Chapter 2 – Part 2

“Madam, this is quite a sudden visit,” Miss Bennette hurriedly came out when Ruby arrived at the Grit’s estate in the capital. .

Ruby, who had arrived unexpectedly, looked somewhat flustered. “I made a hasty decision. It doesn’t matter as long as the room is clean. Please store my luggage in the storage room without unpacking.”

Ruby gave her orders confidently and walked into the mansion. Despite it being the most recent memory, it didn’t feel as difficult as it used to.

“It’s been a long time, Madam. How would you like dinner to be prepared?” Damon greeted her politely.

“Just a simple meal, please.”

“Understood. Then please rest.”

The room was already clean, perhaps due to regular maintenance. Ruby carefully sat on the bed, then lay down.

“That look.”

Ruby, recalling Marie’s expression when they last parted, smiled. It had been unimaginable in the past – this life, like a sudden, unexpected bonus.

For some reason, she thought her past life had been quite pitiful. Hence, she planned to live this life a bit differently now.

“To do that, I need to get dressed right away.”

She didn’t bring a single dress with Marie’s taste, as she didn’t have anything that suited her from the dress colors to the accessories she used to wear. Ruby felt like she didn’t belong in the Grit’s mansion.

There was no need to force herself to wear uncomfortable clothes and pretend to be someone she wasn’t. She had realized this obvious fact far too late.

***

The next day, Ruby went to find a dress designer.

“Oh my, it suits you so well,” the designer praised Ruby as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Ruby smiled at her reflection in the mirror, even though she felt a bit awkward wearing a dress that was entirely different from what she had been wearing for the past three years.

“Show me several similar dresses.”

After discarding the dresses that matched Marie’s taste, Ruby realized she had too few dresses left. She didn’t even have a proper dress for a simple outing.

“I’ll wear this dress as it is. Please send the rest to my residence.”

“Where should I send them?”

“To the Grit’s mansion.”

As the designer was about to write down the name, she hesitated. Then she glanced at Ruby, who was still looking at herself in the mirror.

The designer remembered the sudden marriage of the Marquis of Grit, and the memory of the aristocratic young ladies shedding tears while getting their clothes fitted for the abrupt wedding was still fresh in her mind.

But now she was actually meeting the Marquis’s wife, the one rumored to have captured Marquis Grit’s heart. However, whenever there were social events in the capital, Marquis Grit rarely appeared with his own wife, instead accompanying Lady Miles, which raised suspicions that the Marquis’s wife had been neglected in favor of Lady Miles.

But both the Marquis of Grith and his wife remained silent, leaving many questions unanswered.

Meeting the enigmatic Marquis’s wife in person, and in her own shop, was something the designer hadn’t imagined. Moreover, Lord Grit usually had a designated designer, so it wasn’t easy to imagine such an encounter. To top it off, the sudden appearance after a year and getting a new dress fitted might indicate that she was about to start her social activities in earnest.

“Alright, I understand.”

The designer nodded at her own plausible theory. Ruby felt the designer scrutinizing her face intently from the moment she mentioned Grit’s mansion, but she chose to ignore it and left the shop.

Now that she had the dress she needed for Lynn’s wedding, Ruby had some time to spare. She thought about trying things she hadn’t been able to because of Marie’s preferences. She wanted to start with well-known, rich, and delicious desserts.

***

The dessert shop was bustling with people, living up to its reputation. Ruby cautiously entered the shop.

“May I show you to your table?” approached the manager of the shop.

Ruby, who had ordered the most famous menu items and a warm tea, temporarily took off her hat. Sitting near the terrace, she watched the people passing by.

With the gentle breeze and the everyday sounds of people around her, her heart began to calm down.

The frenetic environment felt much more vibrant and lively than Ruby had ever imagined. Her daily life before marriage didn’t offer much variety. Now it felt novel and different.

Soon, dessert and tea were ready and Ruby was about to take a bite.

“Can we now go in?”

“Please wait sister”

The whiny child’s voice was audible. Ruby looked in their direction, and it was a pair of siblings.

“I want cake. I want it now!”

“Just wait a little longer…”

“I want it right now!”

The young girl’s pleading expression made the man accompanying him seem uncomfortable. They appeared to hesitate in entering enter the shop.

Ruby looked around the shop at that moment. The customers sitting inside all appeared to be well-off aristocrats. To be more precise, they seemed to be proficient in the etiquette of savoring desserts and tea.

Of course, the two she noticed also wore high-quality fabrics and flashy jewelry. But upon closer inspection, it was evident that they were less likely to be aristocrats and more likely to lack certain social graces. The establishment seemed to be highly selective of its clientele.

With the proprietor’s pride evident in the promotional material that highlighted their experience as a head chef to fastidious high-class nobles, it seemed they were employing a strategy that catered to the upper class.

The pair caught Ruby’s attention once again. They were waiting to be allowed in, their faces betraying that they were not part of the elite.

Ruby signaled the manager, who had been observing the customers from a distance. The manager approached her quickly.

“Is there something you need My Lady?”

“It seems that my companions have arrived.”

“If you tell me where they are, I will guide them.”

“They are right there.”

Ruby gestured towards the pair, and the manager showed a bewildered expression, realizing that he had driven them away earlier.

“Oh… they are your companions. I didn’t recognize them. I will guide them right away.”

