“Mother bought this for me when I was nine years old; how can you take something that belongs to me?”
“So-Sorry. I found it by accident, and it looked so pretty, so I tried it. I’m so sorry.”
“A thing that doesn’t even wash tries to—!” Losing the argument, Rosalie raised her hand. Bella closed her eyes tightly, thinking of the pain that would come next.
“Stop,” Martha interfered.
Rosalie huffed, stopping her hand millimeters away from Bella’s cheek.
“Mother, this thing doesn’t know its place!”
“His Highness will be here soon. What if he notices a bruise on her cheek?”
“. . .”
“Calm yourself and arrange your hair. You don’t have any time to waste on such a thing.”
“…Yes, mother.” Rosalie withdrew her hand and shot a glare at Bella.
As Bella was sighing in relief, Rosalie snatched a candlestick from the hand of a maid coming inside the room. Bella flinched, and Rosalie smirked.
“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to stab you to death with a candlestick,” Rosalie said, stroking with her finger the sharp point that held the candle in place. Then she jabbed Bella in the stomach with the flat base of the candlestick.
“Uuhk!” Bella groaned, clasping her stomach. Rosalie giggled, as if she was finally getting some relief.
She clipped the brooch she’d taken from Bella to her own chest.
“You’re lucky,” she said, “because if it weren’t for the grand duke, you would have been slapped and kicked and probably ended up with several broken ribs.” Rosalie flicked the candlestick at the maid and strode past, hitting Bella hard on the shoulder. Bella staggered, barely keeping her balance.
“I’m back, Mother,” Ethan said as he walked into the parlor. He had just come from demon hunting, and his fancy hunting outfit was smeared with hardened blood. As the eldest son of the powerful White household, he had never been intimidated by any high-ranking family. To put it mildly, he was full of confidence, but objectively speaking, the man was just full of himself. Ethan was not a bad-looking man, but his arrogance was revealed in his aura.
Rosalie looked him up and down in disbelief.
“I told you not to be late.”
“I’m not. Is he about to arrive?” At Ethan’s words, Rosalie made a startled face and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh, my God, mind your words! What if you made a slip of the tongue in front of the grand duke?”
“Yeah, yeah. I can’t ruin my little sister’s wedding.” Ethan gave a snake-like smirk as he spoke. Martha, who had been arranging the lemon chiffon cake, looked up at her son.
“Ethan. What are you still doing in your hunting clothes? Go wash and change.”
“Yes. I was just passing by before I got cleaned up. I was wondering how big and nice the tea table was set up.” Ethan shrugged as he approached and grabbed a green grape.
Bella had been holding her breath, her back pressed against the wall, as the three conversed.
“Pick out the most fashionable and expensive thing you can find and wear it. There is bothersome talk about how he’s marrying into a barony.”
“Yes, mother. Don’t worry, I’ll choose something so extravagant that even the archduke will be amazed.” Ethan spun around, chuckling with the grace of a dancer, and intended to leave the parlor but stopped when he spotted Bella. She shrank like a mouse in front of a snake as soon as Ethan locked eyes with her.
“Oh, indeed. You’re publicly part of the family, so you should be here too, right?” Ethan grinned as he scanned her from head to toe. Wherever his gaze touched her, goosebumps rose.
“You don’t smell as bad as you did when I saw you a month ago.” Ethan stepped closer to her. She wanted to step back as much as he moved, but she couldn’t because she was already standing with her back glued to the wall.
“You look kind of normal, dressed in clean clothes.” He whispered in her ear and chuckled. Bella flinched and covered her ear, avoiding his gaze.
Martha didn’t seem interested in what was going on with them, and Rosalie normally would have done so too, but witnessing Ethan’s antics, she stomped over.
“That’s enough! I want you to hurry up, get dressed, and be ready to greet His Highness.”
“Okay, I know. I’ll hurry.” Ethan slowly drew himself back, looked at Bella wistfully for a moment, and left the parlor.
“Don’t you dare think of messing up my brother just because you’re a little washed up,” Rosalie warned in a whisper, and Bella shook her head in surprise.
“N-no. Something like that—”
“Trash. You don’t know where you come from.” Rosalie was fed up. She returned to the tea table, making last-minute preparations with Martha.
The maids were busy filling the table, and Bella stood near the wall, breathing as if she were not there.
“I see His Highness’ carriage.” The butler spoke as he entered the parlor.
“Perfect!” Rosalie exclaimed, stomping her feet, acting childish. Her cheeks were flushed.
“Rose. Do you really think someone who’s going to be the Grand Duchess should act so emotionally?” At Martha’s point, Rosalie straightened her expression. But she couldn’t hide her blushing face.
“I apologize, Mother; it’s just too good.”
“Go to Ethan and see if he’s ready.” The butler bowed briefly at Martha’s command and left the parlor at a running pace.
“Anyway, my brother is too carefree about everything; I won’t let him be if there’s the slightest speck of dust in my marriage.”
“Still, your brother is good at judgment, so don’t worry. You just concentrate on remaining cultured and graceful in front of His Highness.”
“Yes, Mother, I will, and I am confident of it. Whenever we go to tea together, he always compliments me so sweetly, saying that I’m so beautiful and elegant.” Rosalie clasped her hands together and smiled as if in ecstasy at the memory.
Martha smiled proudly at her daughter and took her hand, then frowned at Rosalie’s brooch.
“Do you really have to wear that butterfly brooch? It’s too old.”
“It might make a better impression if you wore something more modest.”
“Okay, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to choose something like that for an ornament, since you’re so splendidly dressed. Now let’s get ready to receive His Highness; he’ll soon be coming across the yard.”
