Chapter 4 – Refastening the First Button (1)

‘My curse worked?’

But Chloen soon shook her head.

No, impossible. I have no ability to cast curses. Then just how…….

Chloen’s face was about to stiffen at the situation she could not understand, when it happened.

“Chloen. How about not attending the debutante ball today? If you go while feeling unwell and some unexpected mishap happens, that would be truly terrible.”

Her mother’s face was filled with worry as she asked carefully.

At that moment, the debutante ball she had attended in her previous life suddenly came to Chloen’s mind.

After the former Duke Risse, Chloen’s father, died, it was true that they had to keep the secret hidden, but Erbe had so insistently argued that it was too cruel to keep his young sister shut up in this rural estate all her life that her mother eventually brought her up to the capital. Even so, her mother had never normally allowed Chloen to go anywhere crowded.

But there had been no way around the debutante ball. By law, it was strictly required that any noble young Lady who had turned nineteen that year and reached adulthood had to attend. Because of that, the Chloen of her previous life, who was going to a crowded place for the first time, had been afraid, but even more excited.

‘I was so thrilled. Not even knowing what meaning this ball would come to hold for me.’

Unfortunately, at that ball, Chloen failed to contain her excitement, and her eyes turned red, causing Rachel to discover her true nature. And that was not all.

On that day, Chloen met Zenon for the first time. And she fell in love with him at first sight.

But now she was different. She did not know how on earth she had returned, but one thing was certain. In this life at least, she had to live a life completely different from the one before. And that was not something that could be achieved simply by turning her face away from the critical moments.

Chloen looked at her mother. Then she answered firmly.

“No, I have to go. It’s a ball that every noble young Lady who has reached adulthood must attend.”

“That is true, but…….”

Chloen gently took hold of her mother’s hand as she trailed off, seeming to admit it herself. Then she continued in a calm yet resolute tone.

“Please don’t worry, Mother. What you fear will absolutely not happen. Believe me.”

Her mother’s eyes widened into circles. The same was true of Erbe. It was because the young daughter, who had always been curious and childish, was giving off an atmosphere quite unlike usual. Solemn, and somehow reliable. Could someone really become this mature overnight just because she had come of age? That was what it seemed like, and yet somehow they could not refute her. Chloen’s gaze had changed that much.

* * *

Before the audience with the Empress. The waiting room where this year’s debutantes had gathered looked exactly like a playground for swans. In accordance with Eilan law, all the girls who had come of age and were the heroines of the day were dressed in white gowns, with pure white feather ornaments in their hair.

Because of that, at a glance they all looked as though they were dressed the same, but in truth that was not the case. Since they wanted to stand out from the other young Ladies at the ball hosted by the Imperial Family after the audience, each of them had put effort into details in her own way. For example, since they were not allowed to use any color other than white, they had dresses made of fabric with distinctive patterns, or placed feathers on their heads that were larger and more splendid than anyone else’s. Looking at the young Ladies who had adorned themselves with such painstaking effort, Chloen let out a low, quiet laugh.

‘They’re all trying hard in this life too.’

Of course, it was not as though she could not understand their struggle. To marry a man with wealth and high status, and to live a life elevated beyond the one they currently had. That was surely the common dream of noble young Ladies living in Eilan.

Even Chloen herself had envied young Ladies who lived such lives in her previous life. All the more because she had known she could never dare dream of such a life for herself. That was probably why the hand Zenon extended to her had felt even more overwhelming. The sense of superiority that the man carrying the noblest blood in this country had chosen me. He had even said that he would embrace even her ugly secret after learning of it. Now that she thought about it, it had all been lies.

It was then. In the middle of the splendid waiting room, a very familiar name was heard.

“My goodness. Lady Rachel, how are you so beautiful again today? Your silver hair suits your white dress so well.”

“Indeed. She looks just like a single elegant swan.”

The woman wore the most splendid dress of all, decorated all over with hundreds of diamonds, and held a refined smile on her face. Foolishly, all throughout her previous life Chloen had believed her to be ‘my person,’ but in truth she was the one friend who had wished for Chloen’s unhappiness more than anyone else, Rachel Roburn.

“Thank you. But to me, it seems the young ladies are more beautiful than I am.”

As always, Rachel answered with a bright smile. In all honesty, compared to herself, who looked like a swan, the other young ladies seemed like ducks that had lost their feathers, but she never let her true thoughts show. Because she had to show people that she, who would soon become the Crown Princess of the Empire of Eilan, possessed not only beauty but virtue as well.