Ruby gave a faint nod in response.

The manager left quickly to fetch the two.

“Bring the same for them,” Ruby ordered discreetly.

“Thank you.”

The man acknowledged Ruby with a polite bow.

“Thank you,”

The in-charge left, and the man courteously greeted Ruby, introducing himself, “I’m Sorvan Del. May I ask for your name?”

“I’m Ruby.”

The younger sister also greeted politely, using an accent as if she had learned it during basic etiquette lessons.

Ruby chose not to reveal her last name intentionally. It seemed that Sorvan had understood her intention, as he only muttered her name and did not inquire further.

“It’s a beautiful name. I’m Marsha.”

Marsha responded with an artificial politeness, as if reciting what she had learned during etiquette lessons.

“Thank you. It sounds even better hearing it from the lovely Marsha.”

Ruby returned the polite greeting, and Marsha’s cheeks turned pink.

When their dessert and tea were ready, Ruby started savoring the dishes. As she gracefully enjoyed her dessert and tea, Marsha’s eyes never left Ruby.

A loud clatter echoed from her side when Marsha finally made a mistake. She had accidentally clinked her utensil against the plate while trying to taste her dessert.

Ruby gently urged her not to rush and waited for Marsha to emulate her.

Marsha mimicked Ruby’s pace, carefully savoring the dessert and drinking her tea, just as she did. Her attempts were endearing, waiting for Ruby’s next move, and her sparkling eyes made the efforts cute.

To help Marsha, Ruby purposefully moved slowly, allowing her to follow along. She delicately touched the dessert with her fork to prevent any clattering noises and sipped her tea almost inaudibly.

As they repeated this process, Marsha’s clattering became less pronounced until she was following Ruby almost perfectly.

Ruby couldn’t help but smile at how quickly Marsha picked up on things, finding her adorable. During this, she happened to make eye contact with Sorvan. She quickly erased her smile, fearing he might misunderstand.

“Thank you.”

However, his words were unexpected words of gratitude.

“I was quite puzzled. My sister wanted to come here, but the manager wouldn’t let us in.”

Sorvan seemed to be aware of the manager’s attitude.

“I’m glad it worked out. I was feeling a bit sad eating alone because the dessert is so delicious. It tastes even better when shared. I think that perhaps the shop’s promotional strategy is a bit off.”

Ruby’s last words were whispered, and Sorvan burst into laughter.

“Yes, you’re right. It does taste better when shared.”

Sorvan’s laughter made Ruby’s day even better.

She thought that change wasn’t such a bad thing.

***

Ruby ordered a total of five dresses. Out of these, two were suitable for the party. One of them was the dress she planned to wear for Lynn’s wedding, and the other was a dress she impulsively bought because she liked it.

Although she didn’t have a strong desire for dresses, she realized that she had been wearing styles that didn’t really suit her taste for a long time, and the dress purchases felt like impulsive decisions. She figured that someday she would have a reason to wear them, but the thoughts were vague.

The remaining three dresses were simple, suitable for casual outings.

“Shall I organize the dresses for you?”

“No, please separate the new ones for me.”

“Alright.”

Ruby chose one of the five dresses, put it on, and prepared herself neatly. Today was Lynn’s wedding day.

As she stepped down from Marquis of Grit’s carriage, she felt people’s curious glances directed towards her. Ruby pretended not to notice and accepted the escort from the carriage driver.

“Isn’t that Lady Grit?”

“I heard she’s close to Lady Lynn. Is the Marquis here as well?”

“Didn’t you hear the rumor?”

“The Marquis attended the parties in the capital with Lady Miles and not with his wife?”

Most of this was news to Ruby. She knew that Eli occasionally attended parties in the capital, but she didn’t know that he had consistently partnered with Lady Miles. After all, she hadn’t been around most of the time. Her lack of knowledge was evident from the gossipy buzz around her.

Lynn approached Ruby. She was thrilled to see her friend.

“Ruby!”

“Lynn.”

Ruby smiled brightly when she saw her friend.

“Am I dreaming right now?”

“Happy days shouldn’t be just a dreams.”

Ruby’s candid response left her in awe.

“You didn’t answer my letter, you didn’t show your face for a long time, I almost forgot what you looked like!”

“I’m sorry. I came to surprise you, so please forgive me.”

“If you hadn’t come, even if I saw you at a social gathering later, I wouldn’t have talked to you.”

Lynn said with a mischievous glance.

But Ruby remembered her letters, which showed that Lynn had been worried about her all along. Ruby knew better than anyone that her words right now weren’t true.

“How could I not come to your wedding? Congratulations on your marriage. You look so beautiful today.”

Ruby hugged Lynn tightly, filled with gratitude.

“Are you doing well? Are you okay?”

There seemed to be a lot of emotions in Lynn’s brief question.

“Well, that’s why I came like this.”

“Did you come with Lord Grit?”

Not knowing what to say, Ruby momentarily had a puzzled look but quickly nodded as if nothing happened.

“No, he’s busy.”

Lynn quickly accepted this explanation.

“You need to go inside.”

“Ruby, let’s talk after the wedding. I’ll be heading to the estate a few days after the wedding. Make sure to spare me some of your time, okay?”

“Sure.”

She acted as if she knew something was up with her, which made Ruby smile some smile