"Hmm..."
After finishing my meal and returning to my room, I began pondering how to accomplish the task Mother had assigned me.
Or at least, that's what I wanted to say.
In reality, I was just burying my head on the desk and staring at the paper without doing much of anything.
I couldn't help it—nothing was coming to mind at all.
Especially for the maid uniforms.
I had a vague idea for the butler uniforms floating in my head, but as for the maid outfits, I had no clue what to even tweak.
"Young Master."
As I was mindlessly dotting meaningless marks on the paper, Emily—who had pulled up a chair nearby and was sitting there—narrowed her eyes and cautiously called out to me.
"Why?"
"Is there a reason you've been sneaking glances at me nonstop since earlier?"
"Was I?"
"Yes. Our eyes met every ten seconds."
"Huh..."
It had been almost subconscious.
Probably because I was so frustrated, I couldn't keep my eyes still.
I set the pencil down on the paper, leaned back in my chair, and stared up at the ceiling.
"After you left the dining room, Mother gave me two tasks, remember?"
"You didn't get scolded?"
"I did get scolded, but anyway—she gave me two tasks, and I gladly said I'd handle them."
"Yes."
"But now that I'm actually sitting here at the desk, I have no idea where to start."
"Where are you stuck?"
"The maid uniform."
"What did Madam say?"
"Mother said the direction for the maid uniform was too vague and to fix it. But to me, the maid uniform is already perfect."
"And that's why you kept looking my way..."
"I don't know what to change."
"..."
Emily's head drooped downward.
Did she not have any ideas either?
"Haah..."
I sighed and rubbed my face with my palms.
I needed something to clear my head—whether a change of pace or some sleep.
"Tsk..."
I clicked my tongue lightly and stood up from my seat.
"Uuung..."
"Y-Young Master."
"Hm?"
As I stretched my arms high overhead, Emily—who had been staring down at her own clothes—cautiously called out to me.
"What's up?"
"When do you wear these clothes?"
"When receiving guests, of course."
"I see."
Emily lifted her head with a smile and met my eyes.
"Then, to my eyes, there seem to be two problem spots."
"What?"
It had been at most a minute.
She spotted two issues in that short time—ones I hadn't found despite agonizing for dozens of minutes.
Stunned, I stared blankly at her, and Emily flashed a triumphant smile as she pointed to her chest with a finger.
"First, the buttons for fastening the clothes need to be moved to the back or hidden."
"Why?"
"Madam once said that for dresses, the beauty lies in buttons or laces not being visible. If you're curious, take a close look at Madam's or the Lady's dresses."
"But your original outfit had laces up front."
"We cover them with the apron anyway. And most importantly, we never appear before guests."
"Ah."
I'd overcomplicated things and overlooked this simple detail.
Now I understood why Mother had told me to consult Emily.
"Ha... So, what's the other one?"
Feeling deflated from wasting time fumbling alone, I let out a dry chuckle and asked about the other problem Emily had found.
Emily pointed to the sleeve cuffs and the neckline.
"The collar and cuffs need to be detachable."
"Why? Wouldn't that actually be more inconvenient?"
"Because washing is a hassle. You can't wash the whole outfit just because the sleeves or collar got dirty."
"But attached ones look prettier and more..."
"Then will you do the laundry, Young Master?"
"..."
I clamped my mouth shut, avoiding Emily's prickly glare as she shot back sharply.
When the person handling the housework says it's tough, what could I possibly say?
The key to long survival in high places is listening to those below—so I dropped the stubbornness and immediately apologized.
"Sorry, you're right."
"Thank you."
Emily's expression softened at once, and she dipped her head gratefully.
"Anything else besides those?"
"Hmm... Wouldn't a hair cap be better than a hairband for the head?"
"Ah, that you'll keep using the original. The hairband's just for you."
"Uh... Then I think that's all."
"Really?"
So yes—the parts I needed to adjust were the buttons, sleeves, and collar.
It shouldn't take long.
If I dove in quick, I could wrap it up by noon.
I jabbed a thumb toward the wardrobe.
