Heroine On Strike

Act 11. Seek, then you shall receive.

The next day, Countess Setin, whose business became a huge success thanks to Ella, sent five new dresses to her to express her gratitude. Among those dresses, two of them had special embroidery that she mentioned would take weeks to complete. The miracle of money worked in any world. It was easy to see how thankful Setin was just by looking at the number of details put into these dresses.

“Milady, what about this dress?”

“I think this one looks good too.”

“I guess the rumors are true that the Countess earned a fortune. My, look at all these gems!”

Among the dresses she sent for today’s party, the green dress had emeralds sewn onto each of the points. With the Countess’s unique patterns in place, the dress looked more lavish than ever.

Joanne, who loved beautiful things, was so excited that her lips were pushed all the way up to her ears. There were five beautiful and mesmerizing dresses and accessories that matched each one. It was easy to see how happy she was right now.

Mesmerized by the dresses, Joanne suddenly woke from her dream-like state and spoke to Ella about the news she had just remembered, “That’s right! Milady. Lina told me that the Countess hired 30 more ladies. It’s rumored that her sales have increased threefold after your visit to her boutique.”

Lina was a servant that helped with Joanne’s work. She lived off the estate, so she often brought news from the streets like this. But 30 more people? The Countess must have received a lot of orders as her place was always packed with her employees, so she needed more to meet the demand.

“I don’t like that it’s becoming a uniform,” ranted Ella.

“Uniform? What’s that, milady?” Mari asked after hearing Ella’s small rant.

‘Huh? What’s with me?’

Ella became startled on her own. That should’ve ended as she had thought. There were times when she spoke out loud, but her words always automatically changed to fit the vocabulary of this world by Luciella’s body. Because of that, she had been less careful and spoke whatever she wanted. So, what is going on now? Ella blanked out in response to the words she had spoken without any filter.

Curiously, Mari looked at her. On the other hand, Ella felt cold sweat running down her back. To Mari, Ella was the daughter of a gracious family that appointed her brother, a commoner, as a knight. Because her brother was very skilled, if he continued to work diligently, it’s very likely he will be given the title of a low-ranking noble in the future.

Mari dreamed of the day that she would become a noble and always had her eye on everything about Ella. To her, she was the standard of what a noble was.

“I… I said it’s anyone with a formal dress.” Ella hid her startled mind with a kind lady’s face and answered Mari.

Touched by Ella’s kind voice, Mari nodded, “You’re worried that everyone might try to copy you? I’m sure you’ll be the most beautiful lady even if everyone wears the same.”

“Of course. Countess Setin sent a message that your dress was specially made, so you don’t need to worry about that,” added Joanne.

“Yeah?” asked Ella.

“Yes. She said she’ll pay you back double the amount if a similar dress appears,” answered Joanne.

“It’s fine if she keeps that promise.”

At Ella’s unimpressed-sounding voice, Joanne spoke in a heightened tone, “You should be more sensitive about this, milady! I heard that the Countess’s boutique had over 400 orders this time. You have to make her never make the same dress like yours!”

“Yeah, alright. Smila, you heard that?” said Ella.

“Yes, milady. I’ll relay the message,” answered Smila.

Joanne returned to choosing dresses with a satisfied expression while Ella returned to her thoughts. ‘Over 400 orders! How much will I be getting for the price of designing then?’