Ariella looked at Amira with a confused expression. Amira was sitting on a wooden chair, as she always did, creating something with her hands. Yesterday it was lace, and today it was artificial flowers.
“…What are you making?”
“Oh, this? It’s a marigold flower. I thought it would look nice attached to the hat you bought.”
Amira held up the cute flower and placed it on the hat she had bought yesterday.
Perhaps because of the quality of the artificial flower, it looked quite pretty even to Ariella, who was not well-versed in fashion. It seemed even better than what the merchant had brought yesterday.
“Actually, this is my hobby. Making pretty lace or flowers and decorating things. It might look a bit shabby, right?”
“No, not at all. It’s prettier than the hats I saw yesterday. You should consider starting a business.”
“Y-Yes?! Oh, my lady! You flatter me so much, I’m embarrassed. What would I do with a business…!”
Looking genuinely embarrassed, Amira shook her head, her cheeks turning bright red. The speed at which her face turned was dizzying to anyone watching.
It really seemed like she could sell them. Ariella contemplated whether to add that she was serious, but decided against it. If she did, Amira’s head would surely spin off.
Instead, she decided to trust Amira a little more from now on.
It wasn’t that she would foolishly give her everything like she had done with Lizzy.
But still, just a little, it felt okay to let her in a bit more.
***
“Are you going out, Arrie?”
Ariella encountered Lizzy’s face an hour before the dinner party began, after changing into her dress and returning from her father’s study.
“Wow, your dress is so beautiful. Did you have it made new?”
Lizzy complimented Ariella’s navy dress with a bright smile.
Thanks to Amira and Monica’s efforts, she had indeed transformed quite a bit, but there was no way she wouldn’t recognize the dress she had chosen herself.
After all, she was the one who had instructed everyone at the famous dressmaker not to make a new dress for Ariella, so this was merely a teasing remark.
As expected, the two maids trailing behind Lizzy giggled and snickered. They resembled their mistress, their laziness reaching the heavens.
“Are you going out somewhere?”
Ariella lowered her gaze to scan Lizzy’s outfit.
A very bright and pretty pink dress caught her eye. The neckline was cut low, the waist was tightly cinched with no room left, and the skirt had light frills here and there. It seemed to be a recent design, as it was the first time she had seen it.
“Oh, is that not the case? I heard you can’t go out yet. You haven’t caught up to my progress.”
How unfortunate. As I whispered with a bright smile, the faces of the two maids quickly contorted.
A young lady from a noble family cannot attend any social gatherings until she has made her debut. This is an unwritten rule of the social world.
According to Amira, Lizzy was suffering greatly because of this.
She wanted to go to balls and various parties like the other nobles, but because of something she said, even her debut was becoming difficult.
She had mentioned that her mood had been terrible lately… but for some reason, Lizzy’s face didn’t seem all that upset right now.
“It’s a pity, but there’s nothing we can do. Well then, I hope you have a pleasant outing.”
As she shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing and turned away without regret, I even felt a kind of joy.
Was she plotting something?
The sly smile in her eyes was reminiscent of what I had seen through the crack of a door in the past. It was a look filled with the expectation that Ariella would fall into the trap she had set.
Calculating all the variables in my head, I hurried back to my room.
If I wanted to arrive at the Lancashire Count’s residence on time, I had to leave quickly. I had originally planned to prepare with more leisure, but due to the Duke’s unnecessary lengthy remarks, the remaining time was tight.
The royal permission needed for the wine business had been granted today.
Still, I had already finished most of the preparations, and all that was left was to put on the accessories, so I wouldn’t be late.
However, I soon realized that I had miscalculated.
“Miss…!”
Amira, who had been waiting for Ariella with her neck stretched out, spoke with a pale, horrified face.
“I’m sorry. The accessories we bought yesterday…! They’ve all disappeared! It seems we’ve been robbed.”
So this was it.
Ariella’s lips curled into a smile.
Lizzy finally began to move properly.
It was the moment I had been waiting for. If all she had done was put pressure on the costume room and follow her father around, I would have been disappointed.
