I Became a Clothing Designer in Another World - Chapter 11

“Can you make me an outfit?”

“Oh…”

The words flowing from Heiss’s mouth were quite welcome.

I had been wondering what to challenge myself with after the maid outfit.

However, I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

There’s no reason for her to come to me just for an outfit.

I shrugged and pointed to the tea table in the corner of the room.

“Let’s hear the reason first.”

“Okay… Leticia? Would it be alright if I were alone with my brother for a bit?”

“Yes, miss. I’ll be waiting in the next room, so please call me whenever you need me.”

“Okay.”

“Emily, could you bring us some tea?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps she was about to discuss something sensitive, as Heiss dismissed Leticia. Taking the cue, I also sent Emily out of the room under the guise of tea.

A smart girl like Emily would probably take her time and bring it leisurely.

That gave us about 30 minutes alone.

“Spit it out already.”

“I said, don’t rush me.”

After sending the two out and plopping down in the chair in front of the tea table, I urged her to speak. Heiss glared at me sharply and said irritably.

Then, after pursing her lips a few times as if gathering her thoughts, Heiss swallowed hard and carefully opened her mouth.

“…There’s a small banquet at the Bravebrook barony in a few weeks, and I’m planning to attend.”

“Yeah.”

“And, lately, things have been going a little well with the second son there, you know?”

“The second son?”

Unfortunately, I knew who she was talking about.

Thanks to Bravebrook barony's second son being appointed as a civil servant of the Imperial Household Agency a few months ago, my mother had subtly given me the eye, so he was stuck in my head.

On a personal level, he's not a bad guy.

Because he's around my age and competent, I got nagged for no reason.

But objectively speaking, he has a good personality and is capable, so everyone from my father to my mother would be satisfied if they could bring him in.

“Sounds good, so what’s the problem?”

“I want to get closer to the son this time, or maybe I want to put a wedge in this ambiguous relationship that’s neither friends nor lovers… Anyway, you know how it is.”

“Oho…”

My sister’s love consultation, huh.

I felt an interest I didn't have slowly starting to sprout.

“You said it’s an ambiguous relationship, so how far have you gone with the son?”

I suppressed the urge for my lips to curl upwards and asked as calmly as possible.

Then, my sister, her cheeks flushed, lowered her head slightly and mumbled in a trembling voice.

“Hands…”

“Hands?”

“The two of us, we held hands…”

“Oh… and?”

“It was warm…”

Imagining the son’s warm touch, Heiss’s cheeks flushed red as she covered them with her hands, looking very innocent.

“Ahem…”

However, to me, who had expected something more than hand-holding when she said 'good atmosphere', it wasn't a very welcome reaction.

I wanted episodes like interlocking fingers or casually wrapping an arm around her waist, something sweet and just barely crossing the line.

Isn't this not even a start, let alone crossing the line?

“Is that it with the hand-holding? Nothing else?”

“Yeah…”

“Ahem…”

Heiss avoided my eyes and nodded slightly.

No episodes other than hand-holding.

Is this what she calls a good atmosphere?

I suspected that it wasn't a budding romance between a fresh young man and woman, but rather Heiss's one-sided crush.

“Um… you’re sure you both have feelings for each other, right?”

“I’m sure, but he’s a bit ambiguous.”

“With just hand-holding, it’s not just ambiguous, you might as well say there’s nothing there.”

“That’s not true!”

Narrowing her eyes and scoffing at Heiss’s words, Heiss jumped up from her seat, glaring and shouting.

Then, with a voice full of injustice, she continued.

“The two of us had tea time once, and we went out to the terrace for some air… Anyway, there was a good atmosphere!”

“Hmm~”

Just listening to her, it seemed like there was definitely a good atmosphere…

I wanted to hear more details about what happened between them.

“Calm down first, and tell me more about what happened on the terrace.”

“It was on the Emperor’s enthronement anniversary…”

Her complexion noticeably brightened as if something good definitely happened on the terrace. Heiss sat down with a plop and began to recite what happened as if she had been waiting for it.

“I was feeling dizzy during the banquet, so I was getting some air on the terrace, and Leticia had briefly left to find a blanket. I loosened my corset a little and was squatting down to rest.”

“Yeah.”

“But suddenly, the curtains opened and a strange man came onto the terrace. I was so surprised that I shouted, ‘Who are you!?’”

“And it turned out to be the son?”

“Yeah, he met my eyes, and the son, flustered, stuttered an apology. And then he hurriedly turned to leave the terrace.”

