NRAL | Chapter 80

~Chapter 80~

A Meeting That Was No Coincidence

“Hmmm…”

Eleanor gently touched her chin as she looked down at the sparkling jewelry.

Since becoming the “fake princess,” her new dressing room had filled with all kinds of dresses and accessories. It was almost laughable—she had far fewer things back when she had actually been the real princess.

Among the collection was a unique hairpiece gifted by Lady Corcos, and a hat bought specifically for her meeting with Baron Turner. But what caught her eye was something else entirely.

“This one. I’ll wear this.”

“Come on, my lady! I told you, you can’t wear that!”

As Eleanor picked up a hat decorated with white lace, Hilda—watching from behind—rushed over, flustered.

“If you wear something I made and end up embarrassed, what will I do?”

Yes, the hat Eleanor chose was one of the many Hilda had made.

Hilda still spent her spare time crafting artificial flowers and lace, decorating hats, and making new accessories for fun.

But unlike before—when her inexperienced work clearly showed—the things she made recently were beautiful and refined, almost good enough to be sold in professional boutiques. Thanks to Eleanor’s encouragement and support, Hilda’s skills had improved tremendously.

“Embarrassed? Nonsense. I told you, Hilda—your pieces are better than what some expensive boutiques sell. You should start a business.”

“Oh my, a business? Me? That’s too much! It’s just a little hobby.”

“It’s too much of a waste to leave it as just a hobby. Even Lady Corcos said so. She said, You have real talent.”

When Eleanor spoke seriously, Hilda’s cheeks flushed bright red.

Talent? That was the first time anyone had said something like that to her. Even though she knew it was probably an exaggeration, she couldn’t help but feel a flutter of hope inside. Hilda tried to act like she didn’t care and picked up the hat.

“Alright, alright. I’ll match this hat with the rest of your outfit, but please stop with all the compliments. Sometimes I think you enjoy teasing me.”

“Teasing? I’m being sincere. Say, Hilda—why don’t we start a business together someday? If you’re worried about doing it alone, I can handle the investment and management. What do you think?”

“Hahaha, alright! Let’s do it. We’ll split the shares fifty-fifty!”

“Are you crazy? Even ten percent would be too generous. You’ll get scammed one day with thinking like that.”

“If it’s you, my lady, I’d gladly get scammed a hundred times.”

“You sweet-talker… No way. I’ll have to keep an eye on you so you don’t get in trouble.”

Eleanor and Hilda’s affectionate conversation would make even a pair of lovers jealous.

From outside the door, Ernst’s face twisted strangely as he overheard their conversation. But the two women were so lost in their own little world that they had no idea and continued to laugh together.

“Oh, by the way, a letter came from His Highness the Crown Prince. Did you see it?”

While helping Eleanor into a dress that matched the hat, Hilda carefully brought up Arlo.

Eleanor responded casually, showing no real change in her expression.

“Yeah, just the same old predictable nonsense.”

The letter from the imperial palace was, unsurprisingly, very typical of Arlo.

He pretended to be as arrogant and confident as ever, asking about her well-being and telling her he was just fine. The rumors about him, he claimed, were nonsense. He had only a few minor scars and was otherwise fine—so she shouldn’t believe anything strange and should come visit him.

“Why does he want to meet me so badly when it doesn’t even work anymore? He’s ridiculous.”

Maybe he thought seeing her would make him functional again. Or maybe he simply couldn’t accept the reality of his condition and was acting out.

It was poor Nora who was truly pitiful. Even though her fiancé had become impotent, she didn’t break off the engagement and tried to support him—and yet he was off chasing after other women.

“So, will you go see him?”

“Hmm… I might stop by once. It could be fun.”

Seeing Arlo’s miserable state with her own eyes might be satisfying. Hilda seemed to have the same thought, nodding as she fastened the buttons.

Thanks to Hilda’s quick work, the dress was soon ready.

If there had been more maids, it would’ve gone even faster—but Hilda preferred working alone. She was concerned that another maid might end up telling Nora.

“What about makeup?”

“Make it as beautiful and flashy as possible. Father told me to, so I’ll at least pretend to listen.”

“Sigh… As much as I love dressing you up, today I’m not in the mood. Making you all pretty just to go meet that ugly old man? Ugh!”

Eleanor burst into laughter at Hilda’s blunt words.

By “ugly old man,” of course, she meant Baron Turner. That evening, Eleanor had plans to dine with him at an expensive restaurant in the city—alone. Following her father’s instructions, she was putting extra effort into her appearance.

Hilda wasn’t actually worried that Eleanor might end up marrying Baron Turner. She had come to understand her lady well enough by now.

