It's Annoying Because My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage

"Hey, have you heard of the rumour?"

"What rumour?"

"You know that area in the capital where commoners live?"

"Oh, of course, I know. Did something happen there?"

"Yes. They say that every night someone secretly leaves a box in front of a house, and guess what? It's full of trendy dresses among the nobility!"

"What?! Really?!"

The other maid, who had heard what her fellow maid had said, exclaimed excitedly.

Thrilled by the reaction, the maid continued her story.

"Really! My cousin also received a box, and she said that inside was a dress that nobles would wear, so she immediately put it on and went out to meet her lover. Aren't you jealous?"

"Jealous?"

A cold voice dropped between the two maids.

The voice belonged to none other than me.

I was walking alone towards my mother's room when I paused to listen to an interesting conversation. Then I found myself eavesdropping.

"Ah, my lady!"

"What brings you here..!"

The two maids, who hadn't realised I'd been standing behind them the whole time, jumped to their feet in surprise.

They were right to be surprised.

This was the west wing of the mansion used by my parents, it wasn't where I'd usually be.

I've mostly been confined to my office or the library.

"Are you jealous of her getting a dress?"

I asked again, glancing at the maids who were fidgeting at my sudden appearance.

After hesitating, the two maids exchanged glances.

"Ah, why is the young lady asking such a question?"

'Are we going to get into trouble for chatting during work?'

Oh, what a useless misunderstanding.

I let out a shallow laugh.

I did it to reassure the maids, but they seemed to misunderstand it to mean something else entirely, and they began to tremble.

'Oh, no, she's mad at me for not doing my job and chatting!'

No, that's not right, I'm not angry.

No matter how cold and edgy my image is, why do you see me as this tyrannical and vicious noble?

Dumbfounded, I kindly repeated my question to them once more.

"Are you jealous that other commoners get dresses?"

'Oh sh*t, we're gonna get a pay cut…'

The maids, who were weeping inside, nodded creakily like rusty doors in a storm.

"Y-Yeah... We're jealous of them..."

"Why's that?"

"B-Because dresses are very expensive so it's not easy for commoners like us to obtain them…"

"Then I'll give you each one."

"Huh?"

"I'll tell them to leave a dress in front of both of your rooms tomorrow morning. If they don't fit, you can have them altered."

With that, I left and began to walk swiftly towards my mother's room.

I heard the two maids calling out to me urgently from behind.

"Ah, my lady, that…"

But I did not turn back towards them.

I'm afraid I wasn't the kind to check their comprehension.

"Skyla."

As I entered my mother's chambers, my mother greeted me. She had been waiting for me all along.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded instead of answering.

Several of the senior maids standing behind my mother began to approach me.

I obediently allowed myself to be led by their hands and began to make my way to the bathroom.

Today was the day of the imperial ball.

A week had passed in the blink of an eye, it was a week that wasn't too short but not too long either.

My mother boasted about pulling all-nighters to prepare for this day, which made my father whine to me, saying things like, "Why did you take your mother away from me?"

In the meantime, my mother and I had begun our 'special training'.

It's grandly named as that, but there were only three things I did.

First, networking.

Although I was born into a ducal family, one of the most prestigious in the empire, I didn't have much of a social life.

Because of that, my mother held out a thick book to me.

"What is this?"

I opened the book and saw small portraits each with names stuck to the top of each page.

Underneath were the person's age, family name, and brief information.

"This is the latest list of nobles that Mom has compiled."

My mother smiled brightly at me.

"Those with five stars are very important. Those with only one star are people you don't need to know. And those with no stars at all are a breed of human you should never associate with. Memorise it."

And so I mastered the social hierarchy of the imperial capital in a matter of days.

I had gained valuable information at my fingertips that would normally take years of first-hand experience to grasp.

Of course, the Crown Prince was the only one I would be targeting at the ball, but it was still important to memorise the names of the other nobles.

You never know when someone might come up to you and try to start a fight or find a controversy.

Once I was familiar with the faces and backgrounds of the people I was likely to encounter at the ball, I was given my second task.

"The ball is in a week from now." My mother muttered, looking into my wardrobe with me.

"What's up with your clothes? Do you even know that there are other colours in this world besides white and black?"

My wardrobe only consisted of white shirts and long black skirts. There was nothing fancy about it.

"Can I get you a dress in a week that will make you the centre of attention at the ball?"

"It won't be easy."

My mother nodded at my words.

Dresses are naturally demanding garments.

The more complex the design and the more extravagant the accessories, the longer it takes to make them.

"I know Madame Bailey is the best dressmaker in the capital these days. Should we bring her to the duchy to make the dress?"

"No," I said, strongly disagreeing with my mother. "If it's Madame Bailey, she's probably booked up until the day of the ball."

"So what if she's fully reserved? We can just throw some more money at her and have her make your dress first. There's nothing money can't solve."

I felt a little sorry for my mother, who said it so easily as if it was someone else's problem.

"Mother, Madame Bailey is a commoner who sells to nobles, it's a matter of trust."

Of course, as my mother said, there's nothing money can't solve.

If there's a problem that money can't solve, then it's not enough money.

The problem is what happens after that money is spent.

I can follow my mother's plan and get Madame Bailey, the most sought-after dressmaker in the imperial capital, to produce a dress in the latest fashionable style within a week.

If she says she can't do it because she has other clients that came in first, we can use the Duke of Kaerun's wealth to bribe her.

But will the other nobles sit idly by and allow their dresses to be delayed?

I'm sure there will be a lot of letters of protest sent to the Kaerun Duchy.

Not only that, but Madame Bailey would be unable to work properly afterwards.

think about it, how many people would entrust their dresses to a so-called loyal person who would abandon their original commission if they were paid more?

Of course, it was easy to live by the power of money, but I didn't want to be the person who ruined someone's career just for my own needs.

So I decided to approach the problem differently.

"I'm sure other noblewomen had their dresses made early for this ball, right?"

"They probably did, since the invitations came in a month ago."

"Then most of them will be coming to the ball in fashionable dresses."

I thought back to the dress Phoebe had once tried to make me wear. It was a thin, raggedy piece of fabric.

It was barely into autumn, my body wouldn't be able to handle going to a ball in a dress like that, let alone with a design I didn't like.

"Let's change the trend altogether."

"What?"

My mother's eyes widened.

"What do you mean, Skyla? You're not the Marquess of Garnett, how are you going to change fashion trends?"

"You know very well, Mother, what noblewomen value most when it comes to fashion," I said, looking at my favourite white shirt. "Nobles and commoners are the same people on the surface, except for the way they dress."

All these years I had been treated with disrespect, having been mistaken for a commoner.

Clothes. Because of the way I dressed, with no jewellery or fancy patterns, I was treated that way.

"So let's give each of the female commoners in the imperial capital a set of clothes worn by the noble ladies."

"Hm?"

"I'll contact every boutique in the capital and have them purchase the dresses they have on hand right away, and starting tomorrow, every commoner will wear the dresses the noblewomen are wearing now."

Crossing my arms, I conveyed my plan to my mother.

"...So, since you don't have time to prepare a dress, you're going to make the dresses of the other noble girls look normal?"

"Yes."

"Oh my god."

She looked at me in disbelief for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"You're just like me, Skyla, maybe it's because you look like me! You are indeed the daughter of the Slayer of Society!"

"Will you not address me by such a disgraceful name, my dear mother?"

Having settled the matter of my dress, I now had one last hurdle left.

"Skyla, will you dance with me at the imperial ball?"

Lancer. What should I do with this guy?