Swish
Along with the slight sound of the curtain sliding, Elena only stuck her head out, as if observing whether there were any strangers in the shop at the moment.
“Don’t be so reluctant, little Elena. It looks great—”
Kelly encouraged loudly.
But Kelly’s loud yelling had the opposite effect, even attracting the attention of pedestrians outside the window, who curiously peered into the shop.
This made Elena even more reluctant to step out of the fitting room.
“Miss Elena… come out and look in the mirror, see how it looks?”
“If you don’t come out, I’ll go with Fen—Mmph! Mmmph—”
The shopkeeper quickly covered the troublemaker’s mouth.
“Miss Elena, you need to be more confident in your appearance… and you don’t want to live in my fitting room forever, do you?”
Swish—
This time Elena seemed to muster her courage, finally pulling the half-closed curtain fully open, presenting her outfit to the two.
The shopkeeper, including Kelly whose mouth was still covered, were secretly astonished.
It wasn’t that it didn’t suit her—rather… it suited her too well, as if the outfit was tailor-made for the young girl.
The dress was light beige at the base, with light silver stitching gently spreading along the seams.
The small round collar was neither flashy nor unfashionable, perfectly revealing her delicate, smooth neck while outlining her soft jawline.
The long sleeves were gathered at the wrists, and the skirt fell naturally, so it wouldn’t be as wide, heavy, or inconvenient for movement like other dresses.
A dark brown leather belt was tied around the girl’s waist, firmly cinching her slender figure, making her look neat and tidy, with a bit of heroic spirit.
“Take a few steps?”
Elena did so.
The girl took small steps, the skirt swaying gently.
Feeling the soft touch of the skirt against her thighs, Elena felt for the first time that this might not be such a bad thing.
Originally, because of her habits as a man that she hadn’t yet corrected, her steps were too large.
This made the whole action look strange and awkward, completely unlike the behavior of a young girl in her prime.
But now, the long skirt nicely covered and also restricted her thighs.
Instead, it reminded Elena of her current identity as a girl—to pay attention to her posture and gait.
As for the corset…
Although Elena was very reluctant to admit that this sinful thing that aroused others’ desires (at least, in her own opinion) had any use…
But as they say, practice leads to true knowledge—
Our former Paladin had to admit that wearing this… at least that thing was secured…
At least it wouldn’t jiggle after a few steps…
And… the strange sensation of clothes rubbing against her chest disappeared…
Carefully feeling the soft fabric binding her… the sense of security from being wrapped and secured, the girl suddenly felt incomparably at ease.
‘Alright… this dress does have some merits.’
The girl made peace with the corset.
“See, I told you! Little Elena is a beauty!”
“Very heroic, very dashing—”
Whether to encourage a beginner or something, the two did not hold back their praise.
‘Is it really that good-looking?’
Elena was secretly surprised, then looked at herself in the full-length mirror.
Indeed…
The cream-white dress was cinched by the belt, the cuffs tightened for mobility… plus the simple, neat low ponytail and the sharp gaze that had once been unique to Elian… now she only lacked a sword scabbard and pouch at her waist, and some light armor for protection, and she would be no different from the female knights of the Knight Order…
“I told you earlier, my disciple looks good in anything! I wanted to give little Elena those clothes, and you wouldn’t let me!”
“Little Elena—do come again, you might have the potential to be a model—”
The fragmented words of Kelly and the shopkeeper reached her ears, but the girl didn’t care and had no mind to listen.
She was like a traveler who had trekked long in the desert, joyfully gazing at the mirror—finding her own oasis.
It seemed… she was not Elian… as if she was born to be Elena, a carefree young girl in the prime of her youth…
Looking at the goddess-like beautiful face, she was almost entranced, and a glint appeared in her eyes that did not belong to the knight Elian.
They called her little Elena…
Even the children from the orphanage before… called her beautiful big sister…
Since her body changed, Fen, in order to take care of her… tried not to laugh and joke with her as before, but instead gave her meticulous care and concern different from that of a friend—as if she were truly his little sister…
This feeling of being taken care of, being looked after… had always been something Elian unconditionally gave to others.
So this was the advantage of this body?
So mother… so Nora and Lila had always experienced… was this the feeling of happiness under her care?
Is this happiness?
Elena had a sick obsession with pursuing happiness.
Of course, she also knew that this thought was a poisonous snake, a poison, a whisper of the devil tempting the heart.
But it made her a little unable to extricate herself.
This feeling of being watched, cherished, pitied—these were things that the man Elian, the Paladin Elian, had no chance to experience.
Just being noticed could make her so overjoyed, because it seemed to prove the meaning of her existence.
This gave her an unprecedented sense of satisfaction—telling her that she didn’t need to bear responsibilities, didn’t need to be responsible for others, and still seemed to become happy.
It only required a small price.
It only required her to abandon Elian’s identity and thoughts.
The girl in the mirror absentmindedly touched her own face.
How nice… isn’t it?
Fen said she cared too much about others…
So if she acted willful once in a while, was a little selfish… it wouldn’t be a problem, right?
For the first time, the first time in her life, a selfish thought formed in the girl’s heart.
No need to worry about the chaotic affairs of the Knight Order… no need to worry about maintaining the Order’s dignity in front of outsiders… and no need to worry about Elian’s reputation anymore…
Now herself—effortlessly… could make the elements obey her commands…
This body had unparalleled magical talent… a beautiful, goddess-like appearance…
No matter how upright… no matter how famous in the Holy Capital… weren’t these things that that man, that knight who could never achieve results no matter how hard he tried, couldn’t earn in a lifetime?
She had actually despised this body back then?
Elena suddenly felt that her former self was absurd, laughably absurd.
But on the surface, she only gave a smile to the mirror—a smile of a young girl, shy yet harmless.
Hmm… doesn’t this show… that she was becoming more qualified in playing the role of a young girl…
‘This also means… no one will connect me with Elian…’
Thinking this, Elena nodded in satisfaction.
Then… then she would continue… continue playing the part?
…
While Elena was having this storm of thoughts, Kelly seemed never to feel tired, and was now bickering with the shopkeeper.
“Hey—boss, I’ve been wanting to ask you something—”
The little girl, whose mouth had been covered, started moving restlessly again.
“Speak.”
“Why do you need to measure little Elena’s measurements—but when you pick clothes for me, you never ask for mine?”
“Well,” the middle-aged woman sneered.
“Because some people’s pitiful figure doesn’t need measuring; it can be estimated with the naked eye.”
I see…
Wait…
“Hey! Are you secretly mocking me? Even though I’m not tall… and not that big, I still have something!”
Kelly protested angrily.
Where exactly?
Although she thought this in her heart, the shopkeeper knew that if she said that, she would be pestered by Kelly, so she had to go along with the girl.
“Alright, alright… then our well-endowed Great Magician lady, allow me to settle the bill first—two pieces of clothing for a total of three gold coins…”
Oh no! She didn’t have much money in her pockets now!
“Uh—”
“… “
“You don’t have money, do you?”
The shop owner’s eyes already flashed a dangerous red light…
The carefree Great Magician, whose rent was even paid by others, finally remembered this, and her face turned a scared liver color.
“…I’ll pay for my master first…”
“Ha… haha—”
The Great Magician forced a dry laugh to maintain dignity.
Elena shook her head, looking helplessly at her cheap master.
…