"I'm just going to wear this ruby necklace."
"That's all you're wearing? I get that you don't care about other people, but I'm sure someone is going to object."
"Well, I wear a piece of my husband's heart around my neck at all times. What treasure could be more precious than that?"
Killian blushed. "Y- you can't say that with a straight face......"
Hmm, you don't sound very believable when you say that while sounding as cheerful as you are.
Killian looked around, cleared his throat, and muttered softly, "I'll call on the jeweler sometime before we go down to the estate, and you...... buy whatever you want."
All I wanted from Killian was to leave my head intact before the jewelry, but for now I nodded, not wanting to spoil the mood.
It wasn't a bad day, no, it was a pretty good day.
***
"Lizé, it's been a while."
"Long time no see, Your Highness!"
Lizé stood facing Princess Catherine Iberia in the sunny parlor of the Imperial Palace, which was in the midst of preparations for the National Day.
Catherine, who had had a crush on Cliff since childhood, had been jealous of his love for Lizé and had even tried to harm her at one point.
But she had grown to admire Lizé's innocence and good nature, and now she was jealous of Lizé's love for Cliff.
"Is that idiot Cliff being nice to you?"
"Everyone at House Ludwigs is good to me. I've told you before, every day feels like a dream since coming to the Ludwigs' mansion."
"You deserve better than that. If you don't like it, you can come and live in the palace as my handmaiden."
Lizé shook her head. "I don't want to leave the Duke and Duchess of Ludwig's side, they're like parents to me."
"Hmm...... I can't beat that, since the Duke and Duchess of Ludwig saved your life."
Lizé is the most beautiful and good-hearted person Catherine has ever known.
Someone who embraced her warmly, even when she had insulted her with her twisted heart.
If it weren't for her, Catherine would still be a problem child in the palace.
'I'm not going to let those who don't recognize and torment this angel get away with it.'
The starting point for putting that promise into practice was the Sinclairs.
Count Sinclair, who had played fire with a maid and gave birth to an illegitimate child, only to have it registered in the family, and the Countess and her children, who had kept Lizé from being able to live with them, would be punished, always and forever, by Catherine.
And she had planned to execute the plan at the upcoming National Day ball.
"How are the worthless Siclair people doing these days?"
"W- what do you mean worthless?"
Lizé continued with an awkward smile, "It seems that Brother Damien is taking the Heir Class and helping my father with his work, and sister Leila is......"
"Who asked you that? I mean, are they doing anything weird to you?"
"Oh, no! Nothing like that......"
"Lizé......?"
Catherine's eyes sharpened as Lizé, who had been waving her hands in denial, suddenly stopped moving and stuttered.
"Something happened, right?"
"Oh, no......no, nothing."
But Catherine was not one to play dumb.
"Lizé. What's going on? Are you going to make me worry like this?"
Catherine tried to convince Lizé, even using the kind of cajoling she never does in front of other people.
Lizé chewed her lip and finally spoke, "I don't know who did it yet, but...... actually, there was a reason I couldn't accept your invitation last time."
"What? What happened?"
"Well, it turned out that someone...... had poisoned my embroidery thread."
"What?"
Catherine's eyes widened, then flared with anger.
"How incompetent are the Ludwigs, how can someone be poisoned and they still haven't found the culprit?"
"T- there was no evidence anywhere."
"No! I'll listen and judge. Tell me exactly what happened, point by point."
Lizé sighed heavily and then stammered out the details of the incident.
When she was done, Catherine gritted her teeth.
"Are Cliff and Killian idiots? Anyone can see Edith Riegelhoff is suspicious!"
"That's what they all thought at first, but there's no reason for her to be, and Edith herself was adamant about her innocence, and there was no clear evidence......"
"The maid who said she saw that woman poison the embroidery thread was found dead, so of course she killed her, right?"
"But it's not right to accuse Edith on that testimony alone......"
Catherine grabbed the back of her neck and let out a harsh breath.
"You're too kind, Lizé. There are some people in this world that your good heart can't protect!"
Lizé smiled sadly. "If you live your life thinking like that, you'll only end up being suspicious of people and afraid of them. I don't believe that the Sinclairs or Edith would ever do such a dreadful thing."
