‘They call her the reckless young lady, but the maids working in this estate all have bright expressions.’

Vivian’s original purpose had been the dragon, but coming face to face with this new and entirely unfamiliar kind of personality called Adelaide sent her collecting instincts surging.

“Lady Adelaide.”

Adelaide shook off Vivian’s hand, which had suddenly grabbed hers. Vivian was not the kind of collector who gave up after one or two rejections.

“Lady Adelaide. Forget the dragon.”

“If you’ve finally given up,”

“Having just Lady Adelaide come is more than enough.”

“No, I told you, I’m not going. I’m not going, and Draco isn’t going either.”

“I think the honest Lady Adelaide will surely bring a breath of fresh air to high society.”

“What kind of fresh air?”

“A breath of fresh air, Lady Adelaide! High society right now is dreadfully dull and stagnant. Everyone is so afraid of making even a small mistake and being called undignified that they do nothing but heap pleasant compliments on each other.”

“That truly has nothing to do with me.”

“That’s exactly it, Lady Adelaide! This boldness of yours! This rudeness that makes it impossible to believe you’re the daughter of a ducal house! High society needs Lady Adelaide!”

Vivian’s eyes gleamed with eagerness as she advanced one step at a time.

Adelaide planted her feet against the reflexive urge to back away.

“Lady Vivian, high society is not an area of interest to me.”

When dealing with someone worked up, the right approach was to lower one’s voice and coax them back to calm. But Adelaide’s patience had already reached its limit. Vivian’s eyes were shining as she closed the distance steadily, one step at a time.

“Stop! Don’t come any closer!”

“Don’t worry, Lady Adelaide. The first time is the hardest. Once you’ve done it once, the second time comes easily.”

“Don’t say such revolting things!”

“Revolting! Are you dismissing my passion? Come now, Lady Adelaide, promise me you’ll come to my birthday banquet. And then hook your finger with mine and swear you’ll attend the boat party, the tea party, and the flower viewing after that.”

Amy, who had been bringing in the tea, walked in on the bizarre standoff in the parlor. Amy didn’t know the full story, but she judged that Adelaide was in danger and launched herself straight at Vivian.

“My lady, run!”

Vivian, seized around the waist by Amy, stumbled and lost her balance. Adelaide threw away the precious opening Amy had created for her and flung herself forward to serve as a cushion for the two girls tumbling down together.

“My lady!”

“Lady Adelaide!”

Thanks to Adelaide, Vivian and Amy were unharmed. Adelaide pushed Vivian off with her arm, Vivian having landed squarely on top of her.

“Lady Adelaide?”

Vivian called out to her carefully. Adelaide lay face-down and lifted only her head.

“Vivian.”

“Yes, Lady Adelaide.”

“Amy.”

“Yes, my lady!”

Adelaide smiled sweetly.

“I’m going to count to three. So.”

Run.

Amy ran without looking back. Vivian, who hadn’t quite grasped the situation, reached out in a fluster to help Adelaide up. Adelaide snatched her slender wrist.

“L, Lady Adelaide?”

“Caught you.”

“Are you all right, Lady Adelaide?”

“I even gave you a chance to run, and you let yourself get caught, Lady Vivian.”

Amy, who had run a good distance and reached the garden, pressed her hands together and prayed for Vivian’s soul as a distant scream rang out.

Adelaide had wanted to tear out Vivian’s hair, but all she could manage was to yank it painfully while braiding it. Vivian examined her neatly braided hair.

“Lady Adelaide, you have skilled hands.”

She turned the mirror this way and that with satisfaction, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

Among the many hardships Adelaide had endured over the past ten years, making and selling wigs had been one of them. It was then that she first discovered she had a talent for it. The wigs Adelaide made were popular.

She would have made a tidy profit if not for the wig shop owner who had spread the absurd rumor that Adelaide had seduced her husband. The wig shop owner’s husband had a beer belly from drinking every single day and was bald on top of it, and not even pregnant.

