Chapter 41: The Wardrobe War
Chapter 41: The Wardrobe War
Rin’s words hung in the air and Vaelory couldn’t believe it. It was like someone had taken all her energy, and she needed recharging before she could even move or comprehend what Rin had just told her.
But thankfully, it didn’t take long for her to recover.
Although by the time Vaelory recovered enough from Rin’s declaration—that she had been thoroughly, spectacularly scammed—she looked like she had just learned the sun was fake and held up by strings.
Her mouth fell open in a tiny gasp, eyes widening in slow horror. Her hands—still gripping the ridiculous stick—trembled so hard I almost pitied her. Almost.
"I... bought something fake?" she whispered, voice tiny, fragile, and full of disbelief.
"Yes," Rin said with the absolute gentleness of a cat knocking a glass off a table... in simple terms, she said it bluntly. "Fake. As in useless. As in trash. As in—"
"That’s enough," I cut in before Rin got too creative and Vaelory fainted again from shock.
Rin pouted but kept quiet.
I sighed and turned fully to Vaelory. "Now that we know that this thing," I said, gesturing to the armor she wore, "is useless... can you take pity on my eyes—already suffering from sleep deprivation—and get rid of what you’re wearing?"
She blinked. "Y... Your Highness."
"What are you calling me for? The armor isn’t going to protect you from anything at all," I told her.
Vaelory seemed personally wounded by this. "But... perhaps she—" she pointed at Rin, "—is wrong. Perhaps the weapon can protect me—"
Rin perked up instantly.
"Oh? Should we test it?"
Vaelory froze.
Then gasped dramatically and jumped back a whole three steps, clutching the stick to her chest like a holy relic. "No! No, we must not test anything! There is no need!"
"That’s what I thought," Rin said smugly.
Vaelory’s face flushed with embarrassment. Then she turned to me, head lowered respectfully, voice small.
"Your Highness... I will be right back."
Before I could respond, she rushed out of the room like the armor was actively killing her.
A few seconds passed. And then—
CLANK.
THUD.
SCREEECH—CLUNK—CLONK—
"That’s a very loud way to remove useless armor," Rin muttered.
Very loud indeed.
By the time Vaelory finally returned—pale, tired, and gloriously free of the clanking abomination—I had already finished my bath and was wrapped in a soft bathrobe. Rin, meanwhile, was elbows-deep in the wardrobe, tossing out fabrics like she was judging them for crimes.
Vaelory gasped when she saw her.
"What are you doing?" she asked Rin.
Rin gave her a look. "What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m obviously looking for something suitable for my lady to wear today."
"Who even are you? Why are you in this room with Her Highness?" Vaelory asked.
I frowned. She was just now realizing she needed to know who Rin was? With the way she’d been behaving, I thought she already knew.
Rin blinked. "I’m the Queen’s personal maid," she said proudly, chest puffed out.
"Um... I’m not yet queen..." I said softly, but they ignored me entirely.
"No, I’m Her Highness’s personal maid," Vaelory insisted.
"Yes... from the human realm. She obviously needs someone from the demon realm around her too," Rin countered.
Vaelory rolled her eyes. "Her Highness can cope just fine with me—"
"...you fainted yesterday. You were barely available, so—"
"That’s because you people made me faint!"
"I didn’t do anything except look at you. How did I make you faint?" Rin asked her, genuinely confused.
Vaelory gestured at her. "Have you seen yourself?"
Rin grinned like Vaelory had just proclaimed her the most beautiful creature alive.
"My lady did say I was scarier than Marrok."
Vaelory gave her a barely restrained eye-roll.
"Now that we’ve settled this, can you please leave so I can dress Her Highness?"
"I’m not going anywhere," Rin said. "I’m her maid too. And I know better about this realm than you do."
"You may know more about this realm, but you have no basic decency or respect—"
"I’m getting tired of this," I cut in. "You both came here because I have something to do today, right? Then can we please move on to the dressing part? And Vaelory... Rin is right. I need someone who knows how this realm works. You forget I’m engaged to the Demon King."
"But Your Highness..." Vaelory whined.
I ignored her and gestured toward the wardrobes.
She huffed and pouted but moved to the other one—the one farthest away from Rin—and started rummaging through it.
