“Sorry for being late, Lady.”

Her silver hair had been dyed red. It matched perfectly with the orange dress Cecilia had forced upon her. The white flowers in her hair added to her vibrant and beautiful appearance.

“I thought this would go better with the dress you gave me.”

“……”

“It looks… good on you.”

A noble, mesmerized, uttered this without realizing. Other nobles nodded in agreement. On a clear day like today, bright colors stood out and looked prettier. Her appearance matched perfectly with a garden in full bloom.

‘Hoo…’

Eve was truly grateful for her silver hair. If it had been a darker shade, she wouldn’t have been able to dye it in such a short time.

“The dress is really pretty. Thank you, Lady.”

“Well, I don’t think it suits you that much.”

Cecilia said this with a face twisted in jealousy. The atmosphere froze, but she continued speaking without a care.

“Why did you do your hair like that? It looks awful.”

Without any reason, Cecilia was trying to bring Eve down. The other nobles couldn’t agree, but since Cecilia was soon to be the Empress, they sided with her.

“Yes, it does seem a bit off now that I look at it.”

“Yes, indeed. It doesn’t seem to suit you much…”

“Take it off. The previous dress was better.”

Even though it was improper to take back the dress given to Eve, Cecilia demanded it without knowing or caring about noble etiquette.

“Now. Take it off.”

“……”

Eve sighed inwardly and then put on a sad expression.

“Please don’t say that. How could Lady Girard’s choice be wrong? You’re just worried because I’ve attracted attention, right?”

“…What…?”

“You chose the dress that suits me best. And it actually looks good on me, doesn’t it, Countess Marseille?”

Eve randomly called out to someone nearby, and unexpectedly, Countess Marseille nodded.

“Yes. It looks quite good on you, Duchess.”

Countess Marseille smiled elegantly. She was the current Iris, selected last year, and her words held significant influence in society until the next Iris was chosen.

‘I didn’t expect her to side with me.’

Eve and the Countess barely knew each other’s names, but recognition from the Iris made other nobles who denied Eve feel ashamed.

“Indeed, Lady Girard has a keen eye.”

“……Countess Marseille.”

Cecilia trembled with rage, but she knew that any further outburst would be seen as disgraceful.

In fact, if she could use this opportunity to build a relationship with the current Iris, Countess Marseille, it would strengthen her position.

Cecilia smiled as if nothing had happened and pointed to a seat beside her for Countess Marseille.

“I didn’t know you were here, Countess. Please, come sit here.”

“Oh, I just arrived and was curious about the commotion.”

Countess Marseille responded and naturally took Eve’s hand, leading her to the seat beside her. Eve, taken aback, followed her.

Seeing this, Cecilia asked with feigned interest.

“Are you two close?”

“……Ah.”

Eve glanced at Countess Marseille, who nodded.

“We plan to be, from now on.”

“……”

“Of course, I want to get closer to Lady Girard, too.”

Cecilia’s expression softened a bit at those words. Eve quickly responded to achieve her goal.

“You two seem to get along well. Countess Marseille is the Iris, and the year-end goddess party last year was fantastic… I look forward to the parties Lady Girard will host.”

“Well, I am busy with the royal wedding preparations…”

Eve seized the moment and asked, feigning surprise.

“Oh, you’re not having an engagement ceremony?”

“……An engagement ceremony?”

“I was looking forward to it… The royal family’s engagement ceremonies have always been as grand as the weddings.”

Other nobles chimed in this time.

“That’s true. From the engagement dress to the ring… The legendary story of the entire hall decorated with blue sapphires during the engagement of the former emperor is famous.”

“It’s depicted in a painting at St. Michel Palace, and it’s beautiful even in the painting.”

“……I see.”

Eve didn’t miss the chance to continue.

“Come to think of it, Countess Marseille, your engagement ceremony was beautiful, wasn’t it?”

“Mine?”

“Yes, you had an outdoor engagement in a garden decorated with white lilies. It was the first outdoor ceremony and was very memorable.”

