Chapter 81
Liriana looked at Helene, who was still dressed in casual clothes, and asked curiously,
“Th-that… are you making it?”
It was something she hadn’t told Helene before, as she had been too busy as the head maid.
As soon as she left the underground prison, Helene had gone straight to Oscar’s atelier again.
Originally, since Liriana was the star of the debutante ball, she had ordered a modest and dignified dress. But now, Helene had changed her mind.
“…So what color do you want it to be?”
The order was already rushed, and now Helene wanted to change the dress color. Oscar barely restrained her frustration as she asked.
Should she just throw in the towel, ignoring the building owner’s request?
“…The color of revenge.”
But as soon as Oscar heard Helene say that, inspiration struck her again.
The color of revenge suited Helene more than anyone in the world.
At times like this, Oscar truly disliked herself.
Because of Helene’s unreasonable request, Oscar had been making the dress all the way up to the day of the ball.
“Hopefully, it will be finished today.”
Oscar spoke gruffly, having barely slept for days, but she was confident that the two dresses she made for this debutante season would shake up the social world.
Just then, Sir Andre’s aide opened the door and entered.
“Sir Andre Pend is waiting at the door.”
Andre had arrived on time to escort Liriana.
Realizing it was already that time, Liriana became restless again.
Helene quietly held Liriana’s hand, calming her down.
Regaining her composure, Liriana nodded and stepped out the door.
Standing at the door, Andre could not hide his nervousness.
He had practiced countless times to fulfill his role as Liriana’s partner for the debutante ball, but the more he practiced, the more anxious he became.
After the ball, he planned to formally ask Liriana for a relationship.
He had fallen for her at first sight, but the more he got to know her, the more he admired her pure and gentle heart.
“You’ve waited long, haven’t you?”
Andre looked up and could not take his eyes off her.
He had seen Liriana’s beauty many times before, but at the debutante ball, dressed in her gown, she seemed incomparably more beautiful.
If Liriana usually reminded him of a pure daisy that tickled the heart with its beauty, now she seemed like a queen before whom one wanted to kneel in worship.
“Ah… Lady Liriana…”
Andre had prepared countless lines to say, and had even thought of the perfect one, yet in that moment, he felt like a fool.
Flustered, he avoided her gaze.
“I… I’m sorry to keep you waiting. You’re not angry, are you?”
“Oh, no. Lady Liriana is just so beautiful…”
Andre had intended to say something more dignified and manly. But he couldn’t face her beauty and turned his head, blushing.
At Andre’s heartfelt compliment, Liriana smiled brightly.
Taking Andre’s arm, she began walking. Andre, too nervous, walked in a stiff, goose-step manner.
Somehow, they arrived at the carriage with that awkward step.
The green carriage, adorned with the Pend family’s rooster emblem, headed toward the imperial palace, flashing under the fireworks in the night sky.
Since its founding, the Herssen Empire’s imperial palace had renewed its grandeur and dignity with every ball it hosted.
For this debutante ball, the emperor had even built a new dance hall called the “Crystal Hall.”
To build the Crystal Hall, the Lepia Palace underwent extensive renovations.
It had a ceiling as high as three stories of the palace, adorned with thirty-one chandeliers, one for each debutante.
Each chandelier had a unique design and used tens of thousands of crystals, each one the size of an ox.
As soon as the debutantes arrived, they were surrounded by their attendants and maids, hiding their appearances and heading straight to private rooms.
This was to ensure maximum impact when they appeared.
They absolutely did not want their appearance revealed beforehand.
The noble ladies could finally see the other debutantes they would share the ball with.
Each of them had put effort into their appearance from head to toe.
Some were adorned with countless jewels, while others wore extravagant, experimental outfits that drew the eye.
As each young lady entered, the others silently rated her.
But when Princess Angelina, the main star of the ball, appeared, all assessments became meaningless.
“…Oh my!”
“…I expected it, but she’s unbelievably beautiful!”
The other young ladies were shaken by Angelina’s appearance.
The dress she wore was exactly the color of a newly bloomed red rose, as Liriana had described.
As expected, no one dared to commit the foolish act of wearing the same color as Angelina.
Although it was a bold choice for the usually pure and lovely Angelina to choose that color, it suited her perfectly.
Angelina displayed the beauty of a perfectly grown lady without hiding it.
The ruby tiara, a birthday gift from the emperor, sparkled on her head. She greeted the room politely.
“Oh my, everyone looks so splendid and beautiful…”
Her eyes curved like flower buds, but the other young ladies couldn’t return the gesture gracefully as they had practiced.
They couldn’t take their eyes off Angelina.
She was beyond imagination.
No one could possibly be more beautiful than her.
Just then, a murmur rose at the entrance as Liriana stepped in.
“…L-Lady Liriana?”
“…Is that really Lady Liriana??”
Seeing her, the other young ladies echoed her name with question marks in their voices.
Perhaps she was the only one unaware that the theme of this debutante ball was “unexpected transformations.”
The murmuring began.
Normally, Liriana was a beauty, but her plain and simple style made her features easy to overlook.
To those who favored extravagance, she had seemed almost invisible.
But now, it was different. Her green tulle dress, decorated with golden vine-like lace, immediately drew all attention.
Today, Liriana looked more splendid and beautiful than anyone else.
Perhaps it was the effect of her slightly raised head, which made her seem confident and elegant.
As the saying goes, clothes make the person…
Even though she was a young lady from a fallen count family, Liriana looked like a queen.
There was no doubt that the most noticeable figures at this ball were Princess Angelina and Lady Liriana.
Even considering Angelina, the main star, some young ladies could not hide their discomfort at Liriana’s surprising transformation, whom they had assumed would only play a supporting role.
Among them was Hailey.
Hailey had chosen a cobalt blue dress for this ball.
Initially, she had intended to choose red like Angelina, but upon learning that Angelina had already claimed that color, she gave up.
Hailey was confident in her beauty.
Yet she had yielded the dress color, not because she feared being outshone by Angelina, but because she did not want to earn her resentment.
Hailey had intended to make herself the star with a sapphire-studded tiara passed down through her family, but even setting Angelina aside, Liriana unexpectedly stood out far more.
How could a young lady from a fallen count family overshadow her?
Why was she not drawing attention?
Hailey quickly identified the reason.
Five young ladies wore dresses in similar shades of blue.
She looked at Cecilia, standing ahead.
Cecilia wore a cobalt blue dress like hers.
Though slightly lighter and with a different design, the sapphire embellishments made them appear very similar.
With so many similar dresses, it was natural that she did not stand out.
Above all, it seemed odd to add sapphires to the dress.
She wasn’t even particularly fair-eyed, was she?
“…Perhaps she leaked her dress color just to surpass me.”
