The Duke paused for a moment on the stairs, as if he had misstepped. Then Arcadia also came down from the same floor as the Duke.
The pure-looking Arcadia alternated between looking at the dress and me, unable to close his mouth.
“What do you say? Will you give it a try? For honor.”
Hans asked.
I made up my mind.
“I’ll give it a try.”
I didn’t want to be a disgrace to the North’s Duke.
Last night, Hans had ordered the entire ‘Spring Collection’ from Madame Lumière, the empire’s top designer.
Madame personally selected thirty pieces of her life’s work, as Hans told me.
“This is a dress that will remain a classic in the future, full of elegance and luxury. The piece is called ‘Blue Moon’.”
A staff from the wardrobe room presented the dress to me and explained.
It was truly beautiful. Even to my untrained eye.
But the dress, with its overly exposed chest area, was something I just couldn’t bring myself to wear.
“Sorry, is there something else…”
As I hesitated, Hans called out decisively.
“Next!”
Another female staff showed a sophisticated pink see-through dress.
“This is ‘Spring’s Dream’, Miss. The small pearls embedded on the hem are like fluttering petals.”
“Ah… It’s so beautiful.”
It was breathtakingly beautiful, but I didn’t have the confidence to pull off such a flashy and vibrant piece.
Just then, the Duke, who had been waiting, approached the dressing room. Seeing my hesitation, he spoke.
“We’re running out of time to depart. May I have a look?”
“Of course, Your Grace. I’m sorry.”
The Duke slowly examined the hanging dresses. I followed his gaze to the dresses he looked at.
Then…
Our gazes stopped simultaneously on one dress.
Quickly, the staff brought it out.
I inadvertently let out a small gasp. The Duke looked at me, his blue eyes examining me, forgetting that I had turned red.
“Beautiful. Will it suit me?”
I felt uncertain, but a desire to try it on emerged for the first time.
The dress brought out by the staff shimmered in a light silver hue.
It wasn’t excessive at all, like bringing the subtle moonlight under the day’s sun.
The silhouette hugged my arms and upper body, smoothly falling along my body lines. The neckline was cut just below the collarbone without exposing the chest.
White and dark blue gemstone dust was delicately sprinkled from the chest down to the thin hem of the dress, like a faint Milky Way. Its lack of explicit exposure or heavy decoration appealed to me even more.
“Ah, the mask you’re wearing is silver, and your hair is silver too, so it should suit you well. Why didn’t I show you this earlier? Ho ho.”
The staff said, bustling with excitement.
“Your skin is so fair and your eyes are sky blue, you’ll look absolutely beautiful. This is Madame’s purest and most elegant creation this spring, ‘Night’s Butterfly’.”
Butterfly.
For a moment, the word butterfly gently pressed on my heart.
‘Night’s Butterfly… A dress fitting for a white butterfly wandering in the darkness.’
Such a thought crossed my mind, and I unwittingly smiled wistfully.
Then…
“……Do you not like it?”
The Duke called me in a low voice.
When I looked up, I saw the Duke’s face, examining me.
‘Why such a sad expression, Your Grace.’
I tried to smile brightly.
“No, it seems like the perfect dress for me. Thank you so much, Your Grace. And butler.”
The butler looked pleased, glancing back and forth between me and the Duke.
“Hurry up. Even if you have a warm tea and a quick breakfast, you can still arrive at the palace very early. You made a decision faster than I thought.”
“Yes.”
After drinking the tea prepared by Hans in my room, I got dressed in ‘Night’s Butterfly’ with the help of the staff.
“Oh my, this is really… phenomenal. I want to record this on a visual stone and show it to Madame.”
The staff covered their mouth with their hand without realizing.
I saw myself in the mirror.
So unfamiliar. But.
‘I can be beautiful too.’
I thought so for the first time.
For the first time, the thought that maybe even I could possess beauty crossed my mind.
Pale skin visible beyond the silver mask, slightly blushing cheeks. Sky-blue eyes.
Long silver eyelashes. Lush silver hair cascaded over one shoulder down to the collarbone. The body of a young woman who just turned twenty, toned from swordsmanship.
All of that was reflected in the mirror.
‘Why do I feel so shy?’
I quickly gathered my thoughts.
‘Everyone is waiting. I’m not going alone. Together, we are going to the palace.’
I carefully opened the door and stepped outside.
There, the Duke, already dressed in formal attire, was waiting.
A fitting dark blue pants and top. A black cape. White epaulettes on the shoulders and the Belpast family emblem, a sapphire and silver-embroidered imperial shield, adorned his chest.
I faced him, his eyes, bluer than the deepest and purest imperial lakes, rippling like the waves in a strong wind.
“Your Grace…?”
“Truly, truly beautiful! I’m moved, Hans!”
Hans rejoiced.
Arcadia, who had been leaning against the stair railing behind Hans, straightened up. His mouth opened… but then he silently closed it and brushed his face with his hand.
‘He’s probably thinking of something unpleasant again.’
The Duke spoke.
“Esdel, are you ready to go to the palace?”
For some reason, the Duke’s voice cracked.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
I picked up the sides of my dress, curtsied slightly, bending my knees.
“Is this how I should greet at the palace, Your Grace?”
I double-checked the protocol.
“Yes. That’s sufficient.”
His voice cracked a bit more.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
