Chapter 9

"I'm home. Hey, are Percy and that person working?"

"No, they are in the salon. ... Oh, Mimosa, you look absolutely stunning."

"Ah, thank you."

Lucia, who greeted me, saw the mountains of boxes being carried out by the servants from the carriage, then looked at me with wide eyes, seemingly surprised.

Even I could tell it wasn't flattery. The makeup, the neatly styled hair, and the cutest dress I owned. I was as surprised as anyone when I saw myself in the mirror.

The lady led me to the salon in high spirits. Lucia, tasked with putting away the dress, bowed and left.

"Look, Percy. Mimosa looks absolutely stunning."

As soon as we entered the salon, the first words out of my mouth made the Earl and the future Earl turn around, and I timidly stepped in.

It takes courage to show an unfamiliar appearance to others. The plain me from yesterday is gone, so I can't rely on my self-assessment of being plain and potato-like.

With no choice, I straightened my back and entered the salon with a tense face.

The Earl was the first to smile after being surprised.

"You look very beautiful. This style suits you very well. You're adorable."

"..."

"Mr. Percival...?"

For some reason, I timidly called out to the future Earl, who had pressed his lips together and frowned, frozen in place.

I later realized I should have thanked the Earl first, but for some reason, he was hunched over, pressing his forehead. Eh, did he not like it?

"Mimosa, I'm sorry. Percy, when he sees something he likes, he goes into a temporary brain freeze. Right, dear?"

"I apologize. My son, who grew up among men, is not used to women, and the stimulation was a bit too strong. He's probably repeating 'cute' in his head, but it's not coming out. Please show him again at dinner."

"O, oh, I am honored...! Mr. Percival, ... again, later."

"......Ah."

With that, the initial unveiling was over, and the lady and I left the salon to return to our respective rooms.

I heard comments like "What is that?!" "Isn't she too cute?!" "What if the Crown Prince takes a liking to her?!" from behind us, so it seems the Earl and the lady were right, and the future Earl does find me cute.

Feeling relieved, I pressed my hand to my chest, but then the lady said, "You forgot your accessories and shoes," so I tried to stop her from going back to the store, saying, "Not now!"

The accessories I have are, to put it nicely, antiques, and to put it bluntly, outdated. They are all items passed down from my father's mother.

I do think they are necessary, but I was quite tired, so I decided to rest in my room until dinner.

(Called cute... for the first time...)

The things I thought I had no interest in were actually my complexes, which I had distanced myself from.

From tomorrow, I resolved to properly prepare myself to be thought of as cute.