Chapter 278

(278)

The dress shop of Beth Vestis, like many famous dress shops in the capital, had a large number of models.

“Everyone, gather quickly!”

“Why? Is some important guest coming?”

“Rudi! Count Ludie Consecratius! He’s here with Duke Valencius!”

“No way.”

“It was the first meal of the day!”

With the arrival of a VIP guest, the waiting room echoed with screams of joy.

“Get ready! Get ready!”

“Bring all the outfits!”

“We’ll go in ten minutes!”

The models quickly donned brown wigs, applied makeup in tones similar to Rudi’s, and adorned themselves with various dresses, fans, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets according to their coordinates.

“Feel free to look and choose the outfit you like.”

Thus, the runway for the two individuals began.

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The models, dressed like noblewomen, walked out gracefully yet confidently.

“Wow.”

Rudi was nearly enchanted by the splendor and fervor, while Valencius observed them with a solemn expression.

“Rudi, what do you think of number 3?”

After checking the outfit of the third model, Rudi nodded.

An attendant standing beside him showed three fingers at the back, and immediately another staff member rushed over with the same dress, accessories, and shoes as model number 3.

“Shall I help you try it on?”

With a fluttering heart, Rudi received assistance from the staff to put on the dress.

“What do you think, Valencius?”

The ivory gown was made of slightly sheer material and fell elegantly in deep pleats.

Highlighted by a blue shawl and a rich line of lace, it was made even more vivid with thin gold bracelets and earrings, along with a yellow fan.

“Valencius?”

Valencius, momentarily stunned, murmured in a dazed voice.

“I should have come sooner.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, it suits you well.”

Next, Rudi tried on a dress made of stiff green fabric adorned with crimson floral patterns.

“Isn’t this… a bit too extravagant?”

“I think it will be fine.”

The lace was lavish and striking, and the color scheme seemed very refined.

Since the dress itself was so splendid, the fan was somewhat thinner, and it came with a hat decorated with a large ribbon and matching shoes.

Rudi blinked in awe at the noblewoman reflected in the mirror.

“You look really good in it.”

“It’s a difficult outfit to carry, but you’re doing great.”

“It would be nice for you to wear it when hosting.”

The staff and models praised her enthusiastically, and Valencius wore a bright expression as well.

Rudi grinned, and for the next outfit, she pointed out, “Model 16 looks good. What do you think?”

It was a dress with a green base accented with yellow-green.

The hem was very lavish and voluminous, and the shoulders and back were deeply cut, complemented by a necklace and earrings made of chunky emeralds and gold, along with brown shoes.

If the first dress was noble and the second was weighty, then the third was elegant yet alluring.

When Valencius remained silent for a while, Rudi began to worry that it might not suit her after all.

‘Is it too extravagant?’

Valencius finally spoke slowly.

“Rudi.”

“Yes?”

“Wear that only in front of me. No, forget I said anything. It feels like a heavy sin to hide that appearance away.”

Countless dresses continued to receive the Count’s selection afterward.

A voluminous white dress reminiscent of a bride, a sleek dress with a bizarre yet elegant pattern mixed from four colors, a bright dress that looked buried in flowers, and a deep red dress that somehow suggested a need for revenge.

Necklaces matching the dresses with deep cuts in the neck, shoulders, and back; a leather and silver necklace fitting a neat yet captivating vibe; a pearl necklace suitable for a modest atmosphere; an opal necklace giving a mysterious air.

Various rings, bracelets, earrings, fans, bags, colorful handkerchiefs and bow ties, hairpins, and all sorts of ornamental hair sticks, adorned with small hats and constructed with feathers and jewels, were included.

Valencius spared no expense, and the staff of Beth Vestis gasped in amazement, while Rudi thought it impossible that she could be so beautiful.

“It feels like a dream.”

“Enjoy it while you can. Before the nightmare arrives. Don’t forget to keep feeding Aquatec whenever you change.”

“Yes, Valencius.”

