105 - Winter Life with the Tutor 2
A lady's pastimes are not limited to Saik alone. Embroidery, too, is one of the fine hobbies befitting a lady.
Hermine seemed intent on having me sample a variety of ladylike hobbies, and besides Saik, she taught me several other board games. There were even some games I felt I could win, but when Hermine next brought out embroidery as something beyond games, I found myself unexpectedly hooked. In my previous life, the only hand-sewing I had learned was in elementary school, and even then, what I sewed was nothing but cleaning rags, purely utilitarian. I never touched it beyond what was taught in class. But embroidery was surprisingly enjoyable. Perhaps it was the ability to immerse myself in those tiny, meticulous tasks that made it so good.
...Not like that ugly cat pillow was anything more than just killing time, right?
The ugly cat pillow I made using an old pillowcase excavated from the attic had a rough-and-ready charm as its selling point. The ears were stitched with childishly crude, sloppy seams, and the cat's eyes and whiskers were simply drawn with black thread. To maintain that rough feel, I deliberately did not put any cotton stuffing inside, instead rolling up old fabric and packing it in.
I personally liked that ugly quality, but while I was diligently working on embroidery beside her, Hermine declared it unsuitable for a lady to possess and proceeded to refurbish it. The uneven stitches were tidied up, and the eyes that had been little more than lines were transformed into beautifully embroidered outlines. With my ugly cat pillow, I had thought "as long as you can tell it is an eye, that is fine," so the white part of the eye showed the base fabric directly. But in Hermine's refurbished version, the white parts were properly embroidered with white thread, making those sections puff out as if applique eye shapes had been attached.
...The ugliness was the whole selling point, and now it has gotten kind of cute.
The whiskers were also neatly re-embroidered, and it had become a genuinely cute cat pillow. As a bonus, even the front paws were stitched in, making it look like a truly adorable pillow, as if a slightly plump cat was sitting primly.
...The embroidery is too fancy, making it hard to use as Kokumaro's bed!
At least, it has become harder to carry it around and sit on it as a cushion every time I move. Having sewing skills can be a double-edged sword.
"Tina-san, you are very skilled at embroidery."
Comparing the ugly cat pillow with the embroidery work in progress at my hands, Hermine tilted her head slightly. She probably could not easily believe that the person who made the cat pillow and the person stitching the embroidery before her were the same.
"It is because I wanted the cat pillow to be ugly, so I made the stitches all uneven deshu."
Embroidery is not about sewing fabric to fabric. It is about drawing a picture on the fabric, so fundamentally it is a different thing. I tried to argue that, but Hermine did not seem convinced. She checked the cloth where I had finished stitching the designated pattern, looking puzzled.
"Since your stitches need work, I will need to instruct you in sewing, but your embroidery seems to have the blessings of Yupins and Ashantee."
"...Did I really do that well deshu?"
Yupins is the god of craftsmanship, and Ashantee is the goddess of art. If she said I had the blessings of these two, then I must really be doing well.
...No no, there is no way I have that kind of talent, right?
I never had embroidery as a hobby in my previous life, and my art grades during my school days were average. There is no way I could make something praised as having the blessings of the gods.
...But Hermine-sensei does not seem like the type to flatter, does she?
Thinking it was strange, I stared intently at the embroidery and then at my own hands. They were small, childlike hands.
...Ah, I get it.
"It is because my hands are small deshu."
My current hands are child-sized, very small. And if I am being honest, my actual age is also that of a child. In other words, Hermine's evaluation was probably on the level of "for a child of this age, you are skilled."
...I almost got carried away there.
Good thing I realized before mistakenly thinking I had talent. When I smiled with that self-restraint, Hermine made a slightly angry face.
"It is true that Tina-san's small hands probably help when doing detailed embroidery, but that is not all. I do not flatter people."
I could tell she was slightly pouting, apparently because of my self-restraint. She seemed angry, as if saying "I am praising you sincerely, so do not doubt me."
"...Are you sure I am really good at it deshu?"
"You are skilled."
With Hermine declaring it with such confidence, I felt a little tickled. Apparently it was not flattery. Even from an adult's perspective, I was genuinely well-skilled.
"Is it good enough that if I embroider something, it would make someone happy deshu?"
"If it is just embroidery, you are skilled enough to become a seamstress even now."
It seemed I was apparently at a level where I could make a career of it. For me, who had no particular future profession or goal in mind, this was welcome news.
At Hermine's unexpectedly high praise, I looked down at the embroidery I had stitched again. The work of tiny, detailed stitching required patience but was enjoyable. There was a sense of accomplishment as the design gradually took shape, and the finished product had elegance. As I ran my fingers over the pattern that puffed out softly from the thread, desires began to swell within me.
