What Dress would You Like to be Worn on Larkin's Wedding?

Artie didn't easily believe people when they said her name sounded like she was from Kaigansa. It was because she didn't have an idea what Kaigansa was like, and she didn't know anyone who lived in the supposed strange and exotic land. Then again, seeing the dresses which resembled a blend of hanfu, kimono, or hanbok… she didn't shrug it off anymore.

However…

"...Kaigansa is strange and exotic…?" Artie Shen began to realize the important thing. Her eyes then lifted their gaze from the sketches to the one who made the sketches. "Is Kaigansa really that different from Galacia?"

"Of course." Alfora straightened the folds of the page as she lectured Artie. "The devildoms are on a huge chunk of plains with minimal mountains. All the mountains are concentrated in the northernmost part of Galacia where the glass spirits thrived. The temperature is sub-zero while Tetroka is swimming in magma. The demons couldn't possibly thrive long enough to kill all of them.

"Ehem, Galacia's weather is the most peaceful among the continents, and that's why humans chose this place to live. Some parts of Galacia had been coveted by other races, but the seventeen devildoms and a dozen more continued to be populated by humans." Alfora hummed as she stared at a sketch and took out a pencil to add more to it. "Kaigansa, however, is an archipelago resting on top of an ocean. Every place is marshland."

Question marks began to appear on Artie's head. Marshlands? Well, it… somewhat fit as the similar countries were bordering seas and oceans. However, she looked down at the dresses. "Wouldn't people in a marshland… prefer clothing that is shorter so water and mud won't get on them?"

Alfora stopped her hand and directed her piercing gaze at Artie. For a moment, she was quiet; the next, she sat up straight. "…and angels like to parade themselves as symbols of otherworldly intelligence. Did you drop your brain when you fell earlier?"

"...why are you so mean?" Artie frowned and complained. Miel and Larkin—even Monique and Barda—had never said that to her face. Perhaps she knew she was ignorant about this world's affairs, but this demon…

"Do you expect me to go soft on you?" Alfora raised a brow before looking down at her sketches again. "No matter, if Larkin spares you regardless of your pea brain, then I must endure. Your Grace, the royalties of Kaigansa don't live at the edge of their islands. Does the archduke live on a farm here in Galacia?"

"...it grew even harsher..." Artie pouted and just looked at the sketches.

It's time for her to push forward her focus in this meeting: the wedding dress. The dresses inspired by the Kaigansa continent did make Artie closer to home, but she didn't want a traditional wedding. "...should I really go with Kaigansan design? I actually want something… less… uhm… less conservative… something a bit more fitting… like a mermaid silhouette..."

She dragged her words, but Alfora caught them without trouble. The demon auntie's eyes seemed to blaze as she folded the page again and flipped the book to another section. Even if she opened it with a sigh, she still presented the sketch to Artie. "There, that's what the abomination dared to wear on Larkin's wedding..."

Artie stared at the sketch. As it had been made before, it was easy for the sketch to reflect the actual dress… if that was a dress. Silence crept up inside her as her mind went blank as if refusing to picture how this dress was allowed to be even worn at such an occasion.

"..." Both women continued to wait and stare.

The wedding dress was mostly sheer with patches of lace to make up from the body. The back of the bodice was nothing but strings, and the dip even reached just above the buttocks. The skirt started off fitting from the waist, but there was a huge slit for both legs up to the hips. There were also recognizable breast pockets.

It was an extremely provocative evening dress to Artie. Moreover, it was the heights of Alfora's shame in her life.

"The princess wore that to a wedding? You made that for her for a wedding?" Artie lifted her eyes back to Alfora who only flared her nose as she remembered that time. The demon only murmured in response, "She kept on bringing up that she was the crown princess of Achlys. Even if Larkin and Albo could help me not get banned, she could easily influence the noble houses not to commission me…

"Without clients… no one would be able to willingly ask me for dresses; neither will people put on my dresses and take pride in it. I knew from the very beginning that that thing was vicious…

"I grew scared… because Larkin favored her truly. A lonely heir like him had no defenses against the beautiful. Albo and I… it would be in our best interests not to infuriate Larkin. So… I committed a crime I cannot live down. Centuries of being a demoness in the heights of power… and yet I was fazed by a human abomination..."

Artie ran a palm along her hair again. 'If this was the heights of not-conservative, then I'm relatively safe. Then again, I wonder if this mean auntie is still willing to work on a fitting dress...'

The silence broke when Alfora spoke again, ending her sentimental episode. "Well, if your dress is worse off, I might just go back to Tetroka and swim in magma to forget."

"N-No, I won't do this to Larkin." Artie chuckled as she sat up straight. "Can I see dresses from Tetroka? You do design dresses based on your own culture, right?"

"...there is no concept of weddings in Tetroka. The Supreme King owned all of demonkind and had the sole responsibility of invigorating the population. There is no concept of intercourse either as demons could be conceived even from the wisps of the Supreme King's power. That was why the demons loved staying in Galacia." Alfora glared at the book as if it was at fault. "Such non-sexual creatures had been contaminated by men.

"Right now, they were like wild animals mating in the dead of the night. The darkness of the canopy gave them shelter, and they would wait for defenseless human females to play with. The Silken Road was a disaster, but it gave demons newer perspectives and greater heights of power."

She then realized that she had been rambling. Alfora used a hand to comb her fringe to the side. "Your Grace, we cannot be wasting our time; even us immortals treasure it. Would you like to see the Kaigansan dresses again?"

Artie was quiet for a while, weighing in everything she had heard from this mean auntie. It seemed like her inner ramblings were deeply rooted in a passion that was always held back by standards and requirements. She was even getting deep feelings just from the thought of how much meat-driven the demons had become.

"No." Artie finally smiled at the demon. "What dress would you like to be worn in Larkin's wedding, Madame Alfora?"