62 - Pieces of the Broken Glass Slipper
Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 62
==========
I nonchalantly brushed the copperplate to hide my coldly trembling fingertips. I remained silent like a country bumpkin who didn't know how to enjoy things. They seemed to lose interest when I didn't pay attention to the maids and focused solely on the copperplate.
Soon, the tip of a fan lowered, closing the curtain. Now, only the sound of their whispering among themselves echoed quietly in the room.
Women, especially socialite ladies, acquire a special talent in making acquaintances.
It was a secret way of conversing, shamelessly gossiping even with the subject of the story right in front of them.
It wasn't audible to the main target, but it was perfectly audible to those who were sharing the story about me—a strange conversation, considering they almost completely covered their mouths with their fans.
Many women had learned this to survive in society, and in the past, I too had used this method to attack Roena.
It was like a formless violence, where there was suspicion but no concrete evidence to be found, causing many to feel unbearable humiliation and shame. The conversation they were having now was a kind of that.
I swallowed the sigh that threatened to burst out as I met their gazes and saw their strange smiles.
Meeting my gaze like that was also a deliberate act, clearly a ploy to make me feel uneasy and ashamed.
No doubt they were hoping to see me flee the boutique with a flushed face. For another amusing piece of gossip! After all, when would girls who were nothing more than carefully cultivated flowers ever experience such an attack?
Their mischievousness, which possessed physical refinement but lacked respect in the mental aspect, made me question their rational judgment. I also felt like I needed to reconsider Madame Dobigné's discernment.
Anyway, should I fulfill their expectations like this, or should I shatter them mercilessly? Either way, it was clear that it would lead to a result that wasn't very beneficial to me.
While I pretended to examine the copperplate and pondered, fortunately, Madame Dobigné came inside and approached me. Behind her, several maids holding quills, paper, and large measuring tapes lined up.
As soon as the noblewomen saw Madame Dobigné, they clamped their mouths shut and only fluttered their fans. As if the whispering from just a moment ago had been an illusion, they each looked away, feigning ignorance.
"Is there anything you like?"
"Oh, everything is so wonderful and magnificent that it's hard to choose. In fact, I'm even a little embarrassed. My eyes are so unrefined that I can't tell what suits me. So, Madame, would you help me make a wise choice?"
"Of course, Bischwartz Young Lady. Shall we go this way?"
This was the second time she had taken my hand. As I walked with her, I suddenly glanced back at the noblewomen.
They were looking at me with expressions of disappointment, like wolves who had missed their prey. The sight was so amusing that I almost burst out laughing.
Madame Dobigné led me to a small room with a large mirror and a small platform.
In the corner, there was a partition full of oriental-style, vibrant colors and patterns, and she asked me to go behind it and take off my dress.
I obediently followed Madame Dobigné's instructions. A young maid with freckles all over her face followed me to help me undress.
Was she only twelve years old? Despite her very young-looking face, the way she attended to me was quite skillful, indicating that she was no ordinary maid.
She skillfully took off my dress and gently pulled on the strings of the pannier, loosening them. Then, she carefully led me to stand in front of the mirror.
"Even though you're not yet of age, Young Lady, your body is remarkably mature. The slender waist and the perfectly ripe shape of your hips are so beautiful. Above all, your long limbs and elegantly extended neck are charming. Oh, now I understand why you came to me. A dress full of ribbons, utterly childish, would never suit such a body."
She smiled and began to measure every part of my body with the measuring tape. From fingertip to shoulder, from wrist back to fingertip. The midline between my neck and chest, the soft curve leading from my waist to my hips—her tape glided over everything without hesitation.
At the same time, Madame Dobigné didn't hesitate to express the delightful inspiration that had taken hold of her mind.
Her tone suggested that the colors of the clothes and the dresses were already all in her head, and she was focusing more on a design that would enhance my physical charms.
Madame Dobigné was especially pleased to see my breasts, which were more pronounced and boasted a deeper cleavage than those of girls my age.
"These days, the fashionable dresses reveal a lot of cleavage, don't they? Madame de Châteauroux's influence is very strong. She's very proud of her two large lumps of flesh. All the refinement, etiquette, and rational judgment capable of feeling shame have been concentrated there, so it's only natural. But I don't think the trend itself is bad. The stuffy social circles sometimes need a bit of enjoyable chaos. So, let's reveal this beautiful chest up to here. Oh, don't look at me like that. Madame de Châteauroux will surely love the dress."
In the past, I had been an ardent believer in such dresses. Dresses with deeply cut chests and prominently raised hips that emphasized sexual appeal, with bizarre ribbons and lace plastered all over them.
