During the heated conversation between the two about Emily, Pauline went to find Allen.

As she appeared, Allen greeted her warmly.

“Sir, the young lady asked me to give you the bill.”

Pauline handed Allen the bill for the dress production costs.

“She said to please understand that the bill is quite large due to the high labor costs for the dress and the use of the finest materials.”

“Miss Bizac is very thoughtful. She even added an explanation to the bill.”

“The young lady paid a lot of attention to Miss Rivet’s dress. She said she hopes Miss Rivet will be chosen…”

“Is that so?”

Allen smiled very contentedly at Pauline’s words.

‘Grace doesn’t seem to know about the riding outfit. Well, she wouldn’t, since Anna the employee gave a different statement.’

If Grace had known that he was behind the damage to the riding outfit, she would have stopped making the dress midway.

“Sir, the young lady has another message for you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“She said the dress was made to the best of their ability according to Miss Rivet’s request.”

“I know. I’m very grateful for that.”

Allen wrote Pauline a check and also handed over something he had prepared in advance.

“Please give this to Miss Bizac. It’s a small token of my appreciation.”

“Understood. We’ve finished our work, so we’ll be going now. We hope Miss Rivet has good fortune.”

Pauline bowed politely and left the office.

“My goodness!”

She had received an amount that far exceeded the price of a fine-bred horse from Turki for the dress made by Chainer.

‘Mr. MacDowell must be very wealthy indeed. To readily pay such a large sum.’

Pauline marveled anew at Allen’s financial power.

“By now, Mary should have finished talking with Miss Rivet as well.”

Pauline headed to the dressing room with a satisfied expression. Once she and Mary left the mansion, a storm would surely break out.

Allen admired the lace dress hanging in the dressing room. Though he had paid a hefty sum, it was a dress worth the cost.

‘I’ve won.’

As soon as Allen saw the dress, he was certain that Rivet would be chosen as the Crown Princess.

He closed his eyes tightly for a moment and imagined. The image of Grace in that white wedding dress, smiling brightly as she approached him.

If only she were the only one in his life, it would be perfect. But for that to happen, Terran had to disappear.

‘Should I kill him?’

The opportunity would come someday. Even the great Terran Courtois only had one life. If he were attacked while defenseless, he would surely die.

‘I’ll pay you back even more cruelly than you terrorized me.’

Allen clenched his fist. Just then, the door burst open and Allen turned around in surprise.

“Rivet?”

His younger sister was standing there with a furious expression.

“Brother, send that Emily Lant woman away from the house right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you know what I just heard?”

Rivet relayed that Emily had broken up someone else’s family. She also told him that one of the women who brought the dress was the wife of Count Armand.

“Marriage doesn’t have to happen. What’s the big deal?”

Allen believed Emily’s words.

A man crazy about a woman could do anything. Count Armand must have been that type.

“Brother, that’s not all. The problem is that Emily has been sending love letters to Duke Terran Courtois for years. Saying she’d even be content to be his mistress if she could just be by his side.”

“What?”

“Don’t you have any pride? She’s only clinging to you as a second choice because Duke Courtois didn’t even give her a glance.”

“Ha! She’s quite the cunning one.”

And she said she only gave letters to me… Was I also played by such a sly woman?

Allen left the room immediately.

* * *

Lea was greatly surprised to see Adele, who had been perfectly transformed by Sonya.

‘As expected, there was a hidden gem.’

“I knew Sonya could do it. You’re amazing.”

Adele Wellington, who had thick glasses and a rustic impression before, was now Carmen incarnate.

Of course, she was quite different from the Carmen in the novel. More elegant, perhaps. Especially her black hair contrasting with her white skin accentuated her features. But…

‘Something is slightly lacking.’

Lea scrutinized Adele from head to toe.

Although she looked much better than before, something was needed to draw people’s attention even more.

“Somehow it feels like an unfinished work.”

Sonya seemed to have the same feeling as Lea, looking very regretful.

The red top and voluminous black skirt. She was certain that not a single lady participating in the selection would be dressed like this.

Yet the feeling that something was missing did not disappear.

‘The makeup, hair, and dress are all perfect. But there needs to be one more thing.’

Lea looked at Adele again and again.

She had to find what was missing externally. Then her gaze stopped on Adele’s hands.

“It’s the hands.”

At Lea’s words, Sonya tilted her head. The hands wouldn’t even be that visible anyway. But Lea thought differently from Sonya.

“A woman’s delicate hands capture people’s attention. Even a single fingernail can make a woman appear alluring.”

