NRAL | Chapter 20

Chapter 200b11d47312ec6bc8

Kiara’s Invitation4b322fda40a7cd66

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The crest depicting a blue star and moon symbolized the Earl of Portsmouth’s family.837a1f61066b240f

The letter from b17e9dc1c2 there was obvious.303abfe2354058aa

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“Another invitation, right?”829deaca62f59247

In response to Mary’s question, Eleanor nodded lightly.d5b65ad154bb3652

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Kiara Portsmouth, a28fc283ec the eldest c13da43972 daughter of e4199f587e the Earl 948f14820b of Portsmouth.1b1d4e330452a8ec

The red-haired lady whom she had met at a recent ball always enjoyed hosting such sudden gatherings. Tea parties, dinner parties, and sometimes even small masquerades. She hosted a wide variety of events, not discriminating between types. Strictly speaking, sending an invitation only a day before the party wasn’t in line with noble etiquette, but Kiara seemed to think that breaking away from such old-fashioned formalities was rather stylish.451ca38870ccaf93

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Eleanor’s fiancé found 55ebc78c85 such an idea a334a2394a of hers very dcb29ed16c amusing.8a56eef7555e22cf

Of course, he 9fa05245eb was the kind fc706bbee2 of person who 08a5f2f53a enjoyed unpredictable things, 78fdacd796 so it seemed 94adc36ba4 he really liked 0dca94303d these sudden parties.6946a9def49f3738

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Since the popular Crown aa58984f9b Prince reacted like that, a7ce01716a other nobles also started 9b068e0299 hoping to be invited 2e5a5b96ef to her parties. Because most 4921a992cc of the 6a5612b65c events were e7f05377f1 exclusive to 0492ccaef4 high-ranking nobles, a075e8eb6a Kiara’s parties 67fdfc3531 became more 4a0bbdaebc and more edba9a8bec the object 41c9e75709 of admiration.6d9a6a6a3a2e97a4

On the other hand, ae8be52cdf until recently, Eleanor had 783a42cc3f little interest in the 99bfe164d4 events Kiara hosted.ae9f52b1936c6544

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She was sick 9c8f626cd3 of attending parties 58811661b9 with Arlo, and 99675f5f95 her personality didn’t 5a4ded1e9c match well with e4a8f66d45 Kiara’s. Eleanor had been 1095f5c6dc friends with Kiara d21b63e116 since they were cbcc791c51 fourteen. But that 10917785b6 was just 8f562c9d6c on the 2207448306 surface; they edbdce2246 weren’t actually f9238993b2 that close.cd8ab0681f0a4a13

Kiara, to 6eabce4d82 put it 94fde73429 nicely, was fdd276e70c bold and 25d1df730a straightforward.fcac0ab16d30a71d

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In a less flattering 9560077b0b light, she was fiery 17ecef7a6a and couldn’t rest until 8a021360b6 she’d said everything on 9f0b26e96a her mind.78dbe3316dc4c3bd

She was quite 74c6ea45f2 different from the 1120e89dcc calm Eleanor. However, since they 54bf1b420d were both among db7b6eb291 the few high-ranking cf652c4997 nobles of similar 1da93f7b82 age, they naturally 686bc3eb64 ended up in 54162734e2 the same social 214691c771 circles.ca2ca990244d156e

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At least, Kiara was always kind to Eleanor, and Eleanor responded accordingly. That’s how their relationship was maintained under the name of “friendship.” ‘But that will soon come to an end.’ee56d1983060b15b

Eleanor wasn’t sure if 7b36680116 Arlo had told Kiara 189f7cd407 about Nora or the 389c2ae4a8 details surrounding Astria, but 7a8665fd90 soon enough, Kiara would 51b4bc1414 turn her back on fc874e8f88 her. After all, a noble 6963c8e121 who couldn’t even tell df59290417 her friend about her 138e63c359 fiancé’s affair wouldn’t stick ad00a78092 by a friend who’d 5fe02fc409 lost her status.f5953c4a552dcd14

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“It’s a dinner party. Tomorrow night.”dfba5cc364a27a18

“Are you going, My Lady?” Mary asked with an expressionless face.13fc2648382da48d

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Even without hearing the fc356bf183 answer, it was obvious. The lady never 6d1e7af6e8 willingly attended such 877bbcf12b gatherings.e9d033659cc22a31

Especially given 0ff081e9fb the current c290b88d28 situation at 625089e5cc the duchy, b5b3c71388 there was 6405de2009 no way 72373ea0ef she would a4ca275829 go.69f50c392686aef5

