I became a clothing designer in another world

After Mother’s icy warning, the dining room fell into a silence so profound that even the sound of breathing seemed absent, broken only occasionally by the faint clinking of silverware.

It was no surprise, when the second-most powerful figure in the household sat radiating displeasure, the atmosphere was bound to freeze over.

“Hic…”

A deeply uncomfortable meal.

The servants’ faces grew paler by the minute, and poor Emily, sitting closest to Mother and inadvertently bearing the brunt of her anger, trembled as she tried to suppress an adorable bout of hiccups, her fingers quivering.

Seeing Emily so tense, I couldn’t just sit idly by. I set my fork down and, careful to stay out of Mother’s line of sight, gently took Emily’s hand.

“Ah…”

Her body flinched, and a faint gasp escaped her lips.

It wasn’t loud enough for Mother to hear, but Emily turned to glare at me with eyes full of reproach, biting her lip.

“…”

I smiled faintly, meeting her gaze, and Emily huffed, turning her head away sharply and shaking off my hand.

Is she mad?

Still, she seemed less tense, which was a relief. I’d been worried she’d suffer through this in silence because of me.

“Are you finished eating?”

“Oh, sorry.”

Caught smiling to myself, I quickly picked up my fork as Mother, skewering the last piece of meat with her fork, glanced at me.

Her look clearly said, ‘Stop dawdling and eat properly.’ I resumed eating immediately.

-Clatter!

“…”

Having eaten her last bite, Mother set her fork and knife down on her empty plate. She dabbed at her lips with a handkerchief before beckoning the head butler over with a slight motion of her fingers.

The butler approached Mother, bowing deeply as he lowered himself to her level.

“You called, Madam.”

“I wish to speak with William alone. Have everyone leave.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a crisp motion, the butler placed his hand over his chest and nodded before signaling the rest of the servants, silently conveying Mother’s orders.

Even Emily left, and soon it was just the two of us in the dining room.

Despite the now-empty room, Mother remained silent, fixing me with her sharp gaze.

Ah… I haven’t even eaten half my meal yet…

“…”

Feeling like I’d choke if I continued eating under her scrutiny, I carefully set down my fork and knife.

“Do you understand what you’ve done?”

“Um… was it being late for breakfast?”

“No.”

“Staying up all night?”

“Not that either.”

“Running noisily through the halls?”

“Close, but no. And don’t make it sound like I’m the kind of mother who’d be angry over something so trivial.”

“Uh… is it because of Emily?”

“Now that’s an answer I can accept.”

Mother, her expression as cold as a northern duke in a romance novel, lifted her left hand and spread three fingers.

“You dressed Emily in an unfamiliar outfit.”

Her thumb folded down.

“Held hands with her like old friends.”

Her index finger folded.

“And ran through the mansion as if you were announcing it to the entire estate.”

Finally, her middle finger, oddly the last to remain, folded as her left hand formed a fist. Resting her chin on her clenched hand, Mother asked calmly,

“What do you think of that?”

“Sounds like a complete bastard.”

Mother curled her lips into a soft smile.

“I’m relieved you understand. If you didn’t, I was considering kicking you out of the house.”

“Haha…”

“This isn’t a laughing matter. Emily may be a maid, but she’s one I hold dear. Thanks to someone, her prospects for marriage have been utterly ruined. It’s infuriating to the point of madness.”

“Oh, I’ll take responsibility somehow…”

“And how exactly?”

“Well… if worse comes to worst, I could take her in myself.”

“Ha!”

Mother let out a dry laugh, her eyes half-lidded as she spoke.

“Your attitude may be flippant, but at least you have spirit.”

“Haha…”

“I’ll let this slide as a mistake today, but if anything like this happens again, don’t expect me to remain quiet.”

“Yes…”

I nodded and answered in a meek voice.

Dropping her chin from her hand and crossing her arms, Mother wore a displeased expression as she asked a new question.

“That aside, what exactly made you cause such a ruckus? If this is some kind of late rebellion, I’d be very disappointed.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then?”

“Well… I made Emily a new outfit, and it turned out so beautifully. I just wanted to show it off to everyone.”

“What an utterly foolish reason to cause trouble, you idiot son.”

“Haha…”

“Honestly, you’re impossible.”

I let out an awkward laugh and scratched my cheek sheepishly.

In my excitement to show off how lovely Emily looked, I’d ended up doing something stupid.

