A/N : And we're almost there~!
Chapter 33
Coralina
Serving as a maid to the Duchess of Yuy was both a noble and interesting profession.
Coralina had slowly grown into her role over the years. As a local of the Yuy provincial capital, her family had been servants of the ducal household throughout generations; so just as her parents before her had, and their parents before them, Coralina was part of a long line of servants who knew the ins and outs of the Yuy provincial estate and the city that hosted it.
Which was why this current journey was so exciting for her.
She would be the first from her family to venture out of not just the provincial capital, but also the Yuy province itself. It was not common for estate servants to move from one property to the next, as much a part of the land as the house itself, and the Duke and Duchess never really took more than they required when it came to moving.
Even before, the only one attending the Duchess had been Miss Hilde, who served a more guard-like role. So this was the first time a maid from the provincial residence would be in attendance with the Duchess, and Coralina was determined to make a good impression on the Capital estate servants.
"How shall we style your hair for your return to the Capital estate, Your Grace?" Coralina asked brightly, deft hands shifting through the variety of hairpins and accessories. The Duchess had preferred a simple braid throughout the journey, but Coralina was intent on a more intricate style for the first day they stepped foot on Capital grounds.
Even though the Duchess had visited and lived within the Capital, because of his amnesia, this would almost be like the first time for him as well - so Coralina was going to go all out and make sure the Duchess's reputation as the Sanc Kingdom's most beautiful dandy was secure.
'Even after weeks of travel, he's still the most beautiful!' Coralina wanted to hear those words, wanted to see the awe and envy in others' gazes when they looked at the person she served. Now that the Duchess's temperament had so improved, now that all his vitriol and hard edges had softened to the lovely master she knew now - she wanted the whole world to know and be in awe of him.
"We can't just leave it in a braid?" the Duchess asked with a slight pout.
Coralina shook her head, resolute. "Absolutely not! It needs to be elegant, just like you!"
The look the Duchess gave her at her words was not inspiring, but Coraline let that slide right off of her. The Duchess had a surprisingly low opinion of himself, but even that was something that had taken her quite a while to glean; between all of the escapades and life-threatening events, his more self-deprecating comments and asides had slipped under her notice until there were just too many to ignore.
"Well, you can do whatever you want," the Duchess shrugged. "Just nothing too crazy, alright? I don't want to wear my entire jewelry box on my head."
"You would glimmer like the brightest star-"
"Coralina, no. "
Coralina gave in with a pitiful sigh. The Duchess had so many beautiful outfits and enough eye-catching accessories to match them, but she understood why he had stayed away from such clothing during the journey. She just wished he would wear one of the more intricately-woven garments on the first day in the Capital, as suited his station.
"Trying to be modest?" Lady Meilan asked from where she was perched on a cot.
Sir Mikhail grinned, eyes roving over the assorted jewelry Coralina had laid out on the table. "Kind of you to be considerate of the Duke in such a situation, Your Grace," he demurred. "If you were any more alluring, the poor man might just faint dead off his horse when he sees you."
The Duchess huffed, "Why do I let you people in here? You have your own tents!"
As the three descended into their usual back-and-forth, Miss Hilde moved to Coralina's side in order to give the accessories a hard once-over. Coralina's feelings weren't as intense as, say, Melissa's when it came to Miss Hilde; although she did not agree with what Miss Hilde had done regarding the Duchess's faith, Coralina could see why she did it. A marriage between two people of different beliefs wasn't always harmonious, and Coralina did sometimes find the rituals around the Harvester to be off-putting.
Her feelings on the Harvester religion aside, Coralina also had a newfound respect for Miss Hilde after the bear attack. The other woman had intended to throw herself between the rampaging animal and the other two, and Coralina couldn't help but be grateful for such an act. She vividly recalled the stark terror she'd felt as she ran back to camp; Coralina still had nightmares of that day, especially of the Duke's face when they realized the Duchess had not followed her.
"This one," Miss Hilde said, pointing to a thick gold bracelet inlaid with small diamonds. "It will match well with the choker His Grace is currently wearing, so he can wear both tomorrow."
Coralina blinked, momentarily confused, before she looked towards the Duchess - and indeed, he was wearing an ornate black pearl choker, just visible through the open collar of his tunic. She turned back to the bracelet, trying to understand how these two accessories would match well together.
"I'll leave the coordination of His Grace's outfit to you, Coralina," Miss Hilde continued. "Your understanding of the latest fashion is better than mine."