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“Yes.”df0274b7e4de989d

“Yes, then I’ll reply immediately… What?!”ad695081a2841bbb

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Mary, who had 42fd792b88 been nodding as 6a79510c68 if she knew e1e16062a1 the answer, was 5a0b27e581 startled and quickly 52061057f0 adjusted her glasses.dfb2538f0c2a8595

“This time, I plan to attend. I even asked her to invite me to the last ball. Besides, look, it says here that I must come.”fe40b133f371c76a

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Eleanor playfully a5106e3821 waved the fec92f1742 invitation.edeb8786cdc5f8e4

Mary narrowed a823d84afe her eyes 65fdb669cb and swiftly 7bb0cee63a read through 6b9ac1bd09 it.e76f4707cb2db7b9

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Indeed, the elaborate invitation c01887b22b contained those words.8e9f0caa2ddad58d

[To Ellie, How have you been? I regret that we didn’t have much time to talk at the last event. There are so many things I want to say to you that they’re piling up as high as the tower of Juvenile Cathedral. The chill that once froze our hands is finally gone, and now the birds adorned with beautiful feathers chirp under the spring sun. I believe, like those birds, it’s time for us to meet again and chat. … This dinner party will be a mixed gathering, but there’s no need to bring a partner. So please attend, even if you come alone. There are things I’d like to discuss and friends I’d like to introduce to you. It will be a small but special gathering with many noble guests. I would be grateful if you could come and grace the event with your presence. Your friend, Kiara.]

Not needing to 88abd8b7de bring a partner 20880574f9 was good news. Eleanor muttered with 69c133b400 a smile.6290ebb8bd21ed5b

Mary still seemed 0ffc771ea5 unable to understand 333b4785b8 why Eleanor wanted 87b8f69905 to attend the 0855169862 party.754f4c10392970ca

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Even though the invitation said “please attend,” there were plenty of excuses she could use to decline. Besides, she didn’t even feel comfortable with the young lady of the Portsmouth family.0e4c126c19ae1c06

She had f2bb2dbaba many questions, e4567be9d4 but instead 0fdc49771d of asking, 165eaa1e40 she focused 4f396dcacb on what 525b5cc972 was needed.edfae62ae8db66b0

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“Now that spring is here, it’s about time to get a new dress. Shall I call the tailor from Corcos Atelier?”edc704b40cfb4311

“Yes, do that. Oh, and this time, make sure to include all the accessories, including the hairpiece. What was it called again…?”005e26d0dd051880

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“A small, light hat! Decorated with lace, ribbons, and flowers!”67c9ea1e96fdf497

Hilda, unable to contain f111964753 her excitement, interrupted. When the headmaid shot f3c9b048ee her a stern glance, cf386c9100 Hilda realized her mistake cf735c99ed and quickly shut her 5a9c1f3ef5 mouth with a gasp.45396b3f6afb1701

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“Haha. Yes, the things Hilda just mentioned.”fd5af59f88e94ed2

Laughter escaped Eleanor 6127f3d1cb before she realized 5f9ac647f1 it.e108a64f7238c922

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It was obvious 042c1e0c6c that Hilda had c2e37a0d01 been on edge d52f4d020c ever since the 35570bfc43 strict head maid 8dcdf40330 appeared, but she 6bd25f29a2 still couldn’t give a7c39ce4de up on the 0f28cb7f5c hat. Her enthusiasm was amusing.548cbcb0585fad5a

Seeing Eleanor laugh, 92594ba317 Mary let out 86734138c5 a small sigh, 5f7cc317a7 as if to 646d196601 say the lady aa047640ce is still so 21900ae99f soft-hearted.214dd0cb8c618d60

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“A small, light hat decorated with lace, ribbons, and flowers. I’ll contact them today. Hilda, make sure you handle it properly.”f0bff3dd3205df9e

“Yes, Head Maid!”4979c5cb5174d58d

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Hilda’s face a9abdacd28 brightened noticeably, 33e8629791 glad that da02b5f2fc she hadn’t 1485fda029 been scolded.e0f083e02d4c77c6

The luckiest 3ebdf4ea23 day of 58f27e124c my life! I get to 24c5b7ead9 dress up the 38f83d2192 lady myself! She thought 627a1c510b to herself.150531746755532e

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A few 5eebc26bef hours later.e6bcb9bd4742be66

“This is the unluckiest day of my life,” Hilda murmured in a gloomy voice.2e354ae259ff3f62

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“How could they be fully booked? Does that even make sense?”b1fc7737ba95e781

