"Young Mistress… What are you doing?" Your maid asks as she watches you pace back and forth along the hallway.
"I would think that should be self-evident," you say, your tone removing any sharpness from your words. You don't see Chiaki's expression, what with the pacing and all, but you can imagine her rolling her eyes.
"Practicing I can see…" she says, a bit curious. "But I would expect you would just go running again if you wanted to stretch your legs."
You turn back to walk towards Chiaki and gesture at your heels. "If I tried to run in these, I'd probably fall flat on my face," you grumble.
"I see." Your personal maid covers her face with one hand, but can't quite conceal a smile. "Not going to kick them off like last time Young Mistress?"
You blush a bit, but don't answer. The bait's a bit obvious even to you, and she wasn't wrong. Striking the prince and princess with your shoes
was a contributing factor to your decision to get used to them.
<Sporty> "You shouldn't ever give up because you fail at something, just try again harder!"
<Emo> "Try harder, fail worse, never learn from your mistakes. Yaaaay..."
<Sensible> "At least she's trying to walk before she runs this time…"
Instead, you do your best to project poise with what you think is a dignified expression. Chiaki trying to stifle her giggles makes it somewhat difficult.
<Flashy> "A lady must look her all-time best at all times."
<Brainy> "And make a infinite feedback loop? "
Soon enough, you find your maid matching your stride, moving back up and down the hallway. It's impressive how she can match your stubby legs and boundless energy.
"Autumn, why are you following me?" You ask her confused.
"It's my duty to be at your side should you need anything Young Mistress," she says primly. "Besides, I was just headed the same way."
You'd find that a tad more believable if she wasn't walking back and forth with you. She starts outpacing you; you could feel yourself getting annoyed.
You hitch up your dress and hurry to match her. "I thought a maid's place was at her lady's side?"
Your maid ahems. "Just want to be sure the route was free of obstructions Young Mistress. As you said, we want to make sure you don't fall."
Chiaki said that with a straight face, but you don't believe a word of it! Besides the fact your friend was always a bit better at concealing her feelings than you, if she was being serious she'd offer you more than such a transparent lie. What was this, some child's cartoon? There's not going to be some banana peel in the way, or a toy left in the middle of the room, or something else to make you the punchline of a gag.
<Emo> "With the way our souls ended up here, we're certainly a cosmic punchline to
someone."
For good or for ill you were your parent's only child, and neither you nor Chiaki were sloppy enough to leave that much of a mess-
"Young Mistress's footwork is much improved," Chiaki says, all of a sudden. You blink, confused, unable to parse such a sudden change in conversation.
"I guess…" you say cautiously, before it occurs to you why exactly it might be worse. You had been walking at a fast clip in the heels for the last several minutes, all without consciously being aware of it.
Your eyes widen. "Chi-cha...I mean Autumn! I'm walking in heels! I'm really walking in heels!" Not that you hadn't before, but it didn't take the conscious effort or sheer force of will you needed before.
You stare down at your heels, with half a mind to kick them off in celebration. "How did that happen…"
"Young Mistress has always been a fast learner, she just needed a little bit of…priming," your maid says demurely.
Brainy preens at the compliment while Flashy raises an eyebrow skeptically.
<Flashy> "I believe that's a compliment more aimed at me than you, Darling."
<Brainy> "Clearly, everything involving learning falls under my domain!"
You pout at her. "So you were just gonna troll me until walking in heels *clicked* for me?" You stifle a chuckle of your own. "Heh, heels clicking."
Your maid looks faux-shocked. "I would never troll you, Young Mistress." That's a lie and you both know it.
"Okay, now you're just goading me," you say, and something clicks again. She tried to make you feel competitive in order to spark your inner drive to succeed, and it
worked.
<Sporty> "Hoo-yeah! A challenge is always a way to get the blood pumping!"
Chiaki's figured out that you've figured it out; she has the biggest, smuggest, most frustrating smile on her face right now.
<Sensible> "Shouldn't we take it as a compliment our friend knows us so well?"
"Congratulations on making a breakthrough Young Mistress," she says, glowing with honest pride. Darn it! She said it so earnestly too you couldn't even be mad at her.