"...Are there things I can make with embroidery deshu?"
"Are you thinking of giving a gift to your brother?"
I had not said anything in particular, but she saw through my scheme immediately. Since I had only just thought of it, being called out so quickly made me a little embarrassed.
...But I mean, if someone tells you you are good enough to make a career of it, you would want to make something for them, right? I have been indebted to Leonardo-san all this time, and I have not been able to give anything back.
Even though by the time winter ends it will have been a year since he took me in, I have not been able to thank him at all. I have been constantly looked after, and if you converted it into monetary terms, it would definitely be a terrifying amount. If there is something I can do, I want to repay my daily gratitude at least a little.
"If you are going to start preparing now, it might be good to embroider a one-point design on a shirt's collar or cuffs for the Spring Flower Festival."
The Spring Flower Festival is held at the beginning of spring every year. I learned at the Menhishumi Church in autumn that it is a festival celebrating the end of the long winter and the visit of the spring goddess. Unfortunately, there was no such festival in a small village like Mey Village, but when I think back carefully, I have vague memories that make me wonder if that was it. When spring came, my mother would do small embroidery on father's and my clothes.
...That was mother's way of celebrating the Spring Flower Festival.
In our poor household, a one-point embroidery added as a repair was the best we could manage, but in the city where things overflowed, it was different. The festival was filled with spring flowers, and I heard there was a custom of wearing newly tailored clothes, not just adding one-point embroidery during repairs. Since Leonardo is a man, it might be better to avoid flashy embroidery like floral patterns, but as a gift from a female family member expressing daily gratitude, adding a one-point embroidery to the cuffs would be just right.
By the way, the information that a woman giving a man something with embroidery is a "I want to become your family" signal is precocious Elke's knowledge. Apparently it is like a reverse proposal, showing off your embroidery skills to a man and saying "How about making me, a skilled seamstress, your bride?"
...But I am already in Leonardo-san's family slot (little sister), so I do not need to worry about that.
Since I had been guaranteed that my embroidery skill was at a seamstress level, I decided to consult Leonardo right away. Surprise presents were impossible for me with no financial resources, and besides, it would be Leonardo who would actually wear the embroidered shirt if he received one. It would be better to confirm his wishes and intentions.
"...So, please give me a new shirt kudasai."
"What reason is behind all this?"
Having only been given a demand with no explanation, Leonardo naturally had no choice but to tilt his head in confusion. Showing him the handkerchief with the embroidered pattern that was today's achievement, I told him about being praised by Hermine for my embroidery skills.
"I consulted Hermine-sensei about whether I could give something to Leonyaldo-san with embroidery, and she told me I could embroider the Spring Flower Festival clothes for you, she did mashita."
When I looked up at him from his lap and asked "Female family members do the embroidery, right?", Leonardo smiled with an expression he would not show in public. The word "family" must have hit a soft spot, because he was beaming. He was smiling with such a sloppy expression that I kicked his shin with my heel, making his cheek twitch for a moment before he tightened his expression.
"Do you have any clothes you plan to wear from spring deshu? Please let me embroider them kudasai."
"I always prepare new shirts every year, but... if Tina will embroider them for me, I would happily welcome as many as you would like."
"...One is fine deshu."
As expected, I did not want to work on multiple shirts. I had feelings of daily gratitude, but if I told Leonardo "as many as you would like," I felt like he would keep preparing new shirts indefinitely. Better to be cautious.
"I will contact the tailor as early as tomorrow. I will have them deliver just the sleeve fabric to the residence."
"...If it is just a one-point on the sleeves, I will embroider up to three shirts deshu."
"Was it not just one?"
"Change of clothes is necessary deshu."
If I only embroidered one shirt, I had a feeling Leonardo would wear it forever. As a working adult, I wanted to believe he would not actually be that unhinged, but still, he definitely needed a few shirts for laundry rotation. Since I was doing this anyway, I asked about his preferences for the embroidery design. Things like putting his name in an invisible spot, or having a design go all around the sleeves. It was better to hear his wishes than to decide on my own.
By the evening of the next day, fabric had arrived from the tailor, so Leonardo really seemed happy about the idea of embroidery from a family member. I heard that after being sold by his parents, he was in an orphanage as an orphan, so perhaps he had a strong longing for normal family relationships. Since he wished for me to avoid floral patterns, I decided on the embroidery designs while consulting with Hermine. Since I could embroider three shirts, I wanted to put different designs on each one.
Leonardo-san, if you happily show off your little sister's embroidery too much, you will miss your chance at marriage. People will think "He already has someone who does such amazing embroidery for him, I will give up."
I will check for typos and errors again later.
I have found and corrected the typos and errors.