North x Northwest

“I was hurt here, too.”

Ed took off his robe. Lil, however, wasn’t too comfortable at the sight of a man pulling back his clothes vigorously in front of her eyes. She gathered her eyebrows even more as she noticed the robe hanging precariously on his elbow.

“…What are you doing?!”

“Here…”

“…”

His finger pointed to the area of ​​his left flank where there were several scars from several cuts. Even though it made her feel a little uneasy, Lil caressed the spot. Then, Ed held out his shoulder, pretended to be pitiful and whispered.

“…And my shoulder, too…”

Lil spoke, rubbing his shoulder with an action that was more like a slap.

“Oh, stop it now.”

“Not there. A little more towards the collarbone…”

“Stop!”

“Ah, I just remember, but I injured my knee, too. Maybe I should take off my pants and show you…”

“…What are you doing?!”

When Ed bowed slightly and grabbed his waistband, a head rushed forward. 

 – Bump! –

His face, which was headbutted, bounced back into the air.

“Ack!”

Ed clenched his forehead and crouched before completely falling down. Simultaneously, Lil pushed her shawl, which had been draped on her arm all this time, roughly forward with both hands. While Ed wiggled around and pretended to be dying, Lil successfully tied his wrists to the cembalo’s leg. Unfortunately for Ed, he found himself sprawled out, unsure whether he was lying or sitting. He frantically looked around before raising his eyes. When he saw his bound hands, he casted Lil a pitiful look.

“If you keep this up, I’ll tie you to the cembalo’s brace next. Then, when I close the lid, your wrist will be flying, wouldn’t that be fun?”

Lil turned away from Ed, who was still looking up at her with a grim expression on his face. On the other hand, Lil was already regretting the way she acted before. 

‘What did I believe that I started to care for him…’

“…I must’ve been possessed or something…”

Lil shook her head and buried her face in the palms of her hand. Despite standing still, she had the feeling that her body was staggering. 

‘At some point and without realising it, I was already drawn to Ed…’ 

Lil was about to rub her face with the palms of her hands, but when she realised she was wearing makeup, she nervously lowered her hands. She never wanted to admit what she had just done. 

‘I can’t believe I held him like that… I can’t believe I thought he was pitiful!’

“…This is the admiral’s lair… and I’m a pirate captain…”

“I don’t care.”

Lil raised her head at the sudden sound of Ed’s clear voice.

“What?”

“Whoever you are, whoever I am… none of it matters.”

Contrary to the whining tone he had been using till now, Ed’s voice was full of conviction. 

‘Ed is saying that because he doesn’t know… Because he doesn’t know who I really am…’ 

That realisation hit Lil belatedly. 

‘Just as I’ve been angry at Ed for hiding his identity as an admiral, Ed also has the right to be angry at me for hiding my identity and pretending to be a pirate captain…’

“…Fine. It doesn’t matter. But things can only get complicated from now on.”

“Monferrand has finally heard what he wanted, but does that mean he’ll give up on Alvenis?”

“What bullshit…”

“Even Monferrand must’ve had some doubts. He must’ve been anxious that Alvenis’s heart might  have changed somehow. But in the end, what could he be afraid of when he was proven right? The thing he was afraid of the most should’ve already disappeared.”

“..?”

Lil couldn’t understand a single word, so shook her head to make it clear to him that she didn’t get what he was saying. Ed, however, leaned his head against the cembalo and smiled lazily. Despite it only being a small smile, Lil’s face turned red. In an attempt to hide her flushed expression, she glared and frowned at him as hard as she could.

“Untie me.”

Ed then leaned his head against the pinned arm above him, his messy hair cascading down his brow. Lil winced and shuddered as if she felt it sweep down her own arm. She had a premonition that something dangerous was bound to happen and it didn’t help that the sight of Ed’s bare upper body, seen through his open robe, gave off a sensual impression. Lil was certain that if she stayed any longer, she would become entangled with Ed.

“No.”

“My arm hurts.”

“You can get yourself out of it anyway.”

“Let me go, please.”

