Chapter 226: Chapter 226
Rubica exclaimed to see Grace, with her eyes closed and still holding Gabriel’s hands.
Of course, she didn’t make a sound as the girl shouldn’t know who she was.
‘Another girl spoiled by Christopher.’
Grace wasn’t wearing thick makeup as Gabriel had done, but her corset was so tight that she couldn’t breathe.
She was in fashion from the bottom to the top, but none of it was really right for her.
To begin with, Rubica combed her long hair that covered her face and put it back. As Grace had always believed her own round face was ugly, she freaked out and yelled, “No!”
“But why?”
Luckily, Gabriel asked before Rubica could.
“I, I have chubby cheeks, and…”
“This looks much better than having your hair cover your cheeks. You should cover your cheeks because you have chubby cheeks? Who told you that?”
“It was Christopher…”
“I’m sure he said that just to make you buy more hair oil from him.”
However, Grace couldn’t buy that firm assurance, and her lips quivered until Elise found the courage to hold her other hand.
“I was… transformed by Madam Berry as well.”
Although Grace wasn’t a friend of Miss Solana, she couldn’t say she didn’t know her. Wallflowers were famous for a different reason from the celebrities of society. They were famous because everyone else was afraid of becoming like them.
“Without her, I would have never figured out short forelocks were right for me. Grace, could you just have faith in her and be patient?”
Her voice was persuasive. Gabriel was capable of telling small lies in order to get what she wanted, but Elise was different. She was a serious person who never lied. Thanks to her, Grace managed to calm down.
Rubica looked at her as she constantly fought in fear with her eyes closed.
She was in an unfamiliar place, without knowing who was with her, and with her eyes closed. That must have required a lot of courage. However, thinking of the reason behind her braveness made Rubica sad.
‘I… will make you pretty, I promise.’
However, it wasn’t up to her to go that much. All she could do was to try her best to drag out the charms hiding inside her.
She would be satisfied only if it would let the girl regain her confidence and be happy. Nothing can be more beautiful than the energy one gets by acknowledging and loving oneself.
Rubica removed her hair that had been curled a little too much according to fashion from her cheeks.
Grace was right, she did have chubby cheeks, but that wasn’t a problem.
Trying to cover it with hair wasn’t the right solution. Plus, it also covered her especially long neck.
It was a sad thing that she was hiding such a beautiful neck because of her cheeks.
Rubica boldly chose a hairstyle that showed off her neck.
“Wow, I wish I could wear that.”
Gabriel looked with envy at the blue dress for Gabriel as it was brought into the room. Rubica smiled at her instead of making a comment.
She had had several similar dresses made, although they were not as splendid as the one in front of them.
She had been half in doubt, but Edgar was a real genius. Khanna exclaimed with shock to see his machine do the needlework as fast as a flash.
-With this, we will be able to make a dress in less than a day.
-Human hands are still better than this when it comes to delicate work. It can only do one-line sewing, and you can’t put beads or buttons with it.
-Still… still, it’s a revolution! It will dramatically reduce the needed time.
What cost the most to make clothes was the labor costs, of course. Making a single skirt required so much handwork.
But of course, there was no way such clothes made in a short time would be liked by the peers. What they wanted were dresses that had been made with as much time and effort as possible to make them special.
Rubica wanted to make clothes for commoners and, to sell clothes at a low price, they had to make many identical clothes if they wanted to save some money from the costs.
However, would people want to buy identical clothes? Rubica’s dream was blocked at that point. Very few people were willing to dress just like everyone else since everyone wanted to be at least a bit special and unique.
She went to a tea meeting, still with that question in her mind, and she found a solution there. Every lady came wearing a ribbon dress, although their details varied a little.
Rumors were that even Princess Charlotte was wearing ribbons dresses these days. Thanks to Gabriel’s column, ribbon dresses were becoming even more popular.
It is part of human nature to wish to be special, but to be fearful about being too different from the others.
‘Yes, I must make a trend.’
Rubica decided to come up with an entirely new plan. If ‘The Little Bird’s News’ had been only for nobles, it wouldn’t have been sold that much.
Everyone wanted to know about what was going on in the capital’s society. Peers living in the countryside and even commoners bought the magazine.
Some newspapers even argued it was making people care more about gossips than important affairs of the kingdom and should be banned.
So, Rubica decided to use that great power. First, she was going to transform Grace into a remarkably beautiful lady, and Gabriel would write a column about it.
Gabriel had no reason to say no to it, it was a chance for her to earn huge money. She promised she would do her best to praise Grace’s newfound beauty and describe her new dress in every detail.
Then, the talkers of society would surely want to see it for themselves. Of course, Rubica was confident she could make Grace pretty, and it would be even better if some idiots started proposing to her, completely swayed by the mood.
Next, the magazine would talk about the uproar, and it would say if anyone wanted to wear the dress Grace wore, they could go to Madam Berry’s shop, with a detailed map showing ways to it.
Of course, they were not going to meet her at the shops they had opened in the middle of the capital and near Iber’s territory.
Instead, they would get to see piles of dresses exactly like the one Grace wore, although not with such good fabric and details.
Plus, those ready-made dresses would cost less than one-tenth of what most dresses cost. No girl would be able to leave without buying anything.
In short, Grace was about to become a living advertisement.
“Shouldn’t we tighten my corset?”
Just as Rubica expected, the girl asked nervously before she could put on the dress.
“But Grace, your corset is already tight enough. You can’t even breathe easily. You don’t have to have a thin waist to wear the dress you’re about to wear.”
“Gabriel, is it similar in style with that dress you like to wear? Because it’s… well, for me it’s a little too…”
“I know. You want to say it’s too extreme, right? I’m sure your mother told you it’s a dress only for girls like me.”
People had very different opinions about Gabriel’s short over dress that resembled a man’s jacket. Of course, girls of her age loved it and said it was cool, but many parents worried it was… too flamboyant.
Some mothers even firmly believed the moment their reserved daughter was going to wear something like Gabriel, she would immediately run away.
Of course, it didn’t stop Gabriel from riding her horse in that dress, and many admired her for that. Now she was famous, even though she hadn’t been introduced to society yet.
“I think you look great in it.”
“Well, as you are not denying it, she must have said so. It’s okay. And don’t worry, your dress is nothing like mine. Madam Berry never recommends the same dress twice. So just lift your arms so that we’ll be able you help you wear this.”
Grace slowly raised her arms, almost convinced. Rubica dressed her really carefully so that the cautious girl wouldn’t be alarmed.
Actually, the dress itself wasn’t that renovative as Gabriel’s. Oh, but maybe it was, as it could be worn without a petticoat thanks to its fluffy skirt and bring out Grace’s rural beauty.
Her shortly rolled hair and low-cut dress were enough to highlight her elegant neck, although Rubica worried she might find the low-cut dress a little too much. Plus, she still needed something, a final touch that would make her charms shine.
She looked quite fashionable already, but Rubica wanted people to shower her with compliments and praises the moment they got to see her.
“Oh, Grace, you look so beautiful now!”
Unlike Rubica, Gabriel thought Grace already had been transformed significantly.
The neckline was a little too low for Grace’s usual conservative style, but everyone else did that much. Only priests of shrines would think of it as a problem.
She just thought she could convince her even if Grace didn’t like it.
“Then may I start on the makeup?”
Jennie, who had the same thoughts as Gabriel, raised her cosmetics box, ready to start right away.