“Yes, I remember it well.”

“……”

Eve saw a crack in Cecilia’s expression.

Cecilia was clearly offended. She wasn’t the center of the conversation, and her rival, the Iris, had held a grand engagement ceremony.

‘She must be contemplating whether to become Empress right away or have an engagement ceremony.’

While the nobles were chatting, Eve tilted her head and added a final blow.

“I also had an engagement ceremony eight years ago.”

“Yes, I remember. Duchess Fontaine looked very beautiful.”

Eve’s beauty was well-known. With Countess Marseille’s agreement, the nobles were left speechless.

Finally, Cecilia couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke.

“I will have an engagement ceremony, too.”

“……”

“The Emperor told me to do whatever I want. He cherishes me very much.”

“Oh my.”

“As expected of His Majesty.”

Eve smirked to herself. This meant Cecilia couldn’t become Empress for at least a year, maybe never.

It was her own greed that led to this result.

* * *

On the way back after the party, Eve grabbed Countess Marseille.

“Thank you for today.”

“No need to thank me. I just spoke the truth.”

“But why did you help me?”

“That’s because…”

Countess Marseille hesitated for a moment.

“Perhaps Cha… no, His… no, the Chancellor…”

Thinking that Charles might be involved, Eve chose her words carefully. At the same time, Countess Marseille spoke.

“I… like you…”

“……Pardon?”

She mumbled, her cheeks turning red.

“I like Duchess Fontaine…”

“What?!”

Boom, Eve felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her.

‘She likes me?’

Though Countess Marseille was beautiful, they were both married women, and Eve had no time to think about such matters.

Seeing Eve’s expression, Countess Marseille hurriedly explained.

“No! Not in that romantic way…”

“Then…”

“Since I first saw you, I thought you were very beautiful! You’re my muse.”

“……Pardon?”

It was getting more confusing. What did she mean by muse?

“I like sewing, you see…”

“Oh… so you want to embroider or something?”

“Yes, yes!”

Countess Marseille nodded eagerly, looking embarrassed but cute to Eve.

“I became Iris because I thought Lady Fontaine might attend social events, so I worked hard to be everywhere… and it just happened.”

“……”

How should Eve take this shocking confession? She was stunned when a familiar voice called her.

“Eve.”

“Cha– Arsen.”

Eve almost called him Charles and quickly changed her words. Fortunately, Countess Marseille didn’t notice as she was too embarrassed.

“I came to pick you up since it was getting late. Who is this?”

“Oh, this is Countess Marseille, the current Iris.”

“Ah.”

Charles nodded indifferently. Countess Marseille also bowed her head slightly, unlike her demeanor with Eve.

“Nice to meet you, Duke.”

“Yes, well. Anyway, Eve, let’s go. It’s getting late.”

At Charles’ suggestion, Eve nodded.

“Alright, I’ll be leaving now. Thank you for your help today.”

“Ah, yes…”

Countess Marseille, watching Eve walk away with Charles, suddenly called out.

“Duchess Fontaine!”

“Yes?”

When Eve turned around, Countess Marseille hesitated before speaking.

“Can I… call you by your name?”

“Ah.”

Though being called a muse was a bit much, today’s help and the current request didn’t make her feel bad. Eve smiled.

“Sure, Estelle.”

“Oh, thank you… Yvonne!”

“Let’s drop the formalities.”

“Ah, yes!”

Seeing this, Charles pulled Eve closer, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

“Let’s go, Eve. I’m hungry.”

“I just had some refreshments…”

Eve grumbled as she followed Charles.

After walking for a while and losing sight of Countess Marseille, Charles spoke.

“What’s this?”

“What? Oh, my hair color? There’s a reason for it…”

“That woman.”

‘That woman? Ah.’

Eve understood who Charles was talking about and explained.

“She likes me. As a muse, she says.”

Charles’ expression hardened. He scoffed and sneered.

“Really? What if she’s working with Cecilia?”

“……”

“Don’t trust anyone. Except me.”