chapter 23
Episode 23 – Outing to the capital
Do you know when I’ve been waiting the most since I came to the Royal Academy?
When you go to the cafeteria of the academy to eat?
When you meet and talk to new people?
Otherwise, when you gain a new realization and improve your skills?
No. No. Absolutely not.
The time I looked forward to the most after coming to the Royal Academy was the ‘free time’ to roam around the capital.
It is said that new students who have entered the Royal Academy cannot leave the Royal Academy until a notice about a ‘specific event’ is delivered.
For some reason, the bracelet given to all students at the Royal Academy serves as a kind of location tracker and identification card.
This bracelet records the wearer’s unique mana, and the time it takes to complete the recording varies from person to person.
This unique mana is not artificially accumulated by humans, but refers to the basic mana of all life forms.
Anyway, just in time for this work to be completely finished, the restrictions on going out for new students will disappear, and at the same time, a welcome banquet for new students will be held.
In other words, the announcement announcing the opening of this freshmen welcome banquet meant that the official Royal Academy restrictions were lifted.
“Boss, are you ready to go out?”
“Yes, Nina. I got everything.”
So today, I was thinking of leaving the Royal Academy with Nina to see something to see on the streets of Tintaluna.
Today, what I had to do in Tintaluna, the capital of the Breggern Empire and the city where the Imperial Palace is located, was as follows.
The first thing was to prepare formal clothes for the freshman welcome banquet.
Maybe I could have spent the day doing just this.
Aristocrats attending banquets express themselves in various ways.
From the clothes she was wearing, to the shape of her hair, to the jewelry she wore, there was nothing that didn’t have meaning.
It can be a simple self-show, or it can be an expression of a certain emotional state.
So, the formal wear had a very important meaning.
“So, Nina has to help me a lot today. Maybe I lack an aesthetic sense, so it’s hard to choose clothes that fit well?”
“Don’t worry. Young master. I’ll find you a suit that really suits you.”
It was for this reason that, unlike other nobles, I took Nina with me as an attendant.
It was very comfortable to have someone who knew me very well as an attendant.
So what every noble wants most is to meet an attendant who knows him well.
Since I have a perfect attendant named Nina following me around as a lady-in-waiting, I can say that I am a successful nobleman.
Anyway, today was the time for Nina’s aesthetic sense to come into play.
After setting the formal clothes first, the next step was to choose an item to present to Nina.
Because of what happened yesterday, Nina was able to feel sad about me, knowingly or unknowingly.
Nina has an angelic personality, but when the sadness that comes from trivial misunderstandings accumulates, it is bound to explode later.
If that happens, the emotional rift will deepen and you may not be able to recover the relationship again.
Especially, if two people who are related to a nobleman and an attendant are separated due to bad things, both of them can be in danger.
For example, a noble from a rival family might rehire a dismissed attendant to obtain information about the noble, or request an assassination because the dismissed servant is likely to reveal his secret.
In other words, if the relationship was severed due to bad things, the possibility of bad things happening to both nobles and servants increased.
So, I was doing my best for Nina.
Except for her family and a few servants, she was the person Nina knew me best and understood me.
In other words, she could say that Nina is a precious person to me.
“What is on my face?”
“You are welcome. Because Nina looks even more beautiful today. I can’t take my eyes off her.”
Nina was wearing casual clothes, not ladies’ clothes, because she had to walk around the capital with me all day.
Because she is a lady-in-waiting for a noble, she was wearing a dress made of some expensive fabric, not clothes made with cheap fabrics worn by commoners.
Nina’s beauty was highlighted in a white and dark yellow dress that went well with her light brown hair.
Nina’s face was one I never got tired of seeing, seeing again and again, every day.
Perhaps, if I were to get married, wouldn’t it be with someone like Nina?
At least I think so.
If you are not a person who knows and understands the other person well, your married life will be very difficult.
This is what her mother always said.
‘Alberto. If, later, you find someone to marry, this mother at least hopes to meet a tolerant partner who understands you well. And, I hope you will be such a tolerant person too. Do you understand?’
Her mother taught her that a happy marriage is only possible when you meet someone who understands you well, and you also understand the other person well.
“Boss, I see a lot of clothing stores over there that specialize in formal wear.”
“Oh ho. Really?”
As I was walking down the street, lost in thought, Nina told me that she saw a clothing store in the distance.
As expected, as Nina said, an alley lined with clothing stores appeared in the distance.
Together with Nina, I headed to the alley where her clothing stores were gathered.
