“Have a safe trip, Father.”
Before the Duke departed for the territory, the two Bedford daughters followed him to the front door and politely greeted their father.
Lizzy, who had once followed the Duke around, showering him with affection, had become much quieter.
After experiencing the Duke’s tyranny several times, she seemed to have figured out what kind of attitude she needed to adopt to stay safe.
“Arrie. You’re meeting Duke Ashbon this afternoon, aren’t you?”
The Duke of Bedford asked, paying no attention to Lizzy’s change.
“Yes, Father.”
“Good. Don’t forget to get as much as you can out of him. If you do anything foolish, I will punish you severely, so don’t even think about acting rashly.”
“Of course. I will do my best not to disgrace Father.”
Having received the answer he wanted, the Duke finally left. A dozen servants and knights followed him in a flurry.
The large four-wheeled carriage glided away along the well-paved road. At the same time, the two Bedford daughters turned around and went their separate ways.
Since Kaia was revealed to be Lizzy’s biological older brother, Ariella and Lizzy had not exchanged a single word. However, the tension between them was even more brutal than before.
In the past, Lizzy would hurl raw insults at Ariella whenever they met, but these days, she would just stand there and stare at Ariella.
Her eyes, wide open with the whites showing, never blinking, were so eerie that the passing servants would recoil in horror.
And Ariella ignored Lizzy as if nothing was wrong. She didn’t lightly provoke her or sneer at her like she used to.
Lizzy and Kaia’s relationship still weighed heavily on her mind. But thanks to the meeting at the townhouse, Ariella had shaken off her useless guilt.
It was thanks to that that she had prepared the board for David without hesitation.
“Have you arrived, Miss?”
As she climbed the high stairs and arrived at her room, Amira peeked out from between the glamorous dresses. She seemed to have been preparing to adorn Ariella for today’s date in advance.
“Should we choose a dress that is as subdued as possible today as well?”
Her face was full of disappointment as she asked. It was because she knew that Ariella tried not to look too made up whenever she met Nobert.
She understood her feelings, but Amira, whose joy in life was to adorn her mistress in the most beautiful way possible without any restraint, could only feel sorry.
But today, Amira’s joy was finally about to be realized.
“No. You don’t have to do that anymore from today.”
She didn’t need to be conscious of his eyes and dress less carefully anymore.
No, to be exact…
For the first time in her life, Ariella wanted to look pretty to someone.
Her desire was so strong that she was willing to say these words, even knowing how much Amira would tease her.
“I want to look as pretty as possible… Amira, will you help me?”
The moment she noticed that her cheeks, which had tilted her head shyly, were blushing slightly. Amira felt something snap somewhere in her head.
She didn’t feel like teasing Ariella at all. Only an intense fighting spirit was burning brightly throughout her body.
And so, Amira vowed. Today, she would definitely adorn her mistress so beautifully that everyone who saw her would be speechless.
Amira poured her entire being into today’s preparations.
She always did her best for Lizzy’s debutante ball and when Ariella went to meet her former fiancé, but today she surpassed even that.
A face imbued with love inspired a great will in those who beheld it. If there was anything stronger and more effective than anger or revenge towards a cheating fiancé, it was this: love alone.
And so, Amira made Ariella’s blue eyes gleam fiercely as she painstakingly braided each strand of her hair, delicately adorned it with dozens of tiny pearls, and perfectly arranged every fold of her dress.
Her face was so serious in her concentration that Rosa, a chambermaid who came on an errand, remarked that it looked “as if she had sold her soul to the devil.”
Several hours later.
Amira watched Ariella leave the mansion with Adam in tow, her face filled with utter satisfaction.
‘Perfect.’
From the servants who gasped and secretly admired Ariella as she passed, to the usually clumsy Sir Adam, who seemed even more awkward than usual today, Amira confirmed everything and collapsed onto her bed with a faint smile on her lips.
Later, Rosa would say that she looked like a general who had fought a fierce battle and died a glorious death.
Today’s meeting was merely to strategize for the future, not a date.
