“Could you please write my name on Lady Albrecht’s dance card?”
Normally, she would have stopped him right away, but Paula pretended to be distracted by something else. She wanted to see how Odette would act.
'There must be something different somewhere.'
“No. I don’t like it. How dare you ask me to dance, Baron! You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
But Odette, like a typical villainess, refused the invitation. It was just as she had been trained by the Count.
As the embarrassed young Baron left the room, Odette's trembling fingertips were visible.
It was Odette's habit of doing whatever she was told and then secretly shivering.
Only then did Paula come to her senses.
'What the heck? What was I thinking?'
It's the usual Odette. Ferdinand's doll who can't do anything. An idiot who can't even accept dance requests because she's illiterate.
'She can go out without permission? Does she have money? What kind of a kid can't do anything... '
Paula soon found her thoughts ridiculous. It was no wonder that Odette had not been hurt.
Because she didn't have enough ego to be hit by something. Wasn't he just an accessory to the Count's house?
Paula burst out laughing.
'It was almost 9 o'clock, and my mother hadn't come home yet, so I guess I was anxious. I was lost in such useless thoughts.'
Nine o'clock was the time Gisela had warned her not to miss.
'If I'm really worried, just ask Gisela.'
Paula considered Gisela her benefactor. She had been hesitant until she first came to see her horoscope.
She wonders if she's a scammer whose goal is to set fire to the lab.
But actually, that fire brightened her mother's luck.
The Count and Ferdinand had briefly vacated the mansion during the fire, which had restored some dignity to the house, and the timing was just right for a complaint to be filed against Mrs. Becker.
If she thinks about it, wasn't the fact that her mother was able to come to the ball a butterfly effect of the fire she set?
'And even though such a large fire was started, the Metropolitan Police Department said they couldn't find any evidence of an arsonist.'
This was also as Gisela had predicted. So Paula had no intention of going against the time Gisela had told her.
'But really, why aren't you coming back? I can't put it off any longer.'
Paula checked the golden clock in the banquet hall anxiously.
“The person who will make your fortune noble is not your mother, but a man. He is said to be appearing at the palace ball on the first day of this social season? He said he will meet you in the back garden of the banquet hall.”
“Ball day, in the back garden of the Imperial Banquet Hall. Understood. What time is it exactly?”
“I heard that you have the protection of Libra and Sagittarius, so um, it’ll be 9 o’clock at night.”
“Who am I meeting? Tell me his name. Shouldn’t I know exactly who it is?”
“The crystal ball doesn’t really tell me who someone is, but it looks like he's a first-time visitor to the capital. Do you happen to have a blue gem ring? It’s your lucky item, so keep it.”
Gisela had a somewhat detached side to her advice. She had a contemplative attitude as if it was none of her business whether Paula believed it or not, and that it was fate.
Because of that, Paula felt more trustworthy and it made Paula more anxious.
'I don't think there will be any problems today. Do I really have to watch him?'
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
Normally, she would have stopped him right away, but Paula pretended to be distracted by something else. She wanted to see how Odette would act.
'There must be something different somewhere.'
“No. I don’t like it. How dare you ask me to dance, Baron! You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
But Odette, like a typical villainess, refused the invitation. It was just as she had been trained by the Count.
As the embarrassed young Baron left the room, Odette's trembling fingertips were visible.
It was Odette's habit of doing whatever she was told and then secretly shivering.
Only then did Paula come to her senses.
'What the heck? What was I thinking?'
It's the usual Odette. Ferdinand's doll who can't do anything. An idiot who can't even accept dance requests because she's illiterate.
'She can go out without permission? Does she have money? What kind of a kid can't do anything... '
Paula soon found her thoughts ridiculous. It was no wonder that Odette had not been hurt.
Because she didn't have enough ego to be hit by something. Wasn't he just an accessory to the Count's house?
Paula burst out laughing.
'It was almost 9 o'clock, and my mother hadn't come home yet, so I guess I was anxious. I was lost in such useless thoughts.'
Nine o'clock was the time Gisela had warned her not to miss.
'If I'm really worried, just ask Gisela.'
Paula considered Gisela her benefactor. She had been hesitant until she first came to see her horoscope.
She wonders if she's a scammer whose goal is to set fire to the lab.
But actually, that fire brightened her mother's luck.
The Count and Ferdinand had briefly vacated the mansion during the fire, which had restored some dignity to the house, and the timing was just right for a complaint to be filed against Mrs. Becker.
If she thinks about it, wasn't the fact that her mother was able to come to the ball a butterfly effect of the fire she set?
'And even though such a large fire was started, the Metropolitan Police Department said they couldn't find any evidence of an arsonist.'
This was also as Gisela had predicted. So Paula had no intention of going against the time Gisela had told her.
'But really, why aren't you coming back? I can't put it off any longer.'
Paula checked the golden clock in the banquet hall anxiously.
“The person who will make your fortune noble is not your mother, but a man. He is said to be appearing at the palace ball on the first day of this social season? He said he will meet you in the back garden of the banquet hall.”
“Ball day, in the back garden of the Imperial Banquet Hall. Understood. What time is it exactly?”