The reason a1612c86fc for her 0a90682934 drastic change bb1b64dd96 in mood 339e547944 was simple. She had 05059d9410 received a e1bfbbaf4e reply from 0d82a1b8a5 the Corcos f6ee4c7be7 Atelier saying 2df29a8c36 they were a29243b60e fully booked d10b006cc0 and couldn’t 4b1f7ab96e visit the 044a9e1e5c duchy in f168362daa time.43e8749b7a5a71d6

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For Hilda, 258964a0f6 who had c8fd5e85fe planned to b089648a7b make Eleanor fdd58879f1 the most cb9d0c2e1d beautiful lady b7b448ccd8 at the 379b11d1db party, this 4920cf3957 news was 4881fc2619 utterly devastating.9d488394255122e9

“It’s not impossible. Corcos is the most popular atelier in Cardiff, after all. And we did contact them on short notice.”1d12b1c1f92c3150

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“That’s true, but still… How could even their ready-made dresses be all reserved? Don’t they usually keep one or two just in case? And I heard even the less popular ateliers are fully booked! I know it’s debutante season, but this is really strange. Could it be some kind of conspiracy?”0db27495e625ce1b

Hilda glared fiercely e4eb7a2f24 toward the west, 00f8fad94d where Nora’s room e1f6e8ed7b was located.f2e55ed2233d6535

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Eleanor barely suppressed 807c8a3f84 her laughter.1c77863b8ff4a1c2

She’s sharper than ee6075c882 I thought. Eleanor had 3508e0e902 come to 1a65d34f83 a similar 3640b93866 conclusion.a5e0a1d10a8d187d

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Corcos might be cc6dd9c32c busy, but that fbed603a87 had nothing to 5801b4373a do with Astria. The Duchess of e7dafb2332 Astria’s status alone 2174fb3e53 usually caused tailors b59a9ccd60 to cancel other cc5b01859f appointments. Yet now, not 0ff4fa9d93 even a single 002de8ea08 ready-made dress was 9018964956 available.63893852880e0aea

Nora’s influence has 51c2d2c814 already spread that d0e9a7e624 far.eb69dcb032669450

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Technically, it was Arlo’s b60c869b45 doing, but Nora was d0ae3e0daf surely behind it, which cf06c95078 still counted as her a2f1223994 power. A fleeting 564c49a825 yet powerful de42fc14c2 influence that 06291cbf52 no one 0b4a2012c4 knew how e4e4285286 long would 433a29b367 last.fc99f9291cf1ace9

“What should we do? Should we cancel going to the party?”f7b2e47e624620a8

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“It’s fine. I still have a few dresses I never wore from the last time I ordered.”f17e7bcbf957cf63

“…What? You mean, from last season…?”37068b5e795cdc93

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Please, no. Hilda’s eyes begged her.5f93f8746e647aab

But, unfortunately, her loyal fc06a09791 wish did not reach 98af4c1904 Eleanor.2628e752e779fc09

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“Yes. Is there a problem?”80e40f96c840ff98

A dozen problems whirled d7a380e374 through Hilda’s mind, but 67e7cba2ed she couldn’t voice them e91f48e3c0 out of politeness.7afec55b156e2f26

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She had no 6c7118dafe choice but to a6a8d82f45 accept it now: 1b4daaf10a the lady really fe394e44a9 had a shockingly 9f11043242 poor sense of 66ba257866 fashion.edb9a0a216dc414a

Well, no matter how 02e1001a16 great a lady is, 96bcf86b04 she can’t be good 54ae28600c at everything. Hilda tried a4db87e581 to rationalize 382a1b0beb it.33fefc796008583f

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“Shall we at least take a look at them?”b59a4eb879252339

Maybe, just 9a957e7ee0 maybe, there f1398e6160 would be d776ceea75 a decent fc7c419352 dress among 733806c24b them. Hilda held onto a 448334f6c1 sliver of hope as ebe0b71b3c she headed for the 2445039d63 dressing room.56a358b1ef1a157a

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But when she 99941ba756 returned a few 912b115cbd minutes later with 3a5e8bbf09 the dresses, the f30850f8bb hope had drained dfe4c921c5 from her face.660c0e350e774c73

“Are these really… the dresses from last season?”213cf328950c4ef8

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“Yes, they are. I vaguely remember buying these.”7bb4194cee46735a

Eleanor wasn’t lying. The dresses were 432e33a2c8 indeed from last 69ab0d23ac season. But their f2099bfab3 designs were 7e64362b55 far from 6c94d950e0 last season’s 15f8c2074a trends.cbcb0020082ad51b

