CH 35

“You are so beautiful, Your Grace.”

The maids who dressed Adeline up expressed their admiration, but she couldn’t hear a single thing.

The yellow Freesias she got from Vanessa had been lingering in her mind for days.

She kept forgetting and remembering about them, over and over again.

‘The fact that she sent me the flowers that the real princess gave to the fake princess twice…’

And it wasn’t once, but twice. Sending the same flowers twice following the wedding day wasn’t a coincidence.

Moreover, what the flower symbolized was all too significant.

She sent the flowers used in the ‘warning to the fake princess’ when Adeline was experiencing everything that should have belonged to Vanessa, according to the original story.

She couldn’t help but think that Vanessa might know the original story.

“Your Grace. Is there anything not to your liking?”

“…”

“Your Grace?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was thinking about something for a moment. I like everything. You dressed me up beautifully.”

The maids blushed and smiled proudly as Adeline replied with a slight smile.

Adeline was trying hard to degrade her reputation in many ways, but unfortunately, the reaction of the people in the castle was going the opposite of what she wanted.

She was a beautiful woman who was admired and was always kind to her servants, and above all, she was loved and brought to the north by Kael, who was like a god.

The rumors about the curse or whatever it was were eagerly attached to her, but it didn’t work for the people in the castle who faced Adeline in person.

“Your Grace. It is time to go down.”

“Ah, yes.”

Isabel informed her of the time and guided Adeline.

Today was the day of the tea party that invited most of the noblewomen and young ladies of the north.

Dressed in an elegant deep-blue dress, Adeline walked calmly to the party hall.

“Are you going to select the handmaid candidates today?”

“Yes, Isabel. It will be hard to choose right away during the first meeting, but if I look carefully, I’ll see a lady who has the right intentions.”

She didn’t intend to do anything as the grand duchess, but she still had to make some preparations.

“Her Grace, Grand Duchess Inver, has arrived.”

As she stood in front of the party hall, the knight guarding it announced Adeline’s arrival with a loud voice.

The sapphire-decorated door opened, and when Adeline entered it, all the noblewomen who were filling the hall bent their knees and welcomed the grand duchess.

“It is my first time greeting everyone together like this. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

The tea party began with Adeline’s greeting.

The tables were set according to Isabel’s arrangement, and Adeline’s table was filled with ladies with strong influence in the northern social scene.

Along with the two countesses who had been with the retired priest the moment he talked about the curse when he saw Adeline.

“You have already spent one week in the North.”

“Yes. Time is fast, isn’t it?”

“Are you enjoying the North? It’s not an easy place for strangers to adapt.”

“Yes. I like it. I felt it on the way here, but it’s a very beautiful place.”

A smile hung over Countess Boyd’s lips as she heard Adeline’s answer.

“Oh my, that’s a relief, Your Grace. But you must keep your resolve strong. The northern winter is yet to come.”

“Everyone had told me about it.”

“It’s really tremendous. Nine out of ten foreigners who come here end up running away. The sharp wind is a bit harsh. I am afraid Your Grace will leave as well, because it’s a position that was filled after a long wait. It shouldn’t become vacant again. Oh, will it be different this time? Ohoh.”

Hearing the malicious words of Countess Boyd, the other ladies who were holding glasses moved their eyes to look at Adeline.

They didn’t know if it would be okay because the curse would leave if Adeline left.

In other words, the topic that no one could mention the whole time they had been at the party and been brought to the surface.

‘Why is everyone trying to brawl?’

As everyone looked at Adeline, she clicked her tongue inwardly.

It was very mild compared to the social world of the capital, but still, she was tired as she faced a lady who was trying to provoke her while saying she would get a head-start.

‘Is she doing this because she tried really hard to make her daughter the grand duchess but failed?’

If Adeline had planned to faithfully fulfill the role of the grand duchess, she would not have let it go and would have suppressed Countess Boyd, but that was not the case.

She didn’t want to waste energy fighting.

As if she had no intention to deal with her at all, Adeline smiled and sipped her tea.

“I want to talk to the young ladies now. Is everyone alright with that?”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

Adeline emptied her teacup and left the table.

Having gotten familiarized with the faces of the noblewomen, she wanted to accomplish her original purpose and quickly end the tea party.

The well-dressed young ladies appeared in front of Adeline, who was sitting down, approached her, and greeted her, revealing their names and titles.

“I am Anna, of the Euron Marquisate. I was counting the days to meet Your Grace.”

“You are so beautiful, Your Grace. I can’t even dare look at you.”

“Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to meet someone so precious as you, Your Grace.”

The young ladies tried very hard to win Adeline’s favor.

They used all kinds of rhetoric to praise Adeline’s beauty, to explain how honored they were for this encounter, or to secretly appeal to their own abilities in order to be elected as a handmaid.

‘I thought at least three people would stand out.’

The problem was that none of the many young ladies won Adeline’s heart.

“I greet Your Grace. I am Melissa, from the Harmon Barony.”

While she was trying to figure out what to do, the young lady, who was dressed plainly, calmly introduced herself.

As soon as Melissa greeted her, the ladies who had gathered together began to gossip.

It was because she was too simple and unsophisticated to even appear in the place where they were meeting the Grand Duchess for the first time.

But Melissa herself didn’t care about their reactions.

She was confident and didn’t feel intimidated at all.

She finished her introduction, revealing her name and title, as if she didn’t want to appeal to Adeline at all.

Besides, she showed clear signs of being bored with this party and wanting to go back quickly.

‘Melissa Harmon.’

But actually, she caught Adeline’s attention.

She felt a righteous energy coming from Melissa that could not be obscured by her poverty.

Those who judged people by their extravagance would not notice, but Adeline wasn’t like that.

Her clear, light-green eyes lit up very clearly.

“Nice to meet you, Melissa.”

For the first time, Adeline greeted a young lady by saying her name instead of just nodding.

Melissa, as well as the ladies who had gathered around her, looked at Adeline in surprise at the greeting that showed obvious interest.

The daughter of the Baron had a title that was too low to become the handmaid of the Grand Duchess.

However, the only lady she showed interest in was the daughter of a poor baron, so it was natural for the hall to be in an uproar.

Even Isabel, who was next to her, looked at Adeline with a somewhat bewildered face.

“Nice to meet you.”

“… It is an honor, Your Grace.”

Regardless, Adeline greeted her with a grin.

It was at this moment that Melissa was selected as the leading handmaid candidate.

***

“I knew you wouldn’t be a normal young lady, but I didn’t know you would be openly smoking tobacco in the Grand Duke’s castle.”

“Argh!!”

Melissa screamed in surprise when she saw Adeline appearing from behind.

Then, Adeline told her to be quiet and brought her index finger to her lips.

“What if the knights come?”

“H-how did you know I was here… It’s d-definitely a very secluded place…”

“I am the lady of this castle. How could I not know its structure?”

It was actually a lie.

It had only been a week since she came to the castle. Adeline had not yet been able to grasp the structure.

It was all thanks to Leo that Adeline was able to quietly follow Melissa.

[Learn well, Adeline. If you move like this, no one will notice unless they’re someone skilled.]

Adeline kept an eye on Melissa as the party continued, and as soon as she was about to leave the party hall, she followed suit while pretending to excuse herself for a moment.

She wanted to talk to her without anyone watching or listening to them, and she wondered what she was secretly leaving the hall for.

And although she did, she never thought she would be sneaking up on someone smoking in secret in a corner of the castle.

Smoking was allowed in the capital, but not in the north.

“I’m sure you know tobacco is forbidden?”

Melissa’s eyes shook at Adeline’s question.

However, it was only for a moment. As if she had made up her mind, her determined eyes faced Adeline.

“Tell me what I need to do to avoid punishment. I know what Your Grace wants from me.”

A smile spread over Adeline’s face at Melissa’s words.

It was exactly the reaction Adeline wanted.

She also liked the fact that she didn’t make a heartless apology to avoid the crisis, and she liked the cleverness of quickly grasping and utilizing what the other person wanted.

In fact, the northern discipline was a little strict only because of the smuggling problem, so it was a little embarrassing to say that smoking was a sin.

“I want you to be my handmaid. Then I’ll pretend not to know about the smoking. Not just today, but in the future, too.”

If she just asked, it seemed like she would run away by any means.

So Adeline made a condition, and Melissa, confirming what she wanted, looked at her in confusion.

“I am the daughter of a baron. My title is too insignificant for me to become the handmaid of the Grand Duchess.”

“I don’t just judge people by their titles. Isn’t it a waste to stick to the standards and miss out on great people just because of that one thing?”

It was one of Adeline’s firm convictions. It was stupid to differentiate between people using only their titles.

“But…”

“Your Grace! Your Grace!”

As Melissa blurred her words and hesitated, Isabel hurriedly approached Adeline.

“Isabel? What’s wrong?”

“In the party hall…”

The Countess could not speak as she was catching her breath.

“Something happened in the party hall!”