Chapter 86
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86
"I'll tell them to speed up. You should return to the manor for treatment," Simon said, rising from his seat.
As he reached to open the small window to the driver's box, Oscar commanded, "Turn the carriage around."
"Pardon?"
"We're going to Vies Department Store."
Simon's face was a mask of bewilderment. Looking at his utterly uncomprehending expression, Oscar carelessly plucked a shard of glass embedded in his palm, then pressed a towel against the wound with all his might.
He didn't know anymore.
He didn't know if he was going mad, or if he was simply being played.
*
"As expected of Her Highness, our future Queen. Her taste is truly extraordinary," a young nobleman in a perfectly tailored suit murmured. Those sipping champagne around him chimed in agreement.
"Extraordinary indeed."
The exhibition, a perfect recreation of the Royal Mystic Lily Garden, grew livelier as time passed. Natural light filtered through the glass ceiling, marking the passage of day into night within the indoor hall. As dusk fell, the light finger foods and champagne being served were more than enough to transform what could have been a tedious exhibition into a garden party.
Noblewomen chatted on sofas scattered throughout the venue, purchasing pieces of art one by one, while young nobles gathered with their acquaintances to pass the time. As the host, Sabine was a whirlwind of activity, moving through the exhibition hall and conversing with her guests.
While there was likely no one in attendance who did not know Sabine, even a stranger could have told at a glance who the star of the exhibition was.
That was how beautiful and brimming with confidence she looked as she swept through the hall—drawing every eye to herself, and to the woman she dragged along with her.
"I swear, she always knows how to pick the perfect foil for her exhibitions."
At an outdoor exhibition to raise funds for the poor, she had brought a severely emaciated child, occasionally carrying the child in her arms as she made her rounds. At a private exhibition themed around the solidarity of the Norfolk Royal Union, she had brought a disgraced member of the Polia royal family's cadet branch, holding their hand as she moved about.
For this exhibition, given the immense effort poured into the venue itself, she seemed to have brought a foil that perfectly matched the atmosphere of the hall.
"She's pale as a ghost. Poor thing," a dissolute youth murmured, prompting giggles from the nearby nobles. The woman, who looked like a spirit of the lily garden, hadn't been allowed to sit or eat a single thing for hours.
"But surprisingly, she hasn't said a word about leaving."
"You think she's choosing not to? She can't."
"True. There was a man who came with her, but he's already vanished."
"He looked like he was about to murder someone and cause a scene, but he's gone?"
"I suppose he suddenly grew wise."
The young rakes laughed in unison. Chuckling as they sipped their champagne, they all turned their eyes back to the woman Sabine was parading around, as if by unspoken agreement.
It was both pitiful and amusing to wonder how she had ended up in a place like this. However, one of them, who had been quietly observing her, tilted his head and muttered, "But look at her. Doesn't it seem like she's… observing people?"
"Observing? She's just walking on eggshells."
"Is that so? Oh, the Dowager Lady is coming."
The young rakes composed their features at the arrival of an elderly lady who exuded a powerful aura of authority.
The elderly lady, known as the Dowager Lady—the matriarch of the Luxen royal family—was walking toward Sabine.
"Lady Jerome."
"…Oh!"
Seo-ah, who had been walking alongside Sabine, was abruptly forced to change direction as a sudden, forceful tug yanked her arm.
"Dowager Lady!"
Sabine took a wide stride forward, her voice dripping with delight. The pressure on Seo-ah's arm was entirely one-sided. There had been no warning, no request for her consent.
"Dowager Lady, thank you so much for coming."
"Your talent never fades, my lady. The moment I climbed the stairs, I thought I had walked right into the royal palace."
The elderly lady, whose hair was styled in voluminous, puffy curls, didn't spare Seo-ah a single glance as she carried on an affectionate conversation with Sabine. The eyes of those in the Dowager Lady's entourage, however, occasionally drifted toward Seo-ah.
They swept over her in an instant, exchanged glances, and whispered among themselves.
This had been repeating for hours.
She could no longer feel her feet, and the hand gripping her bag had gone numb. Even her face, which had been stinging earlier, was now devoid of sensation.
