Several days passed, and the conferment day was already the day after tomorrow, and the Castle had never been this chaotic when it came to such grandiose preparations that most nobles looked forward to throughout their lives.


    The first that came to her mind was a dress that inspired her the most; with the collections she had on her phone with an array of pictures, serving motifs of numerous outfits of the day tagged into it, one struck her the most, and would be an excellent choice to have their eyes on her.


    Other than that, she had collections in her luggage; but she couldn''t afford to blow things up lest the incident with Nero happened one more time. It was already a huge strike upon her, creating a great compromise to her objectives.


    Fortunately enough, Athan didn''t pry much into it.


    Now, all she needed to focus on the current tasks she had to put up with was enough time and effort to work on a replica that she had in mind.


    ''Category is: dripping in jewels…'' Thinking about it had the corners of her lips quirked up.


    After days of planning, she then deliberated all of her ideas to those who were more than willing to work for her—her crazy ideas, for the record.


    For this wasn''t the first time she had to work with people, who seemed to be hesitant to settle for the strangeness of her concepts that were rather deviant from the current fashion trend in their era, she had to do it her way, and enough to make it work.


    In the timeline she wrote the novel, the discomfort befell upon women was rather uncomfortable in the name of beauty and fashion.


    Luckily, she was able to save herself from it and started to work on the outfit ever since she transmigrated, and had never gone through the same as the rest of the ladies known in the aristocratic circle.


    It started as a private matter, only for her use, but ever since the booming of Nathalie''s business, more and more artisans started to flock into her workshop.


    But it wasn''t that easy, for she had to monitor and filter them, one by one. For most, she avoided several spies and cunning competitors that would''ve taken her out before she could even gain a foothold in the business, which isn''t as saturated as the rest.


    With Arnold backing her up, things were going all in her favor.


    Soon as she put up an announcement, calling all of the best craftsmen into her golden tasks, many lined up and were hand-picked by her. After which, she put up several instructions, and since then, things sailed with ease.


    In the atelier, Nathalie had instructed a few skilled tailors, who would be able to create separate patterns for a gown she would wear for the occasion.


    She strutted her way, clacking her heels in a slower tempo, into one of the artisans, who had her eyes focused onto one of the sleeve patterns, working on the flower embroidery patched into it with a mound of prismatic stones just in front of her work table.


    Drawing an inch closer to her, without saying a word, had the artisan realized too late of her presence, making her flinch out of her stead, and faltered. "...Your Grace—!"


    She moved as soon as she noticed, creaking her chair as she dragged it backward, before standing. However, when she did, Nathalie was there, holding her shoulders down in place.


    [Don''t mind me...]


    Her indigo eyes took a glance at the masterpiece that almost emerged from the tulle fabric—a train of intricate violas designed alongside a few twigs sprawled to it. Her eyes glimmered as the current phase of her dress had yet to take form despite the impact it had on her.


    [You''ve done a great job; keep it up.]


    Withal, the worker nodded, and continued to do what she ought to do; after which, she went to check for another group, who worked on the hem of the gown and the waist. They already finished the embroidering and worked on the glimmering stones, now segregated into their group of shades with adhesives beneath them.


    The stark shimmer on the stone was deemed of high-quality, so pristine enough to reflect off an ounce of light to her eyes.


    Nathalie had been going on this for days, and especially when she entered the atelier every chance she would''ve gotten.


    Yet, unbeknownst to her, Arnold sauntered into the atelier, looking around the rather high-ceiling and spacious chamber filled with shelves and wardrobes on the side, and several refectory tables at the center.


    He then stood beside his daughter; peering sideways, her eyes sparkled and immersed on the butchered patterns of different groups of artisans. Upon clearing his throat, she jolted and snapped her head in his direction.


    [Father!]


    "Well, well, I see you''ve been rather frequent in this… The workshop you have here…" He arched his neck, overlooking them all with clasped hands on his back.


    [But of course, I''ve been waiting for this moment, after all.]


    "I''m seeing… These crazy stones piled up on every table, with different shades of colors. I''ve seen this before in your store, but only for the ornaments."


    [Yes, Father.]


    "What does it have to do with this ''gown'' then?"


    Meanwhile, Nathalie giggled from his utter curiosity.


    Then, he squinted his eyes with a subtle frown as though he cast a doubt on what she planned for an outfit she put a lot of dedication into.


    He started to nibble his lip, observing further. "You swore you''d tell me, but you keep on hiding it."


    [Everything''s right in front of you.]


    "Though I don''t even see any full-length dresses here? Even the ready-made corset or handsewn petticoat seemed absent, is it not the case?"


    A curt nod was all she did, and it cracked his face.


    "What?! Impossible, all I''m seeing is the same thing for the past few days." After that, his eyes gleamed sheer cold, almost pricking her skin. "If you happened to be bare naked in front of those despicable pack of imbecile whoremongrels, then I would have to leave you here, grounded."


    [I wouldn''t.]


    "Good." Arnold let out a harrumph, then scoured back at her creation. "I still don''t get the pattern. Am I to understand it when the time comes?"


    [Granted.] She had a smug smirk, and it only gave him goosebumps for what was to come.


    ''All of them haven''t seen the last of it…''