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※Ciel’s Perspective

Finished changing, Ain appears from behind the curtains. As soon as I saw her, I headed to Ain.

I mean, Ain’s so adorable, after all.

「Adorable, just adorable! The white dress really suits Ain!」

Before I noticed it, I was holding Ain’s hands. No. To make sure that I can see Ain, I stopped at only holding her hands. After all, if I had hugged her, I can’t see how Ain looks.

It’s a white dress that makes Ain’s black colors stand out. The blue ribbon on her waist also seems to add to the cuteness. Now I understand the significance of dressing up.

And then, her hair. In the past, I’ve often seen people that style their hair but we haven’t really done much with my hair. How do I say this… for us, the hair is a circuit for containing magic power, a part that gives us a large advantage against other people despite our small body. That’s why, although I’ve used a hairpin, we haven’t done anything like braiding hair.

It might be just that Ain doesn’t know how to do it, though. I almost never see male people mess much with their hair, so maybe it’s specific for females.

Hearing my words, Ain blushed as though embarrassed and then stared at me.

「I think it’ll suit Ciel too, you know? 」
「Really? Honestly, that doesn’t matter much for me as long as Ain’s adorable.」
「If it looks good on me, it’ll look good on you as well. I’m based on your appearance, after all. Besides… I want to see you wearing cute clothes too, Ciel.」

Maybe I really should dress up too? Between being called cute by Ain, or seeing Ain being adorable… I can’t choose. Still, there’s probably less opportunities to see Ain looking adorable, so dressing Ain up is of higher priority right now. It might be interesting to find clothes that would suit Ain once we visit downtown.

And I suppose buying clothes for me while we’re at it.

At any rate, Ain is adorable. White looks good on her, but wouldn’t black look good on her too? Rather, what clothes wouldn’t look good on Ain? It seems like my conjecture that Ain is adorable no matter what she wears wasn’t a mistake after all.

After admiring Ain for a while, I was satisfied and Ain once again went behind the curtains to change into the next set of clothes.

◇

Ain in a black dress was also great. How do I say it, she looked cool. With her past life in consideration, I don’t quite know Ain’s age but based on appearance, she should be the same age as me. However, wearing a black dress, Ain looked really adult-like.

Then, I suddenly got curious regarding accessories that aren’t part of the clothes like the black necklace and the ribbon from the white dress earlier. So I asked Ain to take them off but, I see. It looks somewhat lonely now. On the other hand, something excessively gaudy will attract the eyes too much… I think.

After all, Ain is more attractive than any jewelry. Overlooking Ain is impossible. Besides, showy jewelry probably would look good on Ain, but I don’t think those are very Ain-like.

Also, I’m glad to see that Ain is enjoying the dress up as well. It’s not really good if I’m the only one having fun after all. There’s no point unless the two of us are having fun. There were times when I was the only one enjoying the situation at the moment but I do try to hold back a bit. That’s why if Ain looks uncomfortable or exhausted after the first few changes of clothes, I plan on asking Fii if we can stop.

But it seems like there’s no need to worry about that. I wonder what she’ll be wearing next. As I started getting excited, 「It’s about time for you to join their side, don’t you think?」 Fii asked me that.

「But I want to see Ain’s change of clothes right now.」
「I see, but if you join them, you would be together with Ainsel, you know?」

I didn’t think of that at all. If I dress up together with Ain, we’ll have more time together and I’ll be able to see Ain dressed up sooner. And, just maybe, there might be a chance that Ain will call me cute. Waiting here eagerly for Ain is nice too but being together with Ain is absolutely hard to pass up.

「Understood. What should I do?」
「Simply go there with Saueluna and you’ll be assisted there.」
「I see.」

After replying to Fii, I then greeted Luna, 「Please treat me well.」

「Certainly.」 Luna responded with a bow, waited for me to stand, and led the way.

Luna doesn’t have a similar feel to Carol or Viviana, but she’s more like Celia or Fii instead. I have my guard up, but she doesn’t feel unpleasant.