"Then change into the clothes to alter right now."
"Yes."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Thanks to Emily, the roadblock was cleared, and work progressed swiftly after that.
"Emily, the clothes you've been wearing carry a nice fragrance."
"...Young Master, please show a lady some consideration."
"Ah, sorry..."
The alterations kicked off amid Emily's icy glare.
"How should the cuffs be done?"
"A length of about half a forearm would be good—it prevents the clothes from getting dirty. And the collar should cover at least half the neck."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"Hmm... Can you make them nice and stiff, so they hold their shape?"
"Easy if there's interlining fabric."
First, using leftover fabric from yesterday, I crafted detachable collars and cuffs.
"You need at least two buttons each, or they might slip off while working."
"Two on the collar above the collarbone, and for the cuffs? Around the wrist? Or toward the armpit?"
"Toward the armpit, please."
"Got it."
I sewed buttons onto the existing sleeves and collar, creating spots to secure the detachable parts.
"This padding won't get in the way when buttoning up, right?"
"This much fabric shouldn't interfere."
As a final touch, I added a long strip of fabric along the front placket line to hide the buttons when fastened. And with that, the maid uniform tweaks were done by morning.
After neatly trimming all the loose threads I'd overlooked earlier, I stood and unfurled the altered dress.
Top to bottom, bottom to top.
After scanning it thoroughly several times for flaws, I held it out toward Emily.
"What do you think?"
"Hmm..."
Emily's eyes narrowed, her gaze darting busily.
In the silence, she eyed the black dress like she was taking it apart piece by piece, then softly curled her lips and delivered a simple verdict.
"It's perfect."
"Yeah?"
"Then the guest-facing maid uniform design is locked in like this."
"Yes."
Design finalized—all that remained was sketching the three-view diagram on paper.
I neatly folded the dress and handed it to Emily, then glanced at the clock on the desk.
Lunchtime in just a few minutes.
"Shall we tackle the rest after eating?"
"Yes."
You've got to eat your meals properly, no matter what.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Unlike the maids, the butlers already had their own uniforms each.
Because unlike maids handling chores out of sight, butlers manage outings with the employer, greeting guests, errands, serving at banquets or meals, and more—they're already visible for all sorts of duties.
So butlers didn't strictly need brand-new uniforms, but what Mother had requested this time was a 'new uniform to match the maid outfits.'
Thus, I planned to split the butler uniforms into full formal dress and casual formal wear via this chance.
Promote their existing outfits to full formal for big events, and make the new ones versatile, like casual suits.
"The butler uniform will be tailcoats."
"Tailcoats?"
"Yeah."
And the pick for that was tailcoats.
In terms we're familiar with, tailcoats.
If the image popping into your head is the coat with two tails that butlers always sport in novels or comics, you're spot on.
The reason tailcoats were invented was purely practical: easier movement.
In Europe, up through the 18th century, coats hanging to the knees counted as nobles' formal wear.
But they were a nightmare for active knights or horseback lovers, so trimming the hem for mobility birthed the tailcoat.
As the origin suggests, tailcoats began as activewear, but after twists and turns, they settled as nobles' formalwear in modern times. Then as trends shifted to other suits, tailcoats—now passé—ended up as butler garb.
Of course, still dignified formalwear for key occasions, but that's all previous-world history.
"Isn't that what knights wear?"
"Yeah, nobles throw them on for riding sometimes too."
"I see."
In this world, tailcoats were still activewear.
Truly a stroke of luck.
If they'd evolved into nobles' formalwear, I'd have pivoted to classic suits or tuxedos—which would've felt off.
To me, butlers scream tailcoats, and tailcoats scream butlers. That's just common sense.
Challenging that? Unthinkable.
"But Young Master, tailcoats mean crafting the coat, vest, pants, and shirt as a set. Can you draft and sew them all within a week?"
"Well... I'll give it my all."
"You're not planning another all-nighter, right?"
"Haha, I'll try not to."
"Definitely not, right?"
"Hahaha!"
"Ugh! Young Masteeerr!"