Yet, this was not a waste of time. The woman who had dragged her here without explanation was the fiancée of the King of Luxen. She was the future Queen, which meant everyone gathered here belonged to the highest echelons of Luxen nobility. Under Oscar's watchful eye, she would never get another opportunity like this. She could endure it. She had to, if only to find the person who knew of the existence of 'Han Seo-ah'.
Seo-ah quietly observed the people who appeared before her.
As she was quickly taking in their appearances, the woman called the Dowager Lady suddenly turned to look at her.
Seo-ah froze, caught off guard. A pair of cold, light-blue eyes slowly swept down from her own eyes to her nose, mouth, neck, and body, lingering at her toes before traveling back up.
"She is a child who has never seen an exhibition before," Sabine explained. "That is why I was explaining things to her one by one."
The moment Sabine finished speaking, the Dowager Lady snapped her head away and walked off. Sabine immediately let go of Seo-ah's arm and followed her.
After taking a few steps, the Dowager Lady whispered to Sabine.
"Since you are to become the Queen, do not keep just anyone by your side."
"She seemed so curious about the exhibition. I felt pity seeing her unable to enter, so…"
"Our Majesty is truly fortunate."
Just as the Dowager Lady turned her benevolent profile toward Sabine, a voice spoke.
"Hello?"
A familiar crowd of onlookers, whose presence she had grown accustomed to over the past few hours, swarmed behind her. They would naturally back away whenever Sabine approached, but the moment she was left alone, they closed in as if they had been waiting. They were likely people Sabine had summoned, concerned she might try to leave.
"Your name is Seo-ah, right?"
A man she had never seen before stepped in front of her.
"You haven't been able to sit down once since you got here, have you? Want to head over there? There's a sofa."
He pointed toward a visibly secluded and dim corner.
"No, thank you. I am fine."
"Don't be like that. Let's go."
"I am sorry. I am truly fine."
Her repeated refusals were met with sharp mockery.
"Playing hard to get when you're nothing special."
But while they might mock her, they couldn't easily force her. So, she just had to endure.
"I am sorry."
She could repeat apologies dozens of times and bear any insult they threw at her. She had entered this place prepared for that much.
What concerned her now was Abel, who had been dragged out by the Wolves. Is he waiting outside? Just as that shameless thought crossed her mind—
"What's this?"
Seo-ah's head was jerked back slightly. Someone had pulled her hair ribbon.
"It's soft."
The man holding the ribbon from behind marveled at its silky texture. Her brown hair, braided as neatly as the expensive ribbon, also appeared soft. Just as he stretched out his fingers to touch it—
"Please let go."
"What did she say?"
"She said to let go."
"Oh, really?"
They conversed right over her head. The man holding her ribbon didn't release his grip. Instead, he toyed with it, wrapping it around his hand.
"Did you buy this, or make it?"
"Please let go."
"Are you angry?"
A sudden curiosity flared within him. He wanted to see what she would look like with her hair undone. Glancing around, he was certain no one would care if he pulled the ribbon off right here.
He stealthily shifted his body to block any potential onlookers, then yanked hard on the ribbon in his hand.
He anticipated the long red ribbon fluttering through the air, her brown hair spreading out before him like water plants.
But his expectations were shattered.
The woman, who had been dragged around by Sabine like a soulless doll, spun around without warning.
Her braided hair whipped through the air like a lash, and the Outsider's cold brown eyes seemed to pierce right through his pupils. Her gaze, sharp as a honed spear, was more than enough to catch the arrogant noble completely off guard.
"..."
The bystander who had feigned ignorance, the one who had slyly anticipated the outcome of the prank, and the perpetrator who had tried to carry out the malicious act without a second thought—all of them froze.
Her skirt, which had flared out like a blooming petal, settled back down. Eric, frozen for a brief moment, felt his embarrassment curdle into rage.
"I was being nice because you're pretty, and now you dare glare at me?"
As his temper flared, those surrounding him grabbed his arms.
"Eric, stop. There are too many eyes on us."
"If you cause a scene, Lady Jerome won't let it slide."
He shook them off with a rough gesture.
"Let go of me!"
The young rakes, well-acquainted with his vicious temper, urged Seo-ah to apologize.
"Hurry up and say you're sorry."
Although she had spun around reflexively, Seo-ah had no desire to escalate the situation. Just as she was about to bow her head and apologize—