example, the orders from her mother and this was one of those. Original Emmeline had given in to her fate, and thus, did not really say anything against getting older clothes once her mother had scolded her enough to make her cry for three days straight.

Anyway, Kim Su Won snatched the belt back. "What are you talking about? This is the exact thing I needed," she replied with a serious face. Anna looked at her miss like she had gone crazy.

"Aiyya, don't make such a serious face Anna. Help me put it on," Kim Su Won said. Anna was bewildered, was her miss serious? Use a maid's accessory on her miss's dress? Was this really to show her father how poorly she was living? Wasn't this over the top?

She still complied, despite wanting to protest. What was the harm? She would just take it off later, stating that it looked absurd. But once she put it on, it really helped the frock become something else. Anna had no idea that the dress would transform in such a way!

Since maids could not wear corsets for practical purposes, in this era, they used broad belts to help support their breasts and not restrict their movements. But she had not seen a noble use them before. Neither were they used on colorful dresses. But now she was looking at this piece and her miss, both in a new light. Astounded, she gasped a little.

"See? I told you. You need to trust me Anna. I know it sounds rich coming from me, but you will see more surprises from me from now on," Kim Su Won grinned, her eyes shining brightly. Anna, for a moment, was mesmerized by her miss's self-confidence.. Emmeline Whittemore never had any since the day she had started serving her. Who was this girl?