RAMHM - Chapter 9 < Dangerous Invitation? Family Honor! >



Jonah stared blankly at the master in front of him. The maid, Margie, was the same. Standing up straight. Her voice was low. Their master was scolding a servant who had come out of the dressing room like a 'lady' of a noble family. 

As usual, she was 'scolding' rather than being unreasonable or abusive. She pointed out everything directly to the front of the dress corresponding to each bill.

“An S-class emerald?”

“Yes, yes definitely...”

"Clearly?"

Although he had already been pointed out in three or four dresses, Mathias tried to deny it once more. She tapped one of the large green gems on her chest with her finger.

“To your eyes, this appears to be an S-grade emerald.”

“I, I just transport, so I don’t know much about ranks, Ma’am.”

“Then let me know.”

She bent down and brought her face closer to the man who was half-bent on his waist. Mathias flinched as he met her sparkling green eyes. He had never seen the lady’s face this close before, and it was also the first time she had looked at him with hostility.

“Look straight ahead.”

“Yes, yes.”

“The best emeralds are of this color.”

Adrienne pointed to her eyes and said that. 

If you cut and re-cut a deep green emerald, pour in a special liquid, and work it, you will get the purest blue-green emerald of the highest grade. 

Mathias couldn't have known. He had someone take it out and replace it with an emerald of the next lowest grade. And the original emerald was definitely very similar in color to Countess Acacia's eyes.

“Yes, yes...”

“I can’t believe it.”

I sighed softly and looked at the rest of the dresses. They were all gorgeous and beautiful, but some of the jewels on them were subtly different from the order form. Some of them had jewels that were almost like raw stones on the entire dress. A quick glance at the order form showed that many simply had 'the most expensive one.' 

This was the kind of order that people who didn't know how to look good usually made. Or people who didn't care about the price. Of course, Blie would be in the former case. Since she didn't know much, she would have wanted the best, the most expensive one. 

However, I, who had to maintain my dignity as a Princess since she was very young without a mother to look after me, was different. I had developed an eye for things by following Bianca, my brother's fiancée, and had developed an eye for choosing good things rationally. No matter how much the Duke of Piretta was the richest in the East, I didn't want to have my money stolen 'because I didn't know.'

“Oh, I must have brought the wrong one, Ma’am. I’ll have a new one for you by this evening.”

"Yes."

When the lady shook her head quietly, Mathias sighed in relief. Madame Leblaix was a famous designer in the capital, and the ladies wanted to be friends with her. They wouldn’t bother to complain to her if it was a staff mistake. And just as he was thinking that, Countess Acacia smiled and said,

“I will return only the items with lower grades attached, deduct the price, and receive an apology directly from the Madam.”

"Yes?!"

Madame Leblaix, the owner of Mathias, has absolutely no idea about this fact. That he makes money by changing the jewels in the dresses of several noble ladies. However, if this lady were to ask the dress shop for her money back, it would only be a matter of time before Madame Leblaix heard about it. He politely held her trembling hand and asked her.

“Oh, it’s all my fault, Madam. Please calm down and leave it to me! I will speak to the jeweler who supplied this piece of jewelry, and to Madame herself, and bring back a proper dress!”

He must change the jewels again before Madame finds out. That was the only thought that dominated Mathias's mind. There was still a chance to solve it. If he could just take these hangers he had brought and change the jewels again!

“No, I have no complaints about the dress. I just want a refund for the jewels since they are overpriced for their grade. All you have to do is deposit it into my account, so there’s no need to bother me. However, since it’s a matter of trust, I can’t just let it go, so if Madame doesn’t have enough time, she can apologize in writing.”

***

“Marge, did you see that employee’s expression just now?”

“He was all dying. Madam, if you didn’t like the dress, you could have sent it back and received a more expensive dress as an apology. Why did you do that?”

Even as I asked why, the expression on Marge's face, who had been saying that she and Jonah were always the same, brightened up tremendously. Perhaps because of my changed appearance, Marge, who had sometimes drawn a line by calling me "Ma'am", was now acting affectionately towards me, calling me "Ma'am".

“No, at my current level, if I wear a dress with top-of-the-line emeralds, I’ll only attract unnecessary attention.”

