Olivia Blanchett stared at herself in the mirror for a long time.
The deep green satin dress, reminiscent of fresh leaves rather than rose petals, seemed demure when still but became daring in motion.
The design, which would have resembled a beach gown if it had palm trees on it, had a deeply plunging neckline between the breasts, and with every step, the hem of the dress fluttered, revealing long legs below the slit.
“I think it would be better to cover this part a little.”
Olivia, gently covering her chest with her hand, expressed her opinion to Eve Lauren, who was adjusting her attire.
“Why? It’s beautiful. All the gentlemen at the ball will be looking at you.”
Elaine widened her eyes as if she couldn't understand.
“I don’t want to dress for the pleasure of men.”
“Miss Blanchett.”
Eve Lauren, who had stepped back to examine Olivia for any further adjustments, placed her hands on her waist and intervened between them.
“You see, I believe that the most beautiful aspect of humanity is its primal form. As God created us in the beginning. I am the one who makes that sublimity stand out the most, not someone who satisfies the eyes of libertines. I hope you understand that your statement insulted me.”
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I’m not used to these kinds of clothes…”
Olivia trailed off, flustered.
“Stand tall. The same goes for walking. Whether you walk hesitantly or gracefully, your attractive legs will be revealed anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to reveal them in a splendid way?”
The woman took her hand away from Olivia’s chest. She went behind her and straightened her slumped shoulders with both hands. Then, she whispered in Olivia’s ear.
“Your attitude is who you are.”
Eve gently turned Olivia’s shoulders, which she had been holding, around slowly.
“Now, look. How beautiful.”
“!”
Eve’s words, like a sweet temptation, were not false. Olivia in the mirror looked like a sensual forest spirit who loved the scorching sun.
“Tonight, you are the most radiant rose.”
Eve keenly sensed something slowly awakening within Olivia.
Her cheeks, which had been red with shame, were now unusually flushed with confidence, and her eyes, which had been hiding in confusion, emitted a clear radiance.
Now it was time to put the finishing touches on her masterpiece. Eve gestured to a staff member standing beside her, who stepped forward and opened the lid of the box he was holding so preciously.
“No way. It’s the Anne Gilbert Collection!”
Fragments of light reflected from inside the box flickered brilliantly over Elaine’s face as she gasped in admiration.
The necklace was intense.
And as intense as the necklace was, Olivia’s face was full of worry. As Eve reached out to put the necklace on her, she stopped her.
“I’m okay without the necklace.”
“Don’t you like it?”
Madam Lauren’s face, asking out of courtesy, seemed to say, ‘Surely not, but…’
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then why?”
“I think it’s too much.”
Such expensive luxury items were not necessary for just one night’s party. The dress and shoes, which she would never wear again, were already enough.
“It seems a bit much to purchase. I don’t usually enjoy wearing jewelry either.”
Olivia, not wanting to add to the extravagant image, said calmly, looking at Eve.
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding. This is jewelry that our boutique lends out. Anne Gilbert is the pride of Eve Lauren.”
Eve carefully lifted the necklace with her hands wearing white cotton gloves. It was as if grains of light were flowing down with her movement.
“Won’t it be too conspicuous?”
“I think so too.”
Elaine, who had been watching quietly, chimed in.
The necklace, decorated with diamonds and rubies, was worn by Princess Anne Boleyn at last year’s ball.
Even when she contacted Edgar about Olivia’s outfit, she never imagined that he would move Madam Lauren, Brit Kingdom’s best designer. Moreover, even the necklace.
Just what is this man up to?
At this point, she was leaning towards the idea that the man’s intentions were not benevolent. Otherwise, there was no reason to make Olivia a target for the women.
“It’s true that my neck feels bare, but that seems too flashy. Besides, that necklace-.”
“Have you forgotten the dress code? This necklace is the completion of the style.”
Elaine, cut off mid-sentence, closed her mouth at Eve’s gaze.
Olivia opened and closed her eyes at the cold sensation on her neck. The red jewel falling just above her cleavage was like a newly bloomed rose.
Finally, the preparations for entering the ball were complete.
***
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.
Tonight, Olivia decided to enjoy this moment without being conscious of the piercing gazes around her. As she thought that, her heart raced.
As the sun set, cheerful music began to flow through the Lancelot Hotel.
As she went downstairs with Elaine, the hotel staff lined up in the magnificent hall guided them to the terrace connected to the ballroom.
