41st Dawn - Tension in the New Workplace

Silky straight pitch black hair, delicate eyelashes framing a pair of magenta pupils, and rosy lips - no doubt, standing before me now is that crossdressing woman from before.

"So, you're this Lillian Daffodil..." she started, voice gruffly.

By then, I know that we already recognized each other. She really shouldn't be acting so grumpy since she's the one who forced me into an alley back then, though. I only wanted to confirm that she's the crossdresser that time. She has no reason to be like this.

"My name's Alessandra, daughter of Baron Pierre. I work here as my father's associate designer and instructor," she continued, lacking ebullience.

We're now sitting across from each other inside the office which turns out to be hers. She's dressed in a white duffle coat and a turquoise crinolette dress underneath. She also wears a teal top hat, a pair of black gloves, and green stiletto heels. Even with just a single glance, it's easy to know that she's a noble lady.

"Good day, Miss. I'm Lillian," I greeted back, a bit too timid for my liking.

Then, she snorts.

I find her mustering an obnoxious smirk all of the sudden, probably belittling me. She then examines me from head to toe before sneering at my face.

"It isn't my business to interrupt with Father's affairs, so like he ordered, I'll just tour you around and explain everything you need to know. Hope you can catch up quickly."

With that, the fact that she doesn't like me finally registered. It seems like she's the type who judges a book by its cover. Though I'm miffed at how judgemental she can be, I decided to just zip my mouth and hope I can manage to deal with her. She'll probably be my instuctor, after all.

For the rest of the morning, Alessandra takes me around the enormous headquarter.

Both the official employees and apprentices of Freya work in this building, but are stationed into separate rooms. There are the offices for the workers and the studio for the apprentices. The workshop is divided into different departments that classify their courses - merchants or marketers, sartors and seamstresses, textile specialists, and most importantly, the designers.

"Father and I teach the designers. The apprentices from the other courses are handled by the head managers in their respective departments," Alessandra explained.

Listening to all of these makes my heart race with exhilaration. I'm getting more and more feverish by the second as Alessandra continues running her mouth. I just can't believe I'm finally starting, and it makes me want to leap in joy and make a dash all around the place out of excitement.

"Oh, I forgot. Miss Alessandra, may I ask when I'll be having the trial test?" I inquired, still walking side by side with the indifferent woman.

"You're not going to take any. Father already approved of you."

What Tristan said is true after all.

However, instead of feeling overjoyed for surpassing this hurdle, I can't seem to feel assured or accomplished. The pressure's already there the moment I learned he agreed to take me, which also means that he's expecting a lot. Besides, I'm not the type who likes taking things the easy way, though I did like the idea of marrying a noble instead of working before.

"Just so you know, Father approving you doesn't mean everybody else did..." Alessandra muttered out of nowhere, much to my surprise.

After she dropped that baffling statement, we enter a lavish studio occupied by at least a dozen of apprentices. They were silently working in their respective workspaces when we arrived. As soon as they notice our presence, everyone stands up, pushes aside their tasks, and bows their heads toward Alessandra. Though it's directed to her, I can't stop myself from fidgeting at the amount of attention since I'm just standing beside her.

Also, for a moment there, they look taken aback upon seeing me, probably because of my hair and eye colors.

"This is where you'll be working from now on... As Father's designer apprentice," Alessandra remarked, catching me off guard.

At this, my lips slowly curl into a smile as I savor those words in my head for a few more seconds.

But that's until murmurs suddenly sprawl all around us.

The apprentices are now whisphering to one another. Some are only looking at me with hooded expressions, while others are openly gossiping. They don't even hide the fact that they're pertaining to. They also don't care about me being here and hearing them very well.

"Isn't she that rumored newbie?

"Right, that contract princess?"

"What? It's just a commoner, after all."

"How lame."

"Look at what she's wearing."

I'm not naive enough to wear flats today, so what they probably mean by that is the fact I'm wearing cheap clothes. With that, they're easily able to figure out that I'm a commoner. Then, there's also that cursed 'contract princess' again. My mind's now all muddled as I try to make sense of their reactions.

Then, I recall that Freya isn't just any ordinary fashion line.

It's a long-running, renowned fashion empire - mostly frequented by the middle and upper classes and had been fancied by a number of nobles. Obviously, most of the apprentices here aren't commoners like me. Now, considering that this designer apprenticeship is the highest position this workshop has to offer, passing the qualifications and trial test in this field is probably very rare. Perhaps, they find it unacceptable for a commoner like me to be able to gain this apprenticeship easily.

"This is all for today, Daffodil. See you tomorrow," Alessandra voiced out all of the sudden before sauntering away, leaving me stupefied.

With that, everybody goes back to what they're doing earlier and treats me like air. There's not even a single greeting or at least a small 'Hello'. Feeling unwelcomed and out of place, I just decided to make my exit and go home for today.

"Hah... What a great first day. Yey...!" I deadpanned, silently brooding on my back to the inn.