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Raymond was as sharp, and on edge as usual.
He’s been in a bad mood ever since the Emperor returned.
He’s been working all day with an annoyed expression plastered on his face.
He even refused to attend banquets, let alone socialize.
He had always been a workaholic, but never this bad.
With the Duke, who was the Emperor’s heir and second in command of the empire, in such a state, the servants at the crown prince’s palace had been walking on thin ice for several days.
Serena watched Raymond’s expression as she spoke quietly.
“Your Highness, there is a ball tomorrow evening at my family’s manor.”
Serena had already considered the Brennan’s as her family ever since she was initiated into the nobility, although technically she was never a true Brennan.
She was only an adopted daughter after all.
“And?”
Raymond’s voice was cold and as sharp as a knife.
Normally, once Serena realized that his mood was worse than usual, she would have dropped everything and left.
But she didn’t want to back down right now.
She couldn’t give up.
She had to take Raymond to the ball.
That way she could humiliate Erin even more.
‘I will make you a cake with all my heart, Lady Serena.’
The thought of that smiling face made Serena’s stomach turn.
If things had gone right, Erin would have already sunk into the capital’s river.
She had informed her family and asked them to find someone to kill her.
Once they see Erin come out on her own, they have to find a way to dispose of her, leaving no trace, with her body hidden.
If all went well, she would have disappeared without a sound, and the former Duchess would have been listed as missing and forgotten.
If a rumor about her having another lover were to spread, and she suddenly went missing, people would only think that she had run away, and would only talk about her, losing her luster.
But the plan didn’t work out quite as well as she’d hoped.
The man who was supposed to kill Erin was killed instead.
Raymond’s brother, Calix, happened to follow after Erin, caught the man, and killed him.
After that, Erin rarely goes out after sunset, and she’s pretty much stuck inside her shop, and Calix keeps coming back to visit her every time.
‘It’s because of Calix.’
Calix was difficult to deal with.
The emperor was so cheap and spunky that no one
could do anything to his beloved grandson.
Fortunately, the man they used to hire to kill Erin was an unregistered servant and no one will ever be able to find out who hired him.
Still they can’t try to kill her for the time being.
Meanwhile, Serena heard that Lady Caterina had ordered a cake from Erin’s shop.
She asked Erin to make one, and personally deliver it to her.
Ever since word had gotten out that Erin had opened a café somewhere east of the capital, the nobles had all been curious about the ex-duchess’s newly opened dessert shop.
However, the other nobles hadn’t come forward, but Lady Caterina did, being young and indiscreet as she was, she had been too curious to resist.
If Erin brought the cake herself, she’d laugh at her after she ate it, and if she didn’t, she’d say she was too timid.
Lady Caterina also sent Serena an invitation as a courtesy.
She accepted the invitation.
Serena would have ignored it.
She was the queen of the social world after all, and she didn’t have much of a relationship with younger ladies of Caterina’s age.
And because Lady Caterina was the granddaughter of the chancellor, she was also secretly looking down on Serena.
This is why she would have ignored it but this time, she had a reason to accept her invitation.
‘I wanted to see her humiliated.’
She wanted to see Erin laughed at and humiliated by a group of youngsters who were barely twenty years old.
But once again, the stars didn’t align in Serena’s favor.
Once the youngsters tasted Erin’s cake, they didn’t think anything of it, they simply said that it was delicious.
‘Stupid girls, they should have ignored it whether it tasted good or not.’
They’re too young and stupid to understand the entire situation.
So Serena stepped forward and asked Erin to make a cake for herself.
Erin smiled confidently and took the order, as if she didn’t have any reservations at all.
She even sent her a letter,
dear serena
I'm sending you a decorative cake before hand so you can put it on display on the food table. It would be nice for guests to see cake before they can eat it.
Before Serena could even ask her the specifics, she had already taken it upon herself.
‘Alright then.’
Erin had nothing special on her. Every time she sets her up, she would always walk into her trap.
Well, that’s what she always did.
She was always beaten stupid, and cried about it.
‘She’s bound to leave crying again this time.’