With one last victorious glance at you, your maid shifts back into character. "Just in time too, Duchess Claudius wanted to meet with you."
"Justine wants to-" You panic. "Chiakiiiiii! You can't just drop bombshells like that on me!" You needed time to mentally prepare yourself for meeting with the blonde Duchess and current self's mom.
"It's nothing bad Young Mistress," Chiaki says. "I think she just wants to see your hair for yourself; rumors have been spreading all around the manor."
You pluck self-consciously on your new golden locks, they curl tightly against your fingers.
"Now don't you feel more confident now that you've had a breakthrough in your training?" Chiaki says, trying to salvage the situation.
You stand up taller, more confident at that. "I guess I do, so I'll let this go...for now," you say, hoping it didn't come out as childish as it sounded!
She might have meant it for the best, but Chiaki could get really pushy when she thought she was helping you. And her cocky smile was practically begging for a reaction! You couldn't be too mad at her, she always knew what to say or do to make you the best version of yourself.
You'd need to be, in order to handle Justine.
((()))
As you enter her study, you note your mother's attention is consumed by a large stack of documents at her desk. A reminder that being a noble means a lot of administration, which means a lot of paperwork
You bow your head to Justine and do a textbook perfect curtsy. "Hello, mother. My maid said you called for me?"
"Your maid tells me you treated your hair with a lot of the Sverna herb," Justine says casually, not looking up from her papers.
"Are you displeased, Mother?" You ask, trying to match her calm tone despite your sudden case of nerves.
The Claudius matriarch sets down the paper she was reviewing to look at you with dispassionate eyes. She gives you no hints at what she's thinking or feeling.
"Just curious as to your reasoning," she says.
You sweat under her gaze. Why did you have to remember just how much of that hair product you ended up using now? It probably isn't about the cost, right? With how rich you are, it'd be a rounding error and Chiaki would have told you if using that much would cause a problem! You could always count on your best friend to hold you back when needed.
You glance to your side and see empty air.
You know you throw yourself into things at full effort and full throttle, but for the first time since you got here, you realize how much of that is due to Chiaki being at your side.
Your eyes drop to the floor, not able to meet her gaze. "Y-you're so elegant and amazing, Mother. An S-class adventurer, a Duchess, a guiding light to all nobility." You're starting to gush, blushing as you stumble over your words."…And despite not meaning to, it seems like I only cause you headaches. I w-wanted to be more like you, even if in just one small way…a-and your hair is so long and pretty…" You run your hands through your golden locks, unconsciously mirroring her.
<Flashy> "Your delivery was little
gauché, Darling, but it's understandable to be cowed by the Platonic ideal of fashion in Justine."
<Sporty> "Anyone who can put lions in a chokehold
has to be pretty badass. The Adventurer thing just adds to it."
"Oh
, Grace." Justine says.
You trail off and look back up at her. To your surprise, you see Justine's expression soften in a way you don't think you've ever seen before.
She gets up from behind her desk and comes over to stand by you. Unlike her usual demeanor, she doesn't radiate intimidation, but tenderness.
"If I'm strict with you sometimes," she says, "it's only because I know you have
such potential. And honestly? I love what you've done with your hair. Soft to the touch, but as dazzling as molten gold."
She runs a hand through your locks, you shiver at the contact. You're unprepared for the gesture of physical closeness with Justine who always seemed to keep her distance.
"So you're not mad?" You ask in a small voice.
Justine is taken aback. "Why would I be upset by such an inspired choice? I was curious if you did so with the goal of drawing allusions to the God-Imperatrix. Our hair is a sign of our direct descent from her," she explains. "It was a more…political ploy than you usually make."
You wince inwardly at that. It was a rather polite way of saying that Grace tended to act without consideration of how it would look to others, riding on her family name to get whatever she wanted.
Justine appraises your enchanted light blue dress, which had a large fluffy skirt and train to rival her own outfit. "Your explanation does give some context to other decisions you've made recently as well."
"D-do you like them, too?" You ask quietly, your voice lacking its usual confident energy.
She nods. "I do. They give you an air of elegance and maturity, daughter, if one you seem to flout on occasion."
