“Of course. That happens often. This is a secret from the master, but there are quite frequent disputes among the maids. Nothing major, of course. Just things like ‘this is your job, that’s my job’ and occasionally man troubles. But even after fighting, we can’t avoid each other since we work in the same place.”

“Right? Then it must be really awkward. How do you manage?”

Vivian waited eagerly for the next part of the story, her eyes sparkling.

“How do we manage? What do you mean? Even if we’re boiling with anger inside, work must be done, so we just pretend the fight never happened. I think of that girl over there as a log.”

“Is that possible?”

“Not just possible! Some will be pulling each other’s hair one day and walking arm-in-arm in front of others the next. It’s actually not difficult. You just have to think that the person means absolutely nothing to you. Even being angry at someone requires a certain level of interest and emotion toward them.”

Vivian found this somewhat shocking but thought it wasn’t wrong.

‘Yes. Luciel Evanhart means nothing to me. He has no significance whatsoever. That’s how I should think.’

With this mindset, her tense feelings genuinely seemed to ease. Vivian slipped Mia a silver coin and quickly finished her breakfast. Today would be busy, with completed dresses arriving and jewelry to match them.

Famous dressmakers in the city were too busy with contracts for other noble daughters to make clothes for Vivian, but she hadn’t sought such designers in the first place.

Vivian had specifically asked Selena to find ‘Viscountess Florence Wyndam,’ and the Viscountess they contracted proved quite satisfactory.

According to her past life’s memories, Florence would become increasingly famous. By the time Vivian was twenty-five, the term ‘Florence style’ would be coined, so she deliberately sought out Florence before she became known in the fashion world and commissioned her dresses.

Though not yet the Florence style she remembered since Florence wasn’t famous yet, her craftsmanship and sense were already exceptional.

Florence, who had been desperately making clothes to pay off debts left by her late husband Baron Wyndam, was puzzled but grateful for the sudden order from the Raine household.

Thanks to this, Florence, who had barely been getting by with a maid she’d kept since her maiden days, could now open a proper dressmaking shop with two additional female employees.

Florence poured her heart and soul into Vivian’s dresses, working day and night without feeling tired, as these were the first “works” to bear her name.

“They’re truly beautiful! You must be a genius, Madame!”

Vivian lavished praise on Florence to maintain an ongoing relationship.

The Florence style she remembered was characterized by lines that revealed a woman’s beauty without constricting the body.

But what was truly admirable were the obsessively precise pleats creating those lines, the delicate cutting, the meticulous finishing even on inner seams, and all the various details. Though still far from famous, her style was already beginning to emerge.

“I can tell these pleats are exactly the same distance apart without even measuring. And this meticulous finishing! You’re amazing, Madame.”

Florence was deeply moved, her expression showing a thrill when Vivian precisely identified and praised aspects she had paid attention to but thought no one would notice. Becoming Florence’s muse that day was an unexpected gain for Vivian.

“Try it on quickly. I’m so excited I can hardly breathe.”

Selena spoke with a voice raised at least two octaves from excitement. While Vivian was trying on the clothes with the help of her maid and Florence, Ezburn, having finished his work in the study, joined them to wait for his daughter’s dress-up.

“Oh my goodness, heavens……! Darling, I gave birth to an angel!”

“Ha ha ha! Indeed. We should have dressed her like this all along. I’m afraid our Vivian will have too many suitors at this Grand Fête, giving us a headache.”

Count and Countess Raine beamed as Vivian twirled in her peach-colored dress. Unlike her parents who looked forward to the Grand Fête, Vivian’s anxiety grew daily, but seeing her parents smile so brightly because of her made her own nervousness seem insignificant.

“This new carriage is certainly nice. The old one had all the padding worn out in the seats, making my bottom hurt terribly with every bump.”

The Raine household’s new carriage, completed two months ago, was a four-seater with a black body accented in gold. Though most noble carriages looked similar, they could be distinguished by the family banners fluttering beside the coachman’s seat.

