Dress alterations?
“What are you talking about? Did you ever have any dresses of mine, Sister?”
“…Remember what I told you at the last party?”
“You said my taste in dresses was pathetic.”
“I didn’t put it that harshly. Didn’t I say you’d be better off wrapping yourself in pastry wrappers?”
That’s even harsher!
I felt my irritation spike again, but then Natalie added, “I’ve been having a few of my dresses altered to fit your measurements.”
“Wha—? Why… would you go that far…?”
“It seems you at least have an eye for beauty, but your sense can’t keep up. It was a pity. Try wearing a real dress at the next party.”
Wow.
For a second, I couldn’t believe my ears.
Natalie actually said something like a kind insult?
Sure, still wrapped in thorns, but she was apparently doing it for me. What was her angle—was she serious?
Wondering if I’d been too prejudiced against Natalie, I glanced to the side. Even the maid looked shocked, her mouth hanging open.
Natalie spun on her heel.
“Wait here a moment. I’ll get dressed quickly and come out.”
“You’re… coming to the botanical garden with me?”
“Yes. These days, if I leave you alone, you’ll just cling to the dessert table. It’d be a shame if the altered dresses didn’t fit.”
“There’s no need for you to come! I’ll just eat less on my own!”
But Natalie didn’t even pretend to hear, striding off.
Seriously, what is up with her?
Getting her dresses altered for me? Is she planning to hide pins in the seams?
“What do you think?”
I turned to the maid. She was still making a puzzled face before she finally spoke.
“Whatever happens, stay strong, my lady Dori.”
“…”
Yeah. I should at least do that.
So in the end, I headed to the outdoor event with Natalie.
Natalie pulled her huge bonnet down low. Clearly she wouldn’t let a single bit of sunlight touch her face. I let her fuss about the angle of my own hat slide in one ear and out the other as we entered the garden.
A servant loudly announced to the guests.
“Welcome to the opening of the botanical garden. There are tables and refreshments prepared deeper inside the grounds! The formal event will begin at 1 p.m.…”
I hadn’t expected much, but the scenery was actually beautiful.
At the entrance, green broadleaf trees formed a curtain on either side, and past that was a garden filled with orange gladiolus and tulips.
“Wow, it’s so lovely!”
The maid sighed in admiration. Even Natalie spoke in a slightly higher tone than usual.
“A cluster of dozens of flowers doesn’t have to be gaudy. From now on, I’ll only accept bouquets of at least fifty blooms.”
Ah, sure.
Then next to me, the maid let out a different kind of gasp.
“Oh my…”
Wondering what it was, I turned—and my mouth fell open.
“Wow…”
Maria Meyer. The original female lead was walking through a field of daffodils. That was it—just walking. And yet it felt like looking at a masterpiece painting.
Turns out when someone’s truly stunning, all you can do is marvel.
Maria seemed embarrassed by all the eyes on her and quickly fled into a nearby greenhouse. Some guests immediately seized the moment to whisper.
“Surprised she came out at all. I heard she turns down over half her party invitations because she’s so shy.”
“Probably got pushed into it for her uncle’s sake. If she hates parties so much, she should just accept some suitor and marry already.”
“With that face, you think she’d settle for just any suitor?”
“If looks are all she has, she’d better pick fast—before the men start getting picky.”
Ugh, what filthy talk. Is this high society or the jungle?
…And then I realized something terrifying.
‘Natalie could be even worse than that, couldn’t she?’
In the original story, Natalie never attended this outdoor party. But what if she picked a fight with Maria because she came with me? What if that changed the entire plot?
Should I try to hold her back, get the maid to help me…
Wait.
Why wasn’t Natalie saying anything about the female lead?
Feeling uneasy, I turned—and Natalie’s eyes met mine. I nearly screamed. Why was she staring at me? Did I do something wrong?
Frozen in place, I heard Natalie speak.
“Lucky, aren’t you, Dori. There’s someone else here to be their target of nonsense.”
“Pardon?”
“If Maria Meyer weren’t here, you’d be the one they were tearing apart for gossip.”
“Ah…”
“…Maybe I shouldn’t have come.”
She muttered it softly, then tugged her bonnet lower like the sunlight annoyed her.
Hey, Natalie.
Did you… come just so I wouldn’t get ripped apart alone?
While I was turning that over in my head, Natalie spoke again.
“Dori. Did you really just come here to see flowers?”
I trotted out the same lie I’d told the maid earlier.
“Yes. Once I’m married, I won’t be able to come to places like this so easily.”
“Heh. So you’re sure you’ll be getting married soon. To whom?”
“To His Highness Tristan, of course.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed like a fox’s. Her next sharp words stabbed right into me.
“His Highness will keep the engagement, but do you really think he’ll take you to see flowers after marriage? What a heartbreakingly naive trust.”
“Ah…”
“What do you think, Your Highness Tristan?”
