Chapter 72: Her Own Choice
“No way… this one’s way too short. Who wears a short skirt to a ballroom?”
“This one’s not good either, the neckline is too low. I already said, no more dresses like that.”
“Look at this fabric, it’s so thin. If the lights shine on it, there’ll be nothing left to the imagination.”
“This one… this one’s too long. It’ll be hard to move when dancing… What? Ahem, I won’t step on it.”
Armand looked at the few simple design sketches Anna had handed him. Even though he knew it might seem a bit harsh to reject all of them, none of the dresses really felt right to him.
“Mr. Armand, you’ve been to a party before, right? This is just how ball gowns are. You can’t seriously want Miss Evelia to wear a potato sack to the event, can you?”
Anna understood what was going on in Armand’s head. Even though all of her hard work had just been thrown out, she wasn’t too upset. In fact, she found it kind of sweet how much he clearly cared about Evelia. She felt like she was getting full just from all the indirect romance.
“A potato sack…” Armand muttered, then actually glanced over at Evelia, who was sitting quietly nearby. “Would that even be wearable?”
“In theory, sure… Miss Evelia looks good in anything. But come on, this isn’t an eco-themed festival about turning trash into treasure.”
“Fair point…” Armand nodded thoughtfully as he absentmindedly flipped through the sketches Anna had given him. “Eve, which one do you like?”
“Mr. Armand, I’ll go with whatever you choose.”
As expected.
Evelia didn’t seem to care about what she wore at all. Her goal was to make Armand happy, so whatever matched his taste was fine with her.
“I can’t just choose it by myself. This dress is meant for you. Take these and have a look. If there’s anything you don’t like, Miss Anna can change it.”
Armand handed all the sketches to Evelia, who could only quietly take them and glance through them. But in her eyes, the dresses all looked more or less the same, just pieces of fabric wrapped around a body. She couldn’t tell what looked good or not. Whatever she was given, she’d wear.
“……”
Evelia just kept looking at the sketches, silent because she genuinely didn’t know how to choose. Armand stayed quiet beside her for a long while. Eventually, seeing that Evelia really couldn’t decide, he sighed and took the designs back from her.
“Looks like neither of us is much help when it comes to making decisions… Miss Anna, I think we’ll have to leave it to you.”
Two people who were both indecisive for different reasons ended up pushing the job onto Anna.
“Hmm…”
Anna was more than happy to make a beautiful gown for Evelia, but after seeing how picky Armand had been just now, she wasn’t sure what kind of design would actually pass his standards.
“Mr. Armand, you have to understand. If it’s a gown, it has to show off the body’s best features.”
“Yeah yeah, I get it.”
But it was pretty obvious he didn’t want to get it.
“I remember you mentioned that long skirts aren’t good for dancing, so I was thinking of doing a high-low design. Short in the front, long in the back. What do you think?”
As Anna spoke, she scribbled on her sketch pad, erasing and adjusting the long skirt’s front hem into a shorter version. The front thigh area, originally covered in thin mesh, was now turned into layered, frilly ruffles that looked a bit like the kind worn on classic maid skirts.
To make the outfit look more modest and better match Armand’s preferences, Anna also gave the gown an asymmetrical cut, similar to that black one from before. The outer fabric on the left side sloped down from the right hip all the way to the floor.
This way, Evelia’s long legs would still be shown off, but the outfit wouldn’t seem too revealing. Anna even thoughtfully added a thigh strap, since in her opinion, Evelia’s legs were just perfect for that slightly tight, form-fitting look.
As for the top, she went with a strapless, fitted “M” shape design that wrapped softly around the chest. To avoid leaving the upper chest area looking too bare, she added a satin ribbon tied into a small bow at the neck.
Even though a closer look would reveal that the outfit exposed the shoulders, chest, and thighs, the layered frills and the long train trailing along the floor made it seem, at first glance, like a rather modest dress.
“It looks… alright.”
It was just a rough sketch, but Armand could already see quite a few details in it. As he looked at the slightly messy lines, he glanced over at Evelia, who was sitting silently, and shifted his seat closer to hers.
“What do you think? Eve?”
“Mr. Armand, I’m fine with whatever—”
“Eve.” Armand’s tone now carried a bit of gentle frustration. “You have to at least have your own opinion.”
“……”
Having her own opinion… what a strange thing to hear.
Evelia had never been told something like that before. Back when she served under the Second Prince, there was no such thing as her own opinion. Whatever the Second Prince said became her opinion.
“I…”
“I’ll be right here waiting. Miss Anna’s here too. If there’s anything you want to change, just say it.”
Armand gently interrupted her hesitant words. As if to help her relax, he leaned back against the sofa lazily. Anna did the same. When Evelia glanced at her, Anna gave her a warm smile that seemed to say, ‘Anything is totally fine.’
“……”
Alright then.
She said that to herself in her heart, a quiet agreement.
Evelia lowered her head and looked carefully at the sketch in her hands, examining every part of the dress.
But even so… she still couldn’t really tell anything.
Because she didn’t understand dresses at all. She had no idea what one would look like when worn. Still, she trusted Armand and Anna.
Since the two of them had worked on this design together, then wearing it herself would surely be okay.
“This one’s good. Let’s go with it.”
Unconsciously, Evelia’s grip on the paper tightened a little.
“But… what color is it?”
Just when Armand thought Evelia still wouldn’t express her own thoughts, she suddenly surprised him by asking a question.
“It’ll be white and gold, Miss Evelia. Those colors suit you best.”
As Anna spoke, she sat down next to Evelia with her pencil and started marking up the sketch. For the gold parts, she lightly shaded in angled lines to show where the colors would go.
“Is there anything you’d like to change? Miss Evelia, feel free to speak up.”
Evelia once again turned to look at Armand in silence, as if seeking his opinion. But Armand didn’t say anything. He simply smiled and gave her the same silent look in return.
In those calm blue eyes, Evelia once again saw her reflection.
Ah… right. She should add something.
Suddenly understanding something, Evelia pointed to the sketch of the dress.
“Can we add a little blue?”
She didn’t know whether the dress was pretty. She didn’t know if it truly suited her. She didn’t even know whether Armand would like it once she put it on.
But right now, on that field of pure white, she wanted to add a touch of blue. Blue that belonged to Armand.
That was her decision, her rare moment of choosing something for herself.
As for why she felt that way…
She didn’t know.
But in that brief moment, that was what she chose.