My Villain Husband

“Madam, you’ve been living a frugal life, so you don’t have many accessories. And most of them are old and outdated, so they should be replaced to match your prestigious position. I dare to say such a thing, but I beg you, madam, the mistress of the grand duchy.”

“Alright. Go ahead and ask for an additional order other than what you ordered.”

“Thank you.”

Meanwhile, the deal between Lucius and Jane had already been done. Jane’s face, as she bowed deeply and stood up, was full of happiness as if saying ‘It’s all done!’ As the embarrassed Tiana stared back and forth at the two of them, they looked similar as they smiled happily, looking at her.

Wait, why is Jane so aggressive today? And what about the candidates that were picked earlier? And you, Lucius, don’t smile so proudly like that.

Now that Tiana tried to stop them, she couldn’t even talk about it because she thought not only them two but also the more excited maids or Warren and the butlers who were looking at her happily would oppose it.

All she could do was smile at the situation she had no control over.

*

The next day, Tiana began receiving the gifts she had heard about the day before. After seeing the pile of boxes on the table for a second time, she let out a short sigh. There were presents, and Lucius had bought them with his own money, not spending a dime of the internal budget.

She was grateful that he cared about her, but somehow she felt like he would often do this in the future, which made her a little confused. She didn’t know if it was right or not to possess this much as the mistress of the grand duchy, but it was hard for her to adapt as a normal citizen in modern times.

How much did it all cost? She couldn’t even begin to imagine how many zeros there were. She erased the thought from her mind for now.

There were additional orders, but first things first, the tea party preparations were tight, so she decided to choose from the ones that came today. Having seen the maids choose new accessories according to the dress they had chosen, she laughed at their diligence that was more prevalent than yesterday.

“Lady Jane, there are three potential necklaces!”

“It’s a dress that reveals the chest, so it shouldn’t look empty. Let’s go with the second necklace.”

“Lady Jane, these two earrings are the final candidates.”

“We’d better match the jewels on the necklace.”

“How about this bracelet, Lady Jane?”

“This ring…”

“This hairpin…”

The voices calling Jane echoed among the maids. Even amid the chaotic situation, Jane quickly organized and decided. Tiana tried on a dress with the accessories that were finally chosen.

When Tiana stood in the mirror after Inabel, the hairstylist, put the final touches on her hair, Tiana could see the perfect.

“You look stunning…”

“The dress, the jewelry, everything is perfect.”

“You will be the most beautiful lady at the party tomorrow.”

Jane, along with the thrilled maids, nodded proudly as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Tiana looked at them with a big smile as she felt good in the bright yellow dress that looked better than she’d expected.

“Thank you, You all did a great job. Now I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

She might as well enjoy the attention since she’d come this far. Tiana felt like she now had the confidence to attract everyone’s cheers and attention.

*

The day of the tea party. The time was two o’clock, but Tiana left the mansion a little early, heading to the imperial palace. Since she was going to the empress’s palace, there were lots of servants who’d come out to greet her.

“Welcome, grand duchess. Her Royal Highness is waiting.”

While following Alexandra’s maids and looking around, she could see that it was decorated with a different atmosphere from the last time. She arrived at Alexandra’s room after passing by the busy servants who all seemed to be in the middle of preparation.

Walking through the opened door, Alexandra was seen sitting on the sofa, waiting as if she had finished preparing. Holding a piece of paper in her hand, Alexandra greeted her with a smile at the sound of her coming.

“Tiana, you’re here! You look really beautiful today. And you’re wearing the dress I made! I guess you liked my design. It fits you well.”

“Thank you, Alexandra. Actually, my maids chose it for me. The same for my accessories. I was surprised at how hard they worked.”

“They wouldn’t have it any other way. There hasn’t been a mistress in the grand duchy, so there wasn’t much for them to do. Lucius is a man, so it wasn’t easy for them to dress him up. He doesn’t get dressed up often. But isn’t it exciting that you are here and they now have a stage to show off their skills?”

“Oh… Yeah, I guess so.”

“Even more, today is your first day back in society. It is the servant’s job to show that you are the most beautiful mistress. A high appraisal of you is also an appraisal of them,” said Alexandra.

“That seems right. I should do well today to repay them.”

“You’ll do fine, Tiana. Don’t worry about a thing. I’m sure everyone wants to look good to you today.”

“Huh? Is that so?” Tiana asked.

“Of course. Let’s watch.”

Alexandra’s relaxing voice was good to hear. Wherever it was that she got it from, Tiana wanted her to share that confidence. But still, just being with her was relaxing in itself. Tiana looked away for a moment, then asked as she noticed the paper in her hand,

“What is that paper?”

“Oh, it’s the full guest list of those attending the party. Thankfully everyone who was invited will attend.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes. Viscountess Garnett said she was attending, so you can meet her today.”

“Thank goodness. I can’t wait.” Tiana wondered what she’d be like when she saw her in person. This had to be the perfect meeting. She then noticed a familiar name as she snuck a glance at the guest list while she was trying to calm her anticipation.

“Huh…?”