“That’s it?”

I frowned and questioned Heiss’s words.

Then, Heiss shook her head and said with a determined expression.

“I called out to the son who was about to leave and stopped him.”

“Wow…”

“It was just the two of us, it was a place where no one else would come, and I was a little tipsy, so I had some courage… When else would I ever be alone with the son like this?”

“That’s true.”

“That’s when I said this, ‘The terrace is wide, so if it’s alright with the son, let’s share it.’”

“So? What did the son say?”

“At first, he hesitated, but soon after, he took his hand off the curtain and quietly walked to the railing. And then he said this, ‘I appreciate Heiss’s consideration!’”

“He said Heiss, not young lady or princess?”

“Yeah, yeah! Can you believe the son knew my name?! When he said ‘Heiss’ in a deep voice, my heart was pounding so much! I thought it was going to burst.”

Heiss still had lingering emotions from that time, closing her eyes slightly and clutching her chest.

“Haa…”

Heiss, catching her breath that had become rough as her emotions rose, let out a heated breath and continued.

“But I couldn’t act carelessly in front of the son, so I suppressed my pounding heart and got up from my seat as if nothing was wrong. I wanted to stand side by side with him and have a conversation.”

“Yeah.”

“But then I suddenly felt a rush of dizziness. I had been squatting, and my heart was suddenly beating fast, and the air was cold, so everything went black. I couldn’t even make a sound and just slumped over, and suddenly I felt a firm touch on my waist and hand.

And after a little while, the dizziness slowly subsided and my vision cleared, and the son’s face was very close to mine. He said one word with a worried expression, ‘Are you alright?’ Kyaaa…!”

Heiss let out a short girlish scream and fluttered her hands near her chest.

Then, holding her hands tightly together and bringing them to her right cheek, she sparkled her eyes and imagined the son’s appearance at that time.

“He was so handsome! I couldn’t breathe properly and could only see his face. So, the two of us were lost in our own world, with me reflected in his eyes and him reflected in mine.

We stood there blankly staring at each other for a few seconds? No, a few dozen seconds… No, should I say we were embracing? His hands were around my waist, and I had my hand lightly on his chest.

Then, I suddenly felt that his gaze wasn’t on my eyes, but somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Lips… He was blankly staring at my lips and moved his mouth a few times. That’s when I felt it, ‘Could this be an opportunity?’.

I was careful not to look like I was too eager, so I carefully put my hand on his waist. And I was anxiously watching his reaction for a few seconds, but rather, his hand strongly wrapped around my waist, as if it was okay for me to come closer. So I turned my head towards his face and got closer and closer.”

“……”

“His breath touched my skin, and we were so close that I couldn’t tell whose rough breaths were whose. We were just about to touch lips, but…”

“So? What happened then?”

Heiss stopped talking at the crucial moment and stared blankly into the air.

Then, with a dejected expression, she drooped her head and said in a dispirited voice.

“Leticia came back at the worst possible moment…”

“Ah…”

Such exquisite timing that even I, the listener, felt resentful.

I was reminded of the fact that the progress between Heiss and the son had ended with hand-holding, which I had temporarily forgotten.

“That day ended up being vague and we parted ways, and after that, while staying in the capital for a while, we had tea time as an apology, and we held hands a bit… That was it.”

“Did it end ambiguously, so you were both being cautious?”

“Yeah…”

“Leticia’s competence is also a problem.”

“Leticia didn’t do anything wrong, but I resented her a little.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Right?”

Heiss’s expression brightened slightly as I gave an appropriate response.

I apologized in my heart to Leticia, who was resented by the person she served for being too competent.

“I can’t keep going on like this with this awkward atmosphere, so I want to turn things around this time.”

“Hmm… So you thought of clothes?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to change my image a bit, and if I showed a slightly more proactive side, maybe the son would feel less awkward…”

“What style do you want?”

“Rather than a certain style, what kind of clothes do guys like? You and the son are around the same age, and you make clothes these days, so I thought you might know a little, so I came to you…”

“Hmm…”

“Is it not possible?”

I let out a small groan and massaged my neck.

Then, Heiss fidgeted with her fingers and carefully watched my expression.

“It’s not that it’s not possible…”

It’s my sister’s request, so I’ll worry about it together, but I’m not very confident.

That’s because I’ve never been in a relationship in my life…

“Haa… First… should we talk after Emily brings the tea?”

“Yeah…”

First of all, I needed some time to think.