Chapter 34: Vanessa’s Secret?
In my hands was a puffy, frilly, pink dress adorned with tiny white sheep.
Staring at myself in the mirror, the reflection of my silver white mask clashed back at me as I contemplated my many options.
Option 1: Put on this pink dress for little girls.
Option 2: Don't put on the pink dress for little girls.
That's a lot of options.
Sighing, I reaffirmed my goals.
Figure out what's going on with this Domain of Light by getting closer to Yulei so that I can save Esme.
Then, I glared at the soft-to-the-touch dress clasped in my gloved hands.
If I put this on, it'll improve my relationship with Yulei.
I sighed again.
...
Putting this on would affirm what I've been trying to deny for so long.
...
"...Alright."
In the end, I accepted my fate.
Promptly removing my dark pants and white frilly shirt, the mirror introduced me to the person that is Alora; slender, pale legs and a body that would be difficult to tell apart from a boy's if not for the slight contours.
My body; its body.
Once again sighing, I lifted the dress and began figuring out how dresses worked.
---
Three baby musketeers whispered amongst each other's company.
Their eyes occasionally flashed to the changing room's curtain as they awaited the appearance of the one within.
Swoosh!
All eyes turned to the curtain as it opened.
Clack.
The tiny girl within stepped out.
Like snakes, their eyes trailed across the dress, clinging loosely to her, at the perfect blend of golden hair resting gently upon the pink cloth. The tiny embroidery of white sheep drew out a sense of cuteness that the plain clothing she had previously worn could never bring out.
Even with the silver white mask, it couldn't hinder her beauty.
"Perfect!"
"...Wow, little dummy..."
"Remmy shirt next!"
Googly eyes clung to Alora while their hands pushed piles of clothes at her.
From red dresses, Remmy mascot shirts, to cute skirts overflowing with accessories and adorable little imagery.
The air around Alora was practically swimming with cuteness.
---
At the same time, a grumpy little mouse was being observed by some of the staff members.
Its long black hair swished about as it darted around in search of the other little mouse that had escaped its grasp.
"Jill! Where did you go?! I have a purple skirt for you! It's from your favourite play!" Terrifying words escaped her lips as Vanessa, with a skirt for girls in hand, roamed around the store in search of the escaped inmate.
Passing by one staff member, she looked at them and asked, "Have you seen him anywhere? The boy with green hair!"
"Sorry, Miss, I have not."
Vanessa, frowning, turned and walked past the lady with a grumpy, adorable face.
While right behind the staff member, a flutter of green poked out from around the corner, "Thank you..."
Jill gave the staff member a thumbs-up with his usual stiff voice.
Smiling, she waved and walked off.
Now that he had escaped the grip of that terrifying little mouse, Jill made it his goal to escape out of this damned shop before Vanessa put him in those clothes again.
If Hildekar or Elden spotted him in a dress, skirt or other girly clothes-
"Ew..."
He didn't even want to imagine the shame of it all.
Standing on his tippy toes, Jill snuck around the store, making sure to avoid the ruckus of Esme, Hilda, Yulei and Alora. The most difficult part of it all was avoiding Vanessa, her snooping nose almost caught scent of him multiple times.
If not for the staff-
'I'd be in a skirt now.'
Shaking the image out of his head, Jill almost gagged as he shot out of the store.
Taking in a breath of fresh air, he wiped the sweat from his head as his butler came along out of the store to his side.
"Master Jill, where would you like to go while you wait for the Ladies?"
Jill, rubbing his dark eyes, was thinking for a moment-
"Oh? Jill?"
Until his voice broke the silence.
Jill's eyes shot to the side, to where a taller boy with black hair was standing with flickering eyes.
"...Elden."
The third boy of the three: Hildekar, the silver-haired one, Jill, the green-haired one, and Elden, the black-haired one.
Snickering, Elden pointed at Jill's scalp, "You're a cat today?! Pft!!!" A laugh spat out of his mouth as he clutched the back of his head with glee.
Patting the top of his head, Jill's face flushed red with embarrassment.
'Vanessa!!!'
A pair of green cat ears was on his head.
Sizzling with shame, Jill plucked them off, tossed them onto the ground-
Crack!
-and stomped them into smithereens.
"...Why are you here?" Wiping the remnants off his foot, Jill spat with slight aggravation in his normally stiff voice.
"No reason." Elden smiled with blatant lies that anyone could discern if they had any level of social intelligence.