“What?”

“Try attaching small jewels to Adele’s nails. If you use wax to attach red and clear diamonds, it will look completely different.”

In the end, the one thing Adele was lacking was light.

Lea found a maid who was good at manicuring and entrusted her with Adele’s nails.

She also brought various jewels that had been attached to the hem of Rivet’s dress and instructed them to decorate the nails elaborately.

Two hours later, the nails were complete, and Lea and Sonya marveled once again.

“Just attaching jewels to the nails has changed the overall atmosphere.”

“The Crown Princess should be beautiful down to her fingertips. People expect the women of the royal family to be different from ordinary people.”

Sonya saw Adele differently. Every time she moved her hands, light sparkled, making her even sensual.

“It’s so pretty. There’s a galaxy on my nails.”

Adele seemed very pleased with her nails as well.

‘Now we can compete.’

It all depended on who answered Empress Theresa’s questions better.

* * *

Lea enjoyed refreshments with Terran and Count Arthur Wellington. Arthur seemed quite satisfied with Adele’s transformation.

“I’m worried Adele might make a mistake. She’s always buried in books, so she sometimes says odd things.”

Arthur didn’t seem to expect Adele to be chosen as the Crown Princess.

“It might be better than the predictable answers everyone expects.”

At Lea’s words, Arthur blushed.

“Trust Grace’s judgment, Arthur.”

Terran also encouraged Arthur.

“I don’t know how to repay you two.”

“Repayment? Between friends…”

While Terran dismissed it as nonsense, Lea said to Arthur:

“If Adele is chosen as the Crown Princess, please repay us then, Count.”

“Pardon?”

Both Arthur and Terran looked surprised. Arthur was a nobleman but had no financial means, so they wondered how he could repay them.

“If Adele becomes the Crown Princess, the Wellington family will gain wealth and power. When the day comes that Terran and I ask for your help, please don’t turn us away.”

“Ah… I see. Of course. But I’m not particularly interested in wealth and power.”

Lea found Arthur’s response puzzling. It was a position everyone desired, yet he claimed not to be attached to wealth and power.

“Arthur, you’ve studied political sociology enough. Isn’t theory different from reality?”

“I’ve been constantly worrying about the theoretical limitations too. I’m thinking of applying for the police department entrance exam.”

Terran didn’t know Arthur, who was devoted only to academics, was interested in the police department.

He was indeed a friend who rarely revealed his true thoughts.

“Even if Rivet becomes the Crown Princess, I still plan to take the exam.”

“That’s admirable, Count Wellington.”

Lea responded instead of Terran. As Terran said, the two siblings were certainly people without greed.

Still, one needed financial stability to be able to do anything.

“I hope you become the Chief of Police.”

“Thank you for your kind words, My Lady.”

“Arthur will become an upright public official.”

Terran was certain of that much.

At his words, Arthur’s eyes lit up.

“Actually, there’s too much corruption in the Brussels police force. The officers take money from drug addicts and thugs, and even turn a blind eye to smuggling. The police department that’s supposed to protect the capital has become a group committing crimes themselves. I want to reform it. Only then can people live safely.”

Arthur expressed his thoughts while looking at Terran.

“That’s an excellent idea. But His Majesty doesn’t seem to suspect Chief Tuazo at all.”

“Chief Tuazo is someone His Majesty personally appointed, so his trust runs deep.”

Lea felt frustrated. Chief Tuazo’s corruption was more than just one or two instances.

If only that man could be dismissed. Moreover, if his crimes were discovered and he rotted in prison forever, that would be even better. That was the revenge Lea had hoped for.

Lea now had a firm reason why Adele needed to be chosen.

Allen would surely know all about Tuazo’s corruption. But since they were in cahoots, it wouldn’t be easy to extract that information.

“I heard that Allen MacDowell was once terrorized by thugs.”

Arthur brought up a very interesting topic to Terran.

It was something Terran had ordered. Of course, Terran didn’t show any reaction to Arthur’s words.

“It seems MacDowell asked Chief Tuazo to find the culprit, and he eventually found out.”

‘He found out, you say. So that’s why he retaliated?’

“Who did they say it was?”

“They caught a gypsy and interrogated him, and he supposedly confessed who instigated the terror.”

“Who did they say it was?”

Terran asked Arthur in a leisurely tone.

“I don’t know that much. I only heard it from an acquaintance. But I did hear rumors that MacDowell would take revenge somehow.”

“Is that so?”

Terran took a sip of tea with a smirk. Indeed, the ill fate between Allen and himself was certain.