I Became a Clothing Designer in Another World - Chapter 35

Meeting people inside the Imperial Palace is a hassle.

Just getting an audience arranged is difficult, and even if you schedule it, you have to go through security checks two or three times from the entrance of the Imperial Palace to the audience chamber before you can enter the 'waiting room'.

In the waiting room, you have to endure surveillance under the guise of being attended by servants, maids, and knights.

Of course, all I have to do in this process is stand with my arms spread wide as instructed, keep my mouth shut, and sit there trembling, so it's not difficult...

"That person is..."

"Do you know who he is?"

"Isn't that the second son of Count Hume?"

"But what reason could he have for being here..."

The blatant gazes I felt as I headed to the waiting room were a bit tough.

The second son of a Count and a lower-ranking knight whose attire is somewhat strange.

I knew that our combination would seem awkward, as audiences were usually reserved for those in important positions or those with important news.

So, I expected people's attention to be drawn to us, but the aggro was pulled even harder than I thought.

"Ugh..."

I feel nauseous.

I don't really like being the center of attention like a monkey in a zoo.

I wish I could get to the waiting room quickly.

"Sir Rachel, as an Imperial Knight, you must receive this kind of attention often. How do you overcome the gazes of others?"

I attempted some small talk with Sir Rachel, who was walking silently beside me, because I thought I might throw up if I kept my mouth shut the whole way.

"......"

Sir Rachel, who had been narrowing her eyes as if bored and walking straight ahead, glanced at me slightly, then lifted the corners of her mouth slightly and replied.

"People don't pay as much attention to us as you think."

"Yes?"

I stared at Sir Rachel with wide eyes.

"Aren't knights popular?"

"I don't know about other knights... Imperial Knights aren't very popular. Nobles don't have much interest in knights, and commoners avoid eye contact so they don't get into trouble."

"Oh..."

Is it because this is the capital? The atmosphere is very different from our territory.

In our territory, knights who go out into the streets receive all the attention of the kids and are treated like superstars who receive various services when they go to the market.

But an Imperial Knight, who is supposed to be the best of the best, doesn't receive much attention.

"That's a bit surprising."

"Is there anything surprising about it? In the capital, you only encounter Imperial Knights when they've committed a crime, so it's only natural."

"Thinking about it that way, I understand why they see you as scary."

I get nervous in front of the police even when I haven't done anything wrong.

It would be even scarier if they were carrying a sword at their side.

"So, these gazes feel somewhat refreshing to me, it's the first time I've ever been met with such blatant stares."

"I feel like I'm going to die from the tension."

"I thought so, you don't like going out, do you, Master?"

"Yes."

When I rubbed my upper stomach and solar plexus, making a face like I was about to die, Sir Rachel chuckled and looked ahead.

"Just bear with it a little longer, we're almost there."

"Sigh~ Hooo~ I understand."

I took a deep breath in and out and nodded.

"Stop for a moment."

As Sir Rachel said, not long after, the knight who had been walking silently in front of us stopped walking, giving a stop signal with his words and gestures, and turned his body to the side.

"Please go inside."

The knight, pulling the door open wide, pointed inside with his finger.

A room where two knights and an Imperial Palace attendant were waiting.

Upon closer inspection, I saw the luggage I had brought in the corner of the room.

"Thank you."

"Thank you for your hard work."

We bowed slightly to the knight who had guided us this far, and then entered the room where the knight and the attendant were waiting.

_

"William Henry Howard, the second son of Count Hume, and Rachel Scott, a lower-ranking knight of the Imperial Knights, request an audience with His Excellency Duke Los, the Emperor's consort."

"Let them enter."

After finishing the body search and luggage inspection once again in the room next to the audience chamber, we were finally able to leave the waiting room and see His Excellency the Duke Consort.

Following the attendant's instructions, we bowed deeply and, walking with quick, short steps, stopped about ten steps away from the throne where His Excellency was sitting, kneeling and bowing our heads.

"William Henry Howard, the second son of Count Hume, greets His Excellency the Duke Consort."

"Rachel Scott, a lower-ranking knight of the Imperial Knights, greets His Excellency the Duke Consort."

"Hmm, raise your heads."

After a beat, we carefully raised our heads at His Excellency's command.

His Excellency, sitting on the right of the two thrones placed on the platform, looked down at us with an indifferent expression.

It took a whole hour from the moment I first set foot in the Imperial Palace until I saw the Duke Consort's face, and I already felt a sense of accomplishment even though the real work hadn't even started yet.

"Did you accomplish the task that I entrusted to you excellently?"

"Yes, we did our best to satisfy Your Excellency."

"Your confidence is good to see, now show me the results."