Mother, looking at me with exasperation, sighed deeply and lightly patted her chest twice.

After a moment of patting and rubbing to calm her frustration, she leaned back in her chair, her expression softening to one of weariness as she spoke.

“So, what exactly did you mean by suggesting we have the maids wear this outfit you’re so proud of?”

The scolding that had felt like an eternity finally ended, and the question I had been hoping for came from Mother’s lips.

I smiled reflexively and quickly answered.

“I made the outfit as practice, and since the result turned out well, I thought it might be nice for the other maids to wear it too.”

“An outfit? You said something similar when you were younger and gave up on it. What’s gotten into you to bring it up again?”

“Because of something you said after the last banquet.”

“Explain in more detail. It’s hard to see how telling you to make friends led to you deciding to make clothes.”

“Mother, I can’t stand the way people dress.”

“William, you’re not harboring some heretical ideology promoting nudity, are you?”

Momentarily at a loss for words, Mother furrowed her brows and spoke with concern heavy in her voice.

“No! That’s not what I mean at all!”

Startled by her offhand remark, I raised my voice and shook my head vehemently.

In response, Mother lifted one corner of her mouth in a teasing smirk.

“It was a joke.”

“Ugh…”

My stomach churned.

Having recently endured suspicions about whether I was impotent or gay, I found it hard to distinguish between jokes and sincerity, making her jest genuinely nerve-wracking.

“And?”

“Sigh… Anyway, the way people dress bothers me, so it makes socializing difficult. With corsets making people look like hourglasses and all the flashy, overwhelming outfits, it’s all just grotesque.”

“Hourglasses, you say. That’s quite an interesting observation.”

Mother chuckled lightly at the term “hourglass” and nodded.

“So, I’ve started wanting to throw all those outfits into the trash. I wanted clothes with fewer decorations, ones that don’t force exaggerated body shapes.”

“Hm… That’s something even I wouldn’t mind seeing. Dresses are outrageously expensive, after all.”

“Exactly, right?”

I felt slightly pleased as I watched Mother glance at her own dress with a faint expression of distaste before shaking her head in exasperation.

It seemed, despite some differences, we shared a common dissatisfaction with current fashion.

As I briefly envisioned a hopeful future, Mother lowered her gaze from her dress, tilted her head slightly, and asked,

“But why the maids’ clothing? From what you’ve said, it sounds like you want to change the attire of nobles.”

“Mother, think about it carefully.”

“…?”

“If I make clothes, do you think nobles would actually wear them?”

“Oh…”

Mother let out a sound of realization, clapping her hands lightly three times before folding her arms again.

Her face regained its faintly sardonic smile.

“For someone who did something so outrageous this morning, you have a surprisingly clear grasp of your limits. That’s somewhat reassuring.”

I shrugged.

While I might turn into a complete fool in front of Emily, I do have my own thoughts and way of living.

“So, I thought about what would cause the least resistance while still allowing me to build a track record, and I figured maid uniforms would be a good start. Plus, it aligns with my personal tastes.”

“Tastes?”

“I like clean, simple designs, just like the one you saw earlier.”

“I see…”

Mother gave a small nod, her eyes closing briefly as she sank into thought.

With her arms crossed and her index finger lightly tapping her forearm, she sat silently for a moment before speaking again.

“I understand why you suddenly want to make clothes.”

“Yes.”

“But is there any particular reason we need to set specific uniforms for the servants?”

A reason…

Rather than jumping into an explanation, I wanted to hear Mother’s perspective first.

“What makes you view it negatively, Mother?”

“A maid is not a lady’s maid or valet. They’re not like butlers who directly handle reception. Maids rarely interact with people, and even when they do, it’s typically only the head maid who’s seen. So why should we invest in uniforms for maids who don’t often appear in public? And even if we decided to do so, do you know how many maids work in this mansion? Have you calculated how much it would cost to provide uniforms for all of them?”

A very reasonable point.

“Ha.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

And for good reason, I had worried that she might simply dismiss the idea without much thought, but here she was raising all the practical concerns I had anticipated.

“Of course, I haven’t—”

“Of course, I have. It’s not like I’d suggest this without thinking, even if it isn’t my own money.”

“You have?”

Mother’s eyes widened, round as a startled rabbit’s.

Meeting her gaze, I gave her a confident smile.

“Would you like me to start with the reasoning or the financials?”