Jealousy That Couldn't Be Hidden
I could feel the jealousy Everett hadn't quite managed to hide.
“Hmm, was he that handsome?”
I tilted my head at Everett’s reaction and pretended to ponder, just to tease him a little.
His expression crumpled further.
“Well...”
I revealed the truth right before he could truly get upset.
“Edgar is more handsome.”
It was an unexaggerated fact, so I thought this would be enough to soothe his mood.
But Everett turned out to be far more jealous than I’d anticipated.
“So you’re saying the priest is handsome too.”
Everett’s eyes flashed with dangerous intensity.
I decided I must have seen it wrong because of the shadows cast by the lighting.
Then, to soothe my jealous lover, I spoke firmly.
“He’s not my type.”
The corners of Everett’s mouth rose, impossible to conceal.
“I was about to say he gives me a rather unpleasant feeling.”
Thanks to that, however, I was able to naturally slip in that I found Yudaf suspicious.
Everett’s face grew serious.
“In what way?”
His tone suggested he suspected the priest might have tried something with me.
“It’s not that anything actually happened. He just gives off a bad vibe. Could it be because I doubt the temple would send a mere low-ranking priest?”
Since nothing had actually occurred yet, my answer remained vague.
Yet Everett listened to my words with genuine gravity.
“The investigation report didn’t turn up anything unusual...”
Everett muttered to himself, then added with emphasis, as if to reassure me.
“I’ll increase the number of observers.”
Mission accomplished.
“I’ll keep an eye on him myself whenever I have the time.”
“You personally?”
Everett looked reluctant but didn’t try to stop me.
“I’ll need to assign more guards to you.”
Instead, he murmured something under his breath.
The next day, the capital’s most renowned dressmakers arrived one after another to fit Ivetta for her debutante gown.
Normally a mother or chaperone would join, but Ivetta had chosen to select it with the young ladies-in-waiting, Beth, and me.
Count Renkels had gladly agreed to serve as her chaperone but declared he would not interfere with the dress selection, since he knew little about the latest trends and thought it better to leave it to the young people.
Well, Beth and I are equally clueless about current fashions, so the young ladies will be the ones choosing.
I was fully prepared to clap and declare every single one pretty, even if she changed into thirty dresses.
Because they had to bring numerous voluminous gowns, the annex’s small banquet hall had been requisitioned.
In the neatly cleared space, chairs for Ivetta and the rest of us were arranged on one side.
The remaining area was filled with racks for the dress shops arriving in sequence.
At the excited urging of the young ladies, we reached the small banquet hall far earlier than the scheduled arrival of the first shop.
Yet for the thrilled girls, the wait only seemed to heighten their anticipation.
They gazed at the empty racks with sparkling eyes, already brimming with excitement.
“We’ll choose the absolute best dress for you!”
Lady Harper clenched her fists tightly.
“His Majesty said not to worry about the cost and choose anything you want, didn’t he?”
Lady Rosina declared her resolve with the air of someone who truly would not spare a single thought for the price.
Both were younger than Ivetta and had not yet debuted, so this was their first time helping to choose a debutante gown—which only made them more thrilled.
“It must be a dress that properly expresses the Saintess’s lovely charm.”
Lady Regia, the eldest among the ladies-in-waiting, calmed the other two.
Ivetta possessed cotton-candy pink hair and blue eyes that leaned toward sky blue.
Combined with her petite stature, the overall impression was one of cuteness.
Even with no limit on the budget, the decided strategy was to choose a gown that highlighted her unique loveliness rather than something merely flashy and expensive.
“What if we set pink diamonds along the hem?”
Lady Harper, who favored opulence, wanted something both dazzling and sweet, but she didn’t seem inclined to force her preferences on Ivetta.
The young ladies discussing the designs eventually reached a measure of agreement.
“The Saintess will become this year’s Lady.”
Lady Rosina spoke as though telling us to trust them completely.
This year’s Lady was an unofficial high-society title given to the most popular debutante of the season.
The previous emperor had kept numerous concubines but never married officially, and the former crown princess had withdrawn from society after becoming the grand duchess.
It had been decades since the empire possessed a royal woman capable of anchoring high society.
On top of that, the war had prevented proper banquets for nearly ten years, leaving imperial high society somewhat diminished.
At present, the noble ladies of highest status—along with a few young women who led trends or were famed for their beauty despite lesser family prestige—split what influence remained.
In what was essentially a vacant throne of influence, the ladies-in-waiting burned with determination to turn Ivetta into the flower of high society.
For Ivetta, who had accepted the debut out of necessity and a touch of romance, the enthusiasm felt rather burdensome.
“I’m fine with something simpler...”
Ivetta tried gently to restrain the young ladies.
But to girls already blazing with passion, her soft voice was barely audible.
“Should we claim we have something to do later and slip away?”
I whispered the suggestion to Beth alone.
My own limit was thirty dresses, but watching the young ladies, I suspected it wouldn’t end there.
Beth, who possessed slightly less patience than I did, nodded secretly in agreement, saying it was an excellent idea.
Fortunately, the nightmare scenario of Ivetta trying on hundreds of gowns never materialized.
The lower maids of the annex were hardened veterans of the imperial palace.
From the moment they summoned the dress shops, they had provided Ivetta’s exact measurements and coloring, instructing each to bring only two physical gowns that would suit her best.
If they wished to present more designs, they were to bring sketchbooks instead.
There were dozens of prestigious ateliers in the capital, and all of them were desperate for the honor of creating the Saintess’s debutante gown.
They had poured their entire hearts into the two physical samples they were permitted to bring.
Even those two made the choice difficult, so the sketchbooks were hardly opened.
The young ladies meticulously noted the strengths and weaknesses of each gown.
They resembled seasoned judges at a time-honored competition.
Beth and I, who knew nothing about trending lace patterns, ideal skirt width and length for sophistication, or which neckline shape suited her best, could only offer admiring applause and supportive murmurs.
As the sun began to set, only a few dress shops remained in the queue.
Most of the gowns were bright pastel tones chosen to complement Ivetta’s pink hair and blue eyes.
They followed the young ladies’ initial consensus, emphasizing her loveliness.
Yet a very small number of shops, perhaps focusing on the “Saintess” aspect, had slipped in one elegant-style gown each.
Those were usually firmly rejected by the young ladies.
But the dress from this particular shop was so breathtaking that even the cool-headed young consumers couldn’t easily call for the next one.
The design itself would never suit Ivetta, yet it was so artistic it felt like a masterpiece.
The silver gown, crafted from multiple sheer layers that subtly revealed the body’s silhouette, used few ornaments.
Yet the fabric’s own luster was extraordinarily beautiful.
It was an elegant, mysterious dress.
The young ladies began a careful discussion.
Meanwhile, Ivetta was granted a short rest.
She had been busy changing the entire time and hadn’t properly examined the designs she wore, but now she studied this gown intently.
“Do you like it?”
When Beth asked, Ivetta smiled and nodded.
“Don’t you think this would suit Lina perfectly too?”
“Oh.”
At Beth and Ivetta’s exchange, every young lady’s gaze swung toward me at once.
“She’s right.”
“Doesn’t Lina need a dress anyway?”
“It would only need a little alteration.”
When everyone agreed with her opinion, Ivetta smiled with satisfaction.
“I’d like to purchase this dress immediately...”
Ivetta spoke to the junior maid waiting to help her change.
“Since His Majesty said to choose whatever I want, buying two should be perfectly fine! I’ll gift it to you!”
Ivetta beamed brightly as she made her impulsive purchase.