Chapter 74
Who’s the One Caught in the Trap? (2)
When it came to a noble’s banquet, it was essentially a reflection of the family’s prestige. Therefore, it was customary for the host to personally oversee the proceedings or at least appoint a representative to do so.
But in this case, they had only said they wanted floral decorations, without giving any clear instructions? How was one even supposed to interpret that?
From the start, it was already suspicious that a high-ranking noblewoman would come all the way to the commoner district just to order flowers for a banquet—and specifically handpick them herself.
‘She didn’t even mention the terrace at all. Hm. So… is it like, “Do as you like, and take responsibility for it yourself”?’
Her gaze sharpened as she looked at the second-floor terrace.
‘I’ll need to be extremely careful.’
The feeling was unsettling. Elluciana decided to stay vigilant and consider all possible outcomes that could unfold.
There was no turning back now; she couldn’t just say she wouldn’t do it.
Her deep crimson eyes shifted toward the attendant.
“Then, let’s get started.”
With that, Elluciana headed straight toward the area where the wagon was waiting.
As soon as she disappeared into the hall, a woman with red hair pinned up appeared on the second-floor terrace.
Camilla, tilting one corner of her mouth upward, swept her red lips and murmured lowly:
“So, that girl… she’s the one who stole what’s mine.”
It wasn’t that she had high expectations, but the girl was even more unimpressive than she had imagined. Her face was fairly cute, but her scrawny body hardly matched Noel’s taste.
Camilla furrowed her brow slightly and then turned away. She had to be perfectly prepared before receiving any guests.
Even for the sake of the lover who was obsessed with playing the White Knight.
“Go ahead, show off all you want, Noel.”
Not that it would matter—she would still be in her hand.
Camilla smiled softly and turned away.
Elluciana, along with Noel and four coachmen who had brought the wagons, spent a full hour transferring all the flower baskets into the Ruber Hall.
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ve added a little extra to your contracted fee, so you should at least have enough for a light snack.”
“Heh, much obliged.”
“You’re a kind-hearted young lady.”
“If there’s work next time, please contact me.”
“Yes, let’s meet again next time.”
The coachmen left smiling at the extra payment. Left alone, Elluciana took a deep breath but suppressed the sigh threatening to escape as she looked at the entrance, filled with flowers.
From now on, it was entirely her responsibility.
Normally, she could have asked for the maids’ help, but now it was just her and Noel.
‘This is too much. Really, not a single person sent to help?’
Apparently, she had caught the eye of this noblewoman. She had no idea when or why it had happened, and it was frustrating.
‘I hope this is all there is. But there’s probably more… Could her goal really be to ruin our shop?’
A chill ran down her spine, and she shivered. It didn’t feel like an entirely far-fetched thought.
‘Ugh, let’s be careful not to give them any reason to pick on us.’
Elluciana glared at the flower baskets with a resolute expression.
Watching her, Noel approached, a teasing smile on his face.
“You think staring at them like that will make them die?”
“What are you talking about? There’s no time! Bring those decorative pillars over here, that one, that one, and that one. Ah! Leave half where they are, just bring the rest over.”
“Me?”
“Then who else?”
Noel flinched, looking at her. Elluciana had already tied up her hair, which had fallen loose, and moved to the edge of the hall.
Noel looked around for help, but no one was there.
‘She must have prepared this in advance.’
Noel forced a wry smile and lifted a decorative pillar at waist height.
“This one, right?”
“Stop hesitating and bring it over here. Once you’ve moved all the pillars, see that basket with white flowers? Bring that over too.”
“Th-this one?”
“Don’t just stand there—hurry up!”
Preparing the decorations wasn’t difficult. The flowers, provided by the House of Sestain, were already of the highest quality, and the extra materials they had brought ensured a perfect finish.
The only drawback was that it took a lot of time.
With only two of them doing the work meant for several, there was no avoiding the shortage of hands.
‘Still, Noel was pretty helpful.’
Though he had grumbled at first, he quickly treated it as his own task, leaving them with enough time before the banquet began.
Elluciana placed the final purple-and-white flower arrangement in the center of the second-floor terrace and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Perfect!”