As I thought, associating with people is really tough. I understand that not everyone is like Rispelgia but there certainly are some people that are like him. I think I was only able to open up to Fii because she felt different from people. If I didn’t have Ain with me, then I likely would’ve just locked myself up somewhere alone.

In regards to how to interact with people, I’ll consult with Ain sometime soon. But not now. After all, enjoying this time with Ain is more important right now.

Behind the curtains, Ain was there wearing the clothes from before. Around her are maids like Luna, looking at Ain while seemingly pondering about something. Ain immediately noticed that I came and waved at me.

Just from that, I already feel glad coming here.

「You’re here too, Ciel?」
「I was told I can be together with Ain, after all.」
「I see. I’m glad to be together with you too, Ciel.」

Hearing my words, Ain’s cheeks turned red. For some reason, it looks like she’s embarrassed saying that but even then, Ain looked at me directly and smiled. It was just so precious, so adorable, I couldn’t help but hug Ain. 「Ain really is adorable.」 After saying that, Ain got even redder but she seemed really happy too.

We couldn’t keep hugging for too long, so I quickly released Ain and lined up for the changing.

Having other people change my clothes for me feels somewhat strange —naturally since people other than Ain are touching me— but since I know that Ain is nearby, it was enough to ease the discomfort. I was overwhelmed by how the maids stripped me in an instant and dressed me up in no time, which probably helped me from feeling too much discomfort as well.

With that done, I saw Ain and I reflected on the mirror and I… was wearing the same clothes as Ain. To be more precise, our clothes and accessories have the same design but are different in color. Ain is wearing a white dress, while I’m wearing a black one. Our hairstyle is also mirroring one another. We also have earrings, only one each, again mirroring in position and different in color.

The fact that we wore matching clothes made me happy, I grabbed Ain’s right arm and pointed to the mirror.

「We’re matching, matching!」
「That’s right, we are. Besides that, it looks great on you, Ciel.」
「Is that so? You look adorable too, Ain.」

Just us having the same clothes already has a somewhat special feel to it, but the single earring we each have that looks like an incomplete pair at first glance, somehow becomes a complete pair when Ain and I are together side by side. It’s like it’s showing that Ain and I are two as one.

It’s somehow… hard to put it in words, but it’s really wonderful.

While I was basking in my emotions, Luna spoke to me so I talked to her. Then looking at Ain, it seems like she’s puffing her cheeks a bit for some reason. She looked so adorable, I couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

Ain’s face then transformed into a full displeased pout, so I gently patted her head. Her silky black hair felt really good to the touch, it makes me want to keep doing it forever.

Still, Ain was immediately cheered up, so, with great reluctance, I let go of her head.

◇

Now then, that’s where a problem appeared. Since it’s rare to get this chance, I carelessly said that I’ll choose clothes for Ain. This, in of itself, is really exciting. Ain wearing clothes I choose for her, it’s like a dream. However, it’s also a big responsibility.

On the other hand, Ain also said that she’ll pick out clothes for me but I honestly think that I’ll be happy about anything as long as Ain picked it for me. I probably would even wear that white cloth as long as Ain chose it. But at the same time, I know full well that Ain wouldn’t do that.

Being surrounded by a lot of clothes, I was having a hard time choosing but the truth is, I really want to just choose them all. If I had to choose one among these, then probably some green clothes. That light green stole that was given to Ain back at the dining table. I think something like that really fits Ain. How do I describe it, it’s something that wouldn’t look out of place in a flower garden and it also looks like it would be relaxing too.

Hmm, a tawny dress with a green one of those cardigan things might be good too.

Together with Ain’s black, it should give off a calming feel. I always find Ain adorable, and I say it out loud, but that’s just one part of her. After all, Ain is older and more reliable, just being with her is comforting. She’s like a warm sunshine. Being near her is nice and warm, you never want to go away.

Ain is generally composed and, I suppose broad-minded is the word? She rarely has intense shows of emotion but just being with Ain makes me feel complete.

