Isabel’s face lit up.

“Hey! Are you teasing me? You’re much prettier!”

“Me, pretty?”

“Of course, you’re pretty! Haven’t you looked in the mirror? Just wait!”

Isabel suddenly stood up, grabbed the hand mirror on the table, and held it out in front of Ariana’s face.

Ariana stared at her reflection in the mirror. Perhaps it was because she had seen the lively Isabel, but her face in the mirror looked strangely ominous. Lifeless eyes, rigid lips, a gloomy expression.

“Look, you’re much prettier.”

“Well, I think you’re prettier, sister.”

“Look at this. Don’t say such things anywhere else. You’ll get scolded, especially in front of the noble ladies coming to the party tomorrow.”

“How are the noble ladies of Dongryeong?”

There are many good ones, but sometimes there are narrow-minded ones. If you say something wrong, they’ll gossip behind your back. A fragile-hearted girl like you won’t be able to endure it.”

If she knew what kind of words I’ve heard, she wouldn’t say such things.

Still, it felt good that Isabel was worried about her. Ariana smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll be careful.”

When Ariana answered obediently, Isabel lowered her eyebrows and gently stroked Ariana’s hair.

“I don’t know what those people in the West said to you, but everything they said is a lie. Don’t keep it in your heart. You’re beautiful. There won’t be anyone prettier than you in our Dongryeong.”

“…….”

“So I’m worried. If you’re too pretty, there will be jealous girls. I can handle other girls, but I’m worried about Fiona. She’s too embarrassed to deal with it.”

The name Fiona triggered a memory.

Fiona Oberleia, the lady who later married an imperial count, was detested by Victoria.

It was because she had a similar personality to Victoria.

“There will be a woman at the party tomorrow with eyes like this. She’s a few years older than me. She’s the sister of Zeor. She looks nice, but she’s worse than Zeor. But, uh, what should I say? Anyway, she pretends to be nice, but somehow she’s annoying.”

Isabel struggled to find the right words.

It was understandable.

People like Isabel, who are the same inside and out, are opposite in character to those like Fiona or Victoria, so they may not be understandable and may not even want to understand.

“If she says something, just ignore her. If you respond, she’ll use it against you to say something even more annoying. She has a few followers who sit around and laugh together. It’s so annoying. I want to hit her, but I can’t…”

Isabel grumbled, frowning, and it was cute.

“But if you really can’t stand it, just hit her. I’ll take care of the rest afterward.”
There wouldn’t be a need to hit Fiona just because she felt bad, but Isabel’s words were so reassuring that Ariana felt like she might shed a few tears. Grateful that this was the bathroom, thinking that her body was wet, Ariana spoke.

“Yeah, sister. I’ll trust only you.”

+++

Ariana sat on the sofa until late at night, staring at the dress Isabel had brought. Her eyes were fixed on the glamorous dress, but various thoughts floated in her mind.

‘A party…’

When she turned 18 and attended the imperial palace party as Lady Alfred, Ariana could barely enter the central hall of the palace, led by her husband, Ingu Alfrehi.

She recalled the pink dress she wore according to Ingu’s taste, which was a style that had long passed its trend, and a few noblewomen nearby threw mocking glances at her.

At that time, she behaved like a fool because she didn’t know the party etiquette.

Helena laughed at Ariana with the noble ladies she had become friends with.

Under the cold gaze of her father, Dongjehu, the sneers of the noble ladies, and the loneliness of being in the empty hall without anyone to dance with, Ariana had to endure the time, barely holding back her tears.

She pushed away the unpleasant memories that came to mind like yesterday and recalled the Empress she had seen that day.

She pictured the figure of the most noble woman among the ladies, walking beside the Emperor with an unparalleled grace.

When the Empress entered, every woman admired her with adoring eyes, and the scene where they bowed their heads in admiration came to Ariana’s mind.

Like a fool, she believed those words and tried to memorize the Empress’s movements, making an effort to practice her posture.

When she recalled herself at that time, it seemed absurdly stupid, and a small laughter escaped her.

Ariana practiced and practiced to be able to display manners and posture like those in the palace, but her position did not change significantly.

It was only after a long time that Ariana learned about the unfavorable rumors circulating about her.

A vulgar Lady Alfred who, eager to catch the eyes of the Third Prince, tried to act like a palace person. A crude Lady Alfred who thought only of decorating herself with the money her husband had hard-earned.

It was later that she found out that Victoria was behind those rumors.

‘I still haven’t escaped from there.’