At first glance, Ed, who was whining like that, truly seemed pitiful. His frowns and pleads of pain sounded convincing too. So, in a moment of weakness, Lil almost fell for it, but she managed to pull herself together and retorted.

“That’s enough!”

Lil walked to the door and opened it, letting a rush of fresh air in. Her breath, which had been soggy and stuffy, was slightly relieved. She then slammed the door and left the music room…

***

Eventually, Ed twisted his hands a few times and easily untied the shawl. While turning his wrists around, he raised his head upon noticing something. Two objects that had fallen on the floor caught his interest. Ed writhed and snatched one of the shoes. 

While tilting his head, he muttered

“…Isn’t this a little too big?..”

***

Roahn’s dressmaker walked so fast that he almost ran through the residence’s hallway. As he turned the corner, two servants waiting in front of the Marquess’ cabinet threw open the oak door. After entering the cabinet, the dressmaker lowered his head and removed his peacock feathered hat. He then quickly grabbed his wig, which was about to fall off, and spoke in a pleased manner. 

“Oh, Marquess. Since when did you come back?”

He had been so surprised that he was sweating profusely. When Levi called for him, he went in a hurry the moment he was told to come to the Marquess’ cabinet. After wiping the sweat from his brow, the dressmaker tucked his handkerchief under his wig. Behind him, a group of people, carrying various kinds of silk on their shoulders, came in one after another. Ed, sitting in the centre of the cabinet, gestured to the dressmaker and Ed’s personal servant, standing next to him, conveyed his message instead.

“Come closer.”

The approaching dressmaker was handed over a piece of paper with something drawn on it.

“What is this… It’s …a foot?”

“I want you to make some shoes first. As soon as a pair is completed, send it to the mansion.”

“Yes, I will start today.”

“…”

The dressmaker pulled round glasses from his pocket and put them on the bridge of his nose. He squinted his eyes before looking away from the paper.

“However, the instep size is missing. It’s the circumference that covers the top of the foot from the arched part of the sole, a very important size that determines the fit.”

“Ah…”

“…”

With a quill between his fingers, Ed flicked his hand. When the dressmaker handed him the piece of paper, Ed thought for a moment and then wrote down the measurement.

“Now, let’s look at the clothes.”

“Ah, yes.”

The quick-witted dressmaker unfolded silk typically used for women’s clothing. 

‘Judging by the size of the foot he had just put out, and the fact that my visit is being conducted in secret like this, I can tell that a mistress has entered this mansion. Since he’s a great man who puts extraordinary effort into his clothes, his spending towards his mistress will be no less than that!’

This thought made the dressmaker excited. Another reason was Levi, who only wore casual clothes of simple composition, so his business line for women’s clothes wasn’t good in this area. The man took out Sesbron’s latest pattern book and put it beside the silk.

‘It’s been so long since I’ve waited for the mistress of the Marquess to appear.’ 

Sure enough, Ed pulled out only the finest imported silk with his keen eyes. He even turned the pages of the pattern book one by one as if to carefully select the designs.

The dressmaker, who had been dealing with the marquess’ family for several years now, already knew Ed’s taste. 

‘Sir Edgar prefers beautiful fabrics but shuns overly sumptuous materials embroidered with gold or silver threads. He tends to use colours boldly and, occasionally, enjoys exotic colour combinations. For clothes, he mainly chooses elegant patterns and is picky enough to not rule out elegance even in costumes required for activity. However, that’s still nothing compared to his hats, and among Sir Edgar’s collections, there’s a gorgeous hat that even I covet. But because I’ve never seen Sir Edgar wear it himself, I often ask myself if he only keeps it as a collectible… Sir Edgar’s choice, by any means, has always been outstanding and even led numerous officers and other prominent people in the land of Roahn to imitate his sense of style. Above all, his appearance is the epitome of beauty, so he can be described as a walking publicity flyer. Considering how the family style of the Retiro ancestry has been obsessed with aesthetics, they made trends and led culture as if it was their second nature, and Sir Edgar is a descendant who has inherited that well. I can surely use this opportunity to expand my influence on women’s clothing. The mistress must also be of great beauty given the marquess’ taste.’

The dressmaker smiled indistinctly and called for joy inside.