CH 20

“Miss Annette, do you have any letters for me?”

“Ah, I was going to collect it and give it to you at noon, do you want it now?”

“Yes, please.”

Soon Annette brought a pile of letters. It was a considerable amount at first glance.

“There are so many invitations for Lady Irene! When I went to pick them up, more were still arriving.”

“Wow, thank you.”

Those piles of letters were all invitations.

Of course. The engagement ceremony yesterday served as a sort of semi-debut for me. People who I met at the after-party banquet yesterday seemed to be excitedly sending invitations to me.

Even in the original story, the heroine was surprised by the number of invitations she received the day after her debut.

‘Still, this amount is surprising.’

I went through a huge pile of letters one by one, not sure whether there was anything I was looking for. But fortunately, I soon found an invitation that stood out among the letters.

‘Wow, flashy.’

The invitation with its pure white and flamboyant golden embellishment was by far the most overwhelming presence. I picked it up quickly and checked the sender’s name.

‘As expected.’

I smiled brightly.

The sender was Cordelia Bernadette, the youngest Saintess. She greeted me for the first time at the after-party banquet yesterday.

The shimmering invitation made me guess just how much wealth the Count Bernadette, a well-known and prominent family, possesses.

“Is this an invitation from Lady Cordelia?”

I purposely made a surprised face .

“Lady Cordelia is inviting me…”

“Oh my, of course! Lady Irene has not yet held a Saint Verification Ceremony, but she clearly recognizes you as a Saintess. Would you like to attend, Lady Irene?”

I couldn’t believe I’ve already gotten so many perks out of being a Saintess. I would be in big trouble if I made a mistake during the Saintess Verification Process. Hahaha.

After a brief moment, I nodded my head as I was sweating.

“Yes! I would like to go.”

Annette looked pleased with my answer. It was as if she was seeing her daughter say she would go to her friend’s house for the first time.

“Oh, the invitation is for Wednesday. Lady Cordelia is famous for holding weekly social gatherings every Wednesday.”

“I see!”

Of course I already knew. That was why, among all these piles of letters, I looked for only an invitation from Cordelia.

“I wish I could get to know Lady Cordelia.”

I put on a fluttering expression like a child puffed out at the opportunity to make friends.

“Miss Annette, please send a reply that I will attend.”

“Certainly, Lady Irene!”

Annette nodded her head happily.

“I, and this is out of the blue…”

Annette twisted her fingers together and paused for a moment. I asked with my eyes wide open.

“What is it?”

“You look so much better this way!”

This way?

….Ah.

I looked down at my hair. Today, I didn’t use any transformation powder. In other words, my current appearance is my original appearance, with pink hair and gold eyes.

‘Since I have already been exposed in front of people, it would be funny if I continued to disguise myself with transformation powder.’

Even so, pink hair. I stared at my hair with a slightly awkward feeling. The bright, lively hair like cotton candy, a gorgeous color that ’76’, a member of the dark guild, desperately hid.

“You really look like a Saintess in a fairy tale book.”

Annette said and twisted her body, as if she was shy to give compliments so openly.

“Haha. Thank you. Oh, and Miss Annette, with what happened last time… Thank you so much.” I lowered my voice and said thank you.

I glanced at Dame Joan who was standing quite a bit away from us. Then Annette also lowered her voice and whispered.

“What. I’m glad that I could help you.”

“As Miss Annette knows, my Engagement Ceremony was a very important day. However, I was so embarrassed that the transformation powder’s effect had run out unexpectedly in such a whirlwind morning.”

“Yes, yes. I would have done that too.”

Annette, the kind and pure Annette, seemed to believe what I said. I’m sorry, Miss Annette.

If I deceive Annette, who is like an angel and a fairy, I will definitely go to hell.

“I will never forget my promise.”

“Phew! It’s really nice to repay you.”

We floundered like smuggling robbers.

As Dame Joan glared at us, I slowly turned my head away from her and pretended to be quietly drinking tea.

Fortunately when Dame Joan came up to me, she didn’t ask at all about the conversations we had.

*          *          *

“Lady Irene seems to be adjusting well to church life.”

“Is that so?”

Ian responded intently to Lucian’s report.

“Yes. She replied to an invitation letter stating that she would attend Cordelia’s tea party today.”

“Cordelia.”

Ian tilted his head for a moment.

Cordelia Bernadette was the only Saintess at the same age as Irene, and Irene was a good person to get close with. But did she really move with such a simple calculation?

Ian remembered the face that shamelessly smiled at him last night and placed pink hair in his hand.

‘I’ll show you my original appearance next time. Then goodbye! It’s already night.’

When he thought about it again, he realized how ridiculous it was. Ian smirked in vain.

‘She’s an unpredictable woman.’

It was difficult to put into words how he felt about someone. He originally thought she was being overly intimidated. He didn’t like that. But It would be easier for him to deal with.

However,

‘Farewell kiss on the cheek, hurry up!’

‘There is something we are hiding from each other.’

It had only been a few days, but Ian has already found himself surprised because of her several times.

An unpredictable woman. He didn’t know what kind of unexpected behaviour she would show tomorrow.

Ian hated these variables.

That was probably why. The reason his gaze is drawn to her, who bounces around like a spring.

“What happened to Count Paras?”

“He hasn’t opened his mouth yet. It’s obvious that he was ordered by someone.”

“Try digging into Duke Beyontin.”

“I understand.”

Lucian nodded when he heard the name of Duke Beyontin, a representative of the pro-imperial faction. No matter who was behind this instigation of Count Paras, it was obvious to see who was at the top.

Ian recalled his older brother’s face and raised the corner of his mouth obliquely.