"Yes."

I bowed my head once and then raised it, getting up from my seat and looking at the attendant.

When the attendant met my gaze, he gestured to the knights, who then moved the box I had brought in front of me.

"During the two weeks Your Excellency gave me, I modified the uniforms for the female knights, designed the underwear to be worn under the uniforms, and produced prototypes of the uniforms and underwear."

I took out the tri-fold drawing of the clothes and the paper with the design from the box and handed it to the knight standing next to me.

The knight briefly checked the paper and handed it back to the attendant, who then approached the Duke Consort again and presented the paper.

The Duke Consort took the paper and flipped through it roughly, then handed the paper back to the attendant and looked at me, laughing in disbelief.

"Huhu... Is it your hobby to start things? I clearly ordered you to do one thing, though."

"Umm... It just turned out this way."

"Huh... I thought you were normal since you didn't resemble your father, but you were the craziest one,"

"Did I hear wrong?"

I blinked my eyes and stared blankly at His Excellency at the sudden, deeply penetrating, surprise criticism.

His Excellency stared at me intently with narrowed eyes, then waved his hand languidly and closed his eyes slightly.

"Don't worry about it, it's just me talking to myself, but more importantly, you said you made prototypes, can you show them to me?"

"... Yes, I'll show you the formal dress first."

Feeling uneasy inside, I gestured to Sir Rachel.

And while I was taking out the pants, Sir Rachel, who had stood up from her seat, neatly gathered her clothes and straightened her back, put her hands behind her back so that the clothes could be seen well.

"Oh."

His Excellency, who exclaimed as soon as he saw Sir Rachel, opened his mouth with a meaningful smile.

"Those are clothes that His Majesty the Emperor would like, unconventional."

"It's a bit radical."

"Judging by what you're holding in your hand, it seems like you were debating between pants and a skirt, what was your reason for choosing a skirt?"

"I chose the skirt because it was prettier, the female knights are the Emperor's most beautiful and sharpest swords, so I thought they should wear the most beautiful uniforms."

"Even the reason is something His Majesty would like, did you perhaps intend that?"

"No, it's my taste."

"Heooh..."

His Excellency, who let out a sigh, burst into full bloom and rested his chin on his left hand.

"This is a big problem, you're in big trouble."

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, have I done something wrong?"

"No, you haven't done anything wrong, that's the problem."

"Yes...?"

"You'll find out soon, so let's move on."

"Yes..."

His Excellency left meaningful words and moved on to the next topic.

The more I talk to His Excellency, the more uneasy I feel.

"The combat uniform won't have much to see, and why did you make the underwear that I didn't even mention?"

Seeing my uneasy expression and my eyes darting around, His Excellency showed interest in the underwear.

Even if I'm uneasy, I have to do what I have to do, so I took out the bra and women's drawers that I had made by taking some time in the evenings and early mornings and handed them to the knight next to me.

After going through the same process as before, the underwear arrived at His Excellency, and I began to explain.

"I know that there is no women's underwear that fits the uniform, and when I asked the knights, as expected, the knights had many complaints about the underwear, so I made something that is comfortable to move around in and can be worn to match the uniform."

"What are these pieces of metal attached to the shoulder straps and the connection?"

"They are parts that help to adjust the size, I commissioned Ms. Heini Bailey, a mid-level mage from the Magic Tower, to make them."

"Hoo..."

His Excellency looked at the hooks and eyes with sparkling eyes.

After pressing the hooks here and there and pulling on them after hooking them on, His Excellency nodded in satisfaction and smiled as he stared at me intently.

"Very good, I like it..."

And after muttering quietly, he turned his head and glanced behind the throne, then spoke to the knight wearing a helmet and bowing his head deeply.

"What do you think? Isn't it more interesting than I said?"

"I like it even more than I heard."

"?"

His Excellency using honorifics to the knight and the crazy knight speaking informally to His Excellency naturally.

At the bizarre sight that seemed to distort space and time, I trembled and stared at the insane knight.

"Please take off your helmet quickly, Your Majesty."

"Heh?"

At His Excellency's one word, my brain stopped thinking for a moment.

"Tsk tsk... Why do you always end the fun moments so quickly?"

"If the son of my damned friend faints in the audience chamber, I won't be able to handle it either."

"Tsk tsk... These vassals of mine have no respect for me."

I stared blankly at the knight taking off his helmet.

Shimmering golden hair flowed down softly, and when the helmet that had come off the head came down to the knight's chest, a face that no citizen of the empire could not know appeared in the place where the helmet had been.

"... I behold the sun of the Empire!"

I slammed my knees on the floor, bowing my head with the force to smash my forehead into the ground.