At that moment, one of the young ladies, as if she had read Rachel’s heart, lowered her voice slightly and whispered.

“You truly are so humble. Well, with a face so lovely and a heart so beautiful, that must be why someone like His Highness the Crown Prince would marry you. I’m so envious.”

At the words ‘His Highness the Crown Prince,’ the corners of Rachel’s lips unconsciously began to curl upward. But Rachel forced the ends of her mouth back down. Strictly speaking, nothing had yet been decided, and making such an undignified fuss before anything was settled would not look good.

But then, all at once, Helen, the daughter of the Earldom of Doherty, looked at Rachel with eyes full of doubt and said,

“Oh my, has the marriage between you and His Highness the Crown Prince already been confirmed, Lady Rachel? I understood that the Imperial Family had not yet formally proposed the match. And it isn’t as though His Highness the Crown Prince has proposed to you either.”

In an instant, the young Ladies’ eyes were stained with embarrassment. In them was the shock of, ‘We knew she lacked tact, but we had no idea it was to that extent.’

In fact, it was not wrong. No, every word of it was right. Strictly speaking, Rachel was merely one among several candidates for Crown Princess. She was the strongest candidate among them, but still, just as Helen had said, nothing had been decided. Of course, Rachel knew very well that Helen had not said such things out of any malice.

‘That wench isn’t even clever enough for that. Helen, that girl.’

But that only made it more irritating. Because all of it was ‘fact’ without malice. Still, Rachel endured it. Forcing a smile, she answered.

“Lady Helen is right. Nothing has been decided. Not yet.”

Though smiling, Rachel put emphasis on the final two words. In the most literal sense, everything was only ‘not yet.’ As if they had read her feelings, her followers immediately opened their mouths.

“That’s right. It’s only ‘not yet.’ His Highness the Crown Prince was probably waiting for milady to come of age. But now that you’ve completed the debutante ball today, that won’t be an issue anymore, will it? Besides, if the daughter of Duke Roburn, the niece of His Highness the Crown Prince’s maternal uncle, does not become Crown Princess, then who possibly could? Isn’t that so?”

“That’s absolutely right. So even after you become Crown Princess, you absolutely mustn’t forget us. Understood?”

From here and there, the young Ladies all cried out together, trying to curry Rachel’s favor. This time, Rachel did not deny it. Instead, while staring clearly at the insolent Helen, she answered.

“Of course. If such an honor is granted to me, then naturally…….”

It was then.

“Hello.”

Suddenly, an unexpected voice cut in. As the young Ladies’ gazes that had been focused on Rachel shifted in that direction, Rachel’s expression hardened.

‘Who is it? Who dares interrupt the words of the future Crown Princess and cut in?’

With an irritated look, Rachel turned toward the direction the voice had come from. At that moment, Rachel’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.

A woman in a pure white dress, smiling brightly at her. That woman was none other than…….

“……Chloen?”

She was Chloen, the daughter of the Duchy of Risse and Rachel’s longtime friend. The moment the name Chloen was spoken, the eyes of the young Ladies, who had been looking at the woman who had greeted them without recognizing at once who she was, widened in surprise. But among them, the only one who openly voiced her honest impression was, once again, Helen.

“If you say Chloen……. Oh my goodness, heavens! Is that really the very Lady Chloen of the Duchy of Risse that we know?”

“Of course, Lady Helen. It has been a long time.”

Chloen nodded with a smile bright as sunlight. But the young ladies’ expressions were still blank with shock. No one said it openly, but in truth, they were all thinking the same thing.

‘Was Chloen Risse always this beautiful?’

Of course, compared to the other young ladies, Chloen’s attire was simple. But simplicity amidst splendor could sometimes stand out even more. Moreover, Chloen always stayed at home, and even when she occasionally went out, she used to cover more than half her face with the dark mesh veil attached to her hat. So to think that Chloen, whose face had been so difficult to see properly even once, was such a beautiful Lady. Because of that, the shock was doubled.

And there was one more reason these girls had every right to be startled. But since no one dared step forward and ask, tactless Helen once again was the only one to open her mouth.

“But Lady Chloen, the scar that was on your forehead…… where in the world did it go?”

At Helen’s innocent question, Chloen tilted her head.

“A scar? Did I have a scar? Hmm. There has never been a time when I had a scar on my forehead.”

In that instant, Rachel’s pale white face, as she listened nearby, turned even paler. But oblivious Helen turned to Rachel this time and said,

“Huh? That’s strange. Lady Rachel, you remember when the two of us were together last time and I asked why Lady Chloen always covered her face with a mesh veil, right? At the time, Lady Rachel, you clearly said it was because she had an ugly scar on her forehead…….”

