Chapter 71
==================================================
Billy Anderson prided himself on his impeccable taste, though his expertise was strictly limited to the realm of masculine tailoring. High fashion for women remained a mystery to him. While securing a gown within the sprawling confines of Pallesa Palace wasn’t an impossible feat, finding one that could accommodate a man’s frame presented a significant logistical hurdle.
Clothing was a matter of harmony; success depended on the wearer’s build and the subtle undertones of their complexion. Now, however, Billy was tasked with bridging the gender divide—a challenge he had never faced before. Regardless of his personal doubts, he was a man who followed his master’s commands without question.
In the Duke’s private chambers, Billy stood before the knight, who met him at eye level. He had always acknowledged that Sir Adrian Grimaldi possessed a strikingly handsome face, yet the prospect of masking a warrior as a lady felt daunting. He reached out, testing the circumference of Adi’s forearm.
“……”
The limb was toned, certainly, but surprisingly slender. In fact, it lacked the typical bulk of a soldier’s arm. Billy realized he wouldn’t need to struggle with oversized sleeves. As for the bust, the lack of natural curves could be remedied with padding, or perhaps a design that drew attention elsewhere. A high-collared gown seemed the most prudent choice to conceal any masculine features.
He considered various layers of stuffing, though such heavy costuming was rare for the sweltering summer months.
The knight’s hair was long enough to be problematic under a wig, necessitating a tight binding. Given Adi’s pale skin, a rich brown shade would likely be the most flattering. A flowing style would be best to hide any stray strands at the nape, and a pair of elegant gloves would be essential to mask the callused hands of a swordsman.
To account for the knight’s height, Billy decided on flat, low-profile shoes.
As he mentally constructed the ensemble, Billy produced a corset. It was the first item he had grabbed when the order for a disguise came down. While the dress required careful selection, a corset was a universal necessity.
“Have you ever been fitted for one of these?” he asked.
“……No,” Adi replied.
In the Grimaldi household, no one had ever attempted to dress Adi in such a way. There had never been a reason for it. Having witnessed the visible agony other women endured in these restrictive garments, she had never harbored any desire to try one. It was a strange irony that her first experience with the device would come while she was playing the role of her brother.
“It is a painful ordeal,” Billy warned.
“It constricts the lungs and puts immense pressure on the ribcage. Because you are male, Sir, we will have to pull it tighter than usual to simulate a feminine silhouette. I’ve heard it feels as though one’s internal organs are being rearranged. It makes you truly admire the women who endure this daily. Do you have much pectoral muscle? In men, that muscle can sometimes be squeezed upward by the stays to mimic the appearance of breasts.”
For a fleeting second, Adi wondered if Billy had personal experience with the garment, given his vivid description. The mental image of the head chamberlain in a corset was unwelcome, yet it flashed through her mind nonetheless.
“If there’s nothing to work with, we’ll simply have to use cotton padding,” Billy added.
The rest, he decided, could be managed through clever layering and the application of cosmetics.
“I’ll go fetch the gown now. You can begin with the corset, I will—”
“Leave that to me,” Yuls interrupted. Billy stared at the Duke, his eyes wide with shock. The Duke intended to assist? With the corset?
“I will handle the lacing. Give it here.”
“Your Excellency……?”
“Is there some difficulty?”
“N-no, not exactly, but.”
The situation was baffling. The Duke of Woodpecker personally lacing his escort knight into a corset? It was beyond unconventional. Billy recalled Joel’s whispers about the pair’s suspicious closeness—perhaps there was weight to those rumors after all.
While every member of the household hoped the Duke would find a companion, this was hardly what they had imagined.
“Go and get the clothes, Billy. Now.”
Recognizing the urgency of their departure from Pallesa, Billy offered a quick bow and hurried out. Yuls turned his attention back to Adi.
“Step into the side room.”
The small chamber was bathed in the silver glow of the moon, lacking any artificial light. It was enough to see shapes and objects, but the shadows were deep enough to mask the finer details of their expressions.
Yuls left the door ajar.
Adi turned away, shedding her cape and outer shirt. Beneath, she wore a simple chemise and her leather breastplate. The armor had served as her secret, flattening her chest to maintain her disguise. She unbuckled the heavy leather, and it hit the floor with a dull, substantial thud.
