CH 131

[Tayte’s Big Moment]

The dress contest finally started.

“Fufufu… at last.”

Lady Lilia could no longer her excitement, but her servants were gathered around her so that they could immediately respond in case of emergency. It had completely slipped out of my mind because she had been very active these days, but she was originally very sickly.

Incidentally, the best dress would be decided by voting that would take place after the fifteen participating dresses were showcased on stage.

The judging criteria would be the harmony between the model and the dress. So not only the dressmaker but also the model had an important role to play in making the dress look better.

The entrants started walking down the runway one by one in turn.

The audience’s eyes were focused on the first entrant, who was—

“Oh? Cornell?”

Cornell, Tayte’s friend.

“Ah, so that is Miss Cornell.”

“Did you know her, Lady Lilia?”

“Only in name. Tayte used to talk about her a lot.”

That reminded me, the first person from the academy I met was Cornell, wasn’t it?

Cornel wore a gorgeous yellow dress that matched her bright personality.

The degree of perfection was so high I couldn’t help but exclaim “Ooh” in amazement without me knowing.

Cornell was usually so full of energy, but she seemed to be nervous today; gone her usual cheerful smile, replaced by a slightly awkward one. However, such contrast grabbed the hearts of the audience.

“I heard that appearing first was disadvantageous, but it seems she’s quite popular.”

“Yes. Her dress is nice, too.”

To think she could calm down Lady Lilia who had been so preoccupied with Tayte.

Nicely done, Cornell.

Following her was…

“?! K-Kleine?!”

It was Kleine, our class president.

“~~~~.”

Her movements and smile were even more awkward than Cornell’s.

Well, I admitted that she looked great, but… maybe it was because she was embarrassed? Her face was as red as her dress.

Just as I was wondering why she was even participating if she’d be so embarrassed, I spotted Melia waving excitedly at a seat a little farther away.

…I see, she had been persuaded by Melia.

She must have been offered to be a model but refused at first, but then Melia heard about it and told her something along the line of “That’s such a shame, you look good in any dress, you know♪,” thus she decided to participate. She could be a bit of a pushover, after all…

After that, several other models appeared, and finally, it was Tayte’s turn.

Lady Lilia and I braced ourselves.

The Ehrenbergs’ servants became nervous.

Amid that strange atmosphere, Tayte, wearing a blue dress, showed up.

““————””

At that moment, my and Lady Lilia’s minds froze.

Our very beings were on the verge of total extinguishment.

“E-even though she’s my daughter… I must say, she has a frightening potential…”

“A-as we’ve expected…”

Lady Lilia and I were both holding our chests, as Tayte’s big moment was imprinted in our eyes.

Behind me, my three maids, Marina, Priim, and Rebecca, were also overcome with emotion. They did say they thought of her as their own sister.

We couldn’t stop ourselves from welcoming Tayte with a standing ovation, but the staff got mad at us and we sat back down.

After that, we stared fixedly at Tayte in silence until she returned backstage, and once she disappeared from view, I exchanged a firm handshake with Lady Lilia. Needless to say, we both voted for Tayte.

“I must say… that was wonderful, wasn’t it, Lady Lilia?”

“It was… she was oh so outrageously lovely.”

The dress contest—for me and Lady Lilia, it was the best event ever.