episode_0028

Since the debutante ball ended, Eleanor spent busy days following her mother around.

Most of her schedule consisted of social gatherings hosted by her mother’s old friends.

Putting on suffocating makeup.

Squeezing into uncomfortable dresses.

To her own eyes, Eleanor appeared as a comical, yet to others, an envy-inducing beautiful doll, becoming the talk of the town among the noblewomen.

Some saw glimpses of an old friend in Eleanor’s face.

Some looked at Etienne with envy, wondering why her daughter was so beautiful.

Eleanor, like a misplaced chess piece, didn’t just receive adoration from the noblewomen but also found herself lost in their midst.

The company she kept was always different.

Yet the backdrop remained similar.

A vibrant garden where resilient flowers bloomed in the harsh season’s end.

On the splendid dessert table laid sweet cakes, crispy cookies, and fresh fruit tarts suitable for the season.

In elegant teacups, fragrant flower tea that washed away the sweetness of desserts.

Amidst this refined and beautiful battlefield,

Eleanor observed these women engaging in their elegant, sophisticated, and sometimes subtly confrontational discussions… No, exchanges.

Though she had lived 21 years as a man, Eleanor, who had observed such scenes from the VIP seats all week long, had her own insights from the ladies’ conversations.

“Oh, Youngae’s beauty seems to grow more exquisite with each passing day. I was captivated by her innocent charm at the last debutante ball, but today, I can’t seem to find a place to rest my eyes amidst Youngae’s dazzling beauty, hahaha.”

Among the virtues of a lady, the first was not to easily reveal one’s emotions to others.

Smiling at Louis in response to Eleanor’s witty remarks, which could be straight out of a cheap romance novel, she said, “Thank you very much for your excessive praise. Seeing your bright face, it seems you’ve been well all this time. Hoho.”

“I know I’m pretty because I have eyes. Even though I saw your ugly face after a long time, still looking as unattractive as ever, it seems you’ve been eating well all this time. Damn.”

With her outwardly contrasting response,

Her sunny smile that made it impossible to guess her true feelings,

Louis Edmund, with his green eyes sparkling, returned a radiant smile to his self-proclaimed lady.

“Nonsense, Nonon! It’s too much! No, no! It’s just that I can’t express all of Youngae’s beauty with my inadequate vocabulary, so I can only despair.”

Really…

Did the women in this world really swoon over such words?

Author, is this novel truly written by you? Where did all the flavorful dialogues from the previous work go?

While her mask remained unchanged, Eleanor was internally complex in various ways.

Well, regardless of the other person’s dialogue,

The second virtue of a lady was to hide curses behind a smiling face.

This time, Eleanor simply smiled without a reply.

However, there was one unfortunate fact for her.

Although the red-haired man, Louis Edmund, had mastered capturing a woman’s heart, he fell short in understanding a woman’s nature.

So, the more Eleanor showed a smiling exterior contrary to her true feelings,

Louis Edmund only saw her outer appearance and assumed she had feelings for him, thinking nothing more of it.

It was a poignant meeting between two young individuals that could never continue.

Observing the scene from a distance rather than up close, the old fox with red fur concealed a mischievous smile behind her fan and spoke to Etienne standing beside her.

“It seems that the young couple gets along quite well. Just watching the youthful pair from afar makes me feel like I’ve returned to my own youth.”

Etienne could never agree with those words.

Never! To think of connecting my beautiful and precious Elie with that red-haired ruffian!

However, the words that flowed past her rosy lips were different from her thoughts.

“Yes… as you say. They seem to suit each other… quite well.”

While it’s uncertain whether Baron Changbaek’s wife, Beorn Changbaek, is stronger than the Empress who has lost the Emperor’s favor in terms of political power and means, at least it wasn’t the case in the social circles.

The capital’s social circle had long moved on from the Empress’s sticky and dirty hands.

And her daughter, Eleanor, was now stepping into that sticky social circle, a young and innocent lamb.

Etienne, once known as the madwoman of the capital, was now nothing but a mere mother of a daughter who spouted nonsense.

#.

