Chapter 8
I.
House Avery’s drawing room. Through the terrace, the clear laughter of young women spilled inside. Four friends, who had either just come of age or soon would, sat around a lavishly prepared tea table.
Diane covered her mouth as she laughed.
“Did the madam really say that? That’s so funny.”
“I’m serious, don’t ever go there.”
Violet pretended to be exaggeratedly angry. Of course, since it was someone else’s problem, she actually just found it amusing.
Having already successfully debuted in high society, their recent interests, like those of others their age, were shopping and dieting. The current topic was related to both.
A dressmaker that had recently opened in the shopping district had apparently committed a serious offense toward a young lady. They had told her they couldn’t make a dress for her unless she reduced her waist size significantly.
Diane dropped her smile and spoke in a serious tone, as if revealing a great secret.
“This is just between us, but Shirley really does need to lose some weight.”
“Right? Didn’t she nearly double in size after getting married?”
“Why? I think she looks fine even now.”
Unlike Violet, who immediately agreed, Marilyn asked with wide eyes. Diane and Violet both stared blankly at her. The two girls exchanged glances, then burst into giggles again.
“Marilyn would still think Shirley looks fine even if she got as big as a cow.”
“Exactly, Marilyn’s standards are way too generous.”
“N-No, even so, calling her a cow is too much…”
Marilyn said defensively, her cheeks turning red. The others didn’t think poorly of her for not joining in the gossip. If she were only pretending to be kind, it might have seemed irritating, but Marilyn truly had no malice at all.
She really did have the personality of a female lead. Anne nodded to herself in admiration. Then suddenly, an arrow was aimed at her, even though she had been sitting quietly.
“Anne, what do you think?”
“Huh? A, about what?”
“Shirley. Don’t you think she needs to lose some weight?”
Although only Diane had asked the question, three pairs of eyes turned toward Anne at once. Anne hesitated as her eyes darted around.
When she had last seen Shirley, she really had put on quite a bit of weight. Shirley herself seemed very stressed about it.
Honestly, Anne did think Shirley should diet to some extent. Not for any other reason, but because if she didn’t, she would continue to be torn apart by gossip like this. But at the same time, the standards of high society were undeniably too harsh.
Unable to choose either side, Anne gave a vague answer.
“I’m not really sure…”
As if she had expected that, Diane tilted her lips crookedly. Violet also snorted softly, just loud enough to be heard.
Unlike Marilyn, who in their eyes was endlessly kind and gentle, Anne always watched others’ reactions instead of expressing her own opinion, especially Marilyn’s. As the prince’s fiancée and the youngest daughter of a ducal house, arrogance would have suited her better, so it was rather strange.
Just like in the original, Anne Agnes had become friends with Diane and Violet. But their relationship was somewhat different from the original. Where it had once felt like ‘Anne Agnes and her friends’, now it was closer to ‘Marilyn and her friends’. Even then, Anne’s presence was more like an extra, a tag-along.
Even though the two were openly giving her cold looks, Anne still couldn’t bring herself to say anything unpleasant. As if bored, Diane changed the topic.
“Never mind. So when are we going to the shopping district?”
“I’m going tomorrow.”
“Want to go together, Marilyn?”
“I’m not sure yet…”
Marilyn trailed off. She was kind and beautiful, just like a female lead, but her family, the Bohr Countdom, was so poor that it could hardly be considered a high-ranking noble house. That was why, in the original story, she ended up with no friends left by her side.
Another major problem was that the reward Cinderella-like Marilyn was supposed to gain after all her hardships, the prince, was currently Anne Agnes’s fiancé. Anne couldn’t even begin to describe the guilt she felt for unintentionally stealing the male lead.
Anne spoke carefully.
“Should I go with you too?”
“Why would you?”
“Haven’t you already prepared your dress?”
Diane and Violet asked at the same time. And it made sense. There was a clear purpose for tomorrow’s outing. It was to have a new dress made for a special occasion.
And that special occasion was the coming-of-age celebration party for Anne Agnes, to be hosted by House Avery.
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