Lucrezia, who had awkwardly entered, was looking around to figure out where to sit. Lucrezia had always wished to be part of this inner circle, but now that the day had come, she seemed to have no idea how to behave.
“Ah, hello.”
When the awkwardly greeted Lucrezia headed towards the sofa in the center, the ladies moved away as if a flock of pigeons in the street were avoiding a passerby.
Among them, the lady who most conspicuously avoided Lucrezia was a tall woman with grey hair. Ariadne chuckled.
‘To meet like this here.’
It was the Countess of Markez. In her previous life, she had been the lady who had spread rumors that Cesare was King Leo III’s illegitimate child and had been grabbed by the hair by Ariadne at a tea party.
The Countess of Markez, of course, did not recognize the young Ariadne. Instead, she stood up with a smile on her face to greet the queen as she entered the reception room.
“It is an honor to see you, Your Majesty the Queen!”
The ladies in the reception room cheerfully greeted the queen.
Queen Marguerite, who had not said a single word to Lucrezia, responded warmly to the Countess of Markez with a bright smile.
“My loyal friend, the Countess of Markez, you look well today.”
“Your Majesty, I owe it all to your kind attention.”
The queen, with her foreign accent, pale skin, and blond hair the same color as the prince’s, was unmistakably a foreigner.
Lucrezia was slightly taken aback by the thick Gallican accent, but none of the ladies in the queen’s reception room showed any sign that they found it strange and were smiling brightly.
Queen Marguerite, glancing at Lucrezia, Isabella, and Ariadne, who were not part of the party and were hanging around on the outskirts, introduced them nonchalantly.
“These are the attendants of Cardinal de Mare. I heard his daughter is quite unique and devout, so I invited her.”
The ladies looked at Isabella when they heard about ‘the cardinal’s daughter’.
Despite Lucrezia’s inability to establish a proper place in high society due to her status, Isabella had already become famous for her wit and beauty in San Carlo after her debutante ball last year.
Isabella took a step forward, held the hem of her dress, and made a graceful bow.
“I am Isabella de Mare. It is an honor to meet the most noble people in the kingdom.”
Her pale skin and slightly flushed cheeks were incredibly charming. Under a headdress studded with pearls, Isabella, dressed in a highquality salmoncolored dress, looked impeccably pretty and precious, regardless of the flaw in her birth.
“Oh, this young lady is Miss Isabella de Mare.”
“She’s really as beautiful as they say.”
“She’s so cute.”
As the chattering ladies were in front of her, Ariadne greeted them half a beat late. However, the greeting was not for the ladies, and her gaze and body were directed towards Queen Marguerite.
“I am the second daughter, Ariadne de Mare. May the blessings of the noble bloodline and the Providence of Ysac be with you.”
The ladies, upon seeing the beautiful and innocent eldest daughter, seemed slightly speechless when they saw the cunning and heavy second daughter. They had already used all their compliments on the eldest daughter, so there was nothing left to give.
However, the queen happily accepted Ariadne’s greeting. Her mouth was stern, but deep crow’s feet appeared around her eyes as she smiled.
“You are still a child, yet you show such good manners.”
It was the first direct words Queen Margaret ever gave to a member of the de Mare family. It seemed that she was satisfied not to have received honor from the noble ladies, but from the queen herself.
Upon Ariadne’s receiving of the queen’s approval, the ladies began to shower her with praise. They remarked on how composed the young girl was, how well educated she had been, and barely gave Isabella any attention.
Isabella, who was quickly pushed to the sidelines of attention, gritted her teeth.
‘Queen Margaret must be blind!’
Then, the Countess Marquez, who was leading the group of ladies, spoke to Lucrezia, who was sitting on the outskirts.
“Isabella’s dress is very pretty. Which tailor made it?”
Lucrezia blushed slightly at the real noblewoman’s comment and replied.
“Our seamstress made it at home.”
As if not to miss the opportunity, Isabella straightened the hem of her dress, attracting people’s gaze.
It was a toptier custommade dress, generously using highquality silk to add volume and complement Isabella’s slim figure. Fine lace from her chemise peeped from beneath the thick silk fabric.
“The seamstress is very good. I wanted to have a suit made for my daughter as well, but it’s a pity that it’s not something bought from a tailor.”
Lucrezia, who was really craving regular interaction with the real noble ladies, offered too much generosity at first sight.