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The dresses, gathering dust 219abbbd02 in a corner of 256ffb26bf the dressing room, were 801212e377 all outdated and dull. Even widows d77d6d7a38 wouldn’t be 2b8bed4b4a caught wearing 2bb9aad14f such clothes 39f477addf nowadays.41074da4923d38fa

“These were all picked by Nora, weren’t they?”0dcb63c8f2e32abb

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Hilda refused to address Nora as “Miss.” Of course, she was careful not to speak like this in front of others, knowing it might cause Eleanor trouble. But at least in front of Eleanor, she refused to give that woman the title of “Miss.”b87ca4dc85bba019

“Yes, that’s right.”d8060044b7c075bc

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“Ugh! That creepy woman! She did this on purpose, I’m sure. Look at the way she dresses now—there’s no way she doesn’t know the current trends!”ab3ef0cfe9fa7025

In the end, fa1352c180 Hilda couldn’t hold 477409c6de back her frustration 4bbbf88204 and exploded in e191e80b96 anger. Eleanor averted 9f640c87f1 her eyes, bbd308311f pretending not 9ace07b33a to notice.1b418f87f9e48661

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As I suspected, even ce13f29261 my outfits were part 7a7c952588 of Nora’s long-standing scheme.9301496c03dcdf2f

It was absurd, but 11c6519f1a Eleanor couldn’t really defend c840dfab08 herself. How poor must 703275c8db her fashion sense e1db750882 be to not 7de1668444 realize this for 49ab60bd91 years? It was de7b32d517 just embarrassing.90789f019af4da4b

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“Is it that bad?”c30024901dc7a7aa

“Just… a little. A little too bad. This navy dress is the best option, though. It’s not bright enough, which is a shame, but it’s at least elegant and should suit the dinner party. If we call the sewing maid to adjust the fit, it’ll look much better.”c55a27b357acf588

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“Okay, let’s do that. You seem to know quite a bit about dresses. Did you study them?”13aab24748788bda

“No, nothing like that. I just worked for a long time in another noble house before coming here. It was the Freely Viscount family. I picked up some things just by looking.”04afc29ed9ac9c98

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Eleanor vaguely 8bdb3b2ec8 remembered hearing e267841eb4 about the 3f4904ccdd Freely Viscount c55c2db662 family. She’d heard passing 5f483b3e11 rumors that the 98c07a5a0f viscount couple, as 9952aaae00 well as their 461aa0e8a6 daughter, had quite 70355510b0 difficult personalities. There were 6f14acdccd even stories 76ac447aeb about how f663d1dcdb badly they cf6d962b70 treated their e8a92f4e63 servants.df694fdcd2fb0cfd

Perhaps that was why 847931ed47 Hilda’s face darkened slightly 3b752d8abe as she mentioned her 5b211650b1 past. But just as cc88e3b6c7 quickly, she changed 1a45952398 her tone to e5b19bd572 something more cheerful.7b2fddf65f9cd8de

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“Well then, let’s call the sewing maid right away to get the dress adjusted! Loren is very skilled. Plus, she doesn’t have much contact with that wretched woman, Nora. Oh, and I managed to get in touch on my way to the dressing room. The accessories shop, Filling Heights, said they’d send over their newest hairpieces and jewelry right away. They’re not as good as Corcos, but it’s better than nothing.”c4763b405b664073

Eleanor paid close attention 4d9c478ab2 to Hilda’s words, trying ab2dfe03c8 not to miss anything f6c4305535 in her rapid-fire speech.46a7c56d3e560e9c

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The fact that she 8d7e002e5e had immediately contacted the 6eec8cada0 jewelry shop when the cdcae5ca2e atelier fell through showed a6f0fa251a that Hilda was indeed 9cd98dd160 very capable. Not just capable, but 840f0ccdc1 extremely proactive. She acted as 4a94022217 if this were b75e2b5fd9 her own matter, 99738a129d showing enthusiasm rarely 61a98f1cab seen in other 4db74e59ac maids.b97ed1f079451dd4

“I really hope they carries Royster-style hairpieces! Of course, they probably do, but I’m worried about how much stock they have. This dress would look great with a hat that has a black satin ribbon…!”7669836e34040db9

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Her main 557f9ab049 flaw, however, e1998c8608 was that 497993e24a she always a0d84f4f10 spoke too bb0640c754 quickly and bbf0feee25 too much.3fd98978d49f64a1

 9893ffa592f3be79

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