First Move

"I knew you would come." Lucille grinned at a figure who stood in front of her. They had wrapped themselves in a brown wool coat so that no one would see them entering Lucille's bedroom in the dead of night.

"Lady Lucille." The hood was slowly lowered to reveal a plain-looking face. Nora stood in the room stiffly, afraid that someone would come in and catch her in the act of betraying her master.

"I didn't expect that it would only take a day for you to agree. It seems like you aren't that loyal to Sister, right?" Lucille's voice had a bit of a mocking tone in it.

She slowly got up from her bed and put on her slippers by herself. She had been preparing to go to sleep when Eva announced that a maid was looking for her. She immediately knew that Nora had come.

"I realized that I wasn't going anywhere if I continued to serve Lady Kalina, as you said." Nora stayed standing in the same place.

"It's good that you realized it early and came to the right side." Lucille smiled even more brightly in the dark room. "Come, sit down and let's talk. Quickly. I'm tired."

"I don't dare sit down with Lady Lucille."

"What, you want to kneel on the floor instead? Go right ahead. It doesn't matter what you do, I'm just a prostitute's daughter. You don't have to respect me like you respect Sister."

Nora felt that Lucille and Kalina's ways of speaking were quite similar. They were both eloquent, but Kalina spoke elegantly and always implied her feelings, never stated them bluntly. Lucille was more straightforward and brutal with her words. Both were threatening in their own ways.

Nora silently sat down on the sofa. Her back was rigid and she was barely balancing on the edge of the cushion.

Lucille leaned back and crossed her arms, yawning a bit. "Nora, the things I'm planning are going to require you to risk yourself for me. If you don't want to do it, you can back out right now and I'll find someone else to fill your place."

"I agree. I don't mind doing anything."

It was truly unfortunate that Nora was destined to be a pawn played in the hands of someone no matter whose side she took. Lucille saw her as nothing more than a puppet she was using to achieve her goals.

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"Lucille, I heard that Marquess Weiss is hosting a garden party for girls our age. Neither of us have interacted with the girls of the capital before. It's going to be held next week. You should begin preparing." Kalina approached Lucille after they ate their breakfast a few days later.

"Thanks for telling me, Sister. I'm not familiar with the boutiques around here. Would Sister like to go check them out together?" Lucille took Kalina's arm, as she usually did whenever she saw her.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Mother already arranged for her favorite dressmaker to come make me new dresses today. I'm afraid that you'll have to go alone. Unless you want me to accompany you? I won't be buying anything though."

"It's okay. Then, I'll stop bothering Sister with trivial matters." Lucille sneered, forcefully releasing Kalina's arm and stomping off.

'It seems like she's stopped trying to get on my good side since I've been giving her the cold shoulder.' Kalina thought while silently watching Lucille's retreating back.

When Lucille was out of sight, she turned to Nora and Olivia who were standing nearby. With a bright smile on her face, she said: "It seems like Lucille's developed a bit of a temper. I hope she hasn't forgotten the etiquette Baroness Minson taught her."

Olivia snickered. "She's just jealous of Lady Kalina."

Kalina only sighed in response and didn't deny it. "I only want the best for her," she said as her eyes slowly moved towards Nora. "If she continues on this path, then her life will be difficult in the future. It'd be best if she found someone good to get engaged with quickly so she can settle down."

Of course, as soon as Kalina went to her appointment with the dressmaker, Nora went rushing over to Lucille's room to report everything she had heard.

It goes without saying that she twisted Kalina's words just a little bit to get on Lucille's good side. Her goodwill turned into maliciousness and her concern turned into disregard. Finally, admiration became hatred and jealousy.

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"Lady Kalina, why did you decide to dress so simply today? The Weisses are a very influential family. What if they're offended by your dress?" Olivia asked while crouching down and smoothing out the creases of Kalina's soft skirt.

Nobles had a great amount of pride. The biggest families showed off their power and money by hosting extravagant soirées and parties whenever they could while he less prominent families or newer nobility would always try and rub elbows with the high nobles in hopes that they could connect their families with marriage or business.

Marquess Weiss was no exception. He held lavish dinner parties every other weekend with dancing, drinks and a feast. As the head of the aristocratic faction, most nobles stood behind him and his family, which were second in power only to the Ephraims, which were the only ducal family of the Empire.

"Marquess Weiss's people are extravagant to the extreme. If I dress up too much and overshadow them at their own home, then they'll be upset. Even my family cannot afford having a bad relationship with them. Thus, I must dress simply but not too simply so that they will think that I'm not taking them seriously. A few precious accessories will suffice in this case." Kalina answered as she rubbed the diamond ring on her finger.

Others couldn't see the brilliant yellow color, but it was nonetheless a large and exquisite diamond. Plus, she would likely have begin to put it to use during the gathering.

"Lady Kalina is so smart!" Olivia exclaimed. Her face was full of reverence. "You even put so much thought into an outfit."

"Don't joke around." Kalina exclaimed. She actually wasn't that intelligent. She was relying on the memories from the past to correct the mistakes that she had made. Could she really be called clever from this?

"Lady Kalina, Lady Lucille said that she's ready to leave now." Nora entered in the room.

'They've been meeting together often while thinking that I don't notice what they're doing behind my back. Since they're spending so much effort, I'll be polite and act like I don't notice for now.'

"Okay. Tell her I'll be right there." Kalina turned back to the tall mirror and checked her appearance. She fixed a few strands of hair that were out of place and practiced her gentle smile.

Although she wasn't fond of social gatherings, she had a feeling that this party was going to be an interesting one.