"Tick... tick..."
The mechanical clock in the manor ticked monotonously in the silence of the night.
Five minutes passed...
Ten minutes passed...
Fifteen minutes passed...
Half an hour passed...
Outside Audrey's bedroom, the practiced smile on Lorne's face gradually stiffened. Eventually, he could no longer keep it up at all, and the corners of his mouth even began to twitch.
Did women really need this long to get dressed? He felt as though he had been made to stand there as punishment.
Granted, ever since Lorne had become famous, his housekeeper, Asnia, had insisted that his everyday grooming be more befitting a nobleman's status. He could not afford to look undignified.
But even if he meticulously followed every step in the Loen Gentleman's Etiquette Guide, from washing his face, shaving, and applying hair oil to choosing cuff links and tying his bow tie... the whole process would take no more than fifteen minutes!
Sharron probably doesn't spend this much time getting dressed every day before going out... does she?
As the wait dragged on, Lorne's mind inevitably wandered, and he recalled Sharron's Court Gothic Dress.
Honestly, given Sharron's chilly attitude toward everything, he had trouble imagining her sitting at a dressing table every morning, wasting great stretches of time putting on makeup.
But come to think of it, Sharron used to be a noble too... in a sense, she could even be considered a princess of the Highland Kingdom.
By comparison, Fors probably gets ready the fastest...
Lorne recalled his first visit to the author. In less than ten minutes, she had miraculously transformed from a slovenly homebody into an intellectual-looking female writer.
As for Tracy...
As a pirate, she hardly ever wore makeup or made a special effort to dress up beyond her usual washing and grooming. Or rather,