"You pa.s.s, Mellice-san."

The days pa.s.sed, and I now had one year before I would enroll in the Academy.

That being said, as the preparations were completed in advance, I didn"t need to do anything in particular for my enrollment, so I was taking lessons as usual.

And then suddenly, Aurelisama said that.

"……Aurelisama, by "pa.s.s" you mean?"

I tilted my head slightly and asked thus.

"My my……Mellice-san. Of course, it is with regards to the fruits of your lessons."

Aurelisama made a pleasantly happy laugh.

……..I feel like this was the first time I"ve ever seen Aurelisama laugh so happily.

"Your manners as a lady are already perfect enough that you will not be embarra.s.sed no matter where you go……..you really have worked hard."

At her smile that exuded kindness, I also felt a smile form naturally on my face.

"Thank you very much, Aurelisama."

"There is no need for thanks. It is for the sake of my future daughter-in-law……..and above all else, it was possible because of your efforts. I will say it once more, but you really have worked hard."

"It"s because I had Aurelisama"s guidance……..and also because Rui was next to me."

"My…….you really have a harmonious relationship."

Aurelisama giggled.

"Are your preparations for enrolling into the Academy going well?"

"They"ve already been completed."

"Is that so? …….if that"s the case, then there shouldn"t be anything difficulties preventing you from focussing on your debut preparations."

"My debut, is it?"

It"s finally come, I thought as my heart became slightly heavy.

When a high society debut occurred was decided by each individual house, but generally occurred between the ages of 12 to 18.

Most people generally had their debut at around the age of 14 or 15, so that was the standard age for the debut.

"If you hasten your preparations now, then you should be able to do it just before enrolling in the Academy. First off, I"ve already called a tailor, so let"s start taking your measurements and make the preparations for your dress."

"Eh, right now?"

Rather, based on how things were going, it seems like the Armelia Ducal House will end up doing all the preparations for me.

…….although since my family only had men in it, I would be quite grateful to have Aurelisama overseeing everything.

"Yes, indeed."

Clap clap, Aurelisama clapped her hands together.

Before long, Alf brought a single woman into the room.

"This lady here is Madame Créjour. She is a tailor with whom I am intimate with."

After Aurelisama"s introduction, Créjour lowered her head.

"Well then, Créjour. Please take her measurements."

Following that, Créjour stood next to me and began to measure here and there.

Thanks to her skillful hands, we finished faster than I expected.

"Aurelisama. Do you have any particular desires with regards to the design of the dress?"

"Let"s see…….what colour does Madame think would suit her?"

"That is difficult……..her complexion is very white, so it feels like she"d be capable of handling any colour. However, since it is her debut after all, how about making the best of her youth and using a light colour?"

Saying that, Créjour took out a number of cloth samples.

After pressing me to stand up, she placed the clothes along my shoulder. 

As there were a number of them, she continually placed and removed them in order.

"My……all of them look lovely. Mellice-san, do you have any preferred colour?"

I pondered internally at Aurelisama"s question.

As there were a number of different colours, it was honestly quite difficult to differentiate between them.

"……..Créjour, what is that one?"

When I surveyed the unfolded clothes, I became curious about one of the clothes that hadn"t been put out and pointed my finger towards it.

"Ahh……this is the product before it"s been dyed. I accidentally brought it with me."

A pure white cloth. That strangely pulled at my heartstrings.

"That cloth is good."

"This one is?"

Even while she appeared a bit bewildered, Créjour placed it against me.

"If that"s the case, then how about overlapping it with a thin light blue silk along the back? Right, if we tighten it there with that cloth……."

Aurelisama instructed Créjour.

Créjour faithfully followed her directions.

"My! How lovely."

As it gradually came to shape, Créjour exposed a joyful expression.

"If that"s the case, Aurelisama, how about embroidering the cuffs with a silver thread? I"ll sew on some small diamonds."

"That would be good."

"And then, we can instead make the thin silk white and overlap it……so that when she moves, it will make it so that the white cloth can faintly be seen? Something like this."

"Oh my, doing it like that would be fantastic. If we also make the sash white……right, like that."

……and then, my dress was decided on by Créjour and Aurelisama"s heated discussion.

"Well then, I will go to begin the dressmaking. Please take care of me in the future as well."

With the dress decided upon, Créjour left with a satisfied face.

……as for me, I was overwhelmed by Aurelisama"s unusually enthusiastic state, and felt a bit tired as it ended, sitting down on a chair.

Though I felt tired, I naturally did not allow my posture to slacken.

"My apologies, Mellice-san. I wanted to try choosing a dress with my daughter. So I unconsciously ended up making merry."

Aurelisama revealed a wry smile as she said that.

"No. With Aurelisama"s supervision, I will be able to have a peace of mind as my debut approaches. Thank you very much."

"I am happy to hear that. All that"s left are your accessories, but……let"s match them to the dress after the preparations for it advance a bit more."

"Yes, let"s do that."

"Fufufu, I"m looking forward to the future. This will be the debut of my cute daughter……not only that, but the disciple whom I"ve personally brought up."

She appeared happy as her eyes narrowed and she smiled.

"I am unworthy of those words, Aurelisama."

I felt a warm feeling flowing through my chest.

It was at the fact that Aurelisama thought of myself as her own daughter.

At the same time, the image of my deceased mother and Aurelisama overlapped.

……if Mother were still alive, I wonder if she would be like Aurelisama, preparing for my debut with such lively spirits.

I"m sure that"s what would have happened.

Aurelisama seemed to have read my innermost thoughts, as her smile deepened further in apparent agreement.