Watching Noel flail his arms like a child in the first-floor hall, Elluciana couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He was right—nothing could have been more perfect.
Once the decorations were approved, this job would be complete. Just thinking that eased her tension.
‘No! Wait!’
She hadn’t received confirmation yet. She couldn’t relax until the very end.
The mastermind always struck when one let their guard down.
Elluciana tightened her lips and descended to the first-floor hall.
Just then, she made eye contact with an attendant entering the hall.
The attendant seemed slightly surprised but quickly masked his expression and walked toward her.
“You came at the perfect time. As you can see, the work is finished. Please confirm it.”
The attendant’s voice was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
“That’s… a problem,” he said.
“…Excuse me?”
Elluciana was genuinely taken aback; she hadn’t expected such a response.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean by a problem?”
The attendant avoided her gaze and glanced over the hall she had decorated.
“You said you wanted to confirm it yourself, didn’t you?”
Elluciana’s expression turned puzzled.
‘Then why not come and check it immediately? What’s the issue?’
But what came next made her even more incredulous.
“You’ll have to wait a moment.”
Wait? Not a request, just a command to wait?
‘You’ve got to be kidding me! Who do they think they’re dealing with?’
Elluciana bit her lip to suppress the laughter threatening to escape.
The attendant smiled faintly, a hint of malice in his expression.
“It won’t take long. That will be all.”
Elluciana frowned, tightening her brows as the attendant turned and left.
“You speak so irresponsibly, as if it means nothing. This is inconvenient for me, you know. I have a packed schedule.”
“Oh, that will be compensated by the House of Eragost.”
“…Compensation?”
“You’ll be fully satisfied. Then I’ll leave it at that.”
“Wait a moment!”
The attendant glanced at her with an expression as if to say, “Why are you bothering me?” but Elluciana ignored him.
“I refuse your proposal just now.”
The attendant sighed deeply, his brow slightly furrowed.
“Hmm. Very well, do as you wish.”
“…Yes?”
“However, since you are violating the contract, you will have to pay a penalty.”
“What did you say?”
“The contract states that ‘the contract is only completed once the client confirms it.’ So if you insist on leaving, you’ll have to pay a penalty of 300 gold, three times the original 100 gold. Pay it.”
Elluciana gaped in disbelief. Thinking she was intimidated, the attendant continued smugly:
“If you don’t want that, you may quietly wait for our young lady.”
“Hah.”
“Now, I am busy. Goodbye.”
With that, the attendant left the hall. Apologies weren’t expected, but the brazen audacity was infuriating.
‘Why are they so eager to keep me here?’
Reflecting on the situation, Elluciana could reasonably guess Camilla’s intentions. For some reason, she harbored negative feelings toward her and had no intention of letting her leave.
If her guess was correct, the only two reasons the young lady of Eragost was stalling were:
Public humiliation.
Or punishment, retribution.
‘Could it be… she knows I’m the daughter of the House of Wires?’
But that didn’t make sense. As a child, she had rarely left the mansion due to illness, and later, her family fell, preventing her from entering high society.
Yet the young lady of Eragost specifically targeted her for the contract.
‘This is strange. How did she even know about me, and why come all the way to the commoner district?’
Showing such hostility toward someone she had never met was unusual.
So it was obvious even to a fool that the young lady had ulterior motives.
‘I have a rough idea what kind of person she is.’
A hypocritical individual who hides behind a mask of virtue while using others to achieve her goals.
They see people as pawns. Such types were common even in modern times.
For them, law and morality were irrelevant. They used what they needed and discarded what they didn’t.
‘How much worse would they be here, in a society with a strict class system?’
They might even resort to killing without hesitation.
‘It’s a waste of money, but it’s better to back off now.’
She didn’t know why they were targeting her, but as long as she avoided further entanglement, she’d be fine.
Would you avoid something because it’s scary? No, you avoid it because it’s filthy.
And this “filth” was beyond just filthy—it was vicious.
With a heavy sigh, Elluciana began organizing the remaining decorations.
Since she had decided to leave, it was best to get out as quickly as possible.
Then…
“Lucy!”
Noel approached, his face looking unusually grim. His black robe shadowed his features, but somehow he looked dangerous.