Wait, what?
Startled, I turned to look where Natalie’s voice was aimed.
And there stood Tristan.
He looked like he’d come in a rush. His formalwear was impeccable, but his hair was disheveled.
You weren’t supposed to be at this event originally either…?
With me between them, the main villainess and the secondary villain regarded each other.
And their gazes were anything but friendly.
Tristan curled his lips into a smile. It felt more disdainful than pleased.
“It’s been a while, Lady Redfield. I heard you only attend parties with full orchestras and carpets. Are you getting impatient for marriage at last?”
In the original story, Tristan and Natalie didn’t get along.
Natalie thought Tristan was ‘nothing but a pretty face with the worst personality, strutting around thinking he’s a great catch.’
Meanwhile, Tristan thought Natalie was ‘nothing but a pretty face with the worst personality, strutting around like she’s some grand bride.’
…Honestly, they were quite the matching set, weren’t they?
Of course, if I said that out loud, Natalie would probably bury me in the back woods.
Meanwhile, Natalie answered without losing her smile.
“Sometimes an elder sister simply wants to be with her younger sister. Shouldn’t Your Highness also consider supporting your elder brother instead of chasing pretty ladies? Since you hold yourself so youthfully, like that of a ten-year-old boy, I’m sure your brothers would be delighted to play with you.”
In short: ‘You immature brat, your mental age isn’t even fit to chase women, go frolic with your brothers instead.’
Tristan’s pupils wavered at her cutting words. But he didn’t lose his elegance.
“It seems men aren’t the only ones afflicted by the disease of underestimating younger siblings. Don’t worry. I’m a fully self-aware adult, and I came here to see my fiancée.”
“Pardon?”
Right now, with these two villains elegantly sniping at each other, I was the one who piped up like an idiot.
But seriously, who wouldn’t be shocked?
I could believe Natalie came to pick a fight. But why did you come to see me, huh? To fight with me?
Apparently Natalie wasn’t buying the prince’s answer either. Sparks seemed to fly between them.
Should I just slip away?
But before I could scoot off, they both turned to me at once.
Natalie spoke first.
“I really don’t get you. You always used to say you found a lone dandelion blooming between rocks more beautiful than any manicured garden flower.”
Then Tristan.
“You said you’d be staying quiet for a while. Was that just bait to sneak off to parties without me knowing?”
You have some nerve saying that, you shameless bastard!
This was a mess. Should I start by brushing Tristan off?
“Oh my, look—Lady Maria just came out of the greenhouse!”
“…”
Tristan’s brow crumpled immediately. That look screamed, ‘Are you kidding me right now?’
Why was he so annoyed? He was the one chasing after Maria at the last party every time I turned around!
Natalie smiled.
“Dori, stop deflecting and answer. You were always happiest reading at home. Why are you here?”
Tristan bent down to meet my eyes and asked, “Dori Redfield. What were you thinking, coming here today?”
Original Dori! What kind of shut-in were you that just coming out to see flowers gets you treated like this?
Caught between these two glamorous villains, I felt like I was being sterilized by their gazes.
That’s when—
A voice from one of the servants helping with the event rang crystal clear in my ears.
“Young Duke Arthur Albion is arriving! Please make way, everyone!”
The crowd buzzed.
“Arthur?”
“Albion—that’s the royal family name. Who is Arthur?”
He’s the original male lead!
At that long-awaited name, my head turned on instinct.
At the garden’s entrance. A man enormous as a doorframe walked in slowly. The classic traits given to powerful leads in K-fantasy—black hair, black eyes—gleamed like obsidian under the sunlight.
Everyone’s attention zeroed in.
“Who is that young man?”
“That’s Young Duke Arthur Albion! The Grand Duke of the North’s legitimate heir.”
“I heard he came to the capital to find a bride, but didn’t expect to see him first at this event!”
The party host, quick on the uptake, whisked Arthur off to one side to stop people from crowding him. After some time passed and the buzz over the late guest died down, they’d probably introduce him formally.
That’s also when the male lead would meet the female lead again.
Alright, let me take a breather until then…
…Except these two villains were still staring at me.
Natalie asked, “Dori. Do you know this Arthur Albion?”
I know him one-sidedly, sure.
“Not at all!”
“Hmm?”
Natalie tilted her head. Ah, that was ominous.
“That’s funny. When they announced ‘Arthur Albion’s here,’ your eyes lit up like you’d been waiting. Wasn’t that because you recognized the name?”
Ah.
“Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
Tristan, being asked so directly, nodded.
“Indeed. She looked just like someone hearing news of a guest she’d been eagerly awaiting.”
“N-no! I don’t care about him! Really!”
“All right.”
Tristan lifted his hands.
“I believe you. My upright fiancée would never tell a lie.”
Natalie also spoke.
“My adorable little sister, lie? Surely not. I believe you.”
Neither of you believes me at all!
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