Chapter 62

“Hmm…”

Hannah began scrutinizing Judith with narrowed eyes. Then, she dashed to the wardrobe and brought out a dress.

“Your eyes are gold, and your hair is pink, so you might look too flashy if you’re not careful. Try this on first.”

Judith, caught off guard, accepted the dress Hannah handed over. It was a simple yet elegant dress made of beautiful ivory fabric.

The length wasn’t too long, making it perfect for a light party like this.

Judith blinked at the dress for a moment before tilting her head.

“Try it on…?”

The two of them didn’t have similar builds to share clothes in the first place. Hannah was much shorter than Judith.

There was a good chance the hemline would rise above her knees, so Judith looked at Hannah with a doubtful expression.

Hannah, looking a bit embarrassed, replied, 

“It should fit you. Just unfold it and see.”

Hannah cleared her throat and continued, 

“…Actually, the dress isn’t mine. It’s yours. I bought it for you.”

“What…?”

Judith froze, still holding the dress. Her pupils trembled as Hannah fidgeted with her fingers and explained.

“I’ve always been the one getting things from you. I wanted to give you something too.”

“…”

Only then did Judith understand why Hannah had suddenly decided to give her a dress.

Judith, who already received generous financial support from Madame Fedelian, was living comfortably.

On top of that, with the extra income she earned from taking supplementary accounting classes, she had started buying expensive and delicious desserts to share with Hannah.

Hannah hadn’t shown it before, but it must’ve weighed on her mind.

Although Judith didn’t know how much the dress cost, it was undoubtedly more expensive than the snacks they had shared. So, she shook her head to decline.

“I can’t accept such an expensive dress.”

“It’s not even that expensive. Besides, the refund period is already over, so I can’t return it anyway.”

“Well, in that case, why don’t you wear it—”

“Come on, do you know how much taller you are than me? If I wore it, it’d drag across the floor and look ridiculous. So, you should wear it and look pretty.”

With Hannah insisting so much, Judith couldn’t refuse any further. She finally nodded.

I’ll make sure to repay her later.

She made that resolution in her heart.

A little later, when Judith came out wearing the dress, Hannah covered her mouth with her hands.

“I expected it, but it really suits you.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, you look stunning!”

The soft feel of the fabric against her skin made Judith a little self-conscious. She fidgeted with the hem of the dress, feeling awkward.

That’s when Hannah suddenly reached out toward Judith’s hair.

“Don’t leave your hair down. If you braid it low and tie it up, it’ll look even prettier.”

With that, Hannah deftly styled Judith’s hair. When she finished, her eyes sparkled as she admired her work.

“As I thought!”

Hannah clapped her hands enthusiastically, making a big fuss.

“Your skin is pale, and your neck is slender, so I thought exposing your collarbones would look great. And with your hair tied up, it suits you perfectly.”

Judith, who usually left her hair down, felt exposed with her neck fully revealed. She found it incredibly awkward.

But Hannah, clearly pleased with the dress she had gifted, showered Judith with endless compliments.

“And the way the hem of the dress sways when you move makes you look even more elegant! Being tall really helps pull off such a graceful design.”

“…”

“Do you think Chase will get mad at me for this? With a fiancée as beautiful as you, he’ll be so tense, worried that everyone will be staring at you.”

The relentless praise made Judith’s face grow hotter and hotter. Receiving excessive compliments was exhausting in its own way.

By the time Judith’s eyes had lost their light, Hannah finally stopped talking. Then, as if something had occurred to her, she quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, where’s the pearl necklace you said you got from Madame Fedelian? It would go perfectly with this.”

Judith, too tired to argue, silently retrieved the pearl necklace from a drawer.

Once she put the necklace on, the long session of dressing up finally came to an end.

***

Outside the girls’ dormitory, the area was crowded with male students who had come to escort their partners.

Amid the chaos, Hannah pointed her finger at someone.

“There he is!”

“Is that your partner?”

“Yes! I told you about him before, didn’t I? He’s in the same grade as us.”

Judith saw the boy waving enthusiastically at Hannah from a distance. He quickly approached and began escorting her.

They make such a lovely pair.

Judith smiled warmly as she watched them.

But as Hannah was being escorted, she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she tilted her head and asked Judith.

“Hey, Judith. Where’s your partner?”

Partner.

The warm feeling in her heart quickly faded. She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to attend the party with Axel.

If Hannah knew this, how surprised would she be? 

She probably assumed Judith would be attending with Chase.

But Judith didn’t have the courage to confess the truth just yet. So, she avoided Hannah’s gaze and feigned ignorance.

“…Who knows.”

Hannah clicked her tongue in exasperation.

“Don’t tell me Chase is late, even on a day like this. He skips class all the time, and now he’s tardy for something this important? What a failure of a partner.”

“…”

“Don’t be so down, Judith! When I see Chase, I’ll definitely give him a piece of my mind!”

Unable to explain the situation, Judith could only give an awkward smile.

At that moment, a figure appeared in the distance.

Even amidst the crowd, he stood out more than anyone else—it was Axel.

As soon as he spotted Judith, he strode toward her with quick steps.

The nearby female students glanced at him, then stepped aside to make way.

“Thank you.”

Axel gracefully thanked them before continuing toward Judith. As he got closer, his appearance became clearer.

Unlike usual, his hair was slicked back, exposing his clean forehead. The sight of his straight eyebrows gave him a more mature aura.

“Huh? It seems like he’s coming toward us. Is he here to greet you?”

Hannah whispered in a small voice, but Judith, frozen at the sight of Axel, couldn’t respond.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably. She knew she shouldn’t feel this way, but she couldn’t stop it. It felt like something inside her had broken.

Finally, Axel reached Judith. Instead of his usual soapy scent, a slightly stronger cologne wafted through the air.

Axel smiled and extended his arm toward Judith.

“Judith, have you been waiting long? It was a bit crowded. If you’re ready, shall we head off?”

“…What?”

It wasn’t Judith who reacted to his words, but Hannah.

Hannah’s eyes widened in shock, as if to ask, ‘Where’s Chase, and why is Axel your partner?’

However, perhaps because of the crowd, she seemed hesitant to ask outright. She glanced at Axel, then mouthed silently, 

“We’ll talk later.”

Afterward, she hurriedly left with her partner, though her expression remained puzzled as she glanced back at Judith and Axel.

Even though they were friends, attending a party with another man while having a fiancé was a bold move.

How would she explain this to Hannah? No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

Judith bit her lip nervously.

Then, she noticed Axel still waiting for her.

Perhaps because he had created this troublesome situation, she felt a surge of irritation and spoke to him sharply.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Does it not suit me?”

Axel, who usually dressed casually outside of his uniform, was wearing a bright gray suit today.

It matched his light gray eyes perfectly.

Honestly, he looked incredibly handsome, but Judith, trying to hide her flustered feelings, deliberately said something she didn’t mean.

“It doesn’t suit you.”

Axel gave a regretful smile and replied, 

“Really? I put some effort into it since it’s been a while since we’ve spent time together. That’s disappointing.”

“…”

“But you look stunning today. The dress suits you perfectly.”

Unlike her sarcastic remark, Axel’s compliment was sincere. Her face grew hot again.

She had already been showered with compliments by Hannah, but hearing it from someone else felt completely different.

Judith lowered her head and walked ahead quickly. She wanted to reach the noisy party hall as soon as possible.

Only then would the loud sounds drown out the thumping of her heart.