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“While the gentlemen are viewing the armory, why don’t we, too, take a look at the ladies’ weapons?”

With that invitation, Ekaterina led the girls inside the mansion, to a spacious hall large enough to host a small-scale party.
She threw open the doors—

“My goodness, how wonderful!”
“How gorgeous! What a splendid sight!”

The girls all exclaimed in delight.
The same hall Ekaterina had once been shown by Nonna was, today, filled once more with lavish dresses. Yet unlike that day, when the shutters had been closed, now every window stood open, bathing the room in light and fresh air. The dresses displayed on the mannequins shone temptingly with color and glamour, no longer carrying any trace of eeriness.

“These are my grandmother’s dresses.”
“So these are the rumored…!”

So they knew about them, huh. That means the old hag’s obsession with clothes was famous among the nobility. Well, not surprising—even Kamila the designer commented on how well-known my grandmother’s dresses were.

“Lady Ekaterina, may we take a closer look?”
“Of course. And, if you like—”

Ekaterina looked around at all the girls and declared clearly enough for everyone to hear:

“If there’s any dress that pleases you, you may take it home with you.”
“!”

A silent but passionate response rippled through the group.

“My grandmother was born a princess of the Empire and married into our house. For one of such standing, it is customary that after her passing, her dresses be distributed as keepsakes among her close friends. We did so after her funeral, yet as you can see, many still remain. You may know this already, but my grandmother had a deep love of fashion. Knowing her, she would surely be pleased if her dresses could help nurture the sense of style of young ladies who will lead the Empire’s future.”

That’s a lie! She’s probably fuming in her grave—”How dare my dresses end up with a baron’s daughter!” or something!
But that’s fine by me!
If you want to crawl out of your grave like Sadako, come on, I’ll take you on, you damn hag. I’ll bury you right back down with earth magic.

“I believe it must be my grandmother’s guidance that brought so many fine ladies here today. As you all know, once the second term begins, the Academy will hold its ball. If these dresses can serve as inspiration when you consider your own attire, I would be delighted. They may be old, but the materials might inspire modern trends. Please, make use of them however you wish.”

Honestly, they could pawn them off and I wouldn’t mind. Even among nobles, circumstances vary—some families must be struggling to get by.
If *we* tried selling them ourselves, that hag’s admirer, Duke Georgy of Jurmagna, would probably throw a fit at my brother, accusing us of being poor, or disloyal to the Crown. Better to just give them away—once gifted, what others do with them is none of our concern.

Apparently, it’s customary to give keepsakes to the maids as well. The type who would skim money off vendor payments would probably snatch everything and sell it all, but none of them touched Grandmother’s belongings. Judging by Nonna’s attitude, those rows of dresses and jewels were like her very spirit to them. Maybe they wanted to believe that as long as those remained, they could still live as if she were alive. Yeah, right.

“Please, everyone, take your time to look. If something catches your eye, try it on. The maids of the house will assist you.”

She gestured toward several maids standing behind the girls—Mina among them—who all bowed in unison.
Well, sizing will be an issue, but they can take the dresses off the mannequins and hold them up, or do whatever works. Yup.
Judging by these dresses, that old hag managed to keep her body size perfectly unchanged throughout her life. I’ll give her that much credit. Just that much, though.

“Oh, but still…”
“What should we do…?”

The girls fidgeted, glancing around uncertainly. How should I give them a push, Ekaterina wondered—
And then, the Yes-Yes Trio came charging into the hall, breathing hard.
Seriously, their vitality is unreal!

“Oh my, pearls! Real pearls are sewn all over this one!”
“This fabric—it’s rainbow silk! Just like the rumors said, it shimmers in seven colors! This is my first time seeing it!”
“Which one’s the most expensive!?”

…There it is. Their true colors.
But thanks to that, everyone else’s hesitation vanished, too.

Ekaterina smiled and gestured invitingly toward the hall.

“Well then, ladies—please, go ahead.”

Battle start! *Ding ding ding!*

.

The high school aged young ladies squealed and swarmed the beautiful dresses. Some wandered the hall with sparkling eyes, searching for something that suited them, while others played stylist—declaring, “That one’s perfect for you, you must choose it!”
I get it. It’s like when you go shopping with friends and they hesitate, and you just want to go, “Come on, buy it already!”
And those dresses that once seemed so eerie, as if haunted by the old hag’s obsession—seeing the girls gush over how pretty and lovely they were made them seem like treasures instead. The dresses must be happy, too.
The lively energy of these bright young girls was so strong it probably blasted away any lingering grudges the old hag left behind. Bargain-sale purification! Mwahaha!!

As Ekaterina watched from the back of the hall, smiling to herself, Flora approached her.

