Contrary to Amane's expectations, her stomach did not return to normal right away. If one looked carefully, one could see the budge of the eggs in her stomach. Wearing form-fitting outfits was impossible for now.
And that unfortunately ant that Amane could not wear most of her dresses now. She needed a more free-flowing dress to attend the formal functions.
Well, she did not care about the gossip that would follow her if her pregnant stomach showed on the news but Sakura had talked her out of appearing like that in public.
"Co on Sakura. No one care if my stomach bulges out a little in my dress. Everyone has much more important things to discuss."
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Sakura's eyes shined like an animal who had found her prey. She instantly cornered Amane and leaned over her form.
"How dare you say that no one would care about how you look. The dia is like sharks Yoko. If they sense a story, they would harass you and follow you until they find sothing to write. You should not underestimate them."
Sakura looked traumatized after thinking about sothing. Just looking at her caused Amane to feel sympathy for her.
But at the sa ti, she was amused by Sakura's words as well.
Amane knew how brutal the dia could be. She had seen carriers being ruined because of dia when researching this ti. But sohow, Amane was sure she would survive.
And she would not only survive but thrive if the dia tried to use her. She would use the dia back and then so.
"Anyway, this is not the ti to be thinking about the dia. We are here to talk about your dress and how to make you presentable. First, we need to find your clothes. Let's go shopping."
Amane smiled on the outside but she was groaning on the inside.
Well, Amane liked shopping just fine usually. But going shopping with Sakura was a total nightmare.
"Sakura, how about we…"
"No, we cannot push it back any longer. We must leave tomorrow for the official Protected and Endangered Beastly Council eting. We cannot afford to waste any more ti here."
Whatever Amane had to say to Sakura was swallowed by her. One look at Sakura was enough to let you know that she was serious about her words - she was not going to back down.
"Fine, let's go shopping. I take it that you want to wear sothing that hides from public eyes?"
Amane's words were a little sarcastic but Sakura's satisfied eyes said that this was precisely what she wanted from Amane.
So, Amane quickly changed and ca down.
...….
Sakura had to admit that most of her words about Yoko covering up were said because of her jealousy and not because she was worried about the dia.
She knew why Yoko had agreed to take the phoenix's egg and she also knew that Yoko was close to other females apart from her. But that did not an that Sakura liked this new change in Yoko.
She missed the tis Yoko had only been close to her and listened to her. Those tis were sothing Sakura missed a lot.
This new Yoko was good as well, but sothing she felt distant from Sakura.
"I am ready to leave Sakura. Is this dress, ok?"
Yoko walked out of her dressing room and her body was covered by a full-length coat as well as loose pants. This was the fourth dress Amane had been asked to change into by Sakura.
"This one looks ok. We should hurry up now. I booked us both an appointnt at the most famous parlor in the city. They will not let us in if we are late."
Sakura grabbed hold of Amane's hand and dragged her out. Amane could not help but groan once she realized she would have to spend hours grooming herself.
"Sakura, it's only been two weeks since our last visit. Surely, we don't need to go back so soon…"
As soon as Amane finished speaking the first line, Sakura paused. Her eyes looked back with an ambiguous expression and she glared lightly at Amane.
"Yoko, it's already been 'two weeks' since we last went to the parlor. Two whole weeks for the facial growth to co back and haunt us. It's about ti we make our rounds at the parlor and get our facials done."
In the end, Amane sighed and gave in. What other choice did she have when Sakura was this stubborn and greedy?
'This is going to be a long day for . I better cooperate with Sakura and save myself the trouble of going through the whole day like this.'
Sakura dragged Amane out of the Tsurugi ho and toward the market. Their usual cloth shop welcod the pair in.
Usually, as the head of the prestigious household, the formal dressed for events as high-profile as the official Protected and endangered beast council eting needed officially made dresses.
But right now, the pair did not have enough ti to get one made. They would have to improvise and adapt to the tis.
"Madam, we need your help urgently. I hope you got our ssage. My cousin here ruined her figure recently and we don't know what to do about it."
Sakura smacked the door to the cloth shop open. Her sudden entry surprised the 'madam' of the shop. The madam quickly looked up at Sakura with an annoyed expression before she schooled it.
Then, a big fake smile was plastered all over the madam's face as she welcod the pair in.
"Welco, my darlings. How may I help you? Ah, Lady Sakura, I did receive your letter so I was getting things ready for your arrival. You said your cousin ruined her form. May I ask you how this happened?"
The madam was soone who made clothes for most of the people in Sakura's circle and she was an excellent way to gather gossip. This lady had a way of getting the toughest of information out of her clients.
The madam was sure that Sakura would be no different from her usual clients. A few words here, a nudge there, and Sakura would spill everything to her.
That should have been the case. But Sakura beca quieter as soon as Madam asked her this question.
"It would be better for you to mind your business madam. Unless you want to see this place burn, you better not agitate us both anymore."
Yoko Tsurugi was nice enough to give the madam a warning to not ask questions.
Thankfully, madam had good instincts and she knew danger when she saw it. One look at Yoko Tsurugi was enough for her to shut her mouth and not ask any more questions.
"S-So, this is the dress I modified between the ti you called and your arrival. It is not perfectly fitted but we can fix that soon. It is also a fresh piece not seen by anyone."
The said dress in question was a loose-fitting dress gown that was supposed to look oversized on the wearer.
It was a perfect fit for what the pair was looking for.
"Hmm, I will go and try it out now. Sakura, you keep an eye on things."
Amane took the dress and quickly changed into it. The dress was made purposely loose by the madam.
There was no doubt behind the madam's intentions. Madam wanted an excuse to touch Amane and feel her body. She would be out looking for evidence of why Amane ruined her figure.
This was quite a common tactic in the upper circles where relationships were not as tight.
Both, teenage pregnancy as well as unwed pregnancy was common thing here. As such, the news of this happing often circulated in the circle.
And the common palace for such rumors to be born was the clothes shop like this.
"Oh dear, looks like your dress is a little too loose on you. Here, let help you fix that. It will only take a minute so stay still…"
The madam reached out toward Amane to check her body but Amane pulled back before she could be touched.
She raised her hand and lowered it before waving her hand around.
"Hmm, this should not be a problem for to wear. I quite like the fit of this dress as well. I will take it right now."
Amane's words stunned the madam. She had not expected her custor to just take the dress like this.
Her plan to make the dress lose on purpose seed to have backfired heavily.
"L-Lady Tsurugi, surely you are not thinking of wearing this dress like that. It's not only highly oversized but also makes you look like a child weaning adult clothes."
"So, it makes look younger? That's even better for . It's like the ultimate battle armor I could have asked for. Right Sakura?"
The madam looked at Sakura for support as well. She could not believe that Yoko Tsurugi was this shrewd and manipulative.
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