Chapter 28
#28
Maria was…….
Yes. I had to admit it.
She was beautiful.
I gifted her my favorite hair essence and told her to apply it every day, and her dry hair began to shine.
She diligently applied the cosmetics I gave her, and Maria's rough skin became smooth.
Wearing the dress and shoes I painstakingly chose, and the emerald jewelry that she initially refused, agreeing only to borrow them because they were too expensive, Maria was truly a beautiful woman.
"Bianca."
Her shy, blushing expression was the perfect finishing touch.
"Is it really him who will escort me?"
Her reddened cheeks made her even more adorable, and her sparkling eyes highlighted her beauty.
The face of a girl in love was more beautiful than anything else.
"Yes. It's Lord Wincaiser."
I nodded to Maria's question with a gentle smile. But in my mind, I was thinking something else.
Did I ever have that kind of expression, like Maria, a long time ago?
Did I flutter with such naivety, knowing nothing?
I groped through the past alone, searching for memories that might not even exist.
"It feels like a dream."
Maria's eyes sparkled with a blissful expression.
"It's not a dream, it's reality."
Lost in the memories of the past, I barely pulled myself out to focus on the reality before me.
"I have a bit of a connection with Lord Wincaiser, so I asked him. I thought he would be the perfect Debutante partner for Maria."
"Oh, perfect! He's wonderful!"
"Yes, that's why I asked him."
I emphasized the word 'asked.' I even considered adding the word 'specially,' but it seemed too obvious, so I refrained.
"Bianca, thank you so much. I don't know how to repay this kindness."
Even without my emphasis, Maria seemed grateful enough to me.
Thanks to me, she had become much more beautiful than before, became the star of the glamorous ball that every young lady in the empire dreamed of, and her partner was the person she had fallen for at first sight.
Anyone would naturally be grateful.
"There's no need to talk about repaying kindness."
"To say that, Bianca, you're truly an angel!"
Maria grabbed my hand tightly.
And she began to shoot those sparkling eyes at me this time.
"At first, honestly, although you are very beautiful, your first impression seemed a bit cold. When you didn't say anything, you seemed a little scary."
"Really?"
I already knew that I looked that way when I was quiet.
"Yes. But the more I talk to Bianca, the more I realize you have a truly warm heart."
Maria said, holding my hand even tighter.
She seemed truly touched by my gift.
Of course, it was something I had planned to impress her, but she seemed even more touched than I had expected.
"Bianca, you are a truly perfect lady."
Maria said, looking at me with sparkling eyes.
"……."
Could this be one of her schemes? I thought for a moment and couldn't say anything.
Maria accurately spoke the vague word that I had wanted to be since I was young.
With eyes sparkling as if in love, holding my hand tightly, and with a flushed face.
"Really, do you think so?"
"Yes. Bianca, you are truly a perfect lady!"
Even when I asked again, Maria's answer was the same.
With a bright smile, she nodded as if words were not enough.
'A perfect lady,' she said.
"You must have worked so hard to become such a perfect lady, right? That's really amazing."
I paused for a moment at Maria's words.
No one had ever said that to me before.
"Why do you think so?"
"Huh? Isn't it obvious?"
Rather, Maria looked at me with wide eyes, as if my question was strange.
"Look in the mirror."
She pointed to the large mirror that I had brought to find the jewelry that best matched Maria's Debutante dress.
"I can't even stand as straight as Bianca."
Maria said, standing close to me.
As she said, Maria's posture was a little hunched, unlike mine.
Looking at me in the mirror, Maria tried to stand straight like me, but it didn't seem to work.
Straightening her back, pulling her chin in, and puffing out her chest.
What had been a habit for me since I was young seemed difficult for her.
"That's not all. The nobles' social dances are too difficult, and the table manners are too difficult. I barely memorized the right fork for each dish, and now I have to memorize the knives!"
Maria shouted as if she was really fed up. Maria's frowning expression was quite funny, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Bianca, you must be perfect at dancing and perfect at etiquette, right?"
"Yes."
I told the truth. My dancing was perfect, and my etiquette was perfect.
"Those things don't just happen overnight. You must have worked very hard since you were very young to become the Bianca you are now."