Her gentle chiding makes you flush a bit.
"Though I suppose I shouldn't be *that* surprised, I was unruly at that age too." Justine pauses to reminisce.
"R-really!?" You squeak disbelievingly. You suddenly imagine Justine as a delinquent, every inch a 'foreigner' stereotype with her blonde hair. She's in a blue jean skirt and a black leather jacket over an American flag shirt. She's chewing bubblegum, while resting a baseball bat casually over one shoulder while giving a challenging look.
Justine sighs. "My mother was aghast of course. Only now do I realize how many headaches I gave her. I was far more interested in becoming a knight than in inheriting our family's responsibilities, always sneaking off to learn to use the sword."
Suddenly you were glad she had no knowledge of your lessons with Camille.
"What changed?" You ask.
"I realized that a noble's duties call for her to defend those under her care, to be their shield, and ensure justice is done." Justine says. "And that as a knight, I'd lack the authority or influence to right certain wrongs."
You remembered the tale of Lady Augustine, and the efforts by her stepmother to seize the title from her. You wondered if that was when she made that choice.
"But to wield that authority, I would need to accept the responsibilities that came with it," Justine says. "I would need to prove myself worthy. And earning that worthiness would be a quest any knight would gladly undertake."
…That jived with what you knew about your mother. She was heavily driven by her sense of duty…and that made you feel bad about the way canon Grace turned out. With such a cool mother, how could you turn into a bully!
"Once I reconsidered my assumptions on my duty, I also reconsidered other assumptions I made, and realized that what I once considered mere ostentation could instead become a source of strength," Justine says with a hint of pride, running a hand down the battle dress she wears.
You nod vigorously, recalling that even as an adventurer the various books detailing her exploits always had her elegant gowns. While she hadn't been the first to wear layered enchanted dresses, she pushed the design further than anyone else, and popularized the style.
As a cosplayer, you always wanted to feel as cool and elegant as the characters you liked. Cosplaying Grace Claudius was the coolest you ever felt, which probably explained to a degree your affinity for her. But to have the approval of Justine herself for your changes to Grace's setting was a compliment of the highest order! Plus being able to combine style with kicking ass? The
best kind of combination. You felt the heady thrill of vindication at your choices.
"Looking at you like this makes me feel nostalgic..." Justine's face grows slightly stern. "But don't forget Grace, it's not enough to complete a task, you must ensure it's done with style and grace lest your opponents try to undermine you as a brutal simpleton."
Huh, you're guessing someone tried that with her? It feels hard to imagine anyone talking down about Justine.
"I've been worried the last few years," shw says, "but you're growing into a fine lady now. With time, we'll smooth out your rough edges. And hearing you wanted to be like me… it warms me to know I've raised such a dutiful daughter."
"M-mother..." You can feel tears at the edge of your vision. Justine was always scant with her praise…to say something like that-
"There there, Grace," Justine says, dabbing at your eyes with a handkerchief. "Nothing, to cry over."
You shake your head. They weren't tears of sadness but joy. Emotion overcoming you, you reach out and pull her into a hug. She freezes, seemingly caught off guard again. But her body softens and she slowly wraps her arms around your back.
"It might not seem this way now, but know this: one day, Grace, you will bloom into your full potential, that you will carve out a legend of your own."
The tears were coming heavy now, and you wondered a bit how much of that was Grace shining through, of hearing the words she always wanted to from her mother.
"I'll seize that legend with full effort, at full throttle," you mumble against her chest, repeating your motto. You want so dearly to match her expectations for you.
Justine laughs. "That's right Grace, boldness, conviction, duty. The hallmark of our family," Justine whispers to you. "Never forget we are the descendants of the God-Imperatrix, that same potential for greatness lives within you. Build upon what I've accomplished, yes, but surpass it. That if I am a moon, then you will be the blazing sun." You hug her tighter, desperately wanting to meet her expectations.
You had a good relationship with your family, but they were always a bit lackadaisical, content as long as your grades were good and you went to college. Hearing someone encourage you, to not only shine brighter, but the brightest? It ignites an inferno within you. And in that moment you can feel your desires match with the motivations of Grace Claudius. To make Justine, no, y
our mother proud.
