It seemed that delivering the letter to Elleana through Obelton had had its effect. Seeing that Elleana had no doubts about the lie I had concocted.
I nodded and replied,
“Yes, I guess it’s because it’s my first time attending such a social gathering, Selena took great care of me.”
“That’s typical of Lady Selena.”
After hearing my story, Elleana, who had been murmuring softly, put down her pen.
“First, we’ll choose a dress design today and then measure your body.”
Of course, we had made some last year, but there might have been changes to the lady’s body since then.
The moment I saw Elleana shaking a tape measure and adding a reason to the end of her sentence, I unwittingly took a sharp breath. I had forgotten an important fact.
Such a foolish Selena. Why did I forget that one must always take body measurements when fitting a dress?
I bit my lower lip, reproaching my own complacency.
Having worked as a designer for a long time, Elleana would quickly notice if my body measurements had changed from a year ago. It’s not easy for a person’s body to change in just a year, so Elleana would surely find this suspicious.
And if that happened, my carefully hidden identity would be exposed in an instant.
Imagine the worst-case scenario, my fingertips trembled.
I carefully clenched my hands so it wouldn’t show and cautiously opened my mouth.
“Do we really have to do it?”
“Hm? Is there a problem?”
“…….”
Looking at her, frowning as if she didn’t grasp my underlying meaning at all, the words I had struggled to form suddenly got stuck.
There were excuses like being uncomfortable or displeased, but I couldn’t bring myself to voice any of them.
Hesitating with my mouth shut, I eventually shook my head slowly.
“No, it’s not that.”
Following my response, Elleana changed the subject as if she had expected it.
“Then, it’s time to choose the design of the dress you’ll wear…….”
She paused mid-sentence and pushed the notebook that had been on her lap towards me.
“This is a design I’ve been working on recently. As you can see, it features multiple layers of fabric to create a voluminous skirt, which will minimize the need for an uncomfortable corset. It might not even be necessary at all. And could you take a look at this, please?”
Elleana continued her description of the dress, pointing at the waist of the dress with her finger. Following her finger, I noticed tiny flowers gathered together.
Are they fresh flowers? But if they’re fresh flowers attached to the dress, it would have to be thrown away after just a few days…
As I was tilting my head in confusion, Elleana spoke softly, “They’re fake flowers made of fabric. They’re made with cloth soaked in fragrance oil, so they’ll smell like real flowers.”
“Wow.”
My curiosity was immediately resolved, and admiration involuntarily escaped me.
I had seen ornamental artificial flowers being sold at the market. They were popular among the common folks because they lasted a long time and were as pretty as real flowers.
However, it was not the case among the nobles. Most of them had enough money to buy fresh flowers every time the old ones wilted. Therefore, nobles did not buy artificial flowers.
But the idea of using artificial flowers as decorations on a dress was indeed something Elleana would think of.
“This is the highlight. I heard that the young lady’s tea party would be held in the greenhouse of the Duke of Abyss, so I tried decorating it this way once. How do you like it? Are you pleased?”
“Of course.”
I affirmed without a moment’s hesitation, and Elleana’s smile deepened.
“I’m glad you like it. Actually, this design was something I always imagined, so I was worried whether it would meet the young lady’s taste.”
“Ms. Elleana’s dresses have always been to my liking.”
“Oh my.”
Elleana, not taking my spontaneous admiration lightly, widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.
Why is that? Did I accidentally say something wrong?
While I was figuring out the reason for her mysterious reaction, Elleana burst into a gentle laugh.
“You sound like your younger sibling. I guess blood really can’t lie.”
“Ah… Right.”
I then realized that I had unconsciously acted as I did when I was Selena and stiffened my face.
Fortunately, it seemed that Elleana did not notice the change in my expression.
“Well, since the dress design is decided, all that’s left is to take your measurements. Could you stand up, please?”
“…Yes.”
Here it comes.
After taking a slow, trembling breath, I stood up from my seat with a creaky motion and approached her.
Elleana, after using the tape measure on me in my stiff stance several times, eventually frowned.
“Hmm, that’s strange.”
“……”
“It seems you’ve lost a lot more weight than last year. Your body size has become the same as your younger sibling.”