"That's right."
"So you deserve to be called a perfect lady."
Maria smiled brightly.
"Thank… you."
I ended up saying the words I wanted to hear from Maria.
Her bright smile and sincere praise made the words come out naturally.
After Maria left, the first thing I did was check the bookshelf.
There was no light shining, but I might have missed it.
I hurriedly took out the book and opened the first page, and familiar words appeared.
I turned a few more pages, just in case, but only unchanged stories greeted me.
There were no changes.
Nothing had changed.
"Was I mistaken?"
I thought I had sincerely moved Maria. And I thought she felt it too.
But it seemed that this book still thought it was not enough.
It seemed to think that Maria, with her sparkling eyes and admiring gaze, could still kill me sufficiently.
"A perfect lady……."
I quietly savored the words that came out of Maria's mouth.
It was a word that I hadn't said out loud in a long time because it was childish.
"A perfect lady."
I collapsed onto the bed as if falling.
If I fell asleep like this, I felt like I would have an old dream for the first time in a long time.
A dream with a very pretty child whose dream was to be a perfect lady.
***
"Oh, what should I do?"
Maria asked in a faintly trembling voice.
Turning my head slightly to look at her, Maria had an expression that seemed more fragile than a dragonfly's wing.
"I'm so nervous."
I gently grabbed Maria's hand, which she was bringing to her mouth, as if it was a habit.
Maria's fingertips were already a little rough, probably because she had already bitten them while I was looking elsewhere.
"Yes. You must be nervous."
I handed Maria's hand over to the maid who was waiting next to her and gestured at her nails. The maid quickly began to fix Maria's nails again.
"Everything is nerve-wracking the first time."
"Really? So I'm normal."
"Yes."
"I just wish it would end quickly."
Maria looked for water with her other hand, which the maid was not holding, as if her mouth was dry.
The cup, which was half full of water, was quickly emptied as Maria gulped it down.
"Just do as you've learned."
I smiled slightly and stood up again.
As I approached Maria, she looked up at me with slightly parted lips and a still tense expression.
I reached out and brought my hand near Maria's lips.
I gently wiped away the trace of lipstick that had smeared from drinking water with my finger.
"Ah……!"
Maria's smooth, moist lips touched my fingertips vividly, and Maria's breath brushed past them.
When our eyes met, Maria blushed slightly.
Thinking that she was embarrassed that her lipstick had smeared, I smiled kindly as if it was nothing.
"Th, thank you."
Maria lowered her head slightly and offered her thanks.
"You're welcome."
Watching the maid finish fixing Maria's nails, I subtly shifted my gaze towards the door.
It seemed like it was almost time for him to come…….
Knock, knock.
As if reading my thoughts, a knock was heard.
No, it wasn't that, but rather that I had read his actions.
He never broke promises and knew when to pick up a lady.
So I guessed that he would come around this time, and he acted as I had guessed.
"It seems like he's here."
"Is, is Ricardo here?"
Maria asked, startled by the news that the person she had been waiting for had arrived.
"Yes. I think it's probably him."
"Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous."
While the maid went to open the door, Maria whispered in a low voice.
Sure enough, her voice trembled like a goat, and her face was pale.
It was fortunate that she had applied dark lipstick, or else the lips beneath the lipstick would probably be blue.
"Maria."
"Ye, yes."
Looking at Maria, who was very nervous, I smiled gently.
"Do you know what?"
"What?"
"Today, you look really, really beautiful."
Looking at her with wide eyes, I smiled brightly once again.
"So you have nothing to worry about. Even if Maria makes a few mistakes, everyone will be so busy looking at Maria's beauty that they won't even notice the small mistakes."
Then Maria's face gradually turned red.
Just when I thought she couldn't get any redder, Maria lowered her face completely.
"Bianca, you are so kind."
Maria muttered with a small voice that seemed a little tearful, with her head bowed.
And the moment I heard Maria's voice, I also felt a lump in my chest.
Perhaps it was because her words contained sincerity.
Even though that damned book might not acknowledge it, at this moment, Maria was sincerely grateful to me.
And I knew that fact too.
Something was slowly growing between us.