“I heard that you have the protection of Libra and Sagittarius, so um, it’ll be 9 o’clock at night.”
“Who am I meeting? Tell me his name. Shouldn’t I know exactly who it is?”
“The crystal ball doesn’t really tell me who someone is, but it looks like he's a first-time visitor to the capital. Do you happen to have a blue gem ring? It’s your lucky item, so keep it.”
Gisela had a somewhat detached side to her advice. She had a contemplative attitude as if it was none of her business whether Paula believed it or not, and that it was fate.
Because of that, Paula felt more trustworthy and it made Paula more anxious.
'I don't think there will be any problems today. Do I really have to watch him?'
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
As the clock's hands pointed to nine o'clock, Paula grew impatient.
While she is just staring blankly at the dolls decorating the wall, she might miss her destiny to become noble.
'Mother will be back soon, too. I think it would be okay to leave for a little while.'
However, the feeling of anxiety she had felt earlier was bothering her if she just left it like this.
Besides, today, there seemed to be a lot of ladies who were particularly fond of Odette.
“May I ask who the designer of that dress is?”
“Young Lady, it’s dangerous! It’s that Odette. Don’t you know her notoriety? If you talk to her without thinking, Young Lady will end up being the victim of that evil.”
“But I’m still curious. I really want that dress. I really want to wear it when I go to the opera. I have to get the designer before anyone else-”
The moment Young Lady was about to walk towards Odette, Paula quickly took a deep breath.
Then she deliberately bumped her body into Odette's hand, which was holding the glass.
Clang!
While she is just staring blankly at the dolls decorating the wall, she might miss her destiny to become noble.
'Mother will be back soon, too. I think it would be okay to leave for a little while.'
However, the feeling of anxiety she had felt earlier was bothering her if she just left it like this.
Besides, today, there seemed to be a lot of ladies who were particularly fond of Odette.
“May I ask who the designer of that dress is?”
“Young Lady, it’s dangerous! It’s that Odette. Don’t you know her notoriety? If you talk to her without thinking, Young Lady will end up being the victim of that evil.”
“But I’m still curious. I really want that dress. I really want to wear it when I go to the opera. I have to get the designer before anyone else-”
The moment Young Lady was about to walk towards Odette, Paula quickly took a deep breath.
Then she deliberately bumped her body into Odette's hand, which was holding the glass.
Clang!
The moment the glass in Odette's hand fell to the floor and shattered,
“Whoa!”
Paula screamed and fell to the floor.
Then she just started sobbing and clapped her hands.
“Miss, sob, sob, I was wrong! Don’t be angry!”
Paula lowered her head, as she had to hide the tears that were not falling.
“I’m sorry for complimenting your pretty dress! I was really wrong. Please don’t hit me. Huhu.”
In such a public place, a maid trembles and pleads on a glass.
Even the orchestra was so surprised that they stopped playing for a moment, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
“Look at that. Don’t go, Young Lady.”
“Oh, thank you for stopping me. I almost suffered a great embarrassment in place of that maid.”
The young ladies who were about to speak quietly took a step back, looking at each other nervously.
'Ues. I think this is enough. No one will come near Odette for no reason.'
For three years, how much effort has the Count put into creating this notoriety?
Paula looked at Odette with pride.
But Odette still had a perfectly doll-like face, far from being embarrassed.
Always make a doll-like expression in unexpected and untrained situations. Just as instructed.
'Yeah. Look at this. She's just a doll with no ego, and I was worrying for nothing.'
Paula warned quietly so that only Odette could hear.
“Miss, I’m going out for a bit, so stay still like you are now. Be quiet and decorate the wall. Don’t move at all. Okay?”
“...”
“If you move even a little bit on your own, I will whip you so hard that there is no place left on your body that you can’t find a single spot. Do you understand?”
Paula's tone was triumphant.
“...”
Odette just stared down at her with a doll-like expression.
“And you were praised by Countess Lilienthal? That’s not a big deal, so don’t be so arrogant. Praising such a cheap pearl? Even the great Countess Lilienthal seems to have a poor eye for gems.”
“Paula.”
“If I had shown you the ring on my hand, I would have been very shocked. All the pearls you wear combined are less valuable than this one.”
As the surrounding guests began to chatter again and the orchestra began to play slowly, Paula got up.
Then she shook the blue diamond she was holding in her hand.
The value of all the jewels Odette owns combined would not come close to the value of this ring. It is a rare jewel, with only three left in the world.
An item Paula received as a gift from her mother on the day they first met.
A flawless, large-carat, rare, and vivid blue ring with an astronomical price tag.
She brought it with her because it was the only blue gem she had, but Paula felt it was a waste to even show it to someone like that.
“Stay still. Like always.”
After finishing her last words, Paula turned around and took a step that would change her fate.
As Paula exited the banquet hall, she glanced back at the wall where Odette was standing. She was still standing there, calmly, as she had been told.
Paula frowned. She had won, but strangely she felt defeated.
Odette looked exactly the same as before she warned her. It seemed to her that Odette's appearance was not affected at all by Paula's warning.
Paula ran through the wooded path between the palace gardens.
