Chapter 140: The All-Seeing Eye of Complacency
Even the seemingly endless summer was coming to an end. It was still August, but the stifling air was starting to feel cooler. Sue, after visiting Melaine, had begun preparing for the debutante ball in earnest.
“Oh my, it suits you well, Sue.”
“It’s so pretty, Sister!”
“I-is that so?”
Eren had summoned Elizabeth to the capital to help Sue prepare for the debutante ball, one of the most important events for a noble lady.
Elizabeth was undoubtedly the person who lived the furthest from a noble lifestyle in the Byron family, but she diligently carried out Eren’s unreasonable demands, assisting Sue.
They were visiting the dress shop today because they had received a letter saying that the dresses they had ordered a few months ago were ready. If it had been just one dress, she would have had it delivered to her townhouse, but Sue had been indecisive about the designs and had ordered several.
Five custom-made dresses and sixteen ready-made dresses from the shop. It wouldn’t have been this exhausting if Elizabeth hadn’t insisted that she try on all the dresses she liked, since they had come all this way.
“This pink dress suits you best, after all.”
Out of the twenty-one dresses, there was only one that both Elizabeth and Sue liked. Sue, after going through all the dresses, ended up back in the dressing room with the pink silk dress she had tried on first.
“Is Lady Melaine doing okay?”
Elizabeth, tightening the corset strings in the dressing room, suddenly asked, as if she had just remembered. It seemed like she had been concerned about Melaine since the Holy Demon Religion incident had become a topic of conversation at a recent dinner party.
“She’s lost a lot of weight, but she’s resting now.”
“I see. To think the Holy Demon Religion was such a place. Have they caught the high priest yet?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh dear… I hope they catch him soon.”
The high priest of the Holy Demon Religion is probably weeding the front yard of the workshop right now.
Sue chuckled awkwardly, feeling a pang of guilt.
Elizabeth, having finished tightening the corset strings, slowly straightened up. She helped Sue into the pink silk dress and smoothed out the wrinkles.
“I wouldn’t have told you to go if I had known.”
She was still talking about the Holy Demon Religion. Her serene eyes, unlike those of the usual “Byron,” were still hard to read.
“No, it’s thanks to you that we were able to rescue Lady Melaine early.”
“He liked that place. But the moment he heard about its destruction, he frantically started making anti-magic potions. Hehe, I guess he was afraid of being brainwashed.”
Elizabeth chuckled, her cheeks flushed. She seemed to have found the incident amusing. The Perlman family had only attended one service, when the high priest wasn’t there, so they hadn’t been brainwashed.
If they had been brainwashed, Eren would have probably demanded compensation. Sue chuckled at the thought.
Elizabeth, as a final touch, neatly arranged her niece’s red hair. It was a darker shade than hers, but she always complimented Sue’s hair.
“You’re beautiful, Sue. As expected of the heir to the Byron family.”
She whispered, looking at Sue’s reflection in the mirror. But the truly beautiful one was Elizabeth herself.
On their way back to the mansion, Sue saw a familiar dress shop sign from the carriage window. It was the shop that sold “modern-style” dresses, the one she had visited with Enzhe around this time last year.
‘It’s still there?’
She had assumed it would have disappeared after Enzhe’s humiliation, but it was still in business, surprisingly. And interestingly, there was a large sign in front of the shop that read:
[MODELS WANTED]
It was still in business, but it seemed like business was slow. She didn’t have any ill feelings towards the designer, but it would be difficult to find models. There was no woman in the capital who would wear such strange dresses.
“Sister, what’s wrong?”
Lapis, seeing her staring out the window, tugged on her skirt with his bright eyes. Sue chuckled awkwardly.
“It’s nothing, Lapis. Oh, right, let’s have strawberry pie when we get back to the mansion. I asked Ten to prepare it.”
“Wow! Yay!”
“Sister! Me too, me too!”
The carriage was filled with the children’s laughter, until Elizabeth scolded them for their lack of manners. It seemed like playing the role of the good sister wasn’t easy.
Ten days had passed since the arrival of autumn. Ten days since the start of the fall semester at the academy.