He had made an oath before. I will never lose anything precious to him again.

And Irene Grace was his invaluable strategic partner for now.

‘Although it’s a flaw that she’s difficult to predict.’

“You said she was going to attend Saintess Cordelia’s invitation.”

“Lady Irene? Yes, that’s right.”

“Send my carriage.”

Lucian’s eyes widened in surprise at first, but he quickly responded with a salute.

“Oh, yes! Okay.”

*          *          *

“This?”

My eyes landed on the enormous carriage. It was a carriage with an aura that seemed out of the ordinary at first glance.

A pure white carriage with blue, gold accents. The massive and beautiful carriage was as dazzling as a god’s chariot in mythology.

Annette also looked surprised.

“This is Sir Ian’s carriage…! Dame Joan, did Sir Ian really send this carriage?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Wow…”

Annette stared at the carriage, her mouth wide open and her eyes gleaming.

Even for his fiancée, Annette’s reaction indicated that sending his carriage to someone else was unusual.

‘Why does it feel like I am riding in a private plane with my lover’s initials written on it?’

Well, there was nothing bad about it.

The carriage looked surprisingly cozy inside when I opened the door. Dame Joan went on to say that various forms of defensive magic are also in use.

It sounded like a state-of-the-art defensive fortress in the shape of a carriage when I first heard it.

I was able to move comfortably from within the fortress to Cordelia’s mansion as a result of this. It didn’t take long to get to the destination.

Soon, we reached Count Bernadette’s mansion.

“Welcome, are you Irene Grace?”

The person who seemed to be Bernadette’s butler glanced in awe at the carriage I was riding in and greeted us politely.

“The lady is waiting for you. Please come this way.”

I followed the butler’s directions and entered the mansion. I could feel there were a lot of maids’ eyes on me.

The butler then led the way to a large and beautiful salon.

Bright lights, music, and laughter poured out from inside. Once I stepped inside, everyone turned towards me and the laughter stopped a few seconds later.

“You’re here. Lady Irene.”

Cordelia approached me with a dignified gesture. She looked beautiful today, with her honey blonde hair and pale cheeks.

‘Your fashion sense is still very unique…’

Cordelia was wearing a dress and accessories that did not match each other again this time.

The striking incongruity between the bright red ruby necklace and the deep blue sapphire earrings caught my attention in particular.

‘You’re still pretty. As expected, your face is like a gangster.’

“Hello, Lady Cordelia! I was very happy to be invited.”

I smiled broadly and greeted Cordelia.

Cordelia raised her chin elegantly and guided me to the table. Then people who had already taken their seats greeted me.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Aden from Count Othello.”

“Hello, Lady Irene. I’m Lorena from Baron Alois.”

Given that they had been sitting next to Cordelia before I arrived, the man named Aden and a lady named Lorena seemed to be the closest to her.

I took a seat next to Cordelia at her proposition while remembering the names of people who greeted me.

Then Cordelia spoke to me.

“Everyone in the capital has been talking about you.”

“I think it’s an excessive amount of attention on me.”

“That’s not true. You are the first lover that Sir Ian chose.”

Then Lorena intervened with an interesting look.

“Anyways, May I ask if the story in newspaper is true? Lady Irene was kidnapped-”

“Lady Lorena.”

Clack. Cordelia put down the teacup sudden enough to make a sound.

With a startled expression, Lorena looked back at Cordelia.

“Let’s not ask too many in-depth questions today.”

“Ah, yes. I apologize, Lady Irene…”

Lorena apologized with a full face. Then when I looked back at Cordelia, I was slightly startled by her.

‘Are you worried that I might recall a painful past?’

I was a little surprised. Surprisingly, Cordelia seemed to be a fairly soft-hearted person.

‘She’s different from my first impression.’

I started to like this young Saintess a little bit.

Then the salon door opened again after we had a brief conversation about the weather.

“Hello, It was a long wait.”

When someone greeted us lively, several people suddenly entered the salon with a huge hanger. ​​They brought all kinds of beautiful and colorful clothes hanging on the hangers.

“We brought all the new products that we got directly from the Othello Family this time.”

“We created a special texture with the finest silk imported from the Western Kingdom for the clothes that we got directly from the Alois Family.”

The well-dressed members of the staff rushed to sell the items to Cordelia. Cordelia and her aide observed them as they were accustomed to doing so.

‘Well. There was content like this.’

The scene was set for a feast of brightly colored clothing and decorations. It was a beautiful sight.

‘But why do you have to do that?’

But then my expression became bitter.

The employees who came directly from Othello and Alois families were each recommending accessories to Cordelia. Cordelia filled with a pair of purple earrings that were almost reddish in color and a pale blue necklace from each of the two employees.

‘Oh my gosh, no matter how much your face is like a gangster, that’s a little…’

Then I clicked my tongue involuntarily.

‘Wait. When I thought about it, if they are from Othello and Aloise families… Perhaps?’

I returned my gaze to Cordelia’s closest aides, Aden Othello and Lorena Alois. They were looking at the family’s employees who were working hard and smiling.

‘Hmm.’

I tilted my head with a subtle expression on my face.

“You look really good in it.”

“I’ve never seen anyone who can pull off this color so perfectly.”

Cordelia smiled faintly satisfied as the staff heaped praise on her.

“Lady Irene. What do you think?”

With her purple earrings and sky blue necklace on, Cordelia turned to face me and asked.

If the purple and sky blue colors had a matching tone, they would be a good match, but the two ornaments were surprisingly dissonant. It was a sight that could be trusted, even if it was downgrading itself out of fear that her beauty would damage people’s eyesight.