Serena was going to humiliate Erin once and for all at this ball.
She will never be able to show her face in front of the nobles again.
Serena wanted her to be shunned by the people of the capital and never come near the Imperial Palace ever again.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like Erin.
Serena just couldn’t stand the sight of her in public, carrying cakes and such.
If Erin kept showing up and being the talk of the town, Serena would be at a disadvantage.
So Erin had to disappear completely.
If she didn’t die and disappear, then she must at least be disgraced, and forced to leave the capital.
“Your Highness, I was hoping that you could be my partner that day.”
Raymond didn’t like the idea of going out to a social event for nothing.
It was even more annoying that Serena was bothering him about it.
“Why on earth should I go to such a ball?”
Raymond asked in annoyance, but the smile never left Serena’s fair face.
“It’s already been over a month since you’ve been out socializing with me, and at this rate, everyone is going to say that I fell out of your highness’ favor, so I thought it would be a good idea for you to attend it with me for a while. That way, people won’t get the wrong idea.”
With that, Raymond put down his papers and turned to face Serena.
Serena felt a chill run down her spine after those cold blue-gray eyes stared at her, but she didn’t look away.
When they first became a couple, Raymond had been affectionate with her.
It hadn’t been as passionate as Serena’s love for Raymond, but there was still a certain amount of romance.
However, as the nine years passed, Raymond seemed to be losing interest in Serena.
‘But he’s not going to abandon me.’
Serena was confident of that.
She knew that Raymond would never abandon her.
‘He’s a proud man.’
Serena was the mistress that Raymond had brought into the palace against his grandfather’s wishes.
If he threw her out now, he would have no reason to keep her for nine years.
It would only prove that he’s been wrong from the very beginning, since he actually went against the Emperor and persecuted his wife for a woman he was going to throw away anyway.
Raymond couldn’t admit that he was wrong.
He would rather keep Serena by his side, and swallow his pride than admit he was wrong.
And there’s also another reason…
And it was due to the fact that Serena’s family ran a large business.
Raymond had gotten his hands on it and was using it as a cash cow.
Even with the money, he couldn’t just casually abandon Serena.
“Yes. Alright. I’ll go.”
His words brought a satisfied smile to Serena’s bright face.
“Thank you. Your Highness.”
The evening streets were quiet and relaxed.
Erin watched the bustling streets outside the window of the carriage.
The carriage had just entered the busy center of the city, and passersby were staring in amazement at the sight of it.
‘It was quite a sight to behold.’
Erin was riding in a carriage that bore the coat of arms of the Archduke’s family.
The capital’s bustling streets were lined with colorful shops.
It was called Stella’s Street.
It was home to many families that lives on both sides of the river.
This colorful street was especially full of costume shops and jewelry stores.
The dresses and jewelry seen through the glass windows of the shops shine like stars day and night.
Hence the street’s name— Stella.
It symbolized the sophisticated culture and wealth of the empire.
As soon as the carriage pulls into the street, you’ll immediately see an array of shops full of gorgeous dresses.
Erin looked through the carriage’s glass windows at these fashionable shops.
She suddenly remembered their conversation in the kitchen.
When Calix said he had a favor to ask, Erin asked him without thinking,
‘A favor?’
‘Yes, but First, I want you to come with me to the city center…’
‘That’s it?’
It was an easy favor. So Erin agreed that she would go with him.
Calix was pleased and had a carriage hailed immediately.
“Do you need to buy anything?”
Erin asked nonchalantly, while looking at Calix who was sitting across from her.
“Uh, yeah. Something.”
Calix looked out the window, towards the shops on the street.
“There are a lot of dress shops here, Sister-in-law do you have a preference?”
He asked.
“Me? Uh, no. I’m not really familiar with a lot of shops.”
She had lived in the capital all her life, but she can only count on one hand the number of times she’s been here.
Erin had never ordered a dress from such a fancy place before.
When she was younger, she’d buy one from a dress shop near her home or have her mother make one for her.
Even after she entered the palace, she would just make a dress out of whatever she could find in the palace warehouse.
So Naturally, she didn’t know which dress shops were good.