An Important Matter
When I showed Maria the sketch of the metal fittings at her workshop, she looked at it disinterestedly and said, “So, these are fittings to adjust the length of a string?”
But the moment I mentioned that Ayla wanted to use them for women’s undergarments, her attitude flipped in an instant.
“I see! Let’s make them right away.”
“The intended size is around one centimeter, but since we’ll first test it with ribbons, I’ll make the prototype larger to match the ribbon’s width.”
She said she’d let me know when it was done, but judging by that enthusiasm, I had a feeling it would be finished by tomorrow.
Two days later, I was summoned by Mother. When I arrived at the reception room, Ayla and her team were already there.
The moment she saw me, Ayla smiled brightly.
“Young Master Reinhardt, the uniform for the female administrative officer is finished. Please take a look!”
That confidence of hers—it must be one of her proudest works.
Still, isn’t that too fast? Barely a day or so, and it’s already done?
Either the people of our domain are just incredibly dedicated to their work, or our household has a knack for selecting only such people.
When I looked toward Mother, she just shrugged. Apparently, even she hadn’t expected it this quickly.
“I told them to summon Rosetta as well. She should be here soon,” Mother said.
Before Rosetta arrived, I went back to my room to fetch the finished prototype I’d received from Maria.
Ayla’s eyes lit up. “Already completed? As expected of you, Young Master Reinhardt!” she said, nearly bouncing in her seat.
I could say the exact same thing back to her.
When I returned to the reception room, Rosetta was modeling the uniform for Mother and Ayla, almost like a mini fashion show.
The seamstresses looked quite pleased with their handiwork as well.
The suit was made from a fabric blending gray and deep green. Since she was the first female administrative officer, they’d decided it didn’t need to be the same navy color as the men’s uniforms. The color and fabric had been chosen by Mother and Ayla together.
Two neckties had been prepared—one dark red, the other a soft pink. The embroidery would come later.
Rosetta said in a cheerful tone that the outfit was very comfortable and easy to move in, with the hem ending just above her ankles.
I was glad to see her so happy.
When she said she couldn’t decide between the two neckties, I told her, “Why not use both? It’s good to have a spare, and it might be fun to change them depending on your mood.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. A touch of playfulness suits it. Let’s make a third one while we’re at it,” Mother said.
Oh no… she really intends to wear this herself.
So we decided to add a third tie—a light blue one—to the lineup.
“Young Master Reinhardt, don’t keep us in suspense—show us the item!” Ayla said impatiently.
I wanted to point out that I simply hadn’t had a chance to bring it out yet, given the ongoing uniform discussion, but I wisely held my tongue and placed the prototype on the table.
“I see. The single-hole fitting is to secure the ribbon to the front and back fabric, while the two-hole one adjusts the string’s length,” Ayla said.
Since I’d made the sample with a two-centimeter-wide ribbon, it was easy to understand the mechanism.
“In the final version, it should be smaller and thinner,” I added. “Otherwise, the metal might dig into the body and hurt.”
“True. We’ll have to make it thinner. As it is now, it’d press against the body when moving. Still, this design could be used for shoulder bags and various other things. We could make different sizes depending on the use.”
She asked when it would be available for sale, but since I didn’t yet know the required sizes or which workshop would produce them, I couldn’t say.
Even so, she eagerly told me to prioritize development—promising full cooperation and urging me to finish soon.
… Would Raziel scold me for this?
Thankfully, since I’d reported everything and made the request in Mother’s presence, no scolding came this time. Thank goodness.
A few days later, Sylvia arrived—our Merchants’ Guild’s lady attendant with the elegant maid-like style.
“Forgive my sudden visit,” she said politely.
“You’re here about the exhibition, right? Thank you for coming all the way.”
“The exhibition as well—but I’ve come regarding a more important matter.”
“An important matter?”
“Yes. When will the modified version of Miss Rosetta’s uniform be available for sale?”
“Eh? That’s… our household’s official female administrative uniform. It’s not meant for sale.”
“That won’t do,” she said sharply—startling me with her tone. Normally, she spoke in such a calm, measured way.
“My apologies, I got carried away. But if it’s not sold, we’ll be in trouble.”
Apparently, the skirt-style pants and the three differently colored neckties—each with our house’s crest—had become the talk of the town among the women doing clerical work. The playful design, allowing them to choose a tie based on mood, was especially popular.
Sylvia even bowed her head, saying she wanted one herself and begged us to make it available as soon as possible.
We were already busy preparing for the preliminaries and the exhibition, though…
“Full support for selling the uniform’s variant,” she said enthusiastically.
No, please—focus on the exhibition instead!
But Sylvia calmly said, “The Vice-Guildmaster is overseeing the exhibition. Don’t worry.”
And when I reminded her that she was also involved, she simply replied, “I’m only an assistant,” clearly prioritizing the uniform sale instead.
In the end, I called for Raziel and Mother to join us, and after some discussion, we agreed to produce and sell it.
Sylvia was overjoyed. “I’ll report this to the guild after my meeting about the exhibition!” she said before cheerfully heading to the conference room where the new recruits were waiting.
Once it was just Mother, Raziel, and me, I cautiously asked, “Raziel… you’re not angry?”
“I had a feeling this would happen the moment I saw Rosetta’s uniform,” he replied calmly.
Then he added something even more dangerous:
“By the way, the male administrative officers are hoping for their own ties with the Westland crest. They assume that if Rosetta gets three designs, they’ll receive some too.”
“WHAT!? We’re already swamped with the preliminaries and the exhibition—why make us even busier!?”
“You’re the one making yourself busy, Young Master. Please recognize that,” Raziel said dryly.
“… And the merchants?” I asked.
“Of course. They’re also looking forward to seeing what designs they’ll receive.”
… Great. More work.
But for now, I’ll just focus on the preliminaries and the exhibition—and deal with the rest later.
What do you think about this chapter?