“Everyone seems to be having such fun, Lady Ekaterina.”
“Yes, I’m very glad they do.”

Though come to think of it, Flora-chan isn’t picking a dress herself. Well, she’s not the type to dive into things like this anyway.

“…Lady Flora, are you not uncomfortable with this?”
“Eh?”
“It just feels as though we’re showing off. I’m sure everyone’s enjoying it now, but deep down, they must have mixed feelings about it.”

Ordering a new dress every week—no matter how rich you are, that’s excessive.
If this world’s society is anything like early modern Europe or Edo-period Japan from my previous life, then clothes, not just dresses, must be unimaginably expensive compared to the fast-fashion era I knew before. For commoners, buying new clothes itself is a luxury. Secondhand clothing would be the norm.

There are no synthetic fibers here. No polyester, no nylon spun freely from petroleum.
Cotton, silk, wool, hemp—all must be painstakingly cultivated, harvested only once a year, then turned into thread, woven into fabric, and finally sewn into garments—all by hand. Even a single piece of clothing requires enormous labor before it’s complete.
Even cotton, cheaper than silk, should be rarer here than in my old world. I’d heard that cotton farming in developing countries used absurd amounts of pesticides—without them, they couldn’t maintain yield or quality. If this world’s agricultural technology hasn’t advanced that far, then production here would naturally be much smaller.

This magic academy may be full of nobles, but since a noble title comes with social expectations, many are apparently drowning in debt just to maintain appearances. For students from such families, seeing all these new dresses must stir complicated feelings—honestly, maybe even some quiet resentment.

“Lady Ekaterina, everyone knows you have no intention of flaunting yourself. No one would find this unpleasant.”

Flora said it firmly.
Ah, what a good girl.

“You mentioned the second-term ball earlier, Lady Ekaterina. Many less fortunate students were worrying about their dresses. Thanks to you, they can now enjoy their academy life without such troubles. Everyone understands your kindness—no one could possibly mistake it.”

Good girl…
But I’m not kind—I just find that old hag’s dress annoying. Sure, in my previous life, Japan had a strong sense of equality, so it always felt awkward when only the rich dressed up. So I thought, fine, if I give away my dresses, everyone can look nice for once, right?
Still, I did worry a little that it might look like I was flaunting my wealth and make people uncomfortable.
Not everyone’s as pure-hearted as you, and I’m sure they all have their own thoughts. But still, I’m happy you said that.

“Thank you very much, your words delight me. Lady Flora, have you found a dress that pleases you?”
“Please, don’t worry about me. I’m of an easy station; I’ve no need to show off.”

Flora smiled softly.
Yeah, I knew you’d say that.
That’s why I picked one I thought would suit you beforehand.

“Oh my, there’s another dress here. It seems I forgot to uncover it.”

Saying so, Ekaterina pulled away the cloth covering it—and the hidden dress came into view.
It was a pure, white-based dress—simple in design, yet elegant. Its wide, lily-shaped sleeves and the edges of its skirt and collar were overlaid with exquisite silver lace, and tiny aquamarines shimmered here and there upon it.
There were more luxurious dresses in the room, but this one stood out for another reason—the craftsmanship. The folds of the skirt, the graceful drape of the sleeves—everything had been sewn into the most beautiful lines imaginable.

“My, this dress seems made just for you, Lady Flora. If we change the aquamarines into cherry-colored ornaments to match your hair, it will be perfect.”

What she was trying to do was probably as obvious as the sun, but Ekaterina smiled at Flora anyway.
However, Flora didn’t seem to notice the teasing tone—she simply stared at the dress in shock.

“That’s my mother’s…!”
“Eh!?”
“I believe my mother made this dress. She told me to be extra careful with the lace since it was especially expensive, so I remember it vividly.”

Ah, right—Flora-chan’s mother was a seamstress.
Wait, this dress was made by Flora-chan’s mother!?
Seriously!?

Ekaterina instinctively took Flora’s hand.

“Then this dress truly was meant for you, Lady Flora. You must have it. It was lovingly made by your mother—it’s been waiting here all this time for you to find it.”
“Lady Ekaterina…”
“Your mother must have been a wonderful artisan. This dress is exceptionally beautiful.”
“Lady Ekaterina!”

Tears welled up in Flora’s amethyst-colored eyes as she threw her arms around Ekaterina.

“Thank you… I’m so happy. To be able to wear a dress my mother made—it’s like a dream.
Just as the Duke always says, Lady Ekaterina, you truly are like a goddess. Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart.”

No, that’s just my brother’s siscon filter talking.
The goddess is you, the heroine. I’m just the villainess.
But still—Flora-chan’s mother’s dress looks so pure now. I wonder if holy magic can actually banish evil spirits.
Old hag, rest in peace.