'The support is bigger than I thought. How am I supposed to meet people in such a big place?'
Surely she hadn't already lost it? Paula continued to run, looking around nervously.
Gisela said that the person Paula was meeting was a 'first-time guest in the capital'. It seemed abstract, but it was actually very specific and specific information.
On the first day of the social season, only a select few guests from among the nobility can be invited to the palace ball. Most of them are naturally those who live in the capital, but it is their 'first' time.
So Paula couldn't have just stayed silent after hearing that. Her mother had just regained power in the mansion, and she had used all her connections to select a list of male nobles who would be invited to the ball.
Among them, there was only one man who met the conditions that Gisela had mentioned.
It was then that Paula quickly passed the corner of the bush road that suddenly turned to the left, and she bumped into a man who suddenly jumped out from the corner.
Thud.
Paula fell with a thud to the dirt floor, causing the precious ring she was holding to scatter across the garden.
"What?!"
“Oh... I’m sorry.”
Paula, who was impatient, got angry and got nervous at the man who had jumped out. The man who had bumped into her seemed surprised and hurriedly picked up the ring that had fallen on the dirt floor and immediately handed it to Paula.
“I was careless. Can I help you up?”
“Whoa!”
Paula screamed and fell to the floor.
Then she just started sobbing and clapped her hands.
“Miss, sob, sob, I was wrong! Don’t be angry!”
Paula lowered her head, as she had to hide the tears that were not falling.
“I’m sorry for complimenting your pretty dress! I was really wrong. Please don’t hit me. Huhu.”
In such a public place, a maid trembles and pleads on a glass.
Even the orchestra was so surprised that they stopped playing for a moment, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
“Look at that. Don’t go, Young Lady.”
“Oh, thank you for stopping me. I almost suffered a great embarrassment in place of that maid.”
The young ladies who were about to speak quietly took a step back, looking at each other nervously.
'Ues. I think this is enough. No one will come near Odette for no reason.'
For three years, how much effort has the Count put into creating this notoriety?
Paula looked at Odette with pride.
But Odette still had a perfectly doll-like face, far from being embarrassed.
Always make a doll-like expression in unexpected and untrained situations. Just as instructed.
'Yeah. Look at this. She's just a doll with no ego, and I was worrying for nothing.'
Paula warned quietly so that only Odette could hear.
“Miss, I’m going out for a bit, so stay still like you are now. Be quiet and decorate the wall. Don’t move at all. Okay?”
“...”
“If you move even a little bit on your own, I will whip you so hard that there is no place left on your body that you can’t find a single spot. Do you understand?”
Paula's tone was triumphant.
“...”
Odette just stared down at her with a doll-like expression.
“And you were praised by Countess Lilienthal? That’s not a big deal, so don’t be so arrogant. Praising such a cheap pearl? Even the great Countess Lilienthal seems to have a poor eye for gems.”
“Paula.”
“If I had shown you the ring on my hand, I would have been very shocked. All the pearls you wear combined are less valuable than this one.”
As the surrounding guests began to chatter again and the orchestra began to play slowly, Paula got up.
Then she shook the blue diamond she was holding in her hand.
The value of all the jewels Odette owns combined would not come close to the value of this ring. It is a rare jewel, with only three left in the world.
An item Paula received as a gift from her mother on the day they first met.
A flawless, large-carat, rare, and vivid blue ring with an astronomical price tag.
She brought it with her because it was the only blue gem she had, but Paula felt it was a waste to even show it to someone like that.
“Stay still. Like always.”
After finishing her last words, Paula turned around and took a step that would change her fate.
As Paula exited the banquet hall, she glanced back at the wall where Odette was standing. She was still standing there, calmly, as she had been told.
Paula frowned. She had won, but strangely she felt defeated.
Odette looked exactly the same as before she warned her. It seemed to her that Odette's appearance was not affected at all by Paula's warning.
***
Paula ran through the wooded path between the palace gardens.
'The support is bigger than I thought. How am I supposed to meet people in such a big place?'
Surely she hadn't already lost it? Paula continued to run, looking around nervously.
Gisela said that the person Paula was meeting was a 'first-time guest in the capital'. It seemed abstract, but it was actually very specific and specific information.
On the first day of the social season, only a select few guests from among the nobility can be invited to the palace ball. Most of them are naturally those who live in the capital, but it is their 'first' time.
So Paula couldn't have just stayed silent after hearing that. Her mother had just regained power in the mansion, and she had used all her connections to select a list of male nobles who would be invited to the ball.
Among them, there was only one man who met the conditions that Gisela had mentioned.
It was then that Paula quickly passed the corner of the bush road that suddenly turned to the left, and she bumped into a man who suddenly jumped out from the corner.
Thud.
Paula fell with a thud to the dirt floor, causing the precious ring she was holding to scatter across the garden.
"What?!"
“Oh... I’m sorry.”
Paula, who was impatient, got angry and got nervous at the man who had jumped out. The man who had bumped into her seemed surprised and hurriedly picked up the ring that had fallen on the dirt floor and immediately handed it to Paula.
“I was careless. Can I help you up?”
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