Coralina was flattered by the acknowledgment and hoped that was true. She tried to keep an ear and eye out on the latest fads, but given how far the Yuy province was from the Capital where all the fashion trends started, she knew she wasn't as up-to-date as she could be. (This was something she was hoping to rectify while she stayed in the Capital!) Still, to be safe, she would have to choose a timelessly classic outfit for the Duchess to wear until his wardrobe could be updated with the latest Capital trends.
Which was why the accessories were so important. If they looked too flashy, or cheap, or didn't match - the Duchess may become a laughingstock. And he was already working so hard to study the proper etiquette and knowledge to cover his amnesia, so Coralina needed to make sure his attire was something he didn't need to worry about as well.
"Oh, I should speak with Tsubasa to coordinate your outfits!" Coralina gasped out. "You and the Duke can match!"
The Duchess's face colored a delightful pink. "What's with you guys and couple's outfits?! Heero doesn't have to match me every time!"
"I'm sure His Grace the Duke enjoys it," Lady Meilan waved off with a mean little smile. "Just like he enjoys ruining every meal by looking at you as if you were the food on his plate."
"He does not!"
Sir Mikhail's smile was a match in deviancy. "Why do you think Freddy always looks like he's trying to drown himself in his soup?"
"Frederick looks like that because Sayaka keeps bullying him!"
"I do not!" came Sir Sayaka's affronted voice from just outside the tent entrance.
The Duchess stood from his chair, moving towards the entrance. "Yes you do, I heard you talking about his porcupine-grappling skills! And don't think I won't tell that one-eyed freak of a Commander that you're starting an underground porcupine ring!"
"That's harsh from the guy who exploded a tree trunk the other day," Meilan observed.
The Duchess whirled back around. "I already apologized for that!" he whined. "Come on - even you didn't know it would be that combustible!"
The 'it' in question would be the strange mineral the Duchess had been playing experimenting with for over a couple of months now. His experiments had already ruined quite a few tables when confined to his study, and now that they were on the road, the Duchess had taken the new freedom to bring along some samples and see how it reacted to the outdoors. This, in turn, meant setting fire to some while atop a tree trunk and causing a small earth-shaking explosion that had sent a shockwave of alarm across the camp.
The Duke had been impressed; his advisors had been less so. Although Master Quatre mainly was concerned about the Duchess's proximity to the explosion, since his traveling outfit had definitely been singed by it, though the Duchess himself was uninjured.
Coralina glanced back at the Duchess's neck, where the thin golden choker was wrapped around his throat. The golden strands were netted over the expanse of his throat, mostly covering the scars hidden beneath it, with a scattering of tiny diamonds spread among its many intersecting layers.
Coralina blinked. Miss Hilde was right - it would match the bracelet she'd pointed out. Why had Coralina doubted her...? She supposed even Miss Hilde could be struck with fresh inspiration when getting this much fresh air.
Thinking back over the various outfits stowed away in the Duchess's trunks, Coralina needed to offer at least two different options to the Duchess. Much like Miss Hilde, he also tended to rely on his maids to identify the proper outfits to wear, only really choosing for himself on the days where he planned to get dirty or stay inside doing research and experiments.
It was a little different from the Duchess before his amnesia, but not by much. The Duchess's taste had been very... extreme ...before, but there had still been times where he actively asked for their opinions on what clothing he should purchase. Even Coralina, the most fashion-forward of her colleagues, had a hard time figuring out if the Duchess was into fashion at all.
Some of his choices had been so incredibly gaudy it was as if he'd lifted the ideas straight from a poorly-written book. Others were plainly outdated, clothing and accessories tailored in the style of some bygone age, or needlessly ornate when simplicity would have served him better for the occasion.
After his amnesia, his taste in fashion had slowly been petered down to darker colors and simpler designs. At this point, Coralina felt like she was fighting for the more colorful clothing, although she was glad that the Duchess didn't seem to care much either way as long as the garments didn't get too bothersome.
But Coralina knew that for his first day in the Capital, he had to make an impact!
The Duchess had spent far more time than usual - at least, for him - in the provincial Capital. It was known that the Duchess preferred their residence in the Capital, which made it easier to visit the other nobles who made up his inner circle of admirers. Now that the Duchess was making his glorious return, it was Coralina's job to make sure his beauty continued to stun them into compliance.
"Your Grace," Coralina began with fire brimming in her eyes. "Would you prefer an outfit that screams 'envy me all you want, you could never be me' or 'salvation is found beneath the heel I grind you under' ?"
"The options are that extreme?!"
A/N: Coralina has two primary inspirations when it comes to dressing her beloved Duchess: 'he's so pretty I should kill myself' or 'please step on me'. And no, there is no in-between (that's what Kaori and Melissa were for).
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