Naturally, Jill could smell the lies from a million miles away.
"Sure, no reason."
Sharply turning away, Jill motioned for his butler to follow as he headed to a different store, this one being specifically designed for boys of a young age.
It was aptly named:
[Sparked]
The sister store of Sparkles, one was for boys and the other for girls.
"Come on~ I'm not lying!" Catching up to Jess, Elden playfully patted his arm-
Thwack!
-but it was promptly swatted away by Jill, his eyes didn't look too happy at the moment.
Shrugging, "Whatever." Elden halted his teasing once he noticed that Jill was losing his mood for jokes.
"Don't follow me."
"Okay."
"...I said don't."
"Okay."
Clicking his teeth, Jill stepped into the vibrant, oceanic-coloured store.
"Welcome, Sirs!" The ladies within the relatively quiet store welcomed the boys with bright smiles.
While it was a store designed for boys, most of the staff were still women. Fashion, in the end, was mostly dominated by women; not to mention, it was easier to attract boys of noble stature to visit the store if pretty ladies manned the tills.
Business is business.
---
"Yulei, you should try this Remmy hair tie. Your hair would be so pretty in a ponytail or a side tail!" Hilda hounded Yulei with suggestions that the girl welcomed with open arms.
When it came to Remmy and desserts, the two were inseparable.
They clicked like two pieces of a puzzle.
Esme, too, was...
"So pretty~"
Lily pinched her face, moulding her chubby cheeks as she tossed one set of clothes after another at her. Her taste, however, was odd:
"...Lilwly, whyyy tis shwirt wit a wit cat?" She struggled the words out of her stretched mouth.
Dressed in a cat-print shirt and white shorts, Esme stood with a pouty face due to Lily breaking her professional standards. As much as Lily was her maid, she was also a teenager interested in fashion and messing around.
Unlike breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and tea times arranged via noble invitation, an outing like this with everyone had no requirements for etiquette or the usual strict standards of dress and speech eloquence.
Meeting up at Yulei's spot was one of the few times their little friend group had a chance to break out of their tight bubbles and let loose.
...But, having said all that, Esme came out here with a goal.
So, she only just noticed amidst the joy...
"...Huh?"
Her teary yet bubbly eyes flinched, then they shot around the vicinity.
"What's wrong, Esme?" Lily casually asked.
Esme grabbed Lily's hands and peeled them off, then, pointing around, she said:
"Where's Alora?"
Alora had gone missing.
"And, where's Vanessa?"
Not to mention, Vanessa also could no longer be heard chattering around the store.
...As for Jill, she already knew where he had run off to.
-----
I hid between the counter and the hallway leading deeper into the store.
A mess of Curses flooded my system whilst quiet, flickering Cursed Flames burnt the scent threatening to waft off my body into nothingness.
The amalgamation of Curses fired into full force as I aggravated them; I get it, so just shut up for one second.
Biting my lips, I peeked at the girl walking deeper into the depths of the store with bloodshot eyes.
Her black hair stood out amidst a city filled with a majority of people bearing brown hair.
What are you doing, Vanessa?
Vanessa's smile was nowhere to be found.
Instead, a strict face and nervous, clammy palms, sticky with dripping sweat, were all I could see on her. She followed a suited, middle-aged man with a management tag on his suit to a door labelled for staff only.
The last thing I had expected to spot today was Vanessa using this opportunity to sneak off somewhere with a staff member.
Is this why she led us to Sparkles?
Her prior demeanour, recommending this shop, and the fact that she led the unwilling Jill away from us...
Did she know Jill would escape her clutch, leaving her alone and away from prying eyes?
"This way, Lady Vanessa."
"You have my gratitude."
Holding the staff door open for her, she walked into the room first, and he followed after her steps-
Thud.
-then the door shut behind them, leaving me to contemplate my next plan of action.
With no other staff member in the vicinity, and the door to Vanessa's little secret right before me:
I should go.
My decision came immediately.
Why hesitate when another venue to the secrets of this Domain could be sitting right behind a set of unlocked doors in a random store in the city?
Rightmother?
Flashes of chestnut tickled my neck whilst sharp rays of blue cut through my vision.
Smiling;
Thankyoumother.
Ugh!
Slamming my head with the back of my palm, I rattled my dazed thoughts back to reality. I had split my consciousness into daydreaming again.
Concentrate.