When I went to the entrance of the alley where the clothing stores were gathered, I saw a large signboard hanging from a sturdy pillar.
[Where splendor descends – clothing store area]
“It is the place where splendor descends… ….”
I don’t know who built it, but he seems to be a confident person.
However, if you look around, there is nothing that is not fancy among the clothes in the clothing store.
A glance at the ceremonial clothes embroidered with various jewels and gold threads seems to cost at least one gold coin.
Of course, most of the jewels adorning the robes were imitation jewels created by alchemists.
However, the price of imitation jewelry was by no means cheap.
Since imitation jewelry is, after all, a type of jewelry, its price was on the high side.
“As I looked into it, it is said that among the nobility these days, rather than a wedding dress decorated with imitation jewels, it is said that a wedding dress emphasizing fancy patterns embroidered with gold thread is in fashion.”
“Okay. Then, I’ll leave it entirely to Nina to pick out the wedding dress.”
It seems that Nina has obtained a lot of information from talking with servants of other nobles.
Otherwise, how would you know about the design of the current fashion dress?
Neither I nor Nina have ever participated in other nobles’ gatherings.
In this way, with Nina’s help, I really wanted to prepare a good wedding dress.
So, wouldn’t that give me an excuse to give Nina an extra gift without hesitation?
Now that I’ve come this far, I’ve decided to give Nina a great present.
A necklace with real gemstones, not a necklace made of imitation gemstones.
Otherwise, I wanted to present a gorgeous and beautiful dress that would be worn by young ladies from noble families.
I don’t know how much money Nina gets from her family each month, but she doesn’t think she’ll have enough money to buy a wedding dress here.
I still had a lot of gold coins left over from the gambling house, so I had enough money to buy Nina a present.
“Then, shall we go in? By any chance, which store did you recommend?”
“Yes, boy. Based on the information I got from talking with the employees, I picked out a few decent clothing stores.”
Ah, as expected, Nina made preparations on her own, even if I didn’t say anything.
“Then, please guide me. If it’s Nina, I don’t think you will disappoint me.”
“Don’t worry. Through cross-validation, we only selected clothing stores that were clearly deemed acceptable.”
So, following Nina’s guidance, I wandered around the alleys where her clothing stores were gathered and matched her formal dress.
As expected, Nina’s eyes were the best.
All of the clothing stores Nina introduced her to were my favorites.
“This kind of design is trending these days. In particular, since the customer has a strong body and arms and legs are stretched out, I think it would be good to make it a little clingy.”
Especially, the last shop painstakingly measured my body and even added the process of refining the formal dress in a way that suited me.
At a store like this, it wouldn’t hurt to have Nina’s dress tailored.
“A tailor?”
“Yes, customer.”
“I will order a pretty dress for the lady here, using the best fabrics and embellishments.”
“Yes? Young master?”
At my words, Nina called out to me with her eyes wide open.
I looked at Nina and slowly opened her mouth.
“You’ve worked hard to help me, right? I think it’s a gift given to Nina in recognition of her hardships.”
“Do, boy… ….”
Nina opened her eyes wide at my words and was restless.
“I believe that you will continue to work hard for me.”
“Yes… young master.”
Nina soon followed a female tailor to take her size.
I looked inside the store while Nina went in to take measurements for the dress.
How much time had passed, the door of the store opened and a woman came in.
Looking at her fancy clothes, well-groomed hair, and clean makeup, she must have been a daughter of an aristocratic family.
“I came to order a wedding dress, but no one is there?”
“Oh, customer. Could you please wait a moment? We are measuring the body of the person who came first. We will finish it as quickly as possible.”
According to the tailor, the aristocratic lady had to wait for a long time after all.
However, she seemed to be quite patient, as she didn’t get angry while waiting.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It took a lot of time. Merin? Please help me calculate the cost of this Young master’ wedding dress. Miss. Come this way.”
“Yes. Manager. What’s your name?”
“This is Alberto Salihar Maydern.”
“?”
As soon as I said my name, I saw the aristocratic lady’s shoulders twitch slightly as she entered the measurement room.
“Where can I get the delivery?”
“You can deliver it to Room 603 of the Royal Academy Nobility Hall.”
“Yes, I understand. All are two gold coins.”
I took two gold coins out of my pocket and handed them to the clerk.
Now that the wedding dress is all set, it’s time to go buy another present for Nina.
Of course, I was planning to enjoy the delicious desserts in the capital as a bonus.