The Case of the Stolen GIft (Part 4)

*One hour to the Main Event.*

"Who do we have here in that lovely light blue dress?" the host on the platform near the entrance of the red carpet commented. He was announcing the arrival of the beautiful ladies and stunning gentlemen walking with their most glamorous attire to the event of the year, the most awaited night, the Queen's birthday.

"She is the new Countess of Dulein, Bryan, I heard she is a lover of sweet pastries and a follower of Madame Lu's designs, should we ask her?" the other host commented while their voices were transmitted with a magic device to the people in the center of the Capital. It was a live stream, Anne's idea, of course.

"Countess Dulein, you look lovely, are you excited to be here?"

"Yes, of course, I prepared a lot for this day, I can't wait for the show to start."

"You look fabulous in that dress, are you confident about winning the contest?"

"I am more than confident, I am certain."

"How so?"

"Well, I know a secret that will leave everyone speechless this evening."

"Oh my, can we have a hint?"

"Mmm" she leaned her head to one side, "I can only tell you that the dress I am wearing is unique."

The host looked at her and indeed nodded, the light blue dress was a beautiful piece with unique features, not many designers were bold enough to pull off such a beautiful dress without making it overbearing. But that dress seemed to be done with an elegant aura and at the same time delicate design.

"Is this from a new collection of Madame Lu?"

"Yes, I saw this dress and I knew it was perfect for this day, don't you think?"

Then from another carriage, two lovely girls descended interrupting the little conversation. They wore a soft lilac dress and a beautiful pink dress respectively. However, the design was…

"That is…" the host couldn't help but gulp at the fierce glare of the Countess. "I guess you will have so much fun inside the event, Countess."

"Yes," she forced a smile, "of course," she turned around and went inside with eyes filled with anger.

The host only smiled not daring to describe the situation to the people of the town.

However, the evening was turning strange, the two lovely ladies had also seen the same design on the Countess's body and a frown appeared on their delicate faces.

Then from another carriage, a cute girl with golden locks stepped outside with the help of a knight, however… just a few steps she noticed the weird faces directed at her. The two cute girls daughters of the Marquis of Leat were wearing the same dress as her though, she was wearing a red one.

Another frown appeared on their beautiful forehead, however, they didn't lose style and smiled forcefully, then they went inside the venue.

However, the strange situation didn't end at that, from another carriage, a white-dressed lovely girl did the same expression to the red-dressed blonde in the front. Then another one with a green pale dress, and another one with a dark blue dress.

In total there were fifteen ladies with fifteen splendid dresses, but the only difference was the color of the fabric. They all frowned and smiled forcefully to hide the need to go back and change their dresses.

"Oh Marion, you finally got here, I have to tell you… that…" the host of the red carpet stopped talking when the next host finally arrived. However…

"What?" She was wearing a yellow dress, exactly the same design, again.

"Where… where did you get that dress?"

"Oh, this? You don't have to be that stunned," she smiled at the shocked face of her friend, "it is Madame Lu's latest design. Though the name of the collection was something strange."

"What… what was it?"

"For the Queen's momentary amusement," she laughed, "what a strange name for a dress, I don't know what it means but if it has the Queen's name mention on it, it must be good, right?"

"…"

****

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the event of the year," the host Romeo took the stage after the red carpet show ended. "I know you were eager for the event to start."

Many of the finest young noble ladies gave their full effort to dress into the most elegant attires they could get.

They knew that the competition would be fierce as they were contesting with each other in the category of 'The Best Dressed Tonight' and many other strange categories Anne could invent. Also, they won't only get votes from the other noble ladies and gentlemen but from some a selected panel of special guests.

The whole idea, of course, was from a little child, a six-year-old almost seven years girl known as the evildoer of Lith.

"Tonight, we are celebrating the most exceptional woman in this continent, yes, I know you know who is she, our beautiful Queen Elisa."

The crowd erupted in excitement.

"However, today is also special in many other ways, this time many contests will take place and the ones who win.... will be given special recognition from the Queen and an unforgivable prize. Yes, you heard me right, unforgivable, as many of you will never pardon the one who will win... poor winner, well, make someone jealous is another form of a prize, right?"

At first, nobody found attractive the little contests, however, when the announcement of one special guest being the judge and when the name of such judge came to the ears of the noble ladies, they didn't flinch to the line in the registration module outside the castle.

The flame of their competitiveness came in the name of the smart and handsome wizard beside Wizard Druon, assistant Vincent. He was the one to judge them and assess them with careful consideration. The thought of being on his line of sight for a single second was fuel for their hearts.

However, strangely, the mysterious and dangerous red-eyed knight on the judge's seats was also a captivating incentive.

From the moment Callum had started to work for Anne and taken care of Moira, his cold and indifferent features changed completely on the eyes of the many ladies in the Castle. Why didn't they see before the gentleness in his eyes or the caring and elegant manners of his behavior? He was such a great catch, with the favor, not only of the Prime Minister but also the now most power house in the Kingdom, the outstanding Princess Anne Du Lith.

"We thank all of your support, ladies and gentlemen, for daring to get into the competition, every single contribution of yours will be used for good purposes and for the country."

The crowd again cheered up.

"But it was not our King's idea," the host said, "but our Princess Anne idea."

Again the crowd was applauding even more.

"And with that, please let us welcome our beautiful Princess, a round of applause please."