Still, it annoyed her that someone as precious as Eleanor had to dine with such a clueless man. She even felt the urge to slap the Duke of Astria himself for ordering such a thing, as if packaging a product.

“Still, make me look pretty,” Eleanor said with a warm smile to Hilda, who was clearly upset on her behalf.

“You never know. I might just run into someone else tonight—not that ugly old man.”

***

Jason Turner, a man in his fifties—old enough to be her father—turned out to be even more unpleasant than Eleanor had imagined.

He was thirty minutes late for their appointment and shamelessly boasted without offering a single apology.

“Oh, you’re already here. So, do you like the restaurant I reserved just for you? I heard young women like these kinds of places, so I went out of my way.”

He made it sound as if he’d rented out the whole place for her.

Bragging about simply making a reservation? Even Arlo, as boastful as he was, wouldn’t go that far.

And he didn’t stop there. After sitting down, he pushed things even further.

“Well, then again, you’re not exactly a ‘young girl’ anymore. At twenty-two, it wouldn’t be odd if you already had three or four kids. How lucky for you that I’m interested! Otherwise, you’d have been mocked as an old maid, haha!”

As if he had just made a hilarious joke, he burst into loud laughter, while Eleanor stared at him, dumbfounded.

‘What is wrong with this man?’

She had met many people in high society, but this type was rare. To be fair, she mostly interacted with high-ranking nobles, so such tactless, brainless men were unusual.

As she stared at him in disbelief, Baron Turner suddenly blushed and started rambling about how much money he had promised to pay Duke Astria in exchange for marrying her.

All the while, he kept sneaking glances at her face, her chest, her waist, and even her thighs—with eyes full of obvious lust.

“You have quite a mature figure, Lady. I bet you could have three or four children without trouble.”

It was the third strike. Eleanor’s mind was spinning, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Hard to believe I’m thinking I’d rather deal with Arlo instead.’

The man before her wasn’t as hateful as Arlo, but he was far more uncomfortable.

The way he looked at her like an object reminded her of her father. The unfiltered lust reminded her of Arlo. And the sheer stupidity reminded her of Damian. All combined, Baron Turner was without question the worst person she had ever met.

‘No wonder his hair has all fallen out.’

She glared at his shiny bald head, her thoughts turning dark.

The conversation that followed wasn’t much better. Well, it wasn’t really a conversation—more like a one-sided rant.

Baron Turner endlessly bragged about his wealth, skills, and past glory. He continued making crude remarks that he probably thought were compliments. Eleanor, nearly in a meditative state, just sipped her water.

One semi-interesting fact was that he had worked as a knight in his youth. She couldn’t imagine it—he could barely move now. But she didn’t ask. She had a hunch that doing so would lead to hours of stories she didn’t want to hear.

After several minutes of listening to him talk, Turner suddenly stopped and cleared his throat loudly.

“By the way… at that last debutante ball. The man you danced with first…”

He was clearly trying to bring up Karsian.

Even a man like him must’ve felt nervous about the idea. After all, if he tried to seduce a woman the Grand Duke had his eye on, there could be serious consequences.

Watching his awkward hesitation, Eleanor smiled sweetly.

“Oh, you mean Karsian?”

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

As soon as she casually said Karsian’s name, the baron broke into a fit of coughing. He looked like he’d nearly choked in shock.

“H-How can you speak the Grand Duke’s name so casually?!”

“It’s alright. Karsian personally asked me to call him by name. I have his permission, so don’t worry.”

Baron Turner’s tiny eyes darted around nervously. Even he—clueless about most social matters—understood that this was unusual.

“S-So, um… is there something going on between you and the Grand Duke…?”

His tone suddenly became very polite. He even pulled his legs together after sitting with them spread wide the whole time.

Watching him shrink back, Eleanor gave a soft chuckle and shook her head.

“There’s nothing special between us. We’ve only spoken a few times. I don’t have any romantic interest in Karsian, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, of course!”

The baron’s face lit up in relief.

Right—there was no way the great Grand Duke Royster would be interested in a fake princess!

He relaxed, spreading his legs again. But just as his knee brushed Eleanor’s—

Whack!

Something hard struck his thigh with a loud thud.

“Ahh!”

He yelped and quickly pulled his legs back in.

“That’s a disappointing thing to say.”

A low voice echoed beside him. Baron Turner turned in shock, eyes glistening with tears.

He was about to yell at the man who dared to kick him—but the words died in his throat.

Because standing there, looking like he’d stepped out of a painting, was a man gazing tenderly at Eleanor.

“But I have a very strong interest in you.”