Chapter 83
“There are also the dresses I brought from the imperial palace…”
When Reina stubbornly persisted, Lily sighed and said,
“If I may be presumptuous, the dresses Madam brought are out of fashion and far too worn. I’ve heard that during the social season, one does not wear the same dress multiple times.”
Having studied the capital’s high society, Lily had personally felt that Reina had been a princess with no presence.
The luxury items she’d brought showed heavy signs of use.
This meant that, despite being royalty, her stipend for maintaining dignity had been meager.
With a low rank among the imperial family and no powerful maternal relatives, she couldn’t have spent much on luxuries.
Moreover, as Reina’s personal maid, Lily couldn’t possibly miss how sharply the capital’s eyes scrutinized her.
She hated the idea of her flawless Madam being spoken ill of by others.
Lily declared with a resolute face,
“I’ll dress you so perfectly that no one will ever dare look down on Madam! In fact, I’ll make them say it’s the Duke who’s head over heels for Madam!”
“Lily, you’re putting too much force into it, and that last part is a huge exaggeration…”
Flustered by the overly excited Lily, Reina stepped back, but Kaiden chimed in,
“Do as Lily says. It’s not exactly a lie, is it?”
Not exactly a lie, he says.
Reina gaped at Kaiden.
Lily covered her mouth with both hands and squealed.
He dropped a bombshell and kept a straight face.
Come to think of it, his attitude had been gradually changing since they arrived in the capital.
Ever since coming here, he’d been trailing after her like a puppy. Rose had even snapped at him to give her some space.
Anyone would call it doting-husband behavior.
‘Is he just more immersed in the act because we’re in the capital?’
But if that were the case, he looked way too happy about it.
When Reina shot him a suspicious glance, Kaiden tilted his head.
“Is there something on my face?”
“No.”
Caught staring too obviously, Reina whipped her head away. Kaiden continued,
“If we’re going to do this, we should do it properly, shouldn’t we? Let them see who you really are.”
“Exactly! I absolutely refuse to let our Madam attend social events looking shabby!”
Lily’s eyes blazed as she shouted with heroic determination.
It seemed Reina was the only one here with a different opinion.
“Fine.”
With Reina’s permission granted, no one could stop Lily.
“Our Madam looks stunning in anything, so we must have her try everything she can wear!”
* * *
Lavender—a rising social club for young noble ladies.
Word of the Crensia couple had reached even this gathering of future capital leaders.
“Have you heard? Princess Reina came up to the capital with the Duke of Crensia.”
The moment someone opened the topic, chatter erupted as if they’d been waiting.
“I heard they visited Gabriel’s dress shop last time—and practically cleaned the place out. Well, with the duke’s wealth, he could buy the entire shop and still have change.”
“Gabriel’s is a women’s specialty boutique. The rumors that the duke dotes on the princess must be true.”
“I heard His Majesty personally issued an imperial edict ordering them to attend the Grand Nobles’ Assembly. On the day they entered the capital, he even sent a congratulatory message to their residence.”
Everyone’s tone dripped with veiled envy. A princess who’d had no presence now bore the Crensia name and even caught the emperor’s eye—of course they were jealous.
Meanwhile, Isabel, leader of the Lavender club, was in an extremely foul mood.
Her sister’s triumphant return—something she’d tried to forget—was nothing less than a thorn in her side.
The humiliation from a year ago was still vivid: the dress bursting into flames, the insulting words, and the Duke of Crensia’s icy response.
That alone had been mortifying enough.
But after Reina left, her full-blooded brother, and crown prince of the empire—Siegfried, had personally sought her out.
She didn’t know where he’d heard the story. The palace was overflowing with his eyes and ears.
Still, he was family; she’d assumed he’d take her side.
Honestly, that level of prank was mild compared to what she’d done before.
If Reina hadn’t pointlessly rebelled, Isabel wouldn’t have suffered such a disgrace.
She’d been sulking with those thoughts when—
Siegfried, who had been listening in silence, snapped coldly.
“So in the end, Reina saw through all your cards?”
“Huh?”
“Isabel, do you know what angers me most right now?”
“…I-I don’t…”
The atmosphere turned murderous in an instant. Isabel shrank back.
Even seeing her fear, Siegfried’s words were unrelenting.
“That you don’t even realize what you did wrong. If you’re that stupid, you should at least be cautious, shouldn’t you?”
“O-Oppa…”
“As long as His Majesty shows interest in Reina, that girl is not someone you can touch. I never imagined you’d be this much of an idiot.”
“…”
“Stay in seclusion until I call for you. It seems I’ve spoiled you far too much.”
His tone was soft, but his eyes were filled with contempt. For the first time, Isabel was truly afraid of Siegfried.
It was also the moment she realized that being full siblings didn’t mean he would protect her.
As Siegfried had said, Reina was becoming someone Isabel could no longer touch.
She was now, in name and reality, the Duchess.
Moreover, with the North’s momentum at its peak, Isabel harassing her was utterly out of the question.
‘I hate all of this.’
As Isabel clenched her fists and steadied her breathing,
Wendy, who had been watching Isabel’s mood, changed the subject.
“Princess Isabel, how was the last banquet? You’ve already been invited by His Majesty three times. That’s amazing!”
She’d meant to lift Isabel up, but the spark flew the wrong way.
“Oh! Come to think of it, Princess Isabel must know Princess Reina well. You lived in the same palace, after all.”
“We weren’t particularly close.”
Isabel was openly uncomfortable, but she couldn’t stop the gossipmongers’ attention.
“Come on, some people said they saw the two of you together before. Don’t you know anything, Princess Isabel?”
“Not at all.”
“Then how about inviting her to the next regular Lavender meeting? Who knows—maybe the duke will come too?”
So that’s their goal.
Isabel swallowed a hollow laugh at their transparent intentions.
Just as they’d tried to build ties with the Julid ducal house through her, they now wanted to connect with Crensia through Reina.
Since the whole point of social clubs was networking, she couldn’t completely ignore the suggestion.
“I’ll send an invitation, but don’t get your hopes up. She’s never been fond of these kinds of gatherings.”
She gave a perfunctory answer and barely escaped the uncomfortable topic.
Reina wouldn’t accept her invitation anyway.
Having achieved their minor goal, the conversation swiftly shifted.
Most of it was about eligible unmarried noblemen.
“This spring, the second son of Marquis Hook officially inherited the Hook Company, right? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the eldest son at the Grand Nobles’ Assembly.”
“The eldest son guards the seas while the marquis attends the assembly.”
“I hear the second son is incredibly handsome. The eldest must be good-looking too, right?”
“The eldest is completely different from the second. He takes after the marquis—tall, built like an ox, and pirates tremble at the sight of him.”
“Come to think of it, the second son is still unmarried, isn’t he? Will he come to this Grand Nobles’ Assembly too?”
“Of course. I ran into him at a banquet before—he’s so pretty, prettier than most women…”
Isabel only half-listened to their chatter. Watching them hunt for husbands like hyenas felt pathetic.