"I promise Mother," you solemnly swear. "I'll further your legacy, to be an inspiration for everyone. " Not just in this life, but when you return home. And for the first time, you truly feel you can do it.
Justine pulls away, offering you a confident smile. "I know you will."
You accept the handkerchief from her and dry your eyes. Ideas race through your head like you do on the track, all of them ways you can do better,
do more. And to achieve it all with style!
Sporty and Flashy share a knowing smile.
<Sporty> "The best way to kick ass-"
<Flashy> "And look good doing it, darling."
<Sensible> "Why do I feel a sudden sense of foreboding?"
<Emo> "Because you're finally starting to understand..."
Running a hand through your hair, you preen remembering the praise Justine gave it. Hmm, perhaps a pair of ribbons would add a splash of color to contrast nicely with your golden ringlets. Blue perhaps?
Another change you'd like to make is to eventually enchant your fists for more damage. Perhaps anchor any such spells to a bracelet on each arm? Gloves might work better but you've never liked wearing them. Felt too thick and restrictive of your movements, and took away from the sensation of punching someone who deserves it in the face. Well it's not like you're even sure that kind of magic is possible anyways, so you can table the idea for the moment.
What else…you think about the other signature parts of Justine's look and style. Something to do with the gown itself, perhaps. But how might you improve on it there-An idea comes to mind. Yeah that's a particular threat it might be good to prepare yourself for.
"Mother, I just had some inspiration…" You explain your ideas to her the best you can.
She nods in consideration. "Not a bad notion, as an Adventurer, I can see it has some potential, and certainly none but the Claudius line could achieve it. Something quintessential of our family, but with your own flair. I would caution it would take practice to get used to that particular change. So for the moment, let's have the House Tailor modify some of your outfits so you can get used to it. Get changed and expect something by the end of the day."
"Oh mother dear," you say, all smiles. "The modifications weren't just for me."
((()))
"Young Mistress," Chiaki asks as she covers her eyes. "Is this really necessary?"
"It most certainly is," you say primly. "No peeking."
Mother had certainly delivered, within only a few hours the Manor's local tailor had finished modifications towards your request. You weren't sure how he did it, but you wouldn't be surprised if there was some type of tailoring magic involved.
It'd taken some effort to keep your maid busy, so she wouldn't hear of what you had planned. Chiaki always did have a sixth sense for gossip, but you managed to get the modified outfit delivered to you and changed into it while she waited, eyes covered.
Positioning yourself in front of the mirror you grinned. "Okay, you can look now."
Chiaki uncovers her eyes, and let out a little gasp. "Young Mistress! It's so pretty. "Your hair…your dress."
You preened at her compliment. Even for a rush order, the quality was exquisite.
The new dark blue ribbons contrasted nicely with your hair, and your skirt's new floral pattern was rather eyecatching, if you said so yourself.
"Still…I thought you were taking after your mother, Young Mistress?" She asks, turning around to look at your dress directly.
"I promised Mother to find a way to further her legacy, to build upon it and make my own legend," you tell her. "And her signature enchanted battledress was a corner stone of it, this simply builds further on it."
What you didn't want to admit was that meeting Tanya had … been an uncomfortable reminder of the number of landmines you'd have to get around. You'd been so focused on dealing with your death from the Prince and the other love interests, that you'd entirely forgotten the alchemist mowing down you and everyone you knew in an attack on your estate. You fought off the bile rising in your throat at the thought it had been intended as a hidden extra you could unlock in My Bloody Valentine game.
To help prevent, you decided to up the defensive protection of your outfit having the tailor fluff out your skirt more, adding additional layers of petticoats you would be able to layer more defensive enchantments over. As well, you added more decorative ribbons and flowers cleverly interworking some gemstones as anchor points for future spells that would help cover the battle gown's traditional exposed areas. While Mother's enchanted gown made her resistant to damage, resisting gunfire simply wasn't anything it had been designed to deal with. Something your planned changes hopefully would. If her battle gown made her as resilient as a World War II battle tank, then yours made you think of something like an advanced battle tank with reactive armor.
