Chapter 65
“Would you perhaps write my name on Lady Albrecht’s dance card?”
Normally, Paula would have swooped in to stop him without hesitation, but this time she deliberately looked elsewhere, curious to see how Odette would respond.
She’ll surely act differently this time…
“No. I refuse. How dare a mere baron’s son ask me for a dance? You really don’t know your place.”
But Odette rejected him exactly like the villainess she had been trained to be—just as the Count had drilled into her.
As the embarrassed young man slunk away, Paula noticed Odette’s trembling fingertips.
The same old habit—throwing tantrums as ordered, only to secretly shiver afterward.
Only then did Paula come to her senses.
What on earth was I thinking?
That was the same old Odette. Fernand’s puppet, who could do nothing on her own. Illiterate, too stupid even to accept a dance invitation properly.
Could she even step out of her room without permission? Have any money of her own? She can’t do anything…
Paula chuckled at herself. Of course Odette had come out unscathed.
She wasn’t even capable of being hurt. She was just an accessory of the Count’s household.
Paula let out a laugh.
Mother hasn’t come back, and it’s nearly nine o’clock. I must be getting nervous—that’s why I was having such ridiculous thoughts.
Nine o’clock—the time Gisela had warned her never to miss.
If I get too anxious, I can always ask Gisela again, can’t I?
To Paula, Gisela was her benefactor. At first, when she had gone for a reading, she’d been skeptical—maybe Gisela was just a fraud planning to burn down the research hall.
But then the fire had broken out, and that blaze had revived her mother’s fortune. Thanks to the Count and Fernand being forced out of the mansion for a while, her mother had regained authority in the household. And the anonymous letter denouncing Madam Becker had arrived at the perfect time.
The fact that her mother could attend the ball tonight was also, in a way, the butterfly effect of Paula setting that fire.
And even after such a great fire, the police couldn’t find a shred of evidence of arson…
That too had been foretold by Gisela. And so Paula never dared defy the times Gisela gave her.
But really, why hasn’t Mother returned yet? I can’t delay any longer…
Paula anxiously checked the golden clock hanging in the ballroom.
“The one who will make you a noble is not your mother, but a man. He’ll appear at the imperial ball on the first night of the season, in the palace banquet garden. That’s where you’ll meet him.”
“At the banquet, in the palace garden… Got it. What’s the exact time?”
“Under the blessing of Libra and Sagittarius… that would be nine o’clock.”
“And who is he? Tell me his name. I have to know exactly who.”
“The crystal ball doesn’t show that much. Only that he’s a guest visiting the capital for the first time. Do you have a ring with a blue gemstone? Keep it with you—it will be your lucky charm.”
Gisela had spoken with a detached air, as if whether Paula believed her or not was irrelevant—it was fate regardless. That very detachment made Paula trust her all the more, and it also heightened her urgency.
Nothing seems likely to go wrong tonight. Do I really need to watch this girl so closely?
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
As the clock struck nine, Paula grew restless. If she wasted time staring at the stupid doll standing against the wall, she might miss her chance at destiny.
Mother will return any moment. It should be fine to step away for just a short while, shouldn’t it?
And yet… the uneasiness lingered.
Especially tonight, when so many young ladies seemed unusually drawn to Odette.
“Shall I go ask who designed that gown?”
“Young Lady, no! Don’t you know who that is? That’s Lady Odette. Haven’t you heard the stories? If you go near her, you’ll become the target of her cruelty.”
“But I’m too curious. That dress is simply stunning. I want it for the opera. I must secure the designer before anyone else—”
Just as the girl began walking toward Odette, Paula drew in a sharp breath. Then, moving quickly, she deliberately bumped into Odette’s hand that held a glass.
Crash! The glass slipped and shattered across the floor.
“Kyaaah!”
Paula screamed and dropped to the ground. Then she began to sob, clasping her hands together in feigned desperation.
“M-my lady… hic… it’s my fault! Please don’t be angry!”
She kept her head bowed, hiding the fact no real tears came.
“I’m sorry I dared to admire your gown! I was wrong. Please, don’t hit me—please, forgive me!”
A maid groveling on the floor in public, shaking with fear before shards of glass—such a spectacle was shocking enough. The orchestra even stopped playing for a moment, plunging the ballroom into silence.
“See? Don’t go near her, Young Lady.”
“Oh my, thank you for stopping me. I would have been terribly humiliated in her place.”
The young ladies who had been tempted to approach Odette now backed away, glancing at each other uneasily.
Yes. That should do it. No one else will try to come close now.
For three years, how hard had the Count’s household worked to build that dreadful reputation?
Paula looked triumphantly at Odette.
But Odette remained unchanged. No panic, no reaction—only that perfectly doll-like face.
Just as instructed: in unexpected situations, show nothing but a doll’s expression.
See? There it is. She’s nothing but a puppet. I worried over nothing.
Leaning close so only Odette could hear, Paula whispered a warning.
“My lady, I’ll be stepping away for a while. Stay just like this—quietly. Decorate the wall like an ornament. Don’t move a muscle. Understand?”
“……”
“If you so much as twitch, I’ll whip you until not a patch of skin is left unmarked. Do you hear me?”
Her tone dripped with smug triumph.
“……”
Odette only gazed down at her with that same doll’s face.
“And about being praised by Count Lilienthal—don’t let it go to your head. Praising such cheap pearls? Seems the great Count’s eye for gems is laughably poor.”
“Paula.”
“If he saw the ring I’m wearing, he would have fainted dead away. All the pearls you own together aren’t worth this single stone.”
As the orchestra cautiously resumed and chatter rose again, Paula stood. She lifted her hand, showing off the blue diamond on her finger.
Even if Odette gathered every jewel she owned, it wouldn’t compare to this ring. Only three such gems existed in the entire world.
It was the gift her mother had given her on the day they were reunited—flawless, large-carat, and a brilliant shade of blue, worth a fortune.
The only blue stone she owned, and yet she begrudged even showing it to Odette.
“Stay put. As always.”
With that final remark, Paula turned sharply and strode toward her destiny.
From the ballroom exit, she glanced back. Odette still stood exactly as before, calmly against the wall.
Paula frowned. She had won, yet strangely, it felt like defeat.
Odette looked exactly the same as she had before the threats, as if Paula’s words had been no more than dust in the air.
Paula ran through the garden paths behind the palace.
This place is enormous! How am I supposed to find someone in such a vast garden?
Surely she hadn’t already missed him?
She kept running, eyes darting anxiously around her.
Gisela had said the man would be a “guest visiting the capital for the first time.” Vague at first glance, but in truth quite precise.
On the first night of the social season, only a carefully chosen few nobles were invited to the imperial ball. Most of them, of course, lived in the capital. To be here for the first time—that narrowed it down.
Paula hadn’t wasted time. With her mother’s power restored, she had gathered every connection to acquire the guest list. Only one man fit Gisela’s prophecy.
And then—
As she sped past a sharp turn in the hedged path, she suddenly collided with someone coming from the other side.
Thud!
Paula toppled onto the dirt, her precious ring rolling away into the garden.
“What on earth?!”
“Oh dear… I’m terribly sorry.”
Already flustered, Paula snapped irritably at the man she’d run into. The stranger quickly picked up the fallen ring from the ground and handed it back to her.
“It was my carelessness. May I help you up?”