“!”
At the moment Elleana spoke the words I had feared, my heart seemed to stop.
I, forgetting even to breathe, was trapped in what felt like an eternity of silence, my eyes shifting around uncontrollably.
But before I, caught off guard, could make any excuse, Elleana mumbled with a sigh,
“Well, with such rumors going around, it’s no wonder the young lady is not at ease.”
“What? What rumors?”
What rumors? What does that mean?
“Ah… It’s nothing. Please pretend you didn’t hear it.”
Elleana, realizing that I knew nothing about ‘those rumors,’ awkwardly changed the topic.
“Now that we’ve taken all the measurements, I’ll be going. The dress should arrive in a few days.”
Watching Elleana start to pack her things, I swallowed my unresolved questions. Her reluctance to speak more on the rumor made it awkward to probe further.
“Thank you always for your hard work, Miss Elleana.”
“I should be the one thanking you for entrusting me with the dress.”
“Also, about the payment for the dress…”
Since she was not yet an empress, she couldn’t freely use the imperial family’s wealth.
Therefore, she planned to ask the Obelton family to send the bill. That was until she cut me off mid-sentence.
“This dress is an engagement present from me, so you don’t need to pay for it. Goodbye, Miss Serbia Obelton.”
With a brisk reply and a greeting, Elleana immediately turned around and left the reception room before I could stop her.
An engagement present…
I watched Elleana’s retreating figure disappear through the door and smiled faintly, a smile tinged with bitterness. As soon as the door closed, the smile on my lips vanished instantly.
Based on Elleana’s words, it seemed that rumors about me had been circulating in the social sphere while I wasn’t paying attention. And they were rather malicious rumors.
I tapped my lips with a finger, lost in thought.
I need to find out more about these rumors…
Deep in thought about how to investigate the rumors, I suddenly remembered the tea party that would soon be held at the Avis Manor.
“Ah.”
The finger that had been rhythmically moving over my lips stopped, and my eyelids slowly lifted.
It seemed I wouldn’t be able to simply enjoy the tea party.
***
Exactly 5 days later, the dress arrived the day before the tea party. The pure white dress was as simple as Elleana had described, yet it emitted an elegant aura.
With all preparations complete, the long-awaited day of the tea party arrived.
“Wow… You look absolutely beautiful, milady!”
Isabella’s eyes sparkled as she looked at me getting dressed by the maids.
Seeing her like that, I covered my mouth with my hand and let out a light laugh.
Indeed, after seeing the dress yesterday, she had been gushing about it for an hour, and by her expression now, it seemed she still had more to say.
“All done.”
While I was laughing, a maid who had finished tidying my hair bowed respectfully and stepped back.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and slightly lifted the corners of my lips, not bothering to hide my satisfaction.
“Are you going now? There’s still some time left.”
Isabella asked me as I got up from the chair, glancing at the clock.
Turning to check the time as she did, I noticed there were indeed about 20 minutes left, just as Isabella had said.
Knowing that arriving earlier than the time invited by the host is a breach of etiquette, I contemplated how to spend the remaining 20 minutes and soon made up my mind.
“I must go to see His Majesty.”
I had received Ruth’s schedule from Wilson a few days ago. It seemed like they shared it with me because we were engaged.
According to the schedule, he should be in his office reviewing documents right now. This meant that if I went to find Ruth now, there shouldn’t be any problem. I imagined Ruth sitting in his office looking at documents and smiled softly.
Of course, wanting to see Ruth wasn’t the only reason I decided to go to him. Attending the Abyss family’s tea party without saying a word to him wouldn’t be proper manners.
Besides, I am not yet a member of the royal family, so I need Ruth’s permission to use the royal carriage.
As I was listing the reasons why I needed to go see Ruth, suddenly, the incident that happened in the library last time came to mind.
Ruth, who had glanced at me with a cold look and passed by, vividly appeared before me, and for some reason, a part of my heart felt distantly sore. However, this pain soon disappeared, pushed away by the thought that I still wanted to see him regardless.
My statement about going to see Ruth was met by Isabella’s enigmatic gaze, which soon vanished.
“Yes, I will take you to His Majesty’s office.”