No matter how mentally prepared she was, Olivia, in her uncomfortable attire, couldn’t help but be nervous about the fluttering hem of her dress with every step.
She focused all her attention on taking elegant steps, regulating her breathing with the breathing method Eve had taught her.
The laughter of people and the scent of roses grew stronger. Passing through the Doric columns supporting the terrace ceiling, a rose garden lit with stained glass lanterns unfolded before her eyes in a trance.
“How is it? It’s really wonderful, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
The particularly strong floral scent was sweet tonight.
All the glass doors of the brightly lit hotel were opened, pouring out light, and the candles in the stained glass lanterns, painted in various colors, danced in the mellow spring night breeze, coloring thousands of roses.
“Shall we go?”
Elaine looked at Olivia and winked briefly.
Olivia nodded, lightly placed her hand on the arm she offered, and went down the low steps.
The skirt fluttered softly in the gentle spring breeze, and her long legs, wrapped in silk stockings, were fantastically revealed through the deep slit.
At that moment, the boisterous laughter and polite voices that had been conversing stopped. Only the melody of beautiful stringed instruments spread throughout the vast garden.
Carol’s eyes widened as she came to greet Princess Anne Boleyn.
To think she would associate with a bastard.
“The Rondo’s seductress seems to have made up her mind today.”
Carol, annoyed to see Elaine, whom she had weeded out of her group, coming down the stairs with Olivia Blanchett, threw out a remark.
“She was wagging her tail at Marquess Lancelot at the Grand Bleu.”
Carol clicked her tongue, and her friends responded.
“This is why birth is important. How long has it been since she got divorced to dress like that?”
“Does that apply to me too?”
The woman, pale at the princess’s cold voice, fidgeted and bowed her head.
“I, I misspoke. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
Anne Boleyn, the princess of the Kingdom of Brit, ended her short marriage with the prince of the Kingdom of Argent and returned home three years ago.
The marriage between the two, which was a political marriage between countries, had been quiet, so the sudden divorce scandal covered the front pages of newspapers in both countries for a while, arousing public curiosity.
People clamored for a while about the undisclosed reasons for the divorce.
The royal family’s move to pay astronomical alimony only suggested that the prince was responsible, but the details were not revealed.
What are you going to do if you touch such a sore spot for the princess?
Carol clicked her tongue inwardly and glared at the stupid woman with half-lowered eyes before looking at the stairs.
Elaine would have been perfect for this role.
She was trying to take the lead in the group, and she was too arrogant these days, so she was going to humble her a little and accept her if she came in appropriately.
But Elaine chose a bastard divorcee instead of breaking her pride.
As Olivia, walking down with the dazzling lights of the hotel building behind her, entered the ballroom, pathetic men began to swell their shoulders and flock to her.
How pathetic.
In Carol’s eyes, Olivia was nothing special.
It was only because she was the wife of the great Duke Leopold, despite being a bastard, that she was highly regarded and attracted the attention of men like a magnet.
The fact that her own husband was included in that group gave her legitimacy to hate Olivia.
“Oh my! That necklace. It’s the Anne Gilbert.”
At Carol’s voice of surprise as if she was dumbfounded, Anne Boleyn’s gaze finally turned to Olivia. A crack appeared on the princess’s neat brow.
The woman’s gracefully extended neckline under her elegantly styled hair was like a deer.
At the end of the diamond radiance flowing along her collarbone, the intense red light made her skin even whiter. She was a woman who would have caught the eye even if it wasn’t for the silk necklace.
“Oh my goodness. Didn’t anyone around her stop her? How could they let her come out wearing that?”
The princess’s maids were shocked.
「Anne Gilbert, the choice of divorcees.」
Isn’t that a good bait for gossip magazines aimed at female readers?
They evaluated who could digest it better and who looked better in it, encouraging women’s vanity and competitiveness.
Women attending social events had to pay special attention to that point.
There was no point in being compared to noble ladies of higher status than themselves unnecessarily. In particular, the latecomer had to avoid the situation of being hated for looking better.
Interestingly, this was exactly the case.
Perhaps the headline that will decorate tomorrow’s tabloids will be as follows.
「Anne Boleyn Grace Brita VS Olivia Blanchett, same necklace, different feeling. Who is the winner?」
The winner was Olivia Blanchett, no matter who looked at it.
