Chapter 62
“Isn’t it… too flashy…?”
“No, not at all! It matches the ruby necklace perfectly! You look stunning!”
Oscar, who had been watching the scene like an excited spectator, couldn’t help but exclaim as soon as he saw Helene wearing the necklace.
The ruby necklace was dazzling, but Helene’s own beauty was just as radiant, so it didn’t feel excessive in the least.
They hadn’t even decided on what kind of dress to make yet, but Oscar was convinced that this necklace had to be worn by Helene no matter what.
“…It really suits you.”
Blaine also looked at Helene and spoke with genuine admiration.
Unaccustomed to praise, Helene repeatedly touched the ruby necklace resting against her chest.
“At a debutante ball, it’s proper etiquette for only the debuting young ladies to wear tiaras. So, everyone else will focus on necklaces!”
As Oscar said, tiaras were reserved for the debutantes at such balls, but even so, society ladies who wished to show off their beauty and wealth always wore their largest, most expensive necklaces on that day.
“There are also earrings, rings, and bracelets here, so you can consult with Liriana and pick what you like.”
In the displayed jewel cases lay diamond necklaces, ruby earrings, sapphire pendants, emerald earrings, and more.
Each piece was so rare and exquisite, it would be an insult to dismiss them as mere jewelry. They were like works of art, or even relics.
At a debutante ball, jewels were as important as the dress itself.
Helene had Blaine’s help with the dress, but these jewels—without Blaine, she never could have obtained them.
“Thank you so much… I don’t even know how I could repay this…”
“Oh, not at all. I’m only keeping my promise.”
Helene once more expressed her gratitude.
Even after showing her such unthinkable generosity, Blaine made it so she couldn’t even properly thank him.
That made Helene feel all the more sorry—and grateful. Without realizing it, she gazed at Blaine intently.
Blaine quickly averted his eyes and changed the subject.
“Th-this is a pair of earrings made from top-grade emeralds just mined in Emeldia. Don’t you think they’d suit Liriana?”
Strangely enough, whenever he heard Helene say “thank you,” something in Blaine’s chest ached.
Why couldn’t she just accept what he gave without hesitation?
If her thanks were ever followed by the words, I can’t accept any more…
Blaine didn’t even want to imagine it.
At last, he had to admit it to himself.
It wasn’t some passing attraction.
He envied everything reflected in her eyes. Her laughter made him smile without thinking.
It was a feeling that resembled the emotion people spoke of—something he had believed would never touch his life: love.
Blaine gazed at Helene quietly.
She, however, was still staring at the emerald earrings, likely picturing Liriana wearing them.
Her face lit up with unconcealed joy, even more than when she had worn the ruby necklace herself—she was clearly imagining how perfect they would look on her daughter.
It was the unmistakable expression of a mother.
Seeing that look, Blaine smiled.
A car stopped in front of the Emeldia estate.
Thanks to Blaine, they had ordered the dress at the boutique and even finished booking the salon.
And now, Blaine had driven Helene and Liriana all the way back to the manor.
“…We’ve arrived.”
Liriana, her face still pale from carsickness though a little better than before, stepped down from the car. Helene, meanwhile, beamed in relief now that the problem of the debutante dress had been solved.
“…Thank you so much for today, godfather.”
Liriana bowed to Blaine again.
“Why don’t you come in for a meal before you go?”
Helene asked Blaine.
The last time she had eaten with him, it had been unbearably awkward, but now it felt different.
She wanted to at least treat him to dinner for all he had done.
“Well…”
Blaine gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Truthfully, he wanted to accept right away, but he had a very important prior engagement.
His company, Fly Moon, had been contracted for the construction of the new debutante ballroom, and there was a design presentation scheduled.
For the ball to succeed—for Helene and Liriana’s sake, too—he had to attend.
“…I’m afraid I can’t today.”
He declined, concealing his disappointment.
He hadn’t expected much, but still—his luck was as wretched as ever.
A miracle of unrequited love would never go smoothly.
Just then, Helene met his eyes again.
“That’s a shame… But please come by anytime. This is your home too, godfather.”
My home?
Blaine looked at the Emeldia manor.
It had been so long since he’d heard those words.
Raoul had once said the same thing to him.
Back when Blaine first set foot in this house, he had truly wished it would become his home.
Aside from Raoul, there weren’t many good memories here. Yet seeing the estate now, he felt unexpectedly sentimental.
Blaine owned properties all over the empire, all across the world, yet there wasn’t a single place he truly thought of as “home.”
“…Godfather, please come to the manor anytime.”
Liriana also looked at him warmly as she spoke.
Meeting the kind eyes of the two women, Blaine quickly looked away. The back of his neck flushed red.
“…Then, when I have some free time, I’ll come by.”
Turning his gaze aside, Blaine shifted the wheel and drove off.
Helene and Liriana stood watching until his car completely disappeared, then headed into the house.
“Oh right, today Lady Angelina gave me these!”
Liriana pulled out the cosmetics she’d received, taking them from her bag.
They were luxurious, high-end products.
Helene’s eyes sparkled.
With her memories from her past life as Han Yena, who had once dreamed of being a makeup artist, she already loved beauty products—so now she was even more excited.
These cosmetics were brand-new, limited-edition items only available in Herbient.
“Wow! The colors are gorgeous…!! Mind if I try some?”
Seeing Helene so thrilled like a child, Liriana laughed and motioned for her to go ahead.
Of course, Raffia also sold luxury cosmetics, but Herbient’s shades were more diverse and the pigmentation much better.
Plum lipsticks and strawberry-milk pink shades—Helene couldn’t believe such colors even existed in this world.
She swatched them over and over on the back of her hand in disbelief.
“Um… what’s the difference? They both just look pink to me.”
Liriana, uninterested in makeup and never having tried it, tilted her head in confusion.
“…How can you say something so heartbreaking?”
Helene’s face stiffened, and Liriana realized she had said the wrong thing.
“There are no two identical shades under the sky! This one is exactly the color of strawberry mixed with milk, and this one is pink with two drops of wine in it! See? They’re different!”
Now that Helene explained, the shades did look different.
Liriana couldn’t help but laugh. She had never seen Helene so passionately enthusiastic, like a little girl.
She looked closely at Helene’s face.
Come to think of it, she looked different from before.
In the past, Helene had always seemed a little intimidating, but with the new makeup, she looked elegant and refined.
“What if you did my makeup for the debutante ball, stepmother?”
“…M-me?”
Helene was startled, but Liriana calmly continued.
“Your makeup looks so natural yet so pretty! Please make me just as beautiful.”
Flustered, Helene scratched her cheek, embarrassed by the compliment. But it was a welcome request. She had practiced a lot in her previous life, and she had always wanted to make Liriana—even more beautiful than any actress—look her very best.
“…It wouldn’t be difficult.”
“Thank you!”
Liriana’s eyes curved as she hugged Helene.
Embarrassed, Helene quickly tried to change the subject.
“Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to ask you too, Liriana…”
Helene studied her face carefully.
She had been wanting to say this all day.
Now seemed like the perfect chance.
Liriana’s eyes widened.
“A request?”
It was the first time Helene had ever asked her for something since telling her to attend the temple.
What could it be this time?
Though worried, Liriana was just as curious to know.