The puffed-up skirt and the multiple layers of frills attached to it fluttered ridiculously every time I moved.
The breasts, tightly constricted and pushed up by the straps—making my already large breasts look even larger—jiggled violently, threatening to slip out of the barely covering fabric.
But most women revealed their chests to a depth that barely covered them, and that spread even to young girls who hadn't yet debuted in society.
Because that was the fashion. The leading figures of society wore them, so there was no choice but to keep up.
Above all, many noblewomen were quite satisfied that they could freely express their innate, instinctive desires, which had been suppressed by manufactured elegance.
Behind their backs, they called it vulgar, but in the end, they all became like Madame de Châteauroux. Of course, some old-fashioned figures—Madame de Lavalier was one of them—stuck to nunnery designs that went all the way up to the neck.
Anyway, was there a need to wear such a design already?
I raised my hand to my chest as if I were about to faint and said in a whisper.
"But I don't know if my aunt would like it... and my mother would be very worried. Oh, Madame, please don't ask me for courage. That would be a beautiful word that would suit someone else."
Of course, Madame Dobigné's acceptable level was aimed at a standard that was slightly higher than simply making the chest look fuller. Very fortunately. But I tilted my head to the side and blinked slowly, as if I couldn't even bear that.
"Oh, I can certainly imagine your worries, Young Lady. But what's clear is that my dress will make your beauty even more radiant. So don't worry. I guarantee that people who are blinded by your elegant demeanor, graceful gait, and dignified gestures won't even notice how much chest is revealed. Above all, aren't you the one with the artistic sense not to be swayed by the drawings on the copperplate displayed outside? I promise you, I won't let that eye, which introduced an unknown artist to Madame de Châteauroux, be tainted with disappointment."
I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized that even the copperplate presented to me was a test. Perhaps even the petty attitude the noblewomen had shown me was part of the evaluation.
The pride of being the emperor's half-sibling and making clothes for prominent figures made her incredibly picky, and at the same time, gave her the laughable privilege of choosing her customers.
Moreover, since the current emperor's relationship with Madame Dobigné was known to be not so bad, there was no one daring enough in the empire to treat her as merely a dressmaker.
"Thank you for understanding my concerns so generously. Please don't think that I doubt your skills."
"Of course not."
"Um, how did you know that I was going to Madame Chatoul and that I introduced her to a young artist?"
"It's a well-known fact that Madame Chatoul's tongue is lighter than a feather. Probably everyone knows it."
I suddenly thought of Prince Beatrix. Had he heard stories like this too? If I went to Madame de Châteauroux's side, I could confirm it. I widened my eyes in surprise and said,
"Madame Chatoul must have a wealth of topics to talk about. Everyone around her must be delighted."
Madame Dobigné nodded and added,
"That's why she's always surrounded by people. In every sense of the word. Now, let's change your clothes."
Madame Dobigné said that the dress she was planning would be very extravagant, so she hoped I wouldn't wear a chunky gemstone necklace.
And she told me about a jewelry store she knew, which even the old me wouldn't have dared to set foot in.
She insisted that I could only buy accessories that would match the clothes I would wear at that store.
I thanked Madame Dobigné and kissed her on the cheek. She seemed very interested in my impulsive behavior, as if I were a well-trained beast by Madame Lavalliere, but hadn't yet shed all of my wildness.
Her eyes, which had widened in surprise for a moment, soon curved softly. She gently took my hand.
"You have an immeasurable charm, Young Lady. You're truly lovely."
I repeatedly thanked her for her kindness and lingered, as if I didn't want to part with her.
But seeing Sir Halberd standing silently while receiving the flirtatious glances of the maids, I couldn't prolong the time any longer. I slowed my pace as if I were truly regretful and talked to Madame Dobigné.
"I'll have my servants send the clothes to the Bischwartz mansion."
"I'll be eagerly awaiting that day. Then, Madame Dobigné, I'll see you again next time."
"Oh, of course."
As soon as I stepped out the door, Seril and Sir Halberd followed me as if they had been waiting. Seril looked as calm as usual, but Sir Halberd looked a little different.
Even though he tried to act nonchalant, he seemed to have been very embarrassed. When I glanced at his face, I saw scattered sweat glistening faintly.
I stopped walking and looked at him. Just facing him, but thinking that my reflection was captured in his blue eyes, a bitter smile naturally came to my lips.
In fact, considering my public reputation, it was more advantageous to go with him. It was a good opportunity to show off how great my status was within the mansion, to the point that I had a knight named Lustewin Halberd attached to me, and how much my adoptive father cherished me.