Her Majesty the Empress had clearly summoned Baron Changbaek and his daughter herself.

“For the sake of the young ones, how about us elders give up our seats, my lady. Hohoho.”

She expressed such deeply considerate words.

Yet, all Etienne could do in response to the Empress’s words was nod her head up and down.

Leaving her daughter’s desolate gaze behind, Etienne followed the old fox into the reception room of the palace, where she found herself alone with the Empress.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was now…

“The sun is quite hot, my dear. Come sit under the parasol here.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness.”

Louis Edmond, playing the gentleman, and Eleanor de Beorn were actively engaged in their second meeting in the palace courtyard.

In fact, as the old fox had said, from a distance, Louis Edmond, the man, and Eleanor de Beorn, the woman, seemed to be a well-suited pair.

Their appearances alone were enough to attract attention.

Despite her reputation in society after the debutante ball, Eleanor was known as the empire’s most beautiful woman.

Of course, she herself was unaware of such talk, at least for now.

And Louis Edmond, her partner, was just as striking in appearance.

With his fine manners and handsome looks, he had captured the hearts of many women in the capital.

If such a distinguished couple were together in one place…

Especially against the backdrop of the renowned and beautiful palace courtyard…

From a distance, it could only be described as picturesque.

At least from a distance.

#.

“So, can we say that Chef Sharllo of Ga’s Patisserie is Lutes’ best pastry shop? Hahaha.”

For some reason, the man in front of her had been teasing her incessantly since earlier.

The stories he brought up varied.

Starting from the fashion trends in the capital…

To the names of promising dressmakers emerging lately.

Even discussing jewels that were hard to come by in the south.

And now, passionately extolling the capital’s best dessert shop. Of course, the opinion that it was the best bakery was solely his own.

Eleanor listened to his casual stories with a raised eyebrow, letting them flow in one ear and out the other.

She would have been interested topics for an ordinary woman. Other women had fallen head over heels for Louis’s eloquence, so she probably would too.

However, at least not as much as Eleanor.

When she held her mother’s hand and crossed the threshold of the dressing room, she was a woman who displayed all kinds of expressions like a child forced to swallow medicine.

If she suggested going to a jewelry shop to match accessories that complemented her outfit, she was the one who subtly withdrew behind.

So, to pique Eleanor’s interest.

The pitiful end of a woman kidnapped in a goblin village.

The winner of the showdown between trolls and ogres.

Who the most powerful monster in the north is, she had to open something like an ideal type World Cup.

Unfortunately, though, Louis Edmund, being a man, was anything but a hero.

He had never wielded a sword like anyone else. He hadn’t even faced monsters on country roads, just a plain nobleman among many.

So there were no subjects in his repertoire that would capture Eleanor’s interest.

Naturally, the distance between the two continued to be parallel… No, it was only growing further apart.

Of course, Eleanor also knew that her current attitude was not very good.

In Louis’s passionate response despite her lackluster reactions, honestly, she felt like applauding.

But that was a story for when he wasn’t talking to her.

As the man rambled on with enthusiasm, where could a man who would enjoy such behavior be found?

“I see. Sounds delicious.”

Eleanor half-heartedly responded with a voice that sounded like it must be delicious.

Louis Edmund also knew the truth.

Since their first meeting, Eleanor had only given vague responses without sincerity.

But now he was interpreting Eleanor’s reactions a little differently.

‘Perhaps she’s shy around men.’

‘She’s the kind of character who acts coyly towards men she likes.’

It was partly because of the protagonist in the romance novel he had read recently.

And also because of the slightly different way Louis Edmund had lived his life so far compared to ordinary men.

He had always been in the position of conqueror in his relationships with women.

Since there had not been a single woman who had not succumbed to him.

So, in Louis Edmund’s eyes, the young lady in front of him could only be seen as a woman acting coyly towards herself. Her rude attitude could only be interpreted that way.

“If you’re interested, perhaps next time-”

“Oh, I’m not really into that sort of thing. Sorry, sir.”

Eleanor, who used to devour desserts every day with her grandfather and father, had become a lady who strongly detested sweet food and promptly rejected Louis’s date proposal.