Every Arc Ends with My Death

Chapter 24. Lilith

"Splendid. You truly have godly hands, Kaja."

Lady Camellia grinned in satisfaction when she saw the finished products brought by the blacksmith. Rather than swords, however, he designed two lovely dresses as commissioned.

"I almost regret having to give it to my rival." The villainess snickered. "Unfortunately, though, this dress will only shine when worn by that wench."

Kaja, heir to a smithy bordering the capital and the slums, simply scratched his cheek as the lady sang him praises. He looked so uncomfortable.

Perhaps he was conscious of the fact that such a burly man like him was into fashion, when he's expected to forge weapons and sharpen blades.

"You do not need to worry, Kaja. Your masterpiece will be worn by the prettiest lady in the empire." Lady Camellia gave him a smile. "Soon, people will flock over you and try to buy you for your talent."

"When you say the prettiest," Kaja cleared his throat. "Do you mean yourself, my lady?"

The villainess blinked consecutive times before answering. "I was referring to somebody else."

"I have been in and out of the palace these past few days, yet I haven't met anyone who wins over you when it comes to beauty." Kaja commented.

"Really?" Lady Camellia smiled intently. "The crown prince would beg to disagree, though."

Anyway, the blacksmith created and designed two dresses. The first one was a lavender dress decorated with white laces and emeralds. It was also paired with a purplish blazer that covers the back and exposes some of the chest part modestly.

This one, I assume is for Lady Marchetti. Aside from the fact that purple goes well with her pink hair, it's obvious that the emeralds are meant to complement her green eyes so clear and bright.

"As per your request, I did my best to keep the other dress simple." Kaja remarked sheepishly.

"Yes, I can see that you did." Lady Camellia approached the other dress and smiled with content. "It's exactly how I wanted it to be."

Contrary to Lady Marchetti's, her ladyship's dress was more daring yet simple. It was a baby blue sleeveless gown without any sort of blazer or coat, exposing the whole of her back. It was also embedded with a minimal amount of sapphires.

The villainess eyed me. "Isabelle,"

"Yes, my lady." I stepped forward.

"Lead our guest to the drawing room. A generous reward awaits him there." Lady Camellia glanced over Kaja. "Once again, I apologise for coercing you into this. Still, know that you've been of great service to me and I am truly thankful, Sir Kaja."

He averted his gaze from her. "Just keep your promise and don't ever tell a soul about my penchant for fashion." Kaja reminded stiffly.

"Of course. I shall take that secret to my grave."

With that, I left with the blacksmith and escorted him into the drawing room. On the way there, however, I noticed his strange expression.

"Pardon me, but it looks like you still have a lot that you want to say." I pointed out to Kaja.

He hesitated, but explained anyway.

"It was just strange for me how the lady seemed to be lacking in confidence. She kept blabbering about some random lady who's supposed to be the fairest in this empire. But to me who's never met that lass before, Lady Camellia takes the cake.

"While making the purple dress, I visualized it with a faceless lady. The blue one, however, was created with Lady Camellia on my mind, which helped me make a dress that captures her beauty."