“The clerk made a mistake, they say! The day before yesterday, the hat Lady Ailsden bought was actually a limited edition! Because Madame Dufray left in such a rush for a funeral, the clerk misunderstood and sold the sample hats they’d made as limited editions, can you believe it?”
In other words, the small black hat Natalie bought was said to be Madame Dufray’s masterpiece of a lifetime.
“Because a fire broke out at dawn and turned the shop to ashes! They say the only limited edition Madame Dufray spent three years making is the one Lady Ailsden has. People who bought sample hats thinking they were limited editions are protesting, and Boutique Street is in complete chaos right now!”
The baroness, while venting her frustration, fawned over Natalie.
How could she have known it was the real limited edition? As expected, the lady has impeccable taste, she praised.
“Well, it was obviously the prettiest one. It had a certain charm that caught the eye.”
“Oh my!”
When Natalie responded haughtily, feigning ignorance, the baroness gasped in admiration.
In no time, rumors about Natalie spread like wildfire through high society.
Madame Dufray was a once-in-a-century genius in the fashion world, and her works were luxury items so rare that even money couldn’t guarantee their purchase.
Even prominent royals and nobles vied to monopolize her, but she was famous for rejecting offers worth millions with a single stroke.
Such was the immense influence of this titan of the continental fashion world, and she was devastated when a fire destroyed the masterpiece she had poured her heart into for three years.
“As of today, I declare my permanent retirement from the fashion world.”
The continent was turned upside down completely.
As a result, the one remaining limited-edition Dufray’s limited edition hat skyrocketed in value.
It was widely believed to be worth enough to buy ten estates with ease.
Of course, that was only if it were for sale.
In the end, Natalie became the sole wearer to own the genius’s final masterpiece.
Her reputation in noble society wasn’t great, but this time, she certainly earned a fair share of envy in high society.
‘Just lucky,’ Natalie thought. No different from what people were saying.
The black hat had indeed strangely captivated her at the time, but a hat was just a hat. Naturally, there was nothing to explain unless it was pure coincidence.
Thanks to this, Natalie received a rare invite to many party invitations for once.
Of course, her long-standing notoriety didn’t suddenly improve her reputation or make people approach her warmly.
However, since everyone was desperate to catch a glimpse of the continent-famous hat, Natalie became a temporary celebrity.
Whenever she appeared wearing Madame Dufray’s small black silk hat, imitation products would quietly copycat versions would appear at the dance halls a few days later.
Natalie, the center of attention, was even invited to a rather exclusive outdoor party.
“Lady Ailsden, how about a walk together?”
“You pick a horse’s number, place a bet, and if your horse wins, you get the payout based on the odds.”
A wine party with young noblemen and women.
When everyone else placed their bets, Natalie, swept up in the atmosphere, haughtily picked a horse.
But she was a complete novice who knew nothing about horse racing.
So, she intended to play it safe and pick the sturdy white horse that everyone else was betting on.
‘For some reason, I want to bet on that one.’
A scrawny, clearly underfed horse.
Compared to the glossy, muscular white horse, the small, chestnut-colored horse with reddish-brown fur was obviously a losing bet.
Even professional racegoers from abroad noticeably favored the white horse on and paid little attention to the chestnut one.
“Lady Ailsden? What are you doing?”
Yet, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from that reddish-brown horse, as if enchanted.
In the end, after hesitating until the very last moment, Natalie bet all her pocket money on the scrawny horse.
“Haha! My lady, why make such a foolish choice in an obvious race?”
“Come on, I’ll be generous. Hurry up and switch your bet to the white horse!”
Even the young lords who frequently enjoyed horse racing as a hobby all bet on the white horse.
The ladies who followed suit and bet on the white horse whispered behind their fans, stifling giggles.
“What’s with that stubbornness? Does she really need to stand out like that?”
“Exactly, such a waste of money. Though, I knew it from the moment she started dyeing her hair that color…”
“Isn’t the race starting?”
Natalie snapped her fan shut with a stern face.
The ladies exchanged glances and fell silent, while the young lords shrugged.
The race began as is, and Natalie, belatedly realizing her empty pockets, felt thoroughly displeased.
‘Why did I act so impulsively?’
But Natalie was a duke’s daughter with sky-high pride.
With people already whispering behind her back, retracting her bet would make her an outright laughingstock. She absolutely couldn’t let that happen.
Frowning under the tent, Natalie watched the horses bolt forward at the sound of the starting shot.
“Huh?!”
At that moment, dark clouds that had gathered overhead unleashed a torrential downpour.
Shockingly, the white horse, soaked by the rain, began dripping white liquid.
As the sticky white substance melted away, the leading white horse revealed a dappled pattern, and its hooves tangled, gradually slowing down.