"This dress only has comfort enchantments for the moment, but this helps me get used to the weight and moving in them. Later, after I prove myself, Mother says I can expect an enchanted battledress." Something you were very eager to get.
As your mother explained. It wasn't as much a matter of money, such that there were only so many skilled enchanters capable of that kind of work, particularly with the novel ideas you had. More importantly the Claudius matriarch had stressed that just as she had to prove herself responsible to receive her first fencing sword, so you would need to prove yourself responsible. But with how unstable Tanya got in canon there was no telling when she might go off. So getting as much prep time as you could ahead of it only made sense.
Chiaki nods, "It's a very
you think to do Aachan." Somehow leaving you unsure if it's a compliment or not.
<Sensible> "It's the only way to describe the logic we run on, sometimes."
"Glad you agree," you say giving her a bit of a toothy smile. "It's only fitting you get a reward for your hard work from earlier too."
Now your maid's expression seemed a bit concerned. "Now Young Mistress that's not necessary, it's a pleasure to serve."
"And a maid's dignity reflects on your master," you counter. Her shoulders slump.
"What…'reward' did you have in mind Young Mistress?" You could practically hear the air quotes there.
"Why a modified dress of your own," you say, heading to your closet to take out the other rush order the tailors handled. It was a maid outfit, but modified with additional frills and ribbons added to it and fluff out the skirt till it mirrored your own.
"You shouldn't have," she says a bit mechanically.
No, you really needed to. Tanya didn't just target you or your family in that bad ending, but had mowed down both your friends and the entire Claudius servant staff. There wasn't any way you'd leave her any less protected than you.
"Thank me later, change into it!" You encourage her holding the dress in front of you.
'Young Mistress, a maid should help her lady dress not the other way around-" She protests as you help her into the outfit.
"Just think of it like that time you cosplayed with me, and I helped you with your outfit!" You'd gone as Livira Matsuragi, sole heiress of the Matsuragi Heavy Industry corporation. Chiaki as your maid and protector Isa Steele, a homeless girl who you insisted on hiring on one of your many vacations around the world and had become fiercely devoted to you.
It had been the later season depiction of her so she even had an eyepatch!
"Ooh, it looks even better than I expected," you squeal excitedly. The adorable sight helping to take your mind off why you commissioned it. Adding a bit of pink definitely made the normal black and white maid outfit cuter.
For her part, your friend was plucking at the skirt unfamiliarly while giving you a long-suffering look.
"Don't be like that Chiaki! it's so cute! Besides, Combat Maid August! Just think of it!"
At this, your personal maid can't avoid chuckling. "You'll never lay a hand on my mistress!" She says, mimicking Isa Steele's voice and even doing the pose!
"And you tell me you didn't have talent at cosplay," you tease, giving her a smug smile of your own. "Mother says she'll have a warded outfit for you when I get mine. Something about me needing a guide most when I'm in the thick of things?"
Chiaki nods. "Young Mistress is helpless without a minder. And I suppose our dresses will match this way." And she was seeing the bright side already!
You clap your hands together, pleased with yourself. "This is the only one the tailor has ready yet, but he promises he'll have most of our wardrobe done by week's end."
Your maid's eyes widen. "
Ours?"
You smile brightly. "As you said, this way our outfits match!"
Chiaki gives you a smile that says "I'm ditching the dress the moment your back is turned."
If your scheme was to work, you couldn't give her any wiggle room. While the battle gown would remain out of your reach for a while, getting your ordinary clothes enchanted with all the defensive enchantments they could hold wasn't something entirely different. You wouldn't be shrugging off bullets, but it'd ensure you'd survive being shot with just some bruises.
You hoped so, at least.
The more layers of defensive enchantments the better, so it made sense to have your dresses tailored to include the extra petticoats you planned for your battle gown to have. You never knew when the Bad End flag would trigger, so it only made sense to ensure your whole wardrobe provided that protection, and there was no way you'd leave Chiaki vulnerable either. Which meant getting the both of you into gowns with full skirts stuffed with defensive enchantments.
Knowing Chiaki, she'd just insist you were being paranoid, but if you play it off as a flight of fancy...
Well, sometimes there were advantages to a friend thinking they could read you like a book.