* * *

Rudi started working as a maid in her early teens, and most of her relationships stemmed from her time serving a member of the royal family several hundred lines down the line of succession.

She had met various maids in the Red Crescent Palace, but a palace where royals died one after another was not a good place for maintaining friendship.

As Valencius began his bandit ways, someone she once considered a friend framed her, and after Rudi started mingling with Tenitia while wielding the magic spear, her old ties mostly severed.

However, Rudi’s old acquaintances were still working within the imperial palace, and they often discussed the maid who had risen to the highest position among their peers when they gathered.

And, as it often goes when speaking about someone who isn’t present, these discussions mostly turned into gossip.

“Didn’t she make a lot of mistakes here and there?”

“That was because Prince Valencius was just nobody then; if it happened now, she would be fired.”

“My lord has been burnt to the bone, but she’s lucky—being a concubine too.”

“She got lucky with her master. Count Ludie Consecratius, huh? Now we mere commoners won’t even be visible to her.”

“Looking back, wasn’t she quite the schemer? She started serving during a time when Prince Valencius was sorrowful after parting from Jeilliris. She chose her moment perfectly.”

Of course, the maids knew it all.

“…”

At that time, no one wanted to serve Valencius, and the maids assigned the youngest Rudi to the young royal family member who seemed destined never to rise.

No one imagined that this name, once just a title, would become the elder brother in the line of succession and the Count of the coveted Instrumentum Aljac, who would be powerful enough to say to the Holy Emperor that he had “a better idea.”

“Looks like there was a snake inside her from back then.”

“Hah. It really takes time to recognize someone. I waited for years.”

They were on their way from the western palace of the imperial palace to the main palace, inevitably passing the annex.

“She completely pretends not to know us.”

“Hey, hey. Voices.”

“Yeah. We’re almost there.”

At that moment, the mocking voices questioning Rudi’s arrogance and that she had seduced the Duke, and the petulance of forgetting her old friends and mentors started to diminish.

But it was fear for the Bandit Duke, who favored Rudi, and not fear of Rudi herself.

“Uh?”

“Prince Valencius.”

At that moment, Valencius stepped out from the annex.

As always, he combed back his platinum hair neatly and donned a majestic uniform, crossing the stone path laid across the lush green lawn between finely trimmed garden trees.

Before the noble bloodline that silenced all upon sight, the maidens fell silent like sparrows during harvest season.

The only difference from usual was that he was escorting a lady.

She had elegantly draped slightly curly brown hair, showcasing her shoulders and neck in a tempting green dress.

The dress was so splendid that it would make anyone lower their gaze at first glance, made even neater with cufflinks, seeming to lack nothing more to add or take away.

“Wow.”

“Who, who is she?”

She wore two necklaces, one a sleek green choker with a single ruby that shone bright as blood, and the other a chunky and ornate gold necklace encrusted with emeralds.

“Oh my….”

“Could she be the fiancée?”

She wore white gloves, and strangely, chunky rings peeked out from within.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The maidens glanced at the large black four-horse carriage with inward gasps.

‘To ride in that? …That’s definite.’

‘Yeah, Rudi, no matter how much you rise, he’ll still meet with other women. You’ll just be a concubine!’

‘As if status could change that easily?’

‘Even now, if he asked me to meet, I’d accept without hesitation.’

At that moment, one attendant stepped on a fallen leaf, making a crisp sound, and the maid trained as an assassin turned her head sharply.

“!”

Then the maidens saw it.

The unchanged, sparkling green eyes and unbearably gentle gaze, reminiscent of their childhood.

And the fierce power they felt from the noble bloodlines.

“Ah….”

The maidens stood rooted to the spot even after the carriage had departed.

“What did we just see?”

No one could deny that the noblewoman, who took their breath away, was the same Rudi they had just spoken about.

Just then, Vinea, a maid from Jeilliris and the overseer of the main palace, appeared.

“Why is everyone standing around? Do you want to quit your jobs?”