“If you entrust it to our seamstress, it will be fine. If it’s for the Countess Marquez, she’s always welcome.”
Countess Marquez laughed with a strange expression.
“The seamstress must be slowhanded if she can’t do more work, isn’t she the same person who made the clothes for your eldest and second daughters?”
“…!”
“Oh, is that so?”
Upon the suggestive remark, the ladies started taking turns looking at Isabella and Ariadne’s dresses.
Indeed, there was a significant difference in the dresses of the eldest and youngest daughters.
Isabella’s outfit was extremely luxurious. The dress, shoes, and hair ornaments were all toptier products that accurately matched the latest fashion. However, Ariadne looked untouched by adult hands.
If Lucrezia had been more firmly embedded in social circles, the ladies might have held their tongues. However, Lucrezia had no standing, and Queen Margaret didn’t seem to think much of her.
Always being overshadowed by the Countess Marquez, the overlooked Duchess of Chibo looked at Queen Margaret’s expression for a moment and opened the front, deeming it safe.
“A virtuous lady should take good care of her children.”
As if she couldn’t resist, or had been waiting, Countess Marquez took the words.
“Even if the mother is unfortunate, the child is still a member of the family. The family comes first.”
The ladies all chimed in.
“Education is… common sense is…”
“The child is innocent…”
“It’s so pitiful…”
Lucrezia’s face turned red and then pale, but she had dressed her own daughter in topnotch clothes and her stepdaughter in cheap clothes. She had no words to say, no matter how many mouths she might have had. Lucrezia was not particularly quickwitted either.
The one who saved her mother from the predicament was Isabella.
“Ladies, I apologize for the misunderstanding. My sister has been ill and hasn’t been in Bergamo for long.”
Isabella smiled sweetly, and as if to show everyone, she approached Ariadne and took her hand in a friendly manner.
“The seamstress is making all of my sister’s clothes out of the best materials right now. Since she’s still small and thin, I gave her the clothes I wore last year.”
“…”
“They’re just simple clothes to match my taste. Sisters often share clothes when they’re young.”
Isabella looked at Ariadne and smiled sweetly. Dimples appeared on her babylike skin.
“Isn’t that right, my sister?”
Ariadne followed with a laugh.
‘Seeing is believing.’
Instead of recounting Lucrezia’s misdeeds, Ariadne abruptly stood up from her seat, flapping her dress hem just as Isabella had done a moment ago.
“You’re right, sister. This dress is excessively nice for me. I didn’t know it was a worn dress, but I really like it.”
As the hem of the dress fluttered, the cotton chemise she wore underneath was revealed. The ladies in attendance gasped collectively at the sight of the old, wornout chemise.
“Good heavens! Look at the rough cotton!”
“The color is completely yellowed. What color was it originally?”
“Look at that stain! Is it a stain from doing housework? Does she do kitchen chores too?”
Lucrezia’s face turned blue.
Cold Male Lead Became My Clingy Husband (Female-Dominant)
Feng Bai Su transmigrated into a matriarchal novel, becoming the sister of the female protagonist and the Seventh Princess of the Feng Ling Kingdom.
After working herself to death in her previous life, finally reincarnating as a princess, she only wanted to be a lazy fish who could eat, sleep, and play.
Until she met the male protagonist from the book, Wei Jing Mo, and he took a liking to her!
Wei Jing Mo is the top young man in Feng Ling City, talented in both appearance and ability, from a prestigious family, with a cold and otherworldly appearance, a figure like the bright moon in the hearts of noble ladies. It was thought that only the most powerful and talented noble lady in Feng Ling City would be worthy of such a brilliant young man. Who knew that this young gentleman would secretly admire the infamous Seventh Princess?
Short scene 1:
Feng Bai Su looked at the young man crying like a pear blossom in the rain before her, and couldn’t help but doubt her life.
Wasn’t the male lead described as a cold and otherworldly figure in the book?
Then who was this poor little thing crying with swollen red eyes and tear-stained face?
Short scene 2:
Wei Jing Mo stared intently at Feng Bai Su who was about to go out, wanting to say, “Be careful on the road.”
Before he could speak, Feng Bai Su suddenly bent down and bit his cheek.
Her peach blossom eyes were full of disdain: “Tsk! You’re so clingy!”
Wei Jing Mo: “…”
A talented fox spirit female lead with a flirtatious appearance but actually abstinent VS A cold-looking but actually naive and clingy little jealous male lead
