Chapter 248

Fabric Selection
“Today, I brought fabrics not only from my own shop but from others as well,” said Ayla, arriving with two carriages — one packed entirely with cloth and the other carrying herself and her attendants.

Since all the fabric wouldn’t fit in the parlor, we moved to a spacious conference room and even brought in extra folding tables to lay it all out.

Today’s goal was to choose fabric for making neckties — or rather, scarves — for Atre, Lucas, and the other familiars. When I mentioned it to Ayla, she showed up with a mountain of materials.

Each piece was about a meter square, but since an entire carriage was full, I couldn’t even guess how many there were. Honestly, I thought choosing from so many would be exhausting — but Atre and the others were thrilled, running around to look at everything.

Since it wouldn’t be good for them to bite the fabric, each one had a maid assigned to hold up the cloth they pointed to.

Ayla watched the scene with a deeply satisfied expression, while the seamstresses who’d come along looked like they were struggling not to reach out and pet everyone. Their hands were clenched, but their faces were glowing with delight.

Hang in there, ladies — you’ll get to touch them later when you take measurements.

“Young Master Reinhardt, regarding your familiars,” Ayla said, “wouldn’t scarves suit them better than neckties?”

“Yeah, probably easier to move in than short ties. Once the fabric selection’s done, I’ll ask what they prefer.”

“Understood. Please let me know the result.”

“Also, could you hold onto the chosen fabrics until summer?”

“That’s no problem, but do you plan to use them for something else?”

“Well, we still have familiars at home, but they’re away in the royal capital right now.”

“Ah, I see. Very well.”

While we were talking, the maids’ arms kept filling with more and more cloth.

“Hey now — you can only make up to three pieces each. You’re not getting everything you picked out.”

That earned me a chorus of boos from Atre and the others.

But I had to stay firm — no spoiling.

Then Mother stepped in, saying, “Five pieces.”

At that, everyone nodded reluctantly. They handed their favorite fabrics to their maids for later narrowing down.

I couldn’t help but look forward to what they’d end up choosing.

After three full hours of hemming and hawing, they finally picked five fabrics each. Honestly, I hadn’t expected it to take this long.

Mother said calmly, “With this much selection, it’s only natural they’d get distracted.”

Once the choices were made, I suggested switching from neckties to scarves — and they all agreed, as long as the tie rings could still be used.

They really liked those necktie rings, huh?

I told them I’d enchant the scarves to adjust in size, and that sealed the deal.

Right now, the seamstresses were busy taking everyone’s measurements.

As I looked over the chosen fabrics:

Atre had gone for a blue striped pattern, a light-blue checkered one, a green fabric embroidered with white thread in a botanical design, a yellow-green cloth with pale yellow triangles, squares, and diamonds, and a purple one embroidered in silver with what looked like a dog — quite the variety.

Lucas chose shimmering fabrics: silver with gold threads mixed in, and plain blue, green, red, and purple cloths woven with glittering thread. Dragons really do like shiny things, it seems.

Luan picked organza fabrics — red, blue, purple, pink, and orange — all embroidered with flowers, plants, and ribbons.

Lucia’s were pale shades — lavender, pink, sky blue, green, and orange — all with floral prints, embroidery, or ribbon edging.

Ciel went for blue and light blue checks mixed with black thread, green and yellow-green fabrics embroidered in silver with birds, and a green-and-white striped one.

Kamui chose red, silver, and green fabrics interwoven with gold or silver thread, and yellow and cream ones embroidered with green threads in plant motifs.

Levin picked light blue, lemon yellow, mint green, pale red, and another light blue, all featuring star, anchor, or leaf patterns or embroidery.

Cherry’s fabrics were mint green, pale lemon, and light blue with same-color embroidery of plants, and light green and lavender bordered with darker ribbons of the same hue.

Amazing — everyone’s personality really showed through.

The surprise was Ciel, though. His color scheme matched Father’s — coordinated tones of blue and green.

If I pointed that out, he’d probably deny it, but if Father saw, he might just cry.

Kamui’s choices also had colors that matched Grandfather’s.

Luan’s were probably the most expensive — Ayla said they were woven from top-grade silk threads. Maybe being around Mother has sharpened her eye for quality.

Cherry’s seemed to match Grandmother’s favorite clothing colors — maybe she planned that on purpose.

And Lucas — silver with gold thread, purple with silver — those were our colors, his and mine.

As for Atre, that purple fabric with the silver dog embroidery — that’s my eye color. Maybe that one’s supposed to be me.

What do you think about this chapter?