Having met Jeilliris directly, she ranked among the top powers in the court nobility.

And she looked incredibly angry.

The maidens trembled slightly as they followed her.

‘We’re done for.’

* * *

“Rudi, what are you thinking about?”

Valencius asked.

Rudi, distracted, turned her head away from the window.

His golden eyes wore a slight mischievous smile.

Rudi slowly opened her mouth.

“Valencius.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think about the saying, ‘a butterfly doesn’t know its caterpillar days’?”

Valencius shook his head slowly.

“I don’t know. It’s right not to know.”

“Excuse me?”

Rudi tilted her head, while the young Duke smiled maturely as he spoke.

“The butterfly flies in the sky to drink nectar, while the caterpillar crawls on the ground eating leaves. When the place you stand changes, you see more and what you do also changes. Naturally, your perspective has to change, right?”

“Hmm.”

“You stood by me serving before, and now you’ve become someone who commands the serving maids. If you were once the one in a tough situation with a heavy mouth, now you pick those who are in a tough situation. It’s not about who is superior between the two. It’s just that what is required changes.”

“That’s true.”

Rudi smiled brightly and nodded, and Valencius returned a somewhat teasing smile.

“I guess you heard their comments earlier. Well, it would be stranger if you didn’t.”

Rudi felt a sense of relief that Valencius hadn’t pulverized them all, and she was surprised to realize that she had no strong feelings about it herself.

She was the one who shot down abominations, made her mark during the capital’s capture incident, and filled arrows in the Infiltrator Archbishop.

She had already been standing at a much higher place.

Rudi replied cheerfully.

“Yes. My hearing should be a bit better now.”

Valencius nodded, tapping twice on Rudi’s finger, which wore a magic tool ring.

“Count Ludie Consecratius.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are you ready to receive my escort?”

Rudi knew well what the Duke’s escort entailed.

She would now cause a typhoon in the social circles of the court nobility, known as the den of devils.

She took a final look at the mirror hung on the carriage door.

Earrings and a necklace made of gold and emeralds, a dress woven from the finest silks and lace, and the concealed magic dagger and spear Agate within.

‘This is everything that constitutes me.’

The noblewoman in the mirror looked as beautiful as ever.

After a moment of blissful reflection on the butterfly hidden within the lace patterns, Rudi resolutely nodded her head.

“Yes, Valencius.”

The carriage came to a stop in front of a mansion, and Valencius opened the door first, extending his hand.

His hand, clad in tight black gloves, was big and warm.

Rudi stepped down and slowly scanned her surroundings.

A vast garden planted with evergreens stretched along the path lined with magical streetlights in neat rows, with carriages arriving continuously at the front gate.

“Thank you for accepting the invitation.”

“Oh, no. It’s only natural to come if invited.”

“Shall we go in? I’m eager to meet Lady Marietta, the Duchess.”

Dressed attendants in black and highly ranked nobles filled the vicinity.

“It’s been a long time!”

“Looks like we meet here as well.”

“Was your plan a success?”

As she listened to the splendid garments and hearty laughter, Rudi instinctively tensed up, feeling as though she should quickly attend to someone.

‘This is occupational hazard.’

Rudi momentarily chuckled at herself and straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin.

She was now the partner of the most noble man in the empire.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

They crossed the garden and arrived in front of a grand hall.

The time for entrance had come, and the butler of the mansion shouted.

“Presenting Duke Valencius and Count Rudi!”

In an instant, all the court nobles inside the hall turned their gaze on Rudi.

Noblemen who granted authority to the royal family while dealing with various lawsuits at the High Court, the wealthy nobility who oversaw guilds and markets, the administrative aristocrats—the elite of the empire, and military nobles who produced knights for four generations, the magic nobility who supported the imperial magic guild, and the badge nobility attending the council…

“Count Rudi?”

“Is that the Consecratius?”

“The protagonist of the splendid rumors has finally arrived.”

They approached with eyes gleaming like legends turned devils.