Many things had changed with the new semester. First of all, Melaine had taken a leave of absence to recover from the brainwashing and her weakened physical and mental state. She wouldn’t be attending the Imperial Ball, and it was uncertain when she would return to the academy.
She was back to being strangers with Acrea, despite the various incidents they had been through together. She had thought they had formed a bond, but it seemed like it had been her imagination. He had always been that kind of person, so she quickly accepted it.
Enzhe was in the best mood she had been in all year. She didn’t care about Melaine’s leave of absence. Her only concerns were what dance she should dance with Fritz at the Imperial Ball and how strong their relationship would become.
Enzhe had spent the past few minutes talking about the dress she would wear to the Imperial Ball.
“I’ve decided on a red dress with gold embroidery. It’s Shina’s favorite design. And I’m going to wear the opal ring I received from the Fritz family on my ring finger. No one will object, right, Sue?”
Enzhe, her head in the clouds, wanted Sue’s approval. Sue nodded, of course.
“Of course not. You and Master Fritz are already an unbreakable couple, and if you dance together at the Imperial Ball, even His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress will bless you.”
“Hehe, you’re good with words.”
Enzhe praised her, not even tired of her usual flattery.
Sue thought of Fritz, his face pale and lifeless, staring blankly out the classroom window. He was getting closer and closer to marrying Enzhe, now that his connection with Halo had been severed and he couldn’t change partners.
She felt a little sorry for him, but this was the outcome she had been hoping for.
Enzhe would be partnered with Fritz, Halo would be partnered with a knight from the Ains grand duke family, and Melaine wouldn’t even attend the Imperial Ball.
That meant Enzhe wouldn’t be visiting the basement anymore, and it was perfect.
But even Enzhe had a small complaint. Her cheerful face suddenly darkened.
“I’m a little worried about Woo, though.”
She sighed. It was rare for Enzhe to express concern for Acrea.
“To think he’s bringing his maid as his partner because he can’t find anyone else. The second son of the Acrea family? How low-class.”
Enzhe grumbled, her head resting on her hand.
Even in the novel, Acrea hadn’t brought a named partner. But interestingly, the Imperial Ball episode was actually focused on Acrea.
He had decided to support Halo as Fritz’s partner, and in the process, he had fallen in love with her. But that was all in the past now.
“It can’t be helped, Grand Duke Reeves must have allowed it.”
Sue replied with a weak smile.
“Brother Reeves… He’s always so unpredictable.”
Enzhe seemed to accept it at the mention of Reeves’s name.
Sue’s gaze was drawn to a commotion in the corner of the classroom. A group of five or six girls were chatting, and Azette was at the center of it.
Sue stared blankly at Azette’s lovely face. Azette would sometimes acknowledge her when she went to Enzhe’s class. She was always popular, thanks to her pretty face, kind heart, and status as a former princess, even though she was a “winner.”
Her name had briefly become a hot topic at the academy recently. Azette Delondariwood had become a model for the controversial dress shop that even Sue had avoided.
“Hehe, the designer is from my region. That kind of design… It’s not considered strange in our region. Of course, I’m not planning to wear that dress to the Imperial Ball. The designer promised to make me the best dress.”
Was that the kind of clothing they wore in the Delondariwood territory?
“Besides, being a model makes it easier to negotiate the price.”
But it was a bit disappointing to find out that it was all about money.
The Delondariwood family wasn’t wealthy, despite their past glory. They had been royalty, and now they were a grand duke family, but they were mistreated by the empire, rather than being respected. So it was understandable that the young lady of the Delondariwood family would be concerned about finances.
“Oh, and did you know? Soran Halo from the Golden Lion class also became a model.”
Azette mentioned an unexpected name. It was shocking news, but Sue quickly understood. It must have been because of money. She probably thought it would be too embarrassing to ask the Ains family for a dress. In the novel, Acrea had provided her with a dress, so it hadn’t been a problem.
“Please look forward to the Imperial Ball. My dress and Soran’s dress will be amazing.”
“Hmph, those clueless girls, putting on airs.”
Enzhe, who had been listening silently, scoffed.
Normally, she would have dragged Azette to the basement for being an eyesore. Fortunately, Enzhe was in the best mood she had been in all year, so Azette’s commotion was just a minor annoyance.