CH 35

“That, that’s right, sister.”

Rowena, being ignored by Catherine and forced to call Elysia older sister, must have seriously hurt her self-esteem. The fact that her lips were trembling was proof of that.

A child with such strong self-esteem like Rowena wouldn’t be able to get over this situation.

“This is the first dress.”

In the dressing room made with simple curtains, the salon staff helped Elysia put on the dress. The first outfit Catherine gave her was a very delicate pale yellow dress.

“Oh! You look so good.”

“Is it okay?”

“Of course.”

She deliberately turned her head towards Rowena and asked the question.

However, she didn’t answer, and Elysia barely understood why. It was because she was too beautiful to see in the dress even when she looked in the mirror.

The pale yellow dress was designed in an off-the-shoulder style that exposed her shoulders. It had a ballooning effect on her arm, making up for her skinniness. The hem was laced with splendid lace as it went down, and Elysia, who had never seen the dress before, found it very beautiful.

“It goes so well with Your Grace’s white skin.”

“Thank you. Rowena, how do you see it?”

“How do I see it…?”

“Yeah, I’d love to hear your comments.”

Catherine used lace and pearls to express a dress that might seem boring in an elegant and beautiful way. It wasn’t usually Rowena’s favorite, though this dress was a beautiful dress that everyone would want, regardless of their taste.

“It’s beautiful.”

Although the voice seemed to creep in, Elysia decided to be satisfied with this level.

It was just the beginning, so it wasn’t good to tighten Rowena from here. Because of that, she decided to lay the groundwork slowly.

“Madam, this dress is not for the reception, is it?”

“Yes, there are separate dresses to wear at the reception. Would you like to see the dresses you will be wearing at the reception first?”

Elysia shook her head to signify that it was okay.

Rowena’s expression brightened for a moment when Catherine said that it was not a dress to be worn at the reception. Apparently, the maid conveyed her words very well.

“By the way, there were also gold dresses, weren’t there?”

“Yes, there is.”

At the mention of a golden dress, Rowena’s eyes shone so fiercely that she couldn’t hide it.

“I’ll try it first.”

Gold was Rowena’s favorite color as her dresses were mostly gold. Even the dress Rowena was wearing now was gold.

Leaving her, who had shining eyes, behind, Elysia went back into the curtains to change her dress. She wondered how Rowena would react when she showed up wearing a gold dress.

“Would you like to raise your arm?”

If it hadn’t been for her skinny body, she would have had to tighten herself with a cramped corset. It was impossible to wear a corset as she had to rather enrich the dress to cover up her skinniness.

“Wow… Oh, my god, It’s a completely different atmosphere from before.”

“You are so beautiful.”

Despite the compliments from Catherine and the salon staff, Elysia did not smile at all. She only looked at Rowena. The gold dress was quite different from the pale yellow dress she had just seen before.

If that was an elegant and beautiful atmosphere, this dress was more glamorous than flashy.

It was definitely Rowena’s favorite style of dress.

Again, the gold dress was off-the-shoulder, and dazzling golden roses hung in the center of her chest. The beautifully embroidered gold thread showed that great care was put into the dress. Even the part of the skirt shimmered like gold dust had been sprinkled on it.

A beautiful dress at a glance. However, in her eyes, it was a design that was too burdensome to wear.

“Ummm… The design of the dress is very gorgeous.”

“It consisted of dresses of various designs. Perhaps, if Your Grace ever makes a different choice.”

As Catherine said, it was true that the range of choices was widened in a completely different atmosphere. Of course, it was beautiful enough, though it wasn’t Elysia’s style.

This was closer to Rowena’s taste.

“But, I don’t think fancy dresses suit me.”

“What are you talking about? It suits you enough. If you wear makeup and hair that suits you, you will shine even more.”

“Is that so…? I think this design would suit my sister more, not me.”

She deliberately moved the hem of her dress to flutter it more, turning her body, and glanced at Rowena. She was staring at the dress with a blank expression on her face as if possessed by it.

Similarly, this was the expected reaction. This dress was definitely her favorite design.

“…Rowena?”

“Yes, yes!”

How much she liked the dress that she couldn’t even hear her calling? Elysia smiled because Rowena. The more she fell in love with the gold dress, the better.

“How do I look? Compared to the first dress.”

“Ah… I think it suits sister… But, I think the first dress suited you better.”

“Really?”

Of course, it was possible that the yellow dress before this dress really suited Elysia. However, Rowena didn’t mean it that way. She was saying it didn’t suit Elysia because she coveted this gold dress.

“Madam, really?”

“It seems to me that they both go well together.”

“Is that so, too? Rowena, you have little eyes to see.”

“Sister…”

Perhaps, it was impossible to yell in a place where there were many people, Elysia smiled slightly when she saw Rowena clenching her teeth.

“Looking like this, I think it suits you better…”

“Is that so?”

As she clenched her teeth, Elysia had to suppress the smile that was about to burst out of her face, which was quickly brightening because she didn’t think it would end with a small smile.

“Yeah, it’s definitely similar to the style you usually wear, isn’t it?”

“I think so.”

It was an apparent attitude as though Rowena thought she was going to give her the dress. She wondered how she could think so self-centered.

She would never have thought that she would be able to get the dress.

***

Rowena was definitely enamored with the gold dress, and she had been raving about every dress that comes out since then. She didn’t know that somehow her gesturing to get the dress was making Elysia feel better.

“Now, I think you just need to try on the wedding dress.”

“How about the wedding dress?”

The five wedding dresses she tried on all had their own charms. In fact, it seemed like a work of art so outstanding that no one could choose.

“I think Your Grace has already made up your mind, isn’t it?”

In fact, she wore five dresses and already had a few that she liked because that was not the dress Estelle and Catherine recommended.

“But, didn’t you say that black and blue dresses aren’t the best choices?”

“That’s what you would normally think. That’s not to say that Her Grace had to choose that dress. Above all, the dress that best suits the bride is the best.”

Clearly, Catherine had a point. It was right to choose the dress that suits her best.

“And, you don’t have to choose both black and blue. These days, they don’t always wear a wedding dress that matches the family color. If you choose only one of the two, I think that what concerns Your Grace will be satisfied.”

The staff were putting all the wedding dresses together and hanging them on hangers one by one. Elysia’s gaze also turned in that direction. It was a very difficult choice to choose only two of the five beautiful dresses.

“Whatever you choose, it will all suit you. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone who can wear all kinds of dresses like Your Grace.”

“That’s an exaggerated compliment.”

Nonetheless, there was one more person who couldn’t take her eyes off the hanger. It was Rowena staring at the gold dress with enchanted eyes. Her appearance was greedy like she already thought the dress was hers.

“More than anything else, I paid the most attention to the wedding dress. I am already looking forward to how well it will suit you. It was so much fun making Your Grace’s dress.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

If Catherine could say that, it may be that the wedding dress was several times more attentively done than the reception dress. All of the wedding dresses so far were satisfactory, so Elysia also had high expectations.

Still, she felt strange.

She thought she would never wear a wedding dress in this life because she was going to break up or divorce Damon somehow. However, the wedding dress that she ended up wearing was made by Catherine, it was a great thing. Wasn’t it the work of the most outstanding designer of this time…?

For the first time, Elysia, who was not interested in luxuries or furnishings, even felt her heart flutter.

“I will help you with the wedding dress yourself. The laces and the fabric are very delicate.”

She wondered what kind of design Catherine would even help with wearing it herself. At that, she led Elysia with a confident look.