Chapter 22: Wanting to Be a Beautiful Girl
She put on a simple white shirt and carefully straightened the lace. Even though she buttoned the collar all the way up, the tight fit of the shirt still clearly showed off her figure.
She tied her long pink hair into a high ponytail, fastened it neatly with a black ribbon, used thin wire pins to secure the loose strands at the back, and then carefully hid the pins under her hair.
Instead of the usual skirt, she wore slim-fitting pants that showed off her long legs and soft curves. On her feet were flat leather shoes that clicked softly against the floor with every step, comfortable and well-fitted.
The outfit looked a bit like a man's formal wear at first glance, but the small decorative patterns on the fabric still showed it was made for a woman.
Evelia wore this outfit for one simple reason, she just wanted to go out.
As for why she dressed this way. Well, it's simple. She was originally a man.
Even though she had gotten used to wearing a maid dress, triangle panties, and white stockings, when it came to going out freely, she still preferred something that made her feel more comfortable.
Just like Armand, he could eat anything, but he still liked to eat what he preferred. Evelia could wear anything too, but she still wanted to wear what she liked.
Evelia had been an assassin, so when she went out before, she always wore a black cloak to hide her real face. In today’s world, that kind of outfit wasn’t rare, she could easily pass as a wandering mercenary. Those groups often had mysterious people among them.
But now, she didn’t need to hide anymore.
She was no longer the nameless "Red Crow," but now a maid named Evelia Croyelle. She had a proper identity, and you could even say she had started a new life. She didn’t have to be afraid of her past self anymore.
Even if this identity would only last for a while, Evelia was enjoying the feeling of being able to stand in the sunlight.
After packing a little money, Evelia walked out of the manor. Every servant had their own break time, and Evelia was no exception.
Although Armand had left a team of knights at the manor, his real workplace was with the Royal Knights.
When Armand was at the manor, Evelia served him. But when he was at the knights' headquarters, she could take time off. She only needed to ask the old butler and make sure to return the same day, then she could go anywhere she wanted.
Today, Evelia wasn’t going out on a mission or because someone told her to. She simply wanted to buy some clothes.
At first, she thought she didn’t need to bring much when joining Armand, so she only packed a few plain underskirts as her everyday clothes. She thought a guy like Armand would be easy to deal with and that she’d win him over quickly. But she didn’t expect him to be so difficult.
Over time, Evelia had come to understand him a little. Armand was the kind of man who looked warm and friendly on the outside, but always kept some distance. Even though he always smiled at her, she could clearly feel that he was still being cautious.
That kind of alertness, it was the instinct of a hunter.
And also, something only fellow hunters could sense in each other.
Evelia sometimes even felt that she and Armand were the same kind of person. But the way he acted was so tricky that she couldn’t be sure.
Anyway, let’s just go buy some new clothes.
This time, Evelia had come out simply to buy clothes to make herself look nicer.
【When he saw her step out of the fitting room in that soft pink dress, he seemed to smell the scent of peach blossoms.
Just like the day they first met, those pink petals gently touched his heart.
The girl’s cheeks turned red, and she shyly looked at the knight standing there in a daze. After a while, the knight rubbed his nose, looked away, and mumbled, 'You look nice.'】
—This was a scene from a romantic novel, and Evelia planned to copy it.
The scene described the male and female leads shopping for ball gowns. The young maid, usually dressed in plain work clothes, stunned even the cold-faced knight when she came out in a beautiful, fitted gown. For a moment, even he couldn’t hide his shy reaction.
So, become a beautiful girl.
That was Evelia’s simple goal.
She just wanted to be the kind of beautiful girl who could make Armand stop and stare.
But she had no experience. After all, she had been a man for over ten years, and not just any man, but one who wasn’t even interested in women. Of course she didn’t know what made someone a "beautiful girl" or what kind of woman could leave someone like Armand speechless.
Evelia had even thought, since people said Armand liked horses more than women, maybe the second prince should’ve just turned her into a fine horse instead of a woman. That would’ve made things easier.
After all, many people talk to their pets about their worries. If Evelia became Armand's favorite horse, maybe she could gather intel even more easily.
But that idea was just a little too wild.
After thinking it over, she decided to buy some books first before shopping for clothes, to use as reference.
A man who had turned into a woman was now on her way to the bookstore, looking for books to help her act more feminine.
If Armand actually liked reading, the manor’s shared library might have had more useful books, and she wouldn’t have needed to come all the way out to buy them.
Now that she had become a girl, Evelia was a lot shorter than before, but still stood at 167 cm (about 5'6"). Not tall, but definitely not short either. With her neutral, slightly masculine outfit, she looked quite stylish and even handsome. The word “cool” fit her very well.
Evelia had done big things in her life, so her presence was completely different from other young women. Just as she opened the door to the shop, the young store manager, who was much taller than her, immediately felt a sense of pressure.
Evelia looked around with a calm, unreadable face. She didn’t care about the other customers staring at her, and walked straight to the front desk.
If the store manager hadn’t been such a hardworking, honest man with a clear conscience, he might’ve already dropped to his knees and begged for mercy from her overwhelming aura.
Even Armand's own knights sometimes found it hard to deal with Evelia’s cold and dangerous vibe. How could ordinary people possibly handle it?
“W-What… what are you looking for?”
As Evelia silently walked up to him, the manager nervously swallowed. He tried to smile and greet her while quickly wondering if he’d accidentally offended someone important in recent days.
“…A beautiful girl.”
Everyone nearby held their breath, waiting to hear what she was here for. And then Evelia said those few words.
“…Sorry, what did you say?”
The manager thought he misheard her. His face looked a little confused.
“I want to become a beautiful girl. Do you have any books I can read for that?”
And with that one sentence, all of Evelia’s dramatic aura completely vanished.