Neigh!
Then, the reddish-brown scrawny horse, trailing in last place, reared toward the sky.
Astonishingly, the small horse drank the rainwater, stretched its limbs, and began galloping with far more vigor than before.
In the blink of an eye, the chestnut horse thundered past the finish line in first place.
“And the winner is one person only! Lady Natalie Ailsden!”
Amid the stunned silence, the foreign racegoers cheerfully shouted, handing her a mountain of gold coin sacks.
Natalie’s jaw dropped at the sum, easily surpassing three years’ worth of her allowance.
Those who lost their bets protested, but the foreign racegoers loudly argued that changing a horse’s color for aesthetic purposes was no issue.
“The chestnut horse is native to humid regions, so it hates clear weather but thrives in the rain. It’s a rare wild horse, tamed with great difficulty and debuted for the first time.”
Since the essence of horse racing was judging horses, the nobles, who had only cared about appearances, had to reluctantly forfeit their money.
Meanwhile, the racegoers asked how she figured it out. Natalie blurted out:
“I just liked that horse.”
“My goodness, the young lady is incredibly lucky! Even professionals couldn’t have noticed… we’ve been outdone.”
At the racegoers’ amazement, the nobles, who had suspected she might have known something in advance, were dumbfounded.
“No way! How could a racing novice who barely knew how to bet get such luck?”
“She got Madame Dufray’s limited edition hat all to herself too! She must attract luck!”
In an instant, Natalie earned the nickname “Lightning Luck” and became a celebrity.
She was already famous, but now she was even more so.
People gathered daily to gossip about Natalie.
She wasn’t particularly kind-hearted, nor did she make any special effort, yet she stumbled into lightning-like luck, so half the talk was envy, half jealousy.
Not entirely sure what was happening, but with two strokes of good fortune in a row, Natalie was absolutely delighted.
Everyone wanted to meet the girl who had grasped such miraculous luck.
Most were nobles hoping that being near her might bring them lightning luck or access to exclusive information others didn’t know.
Naturally, Natalie received more invitations than ever since her social debut.
‘Now they’re trying to curry favor.’
But in high society, fame meant influence, so it was a good thing.
Though their intentions weren’t purely kind, unlike before, some people actively tried to befriend her.
Having always been an outsider, Natalie was a bit excited.
She carefully selected and attended parties. Then, she received an invitation to a masquerade ball, exclusive to a select few.
“An auction? Interesting.”
It seemed a special auction would be held as well.
Natalie donned a red butterfly mask and left the mansion.
But on the way to the party by carriage, heavy rain began to fall.
Idly watching the window and anticipating the party, Natalie suddenly frowned.
‘I don’t want to go anymore!’
All of a sudden, she desperately, unbearably, absolutely didn’t want to go.
Even though she’d been so excited about the masquerade ball that she’d had a new dress made.
She’d already RSVP’d, and bailing now would surely invite ridicule.
‘But I just don’t want to go.’
No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, the strange impulse was overwhelming. The thought of going to the party made her skin crawl and irritation surge.
Chewing her lip, Natalie finally turned the carriage around right in front of the mansion hosting the party.
By the time she returned home, the heavy rain was pouring down fiercely.
The Ailsden mansion, as always, was dark and gloomy late at night. Natalie changed her clothes, lay in bed, and tried to sleep.
“The hat and the horse seemed like sure losses, but good things happened. This will turn out the same way.”
Natalie mumbled unconsciously. She hoped this strange impulse she felt was a harbinger of luck and fell asleep.
That night, Natalie had a nightmare.
– Screech!
A dream where the Ailsden mansion was engulfed in flames by a fire-breathing beast, turning into a sea of fire.
Surrounded by swarming monsters, Natalie clutched her dead family and wailed.
-“Father! Brother! No!”
Boom!
A loud noise pierced her ears. Natalie’s eyes shot open.
The pitch-black room brightened, and the sound of someone approaching with heavy footsteps reached her.
‘Was it a dream?’
Natalie turned her head, still half-asleep.
At that moment, the canopy of her bed was yanked open, revealing Anatol’s face, panting heavily.
Her brother, five years older.
“Brother?”
When Natalie asked dazedly, Anatol, drenched in sweat, let out a small curse and sighed in relief.
Natalie looked up at him, still groggy.
“Damn it! You were asleep, right? You didn’t go to the masquerade ball, did you? Huh?”
“I-I was sleeping…”
Nodding absentmindedly, Natalie grew puzzled.
How did he know I was going to the masquerade ball?
‘I’m sure I didn’t mention being invited or whether I was attending.’
Looking down at her, Anatol said stiffly:
“Tonight, a Class 1 prohibited drug operation was busted at the masquerade ball. Every attendee was arrested and dragged to prison.”