On December 30th, the start of the Grand Fête and what could be considered its eve, carriages began heading to the imperial palace from noble mansions across the capital early in the afternoon.

While lodgings were prepared in the annex palace for provincial nobles without capital residences, most influential nobles of viscount rank or higher had townhouses in or near the capital. Thus, a long procession of nobles’ carriages formed in front of the palace gates.

Commoners who had come to watch lined up on both sides of the gate, creating a festival-like atmosphere.

In fact, the Grand Fête was an exciting event for commoners too.

During this time, by special imperial decree, no taxes were imposed on any food, including alcohol. On the night transitioning from December 31st to January 1st, people could dance and make noise in the streets all night without repercussion, and parents would turn a blind eye to their children’s late returns just this once.

Thus, many couples formed among commoners during the Grand Fête season as well.

While everyone was in high spirits, only Vivian, sitting in the carriage passing through the palace gates, fidgeted with her tense hands.

“Vivian, there’s no need to be so nervous. Chat with your friends, show off your dress. Or are you anxious about meeting a boy you have a crush on?”

Selena playfully asked, trying to ease her daughter’s tension. Vivian looked at her mother with an awkward smile but couldn’t bring herself to admit that she had no friends, let alone a crush.

The dresses prepared for the Grand Fête period were the result of meticulous calculation by date. Traditionally, strong or deep colors like red, green, or blue were worn on the night of December 31st, while the following day, the first day of the new year, called for completely different, fresh and bright colors to welcome the new year.

Those two dresses were most important, but for young noble daughters during the Grand Fête period, not a single dress was unimportant.

December 30th was especially a day when young men and women fiercely engaged in silent battles to find dance partners for the following day. This was why they displayed a feast of all kinds of splendid dresses to showcase their charms to the fullest.

However, Vivian wore a relatively modest and inconspicuous dress to quietly observe the atmosphere of the hall. The light cocoa-colored dress made her appear calm and neat, but would certainly go unnoticed among the flashy dresses.

After getting out of the carriage and passing through the massive doors into the banquet hall, magnificent chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, emitting light that would burn throughout the night, while the imperial orchestra played lively music.

All sorts of appetizing foods were arranged on tables lining the walls, available for anyone hungry to eat and drink, but even those not tightly cinched by corsets weren’t yet tempted by the food.

“The Raine family has arrived!”

The doorkeepers were straining their voices introducing the flood of noble families entering the banquet hall without a moment’s rest.

At the announcement of the Raine household’s arrival, several nobles nodded and pretended to greet them, but their interest quickly faded.

Though a count’s rank belonged to the high nobility, the Raine family was neither an ancient prestigious house nor was Count Raine a political power player or immensely wealthy.

However, the Raine household with no sons was undeniably appealing to noble sons who couldn’t inherit their own family titles, being second sons or lower. Yet not a single proposal had ever arrived, thanks to Vivian’s personality.

Hostile toward male students even at the Academy, she had made it clear she had no intention of letting a man from another family take her house, and that even if she married, she would take in a son-in-law and directly inherit the Raine countship herself.

As if to prove she truly had not even the slightest interest in men, she hadn’t shown her face at the Grand Fête or any other party for the past three years.

And now this prickly Vivian Raine had appeared at the Grand Fête after three years.

A count’s daughter of marriageable age who would come of age with her birthday in the new year. The gazes of young men mentally calculating their chances began to change.

It was obvious they were thinking, ‘No matter how much this lady insisted on inheriting the title herself, the fact that she’s appeared at the Grand Fête now shows she’s no different from other women. I just need to treat her kindly and persuade her that for her “comfortable life,” her husband should shoulder the burden of being the family head.’

‘Sigh…… I’ve decided to try living like others, but I still can’t stand those men who are like a pack of hyenas.’

Knowing their intentions all too well, Vivian let out a small sigh and stayed close to Selena.

Since not all nobles had entered yet, the men wouldn’t approach her openly, but after sunset and a few drinks, some would surely come forward even if she remained with her mother. She was already worrying about how to refuse without causing gossip.

Just then.

“The Evanhart family has arrived!”