“Ah! Did you set the knights aside at the entrance? The archduke is coming, and I’m sure he deserves the utmost courtesy.”
“Don’t worry, my dear; mom has already taken care of that. All you have to think about is making sure His Highness is comfortable.”
Rosalie nodded, her eyes brimming with love for her mother. It was imperial etiquette for a family receiving an important guest to remove the guards at the entrance. It was to show that they welcomed their guest with open arms and harbored no ill suspicions.
“Now, if you’ve calmed your nerves enough, let’s go greet His Highness.”
“Yes, mother.”
Martha and Rosalie smiled and left the parlor; Bella followed closely behind. Ethan was just coming down the stairs with the butler.
“I can’t live.”
“But you made it in time, didn’t you?”
Ethan smiled at Rosalie’s comment.
Martha waved her hand as if to say that they could argue later, and she led them all toward the front door. Martha led the way, followed by Ethan, Rosalie, and lastly, Bella.
“If you ruin my marriage, I won’t let you live,” Rosalie said, clenching her teeth. Bella nodded quickly. Soon after, the sound of footsteps approached, and a butler opened the door.
“Welcome, Your Highness the Grand Duke.” Martha bowed before him. Ethan and Rosalie followed suit. Bella, too, hurriedly bent her knees with her head down before she could see Grand Duke Jenos’s face. Holding her skirt tighter than usual, Bella’s feet were on full display. The problem was that she was barefoot.
Since her head was down, she also witnessed her bare feet. Bella gasped. She didn’t wear shoes when she left the basement. She jerked her head up, and their gazes met.
For the first time, she met Jenos’ face, Rosalie’s fiancé, and the Grand Duke of the Latus Empire.
Under his jet-black hair were light brown eyes as polished as wooden beams. He had often been rumored to be a handsome man—how eagerly Rosalie had bragged about him—but she hadn’t expected him to be this stunning. But before she could delve deeper into his looks, Jenos’ gaze slid down to Bella’s bare feet. She hastily pulled down the hem of her skirt to cover her feet.
Jenos then drew his gaze away from her.
“Thank you for the invitation, Baroness White. I’m deeply honored.”
Jenos extended his hand politely, and Martha held out the back of her hand. As the grand duke kissed her hand, Martha felt like an empress. For a fleeting moment, she envisioned having all the noblewomen who’d been secretly treating her as a mere baroness kneeling in front of her.
“Rosalie.” Jenos smiled. One look from her fiancé, and Rosalie felt as if her entire body melted.
“Your Highness,” Rosalie extended her hand, and Jenos kissed the back of it briefly. Rosalie blushed, unable to hide the look of ecstasy on her face. She tried to calm herself, remembering Martha’s advice, but it wasn’t easy.
“Ethan. I haven’t seen you since before the hunt.”
“Yes, Your Highness, you’ve grown more burly in the meantime. I’ll have to follow your example.”
“I’m afraid I have not been able to exercise due to territorial issues lately.”
“Your Highness is quite humble.”
The conversation between Jenos and Ethan flowed naturally and brazenly. After the refined greeting, Jenos’ gaze finally fell on Bella.
“This is my lovely youngest daughter, Isabella. I’m sure you’ve never met her before, as she’s so shy that she doesn’t really show her face in social circles. Isabella, why don’t you greet His Highness?” Martha spoke heartily.
“I’m Isabella White. It’s an honor to meet His Highness the Grand Duke,” Bella said in a trembling voice.
Jenos extended his hand to her as well.
“It is an honor to meet you, Young Lady White.”
Bella hesitated for a moment. Any other noblewoman would have acted naturally, but Bella, who was usually confined to the basement and only brought out when necessary, stuttered in the presence of a man of high status like the grand duke. When others were introduced to society and taught how to be cultured and mannered, Bella had been confined and hadn’t been given a similar opportunity.
“Bell, what’s going on? His Highness is waiting,” Rosalie said kindly, even using her nickname.
Rosalie was known as a sweet older sister who dutifully took care of her boring, introverted younger sister. She had used her sister’s mysteriousness to maintain that image in public. And now, she was trying to be that sweet and good older sister in front of her fiancé.
Bella finally reached out to Jenos, and he took her slender hand in his. Every noble family raised their daughters to be thin, but he had never seen fingers so slender. Of course, Jenos didn’t make the mistake of faltering at the sight of the woman’s body; he calmly kissed the back of Bella’s hand and released it.
For the first time, Bella felt the heat of someone’s lips on the back of her hand.
Martha turned first, gesturing with her hand toward the inside of the residence.
“May I show you to the parlor, then, Your Highness?”
“Of course.”
Rosalie could hardly contain her excitement about being in her own mansion with her fiancé. It was as if they were visiting her parent’s home after their marriage.
“What a splendid tea table,” Jenos said, looking down at the elegant preparations.
A lemon-scented cake, crisp scones, and pink rolls filled with the maid’s homemade radish jam, heavy cream, and wild raspberries were laid out neatly and beautifully.
“I’m honored, Your Highness. Please take a seat.” Martha gestured toward the seat at the top.
Jenos took the seat without objection; Martha and Ethan sat on either side of him. Rosalie sat next to Ethan, and Bella’s seat was next to Martha’s. Rosalie was annoyed that she couldn’t sit next to Jenos due to the family hierarchy.
“Bell, what are you doing, not sitting down?” Martha asked, watching her daughter stand in front of the chair.
Bella hesitated, biting her dry lips.
“I apologize. Please excuse me for a moment.” Bella bowed deeply to Jenos, then quickly went out of the drawing-room, the soles of her feet barely touching the ground.
Her back was followed by the murderous glares of Rosalie and Martha, and the curious gaze of Jenos.