His wife ran a wig shop, and rather than wearing a wig himself to promote the business, the man went around spouting nonsense about how bald men had great virility.

“I’m fairly capable at quite a few things.”

“Though not particularly delicate.”

“The result came out this pretty, so why does delicacy matter?”

“It still hurt terribly. I nearly thought Lady Adelaide was trying to tear out every last strand of my hair.”

“That’s right. That was my true intention.”

“My, and a talent for jokes as well! Lady Adelaide truly is a woman of many gifts!”

Vivian examined herself in the mirror to her satisfaction before sitting down across from Adelaide.

“There’s a poets’ gathering tomorrow at noon. Even for Lady Adelaide, being thrown into a banquet with not a single familiar face would be disorienting, so come along and think of it as practice.”

Adelaide threw up both hands in surrender to Vivian’s stubbornness. Vivian smiled pleasantly and showed no sign of backing down in the slightest. The old Adelaide would have genuinely pulled out a fistful of hair and left a bald patch, but thanks to this wretched curse, she had only earned an unwanted misunderstanding.

“Lady Violet told me that Lady Adelaide is actually a very kind person. To be honest, I didn’t believe a word of it.”

“First impressions are always right, Lady Vivian.”

“But Lady Violet was right. Now that I realize how narrow-minded I was, I can’t help but feel ashamed.”

“People who are truly ashamed usually can’t hold their head up and run away, Lady Vivian.”

“I’ve been watching since the moment I entered the estate. Lady Adelaide’s maid has a bright expression. Even my mother, who is not a bad person, is a strict mistress, and her maids are always stiff.”

“You’re openly confessing to having spied on people, Lady Vivian.”

“And the maid who serves Lady Adelaide, what was her name again? Oh, Amy. Amy even threw herself at me because she thought I was threatening Lady Adelaide.”

“In the end, I was the one who got hurt, Lady Vivian.”

Adelaide found herself wondering how long Vivian intended to keep her ears shut and say only what she pleased.

“Lady Adelaide is a good person.”

“Lady Vivian. I am not a good person. I genuinely wanted to tear your hair out. The method changed against my will, but that was my true intention.”

“Engaging with high society is essential for clearing Lady Adelaide’s reputation. There’s no need to worry. I’ll take care of all the preparations. Lady Adelaide only needs to accept my invitation, come, and hold her place. Everyone will then see Lady Adelaide’s true self and come to admire her.”

Adelaide began to suspect that an ear ailment was spreading across the empire, one that only she was unaware of.

Violet at least had the excuse of having forgotten how to talk to people after a lonely life in a convent, but Vivian was someone who stood at the very center of high society.

“Lady Vivian.”

“Please just call me Vivi, Adel.”

“Lady Vivian.”

“It’s not difficult. Try it. Vivi.”

“……Vivian.”

“Good enough. I’m not so greedy that I expect everything at once, so I’ll be satisfied with that.”

The seasoned Vivian completed the mission of being called by her preferred name with ease.

“Oh my, there’s a novelists’ gathering and I had no idea it had gotten so late. I’ll send an invitation the moment I get home. I do hope this letter is spared from a poor burning ceremony.”

The skilled Vivian had already mastered the art of striking and retreating. Getting called by her name was no reason for complacency. With a personality as difficult as Adelaide’s, the right strategy was to approach with care, catch her off guard in a single moment, and let her become a friend before she even realized it.

“It was lovely meeting you, Adel.”

Adelaide stood frozen, unable to even see Vivian off as she leaned in, kissed her on the cheek, and left.

“M, my cheek…!”

“My lady?”

Amy, who had fled, returned at the sight of Vivian boarding her carriage and driving away.

“Where did you disappear to and only now come back!”

“Look! I dug up sweet potatoes to give to you, my lady!”

“Don’t leave any for the Duke. Steam them all and bring them up to my room!”

“Yes, my lady!”

Adelaide liked sweet potatoes. Draco liked sweet potatoes too. Adelaide decided to settle her nerves by eating her favorite sweet potatoes and feeding snacks to her favorite Draco.