Because of that, I think calm and subdued colors would fit Ain well. Besides, among the songs Ain likes to sing, a lot of them have a calming melody. A blue outfit might look good with Ain’s clear singing voice but I really want to see Ain wearing some calm and subdued colors.

Having Luna’s help, I brought the clothes I managed to finish picking out somehow and headed to Ain’s place. Ain seems to have finished choosing as well, so we exchanged the clothes we brought for each other.

What Ain gave me was a sleeveless light blue dress. It has a lot of frilly ornaments but it’s rather easy to move in. And as I twirled and saw the skirt spread out beautifully, I understood that Ain chose this with me dancing in mind. The accessories that came along are those that don’t get in the way of dancing too. Just the fact that Ain chose this for me makes me happy enough, knowing that she really thought of me when picking these, I can’t help but smile.

「It suits you very well.」
「Right, right! Ain chose it for me, you know? 」
「Miss Ainsel understands Cielmer quite well.」
「She really does. I could probably dance in these clothes too.」
「Dance… is it?」
「I’m a Dance Princess, after all.」

Hearing Luna praise Ain, I was so happy I couldn’t stop myself from speaking. Overjoyed, I ended up saying that I’m a Dance Princess but we don’t need to hide it anymore, right? After all, this isn’t Estoque and I don’t think that the people that Fii employed are the type to talk about other people’s Jobs.

Ain finished changing as well, and now she came by our side. As I thought, Ain is adorable no matter what she wears. I suppose beautiful describes her better right now? The composed look really suits her in my opinion. But more than anything, the fact that she’s wearing the clothes I chose makes me absolutely happy.

I couldn’t help myself from running to her and joining my hands together.

「Ain, Ain, you look really great, really great!」
「I’m glad the clothes didn’t look weird on you, Ciel.」
「Ain chose it for me, after all. I’ll wear even just plain fabric as long as Ain chose it for me, you know?」
「When I do give you something weird, don’t feel obliged to wear it, alright?」

Ain shows a troubled smile. It’s probably not Ain’s intention to make me dress weird, so if by chance that time ever comes, I’ll have to incorporate what Ain chooses while making myself look good. Considering that, I might need to think more about fashion on my own as well.

「Still, Ain thinks about me the most. So even if that does happen, I won’t completely ignore it, you know?」
「True, I did think carefully when choosing this time too but… how do I say this… I’m not confident with my sense of fashion, you see?」
「Is that so? I like it, you know? In your opinion, does these clothes not look good on me, Ain?」
「You look great in it. You look cute.」
「Then isn’t that good enough? You look great too, Ain. You look beautiful.」

Though I said that somewhat cheeky line, I can’t quite hide a smile after being called cute. My cheeks are probably slacking. But I’m happy, so I can’t help it.

Being praised by Ain makes me happy, after all.

「Come to think of it, will it be alright to keep these on?」

Playing it off, Ain asks the nearby maid but her cheeks are slightly blushed red. As I thought, Ain really is adorable!

Hiya~! Unlike the past few interludes, there’s a whole lot of new stuff this time~! Yay~! More AinCiel fluff for today~!

Before I forget about it, I really like how Ciel is really watching closely if Ain is seriously uncomfortable in the situation. I’ve already said this before, but I really dislike how one cliché of GB stories (especially in the Japanese side of things) there’s always a forced “dress-up doll” moment at least once in the whole story. And mostly my dislike of it comes from how uncomfortable and unwilling the protagonists are, or rather how their discomfort is ignored by the girls, who would most likely be extremely uncomfortable as well if they were in the same position. And the fact that it’s played for laughs. Anyhow, the main difference here is that Ain was comfortable enough that she started to enjoy it herself and the fact that Ciel (and the maids) weren’t really aggressively forcing her into it. It was just a bit more smartly done here.

Also, it’s quite nice to see how Ciel joined Ain, as well as an expansion of the dress up part. Ciel being just excited is adorable, and Ain is just plain adorable all around this time as well.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay clean, stay safe, and have a nice day~!