The moonlight caught the thin fabric of her chemise, tracing the soft curves of her figure. Yuls immediately averted his eyes.
“Your Excellency?”
Adi glanced back over her shoulder. Though his eyes drifted toward her at the sound of her voice, Yuls forced himself to look away again. He reached out blindly, offering the corset. Adi took it, pressing the rigid fabric against her stomach.
“I can’t manage this on my own.”
Yuls knew that well enough. “Turn around,” he instructed. Adi obeyed, holding the front of the garment in place since the laces hadn’t been threaded.
The legendary complexity of women’s fashion became apparent as Yuls began the work. He caught the top string, crossing it over and weaving it through the eyelets. The laces met at the narrowest point of her waist, one set coming from above and the other from below.
He took a breath and pulled.
“Is that right?”
He was navigating entirely without experience. Worried he might have been too aggressive, he glanced at her. “Can you still breathe?”
Adi looked back at him, her expression entirely calm. “I’m quite comfortable.”
Uncertain, Yuls tightened the grip.
“And now?”
“Still fine.”
“……Are you sure your ribs aren’t being crushed?”
“Yes. Everything is in its proper place.”
Yuls hesitated. He was terrified that another inch of tension might cause her physical harm. Even for a woman, her waist seemed impossibly small. How did the organs even function under such pressure? He had heard stories of maids lacing their mistresses until they fainted or screamed, but he couldn’t bring himself to be so callous. The fragility of her form sparked a genuine fear in him.
It was a novel sensation. He had overseen executions and commanded bloody battles without a second thought, yet the idea of causing her a moment’s discomfort made his hands tremble.
“You’re certain you’re alright?”
“I am perfectly fine.”
“……That’s enough, then. It looks narrow enough to pass.”
“Understood,” Adi replied. The pressure on her chest was noticeable, but it was nothing compared to the daily constriction of her leather armor. If anything, the corset forced her into a more elegant posture. Yuls had been far more gentle than he realized.
“How should I finish the tie?”
“Use a Fisherman’s knot, please.”
“Isn’t that a knot used for securing cargo or rigging?”
“……I simply want to ensure it doesn’t slip.”
Yuls couldn’t argue with that logic. The entire point was to maintain the silhouette; a wardrobe malfunction would be disastrous. He wondered briefly if professional ladies’ maids used military-grade knots, or if they had their own specialized techniques.
Once the corset was secured, Adi turned to face him. The chemise beneath the stays ensured she remained modest, though the garment had transformed her shape, emphasizing the delicate curve of her waist.
“Your Excellency.”
Billy returned a moment later, carrying a bundle of fabric. He eyed the corset over the chemise and nodded to himself, finding the result satisfactory.
“Now, Sir, you’ll need to step into this crinoline and the petticoat. Oh, and the trousers must go. You can’t have your uniform bunched up under a silk skirt.”
Billy handed over a skeletal, voluminous frame. Adi stared at the contraption with genuine confusion, unsure of its orientation. Deducing that the narrowest part must be the waist, she stepped into the center of the hoops.
“This was the best I could find on short notice. The neckline is a bit low, but we can tuck your chemise in and use the lace to hide the transition. I’ve brought a heavy pearl necklace to draw the eye away from your throat. ……Wait, how did you tie this crinoline?”
“I made sure it was secure,” Adi said.
“It looks like it would take a knife to get it off,” Billy remarked.
Joel, who had been watching silently from the side, spoke up in a low voice. “That’s a standard military hitch.”
Billy looked back and forth between them, his jaw dropping. “Don’t tell me the corset is the same?”
“I’d wager it is,” Joel said.
Since Yuls had been the one to do the lacing, he simply gave a brief nod of confirmation.
“And how exactly do you expect a lady to get out of that?” Billy asked.
“Any soldier or knight would know how to undo it,” Yuls answered.
It was a task that would likely baffle a traditional lady’s maid or a chamberlain. Yuls held up the garment Billy had brought. “A blue gown.”
“It’s a summer weight, so options were thin. The dark hue should help hide the silhouette of your legs and the structure beneath,” Billy explained.
“It will suit her well.”
“I also have a lace wrap for the shoulders. The shoes you have on will suffice under the long skirt. Now, let’s see……”
As Billy began fussing over the accessories, Adi took the petticoat and the dress and retreated back into the shadows of the side room to finish the transformation.