It was then.

“Helen!”

Rachel cried out, her face flushed red as if in disbelief.

“When did I ever say such a thing? Seeing that she always wears a mesh veil, it was you, not I, Lady Helen, who arbitrarily assumed it must be because Lady Chloen had a large scar on her face!”

“What? What do you mean……. Lady Rachel, you definitely said that then. So I even told the other young ladies the same thing…….”

Grievance and bewilderment dripped plainly from Helen’s face. But not a single person believed her. Most thought there was no way Rachel would have said something so foolish, but even if they had thought Helen’s words were true, the situation likely would not have been any different.

After all, it would be far more beneficial to side with the leading candidate for Crown Princess than with a silly young Lady famous for having no tact.

At that moment, Rachel, who had been glaring silently at Helen, hooked her arm through Chloen’s and cried,

“Lady Helen, it’s something I wanted to say even then as well. It is not good to carelessly speculate about people you do not know well or talk behind their backs. And it is even worse to falsely slander others as you did today. I truly hope you correct that bad habit. Then, let us go now. Chloen.”

“La, Lady Rachel! Wa, wait a moment, please listen to what I have to say……!”

Wronged Helen hurriedly called out Rachel’s name. But Rachel, arm linked with Chloen, walked forward without even looking back.

Of course, this time too, Helen had been right. Because it was a false rumor Rachel had deliberately spread, displeased that people kept taking an interest in Chloen.

People were always asking Rachel about Chloen. Why does she always stay at home? When we saw her as a child, she seemed lively, so why does she not even show her face these days? Why does she always wear a hat with a mesh veil?

Perhaps they had asked because Rachel was the only person Chloen was close to, but Rachel disliked it.

Why does everyone keep talking only about Chloen in front of me? What is so special about Chloen?

But Helen’s sense of injustice was not important. The fact that she had almost, by wagging her tongue needlessly in front of others, lowered Rachel, who would become Crown Princess. And the fact that, before Chloen appeared, she had dared to offend Rachel’s mood. For those two reasons alone, Helen deserved to be punished.

* * *

Chloen quietly watched the conversation between Rachel and Helen. As she watched them, a thought suddenly came to her.

‘Why didn’t I realize it back then?’

Now that she looked at it, it was a play so crude it could hardly be cruder. In her previous life, Chloen had never once doubted Rachel. No, to Chloen, Rachel had been someone she could never bring herself to doubt. Because to Chloen, who could never mingle with others for fear that her secret might be exposed, Rachel had been her only friend.

In addition, Rachel was also the window through which Chloen could see the world. Rachel, who was active in social circles, always came all the way to Chloen’s house and told her many stories, and thanks to that, Chloen was able to relieve at least a little of her suffocating frustration. Of course, those stories were for the most part slander about someone, so there were many times when they were hard to listen to, but if she did not listen to the gossip, Rachel would immediately become sulky, so Chloen had no other choice. Yet it seemed Rachel had probably passed on gossip about Chloen to others as well. She had even gone so far as to invent things that did not exist.

But there was no way Rachel could realize that Chloen was thinking such things. As soon as Rachel got out from among the young Ladies, she turned to Chloen with a bright smile and said,

“By the way, Chloen. You look so pretty today. From now on, throw away that hat with the mesh veil and go around like this. That way, people like Helen won’t spread ridiculous rumors. Wouldn’t that be better?”

Was it because she had now learned the truth? Rachel’s attitude, shifting all the blame onto Helen, was disgusting. But before she could even reveal that disgust, Rachel stared quietly at Chloen, then suddenly touched the hem of Chloen’s dress and frowned.

“But Chloen, though everything else is good. I really think you should improve your eye for dresses.”

Rachel let out a deep sigh and continued.

“No, because unlike me, your hair is a dreary black color, which is already a pity, and then on top of that your dress is such a plain one without even a single pattern. So how should I put it. You look a bit…… shabby, perhaps? At this rate, do you think you’ll be able to make your presence known to the gentlemen at the ball later? At a glance, one might think you weren’t a noble young Lady making her debut at all, but a maid following after one. Dear.”

A tone that seemed as though she were thinking of Chloen, yet subtly mocked her.

Yes, in my previous life, you were like that too. And back then, because I thought every word you said was the correct answer, I silently listened to that mockery with my face turning red.

But the Chloen of this life made a different choice. That first choice was to shake off Rachel’s hand, which was linked through her arm.