The staff's behavior was annoying, but the result was pretty good. I relaxed my body, which had been strained to show off my dignity in front of the servants. I did it well, intoxicated by Blie's healthy and tireless body. It was like a dream. 

For a moment, I felt like I was back when I was healthy. Could the Count's family's finances afford to spend that much on a debutante for a Countess who was already married? 

Grand Duchess Adrienne's face was not well known in society, but if she were to catch my eye and meet someone who knew my face, wouldn't it be difficult? 

I couldn't avoid a debutante. It was very unusual for Blie, who seemed to be of non-noble birth, to become the wife of the old Count Acacia without even a debutante.

'And I have to use this debutante season to somehow meet Noevian.'

“There’s no benefit to receiving unnecessary attention right now. Just making my face known is enough.”

“Huh~?”

“Why... why do you have such eyes?”

Well, you thought I liked being the center of attention at all times?

Marge and Jonah, who had exactly that kind of expression, looked at my expression. I slightly turned my body away from them who habitually tried to put their hands on my forehead. After living my whole life as a Princess or a Grand Duchess, it felt awkward to be called 'Madam' and treated so kindly. 

I looked at the dress hangers inside with an awkward look and nodded.

“But, looking at it closely, it seems a bit too revealing for a debutante.”

“Yes, it’s just your taste, Madam.”

Jonah answered brightly.

Ah, those dresses with their front and back cutouts were probably Blie's shit. 

I put my head down and wondered if there was a shawl that would match them. But soon, as I recalled the shawls in the dressing room that were flashing through my mind, I could imagine a flashy and gorgeous appearance just like an opera singer. I shook my head.

“If you walk around dressed like that, not only will you not go unnoticed, but all eyes will follow you.”

“Didn’t you say, ‘It would be a sin not to show off such beauty?’?”

Jonah said with sparkling eyes. How many embarrassing words and actions has this woman, Blie, done? 

Of course, there was no better debutante than the victory ceremony I had seen in the gossip magazine to meet Noevian, who only attended big parties.

“I have to go to the victory ceremony...”

As soon as those words left my mouth, Marge made a face that said, 'Were you having that dream?' and Jonah made a slightly embarrassed face.

“I, but... The victory ceremony is tomorrow, Ma’am...”

"Hmm?"

It was a rush. But I was glad I had a dress to wear.

“There is... no invitation.”

"What?"

I need to meet Noah quickly! Are you saying that I didn't even receive an invitation? Is it because my family is too humble that I wasn't invited? 

It was an invitation that I could easily receive when I was the Grand Duchess, but it seems that wasn't the case here.

“His Grace?”

“Yes? The Master is in the office all the time...”

“I guess I should ask if there is anyway.”

I got up in a hurry and left the reception room. The victory ceremony was tomorrow. Would Count Acacia have the strength to accept an invitation to such a grand ceremony right away? 

I climbed the stairs without hesitation, and the old butler came running out of breath at the entrance of the mansion.

“Madam! Madam!! Madam, Madam!!”

As I stopped and looked down, Marge, with an excited expression, snatched the small piece of paper from the butler's hand and waved it around.

“Oh my! It’s here! It’s here! The invitation to the victory ceremony has finally arrived at Count Acacia’s residence! What an honor!”

"What...?"

An invitation from the royal family in the middle of the night? 

I was thinking that I should ask Count Acacia to do something...

“You can attend the ball tomorrow! Oh my goodness, I’ve been working here for over 30 years and this is the first time I’ve been invited to such a big ball by a Countess!!”

The servants rushed out to Marge's loud voice, trying to look at the invitations. Marge, who couldn't open them before me, waved the invitations without even opening them and cheered with a face full of joy. 

Marge's face, which was full of joy as he led the servants around like a man playing the flute, looked genuinely happy. I looked down at the servants who were also happy, and grabbed the railing with trembling hands.

'Could it be that Noevian sent it?'

After living in agony for several days, I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to check with Noevian directly one last time.

'Noah, I'll hear it from you directly.'

I won't believe anyone's words. The time between you and me isn't something that can be easily destroyed by a few words from other people I've just met. Right?


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