"Oh, dear!"
Catherine slapped her chest as she looked at Lizé, who was smiling brightly again.
'Lizé can't stand the thought of someone being punished because of her, so I have to do it without her knowing!'
Lizé is right, I can't kill someone without clear evidence.
But there's always a chance to punch them in the nose.
'I'll take this opportunity to teach them that they should bow their heads at Lizé's feet.'
Catherine smiled calmly at Lizé, but inwardly she was making a list of the people she was going to stomp their noses flat at the upcoming ball.
Edith Riegelhoff was a new addition to the top of the list, but she didn't bother to tell Lizé.
***
The long-awaited National Day ball has arrived.
I couldn't sleep the night before because I was excited to finally see the ball in a Rofan novel.
Plus, I was in love with my dress, which had arrived three days earlier. My dress was beautiful, but Killian's suit was truly beyond words.
"If you're ready, let's go downstairs."
Coming to escort me, Killian flashed me a gorgeous smile and offered me his arm.
Feeling like a fairytale princess, I put my hand on his arm and tugged at the hem of my skirt as we made our way down to the first-floor entrance.
"Wow......!"
"You look so beautiful, miss!"
A few familiar maids covered their mouths in admiration.
'I can't believe they had the presence of mind to compliment me and not Killian. Seems like I have a good social life.'
I smiled at them and gave a slight nod of my head, then stood at the front door to wait for the rest of the family.
Cliff and Lizé came down behind us.
"Oh my God, Edith, you look so beautiful!"
......said the most beautiful woman in the world.
I looked back at her and my jaw dropped with the first visual shock I'd felt in a long time.
"Oh my God......! You're unbelievably pretty, Lizé!"
Regardless of what I thought of Lizé, there's no denying that she is beautiful.
The dress, made by an exclusive boutique, was worth the price.
The light blue skirt of the dress was delicately embroidered with silver thread and diamonds that sparkled like stars in the light, and the sleeves, which started at the shoulders, were sheer and romantic.
In addition, her natural updo revealed her white and thin nape, which made the Light of Lorraine stand out even more.
"If anyone sees you, they'll think you have a crush on Lizé," Killian whispered, cupping my jaw as I stared blankly at Lizé.
It's probably a good thing I didn't drool.
But my pick for best dressed of the night was neither Killian nor Lizé, but the Duchess.
"You all look so beautiful and stunning today!"
The Duchess, accompanied by the Duke of Ludwig, said proudly, giving equal amounts of attention to Cliff, Lizé, Killian, and me.
Then I gasped at the dress she was wearing.
"Huh? That's......!"
It was the same dress I'd picked out for her when the Ruayal Boutique came.
The brown silk and dark purple underdress looked gorgeous, yet weighty and elegant.
"I knew it would look good on you!"
I clapped my hands at the sight of it, looking even better than I had imagined.
"Thanks to you, Edith, I get to try on a dress like this."
The Duchess beamed, apparently pleased with how she looked in the dress.
But I was the one who was grateful.
To have a dress of my choosing worn to the most important event of the year was something that would never have happened in the original story.
Killian asked in my ear, "You picked it out?"
"Yep. I picked it out for her the other day when the Ruayal Boutique came," I replied cautiously, not wanting him to criticize my taste again.
But he nodded, looking like a parent whose child had made it to the top of the class.
"Hmm...... your taste isn't bad after all."
My goodness, to be told that I don't have a bad taste by someone who called me vulgar, I've made it in life.
Killian even gave me a glance and said in a nonchalant tone, "You're looking beautiful today, too, though not as much as my mother."
I can't believe he's paying me this kind of attention when Lizé is right in front of me!
I hadn't even set foot in the ballroom yet, and I already felt like I'd reached the top of the world.
Of course, objectively speaking, Lizé is probably the most beautiful.
That's how it was described in the original story, and she's the main character.
However, the spotlight on Lizé was definitely diminished compared to the original story, which said, "When she appeared, Killian and even the Duke and Duchess were mesmerized by her beauty."
To the point that Duke Ludwig, who was only friendly to Lizé, complimented me on my beauty.