But then she paused when she saw the clothes Rin was going through.
"Rin! Just because Her Highness is in the demon realm doesn’t mean you should dress her like a demon!" Vaelory gasped.
Rin slowly turned her head, as if she needed a moment to process the insult.
"...Excuse me?"
Vaelory gestured to the wardrobe Rin stood in front of.
"Those clothes suit demons. They are not clothes Her Highness should wear."
Rin gave her a flat look. "I’m confused."
Vaelory opened the wardrobe she herself stood in front of—the one that had almost given Rin a heart attack yesterday. The same ones common in Aelthryn and considered the acceptable standard. Inside were puffy sleeves, frills, stiff bodices, lace hems, and thick fabrics. Every symbol of Aelthryn fashion condensed into one horrifying collection.
Vaelory looked proud. "These," she said reverently, "are proper garments. My lady is the Princess of Aelthryndivoryssalindria—"
"What kind of name is that? How are you even able to pronounce it?" Rin asked, horrified.
Vaelory scoffed. "It’s no surprise you can’t pronounce it. You aren’t cultured like we are."
I couldn’t pronounce it either, but okay.
"I don’t care about culture," Rin replied. "All I know is that the name you just cooked up and those dresses you brought out are ridiculous, and they do not suit my lady."
"The clothes are not ridiculous. These are the highest fashion you will ever find, and Her Highness is a princess from Aelthryndivoryssalindria. She must represent the kingdom the way our culture demands."
Rin stared at the dresses.
Then at Vaelory.
Back at the dresses.
She did it three more times before finally speaking.
"Are you trying to kill her?"
Vaelory gasped so hard I wondered if she inhaled half her soul. "Kill? Kill Her Highness?! I... I can’t possibly— that is blasphemy!" she cried, finally getting the words out. "I would never harm Her Highness!"
Rin raised a brow. "Not so sure about that. If you weren’t planning to hurt or kill her, then why would you even—even—bring these things out? They’re painful to the eye. And I suspect they’re painful to the body too."
I didn’t disagree.
Vaelory stiffened. "How dare you? These clothes are of the highest Aelthryndivoryssalindria quality—"
"They’re hideous," Rin said bluntly.
"They have puffy sleeves," Vaelory countered proudly.
"To protect the body from sunburn!" she insisted when Rin made a disgusted face.
"The corsets look suffocating," Rin pointed out.
"They give shape," Vaelory said firmly.
"The skirts are so thick one could survive a sword attack."
"That thickness is elegance."
"And the frills... what purpose do they serve?"
"To display craftsmanship!"
Rin looked at me like, See? See what I mean? She’s insane.
I meanwhile watched the entire thing like a spectator at an awful play. And... Rin was both right and wrong. Vaelory was insane, yes—but Rin wasn’t far behind.
"See, instead of that," Rin said, rummaging through her wardrobe, then finally holding up an elegant light-blue dress. It was free-flowing, the fabric soft and airy. Exactly the type I liked. It showed my skin in a way that would be considered sexy.
Meanwhile, Vaelory was holding the exact opposite. The type of dress I hated but fit perfectly into the Aelthryn world.
Vaelory held a greenish-yellow monstrosity that looked like it was sewn out of curtains and battlefield memories. Puffy sleeves that could smuggle poultry. Layers of frills stacked like a tiered cake. Fabric so thick it might double as winter armor—and there was no snow here.
"She should wear something like this instead," Vaelory said.
Then, as if they suddenly remembered I existed, they both turned to me at the exact same moment.
"Your Highness," Vaelory said, lifting her gown.
"My lady," Rin said, lifting hers.
"Which one do you think is the better choice?"
I looked from one dress to the other.
Then back.
Then at them.
Both of them stared at me with anticipation, as if preparing for war.
After disturbing my precious sleep and then dragging me into this fashion nightmare... I decided to go for neither.
The dress Rin held fit me perfectly. I would have chosen it any other day. And Vaelory... well, that was a case for another day.
I inhaled deeply.
And exhaled even deeper.
"I don’t feel like wearing a gown today."
Both of them froze.
"I think," I continued calmly, "I’ll go for pants and a shirt instead."