Chapter 92 - Tea Time With the Ladies

Lady Terence’s drawing room, where the tea tasting party was scheduled to take place, was filled with a chilly atmosphere. “It seems there’s an uninvited guest. I would like to know what’s going on, Veronica.”

“I was only following the rule of our meetings that stated whoever provides the place for the party is free to invite guests.” At Veronica’s sarcastic reply, Rose raised her voice.

“The other day I mentioned clearly that a unanimous agreement was needed. I’d like to ask you why you did this without our permission.”

Instead of Veronica’s answer, another voice interjected quietly. “If that is the case, I’m told that Lady Rose also broke the rules. Being strict on others while being merciful to yourself doesn’t look good.” With a bit of spite in her purple eyes, Rose glared at Mikhail.

‘I have no idea why he came here, but I know it wasn’t for a good reason.’ Before Rose could refute him, another voice spoke. 

“Sir Mikhail certainly has a point.”

“It doesn’t make a difference, does it? Since there are two exceptional guests,” another voice agreed. The ladies’ eyes were on Mikhail’s handsome face. Realizing what they were thinking, Rose’s face twisted up in annoyance.

‘What? They ended up falling for that man’s face! Those traitors!’ She was shaking and unable to hide her anger when the door to the drawing room opened. The arguing came to a stop as the members of the tea party were shocked by who arrived.

“Oh, I arrived on time… but it seems you all came early.” Rose couldn’t bring herself to say hello. Jubelian was dressed in a white dress that had puff sleeves instead of the normal long sleeves. She looked pure and thin like a small, fragile white bird. But what really made her shine was the man next to her. He had chilling red eyes and his black hair contrasted perfectly with her white skin. Overall, he had a handsome appearance, but his sharp and fierce aura made it difficult for one to approach him. One could say that they gave each other a complementary effect. With such a contrasting man next to her, Jubelian’s white and fragile aura became more prominent.

‘She looks like a princess of a kingdom and he looks like a handsome evil king who kidnapped her,’ Rose thought as she recalled a romance novel she read in the past. She came to her senses when she noticed she had been blankly staring at them. “Excuse my manners, Lady Floyen, but who might the person next to you be…?” she carefully asked.

Jubelian smiled at Rose’s question. “Oh, this is my boyfriend, Max.”

The ladies at the tea party became surprised and started whispering amongst themselves. “Wait a minute, a boyfriend? I thought the rumors about you having a lover were false…”

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes turned to Mikhail. His beautiful face, which was once relaxed, was now distorted in a look of irritation. ‘Was the crap that Radian talked about actually true?’ He showed a bitter smile as he clenched his fists tightly. ‘No, this is probably a trick to make me jealous.’ He looked to the man next to Jubelian. ‘He has a decent face, but judging from the way she only said his first name he must be from a lowly family or… a commoner.’

Mikhail wanted to remove the unpleasant man from her side and trample him. However, as an aristocrat, there was no reason for him to take care of a person who was of lowly status. ‘She’s just trying to provoke me with some guy from a nobody’s family… but that won’t work.’ He scowled and decided, ‘I’ll make sure your patience runs out today, Jubelian.’

* * *

I knew Max was definitely a handsome guy with all the attention he attracted. While I, on the other hand, who was wearing such simple clothing, was lucky to not look incomparable next to him. ‘Well, it can’t be helped. I chose convenience over beauty and offered him the contract.’ I resigned myself to this fact when a member of the tea party spoke to me.

“Um, Lady Floyen, about your dress…”

‘Ugh, is she going to point out that my dress is shabby?’ Since my attire was neither trendy nor fancy, I was afraid she might have thought it lowered the class of the tea party.

“You look so elegant and pretty in it!” She finished with a blush.

The lady next to her nodded in agreement. “If you don’t mind, could you tell me which dress shop you ordered it from?”

‘Huh?’ I was embarrassed by their unexpected words, then realized their true intentions. ‘Oh, are they afraid of embarrassing me for wearing inadequate clothing?’ Feeling a bit of gratitude towards them, I gladly replied, “It’s from Lily Muge’s dress shop.”

“Oh my goodness, thank you!” I was relieved by their hospitality when I noticed a familiar face.

‘Wait, how is that person…?’ I was flustered to see this person again, especially here of all places.

“I just think these dresses won’t suit you well because of your slender figure, Lady Floyen. If trends weren’t so important, you wouldn’t have to wear uncomfortable dresses that don’t even look good on you. It’s simply… a shame,” she had said.

‘The lady I saw at the dress shop… I can’t believe she’s here. What a wonderful coincidence!’