The Prince’s Taste - Chapter 7.5

“Make sure she looks perfect.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“And… after the Founding Festival ends…”

“Yes.”

The maid waited for Judy’s next instruction, but she swallowed the rest of her words. She’d nearly told her to begin packing her things, in case she needed to leave the capital after the festival.

“Never mind.”

She dismissed the maid, then closed her eyes and deeply inhaled the scent of the garden’s flowers.

Would tonight’s ball be her last appearance at the Adrian Founding Festival? If things went the way of the original story, Richard and Ella would end up engaged. She didn’t know if she could bear watching that unfold.

If it came to that, she would leave Adrian immediately. Whether or not she’d be able to forget him—well, it is said that time is medicine. Maybe someday, she’d forget. But these past few days with Richard had changed her completely. The thought that he might leave her brought a sharp ache to her chest. It felt like her heart might split in two, and tears welled in her eyes. But she didn’t cry. Instead, she prayed with all her heart:

*Please, let me be the heroine of this world, not Ella.*

A maid soon returned to report that Ella was ready. When Judy Esther saw Ella descending the staircase, she was momentarily stunned. Blonde hair, blue eyes. She was beautiful, like an otherworldly heroine.

Judy Esther glanced at her own pink hair. As a supporting character, what was pink anyway? So tacky. Could’ve been silver, or even purple.

“Ella, you’re attending the Founding Festival ball with me. But of course, we’ll be taking separate carriages.”

Judy Esther opened her mouth with difficulty and began explaining a few rules to Ella.

If the story went as it originally did, Richard would fall for Ella and ask her to dance. She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.

But if the story didn’t follow its script… then maybe she would be the one to receive Richard’s proposal.

Will you be asked to dance, or will I be proposed to?

It was….

“Gentlemen…. will likely ask you to dance.”

If goddesses existed, surely they were modeled after Ella. With the gaslight behind her casting a glow like a halo, she looked ethereal. No wonder Richard would fall for her at first sight.

“Lady Judy Esther, I… I don’t know how to dance.”

Ella’s voice dropped weakly. In the fairy tale, she danced thanks to the enchanted glass slippers. But the shoes Ella wore now were just plain leather ones—not magical at all.

“They’ll lead. You won’t have to worry.”

“I see…”

Icy, blue eyes looked up at her beneath golden lashes.

She really is beautiful, so much so that anyone who looked would fall for her instantly.

“After the ball, you may use my carriage to return home.”

If you ever need to go home, that is.

“Excuse me?”

Ella’s gaze flickered with uncertainty.

“I was thinking of returning to the Marquisate to give back the gown and jewelry you lent me and ……”

Ella stopped mid-sentence, then reached out and clasped Judy Esther’s hands in hers. The warmth of her palms settled over Judy’s cold fingers.

“What do you want to say?”

“I… I don’t want to go home.”

Judy thought she understood. It was probably because of her stepmother and stepsisters.

They wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her at the ball, but once Ella returned home, she’d be at their mercy.

In the fairy tale, they didn’t recognize her at all. But in this reality, they absolutely would. If Judy Esther, a stranger, could recognize her instantly, surely her own family would too. So rather than basking in the joy of attending the Founding Festival ball, she was already dreading the backlash that awaited her afterward.

“You can stay at my house.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Richard will come looking for you holding the shoe you left behind. You’ll become the crown princess. And your stepmother and those stepsisters who tormented you will be punished for mistreating you.

At her words, the maids nearby frowned. To them, it probably looked like Ella was taking advantage of Judy Esther. But the truth was—it was Judy Esther who was trying to use Ella.

Because she couldn’t let go, not until the very end.

Richard would dispatch people across the country to find Ella. Eventually, he’d realize she had been hiding Ella all along. How would he react then? Would he feel a shred of guilt toward her?

“But when the bell rings at midnight, you absolutely must have left the palace.”

“Why?”

Because that’s the rule. And you’ll need to leave a shoe behind on the ballroom steps. The thought alone made Judy Esther let out a quiet, bitter laugh. She couldn’t bring herself to say that out loud. Well, she’ll figure it out.

“My house rules are a bit strict. You have to be in by midnight, no exceptions.”

“Oh, so I’d need to leave early to return to the Marquisate?”

“That’s right.”

This was something unexpected for Judy Esther to say, considering she’d only just returned home after a weeklong escapade. The maids looked at her like she’d grown a second head, mouths slightly open and eyes wide with disbelief. Judy Esther shot them a glare and they quickly masked their expressions and nodded. They, too, must have suffered in her week-long absence.