How To Get My Husband On My Side

Chapter 7

After visiting the Temple, I met the duke's exclusive tailor that Ellenia had called, spent four days fitting new clothes, writing letters to my family in Romagna, and preparing for the banquet.

I didn't see Izek again ever since that day. According to Ellenia, summer was surprisingly the busiest season for Paladins, since they would have to prepare for the arrival of winter.

Anyway, that was how my first Elendaleian social event arrived.

The jade silk dress I wore for the banquet was the plainest dress I had ever worn. My cream-colored leather shoes were studded with only pearls and I had put on ordinary summer gloves. My long hair was braided downwards, without any accessories attached and the only jewelry I wore were aquamarine earrings.

My modest attire was quite unexpected, and the bold-faced maids looked a little suspicious of me, but they asked no questions.

"Ruby."

I'm grateful for having such an ice goddess-like face call me by my nickname.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, dressed in a red dress with long sleeves, Ellenia looked like a goddess from fairytales herself. Phew, I can't believe she almost married Enzo.

But, the person next to her...

"Ruby, I would like you to meet one of my oldest friends. This is Freya van Furiana."

"Good evening, Lady Rudbeckia. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A beaming smile that revealed her perfect white teeth. Such a sparkling grin could only belong to a person who had lived her life surrounded with nothing but love. She exuded beauty and an aura that naturally attracted people's attention, regardless of gender and age.

Her almond-shaped eyes were violet in color. The dress she donned, wrapped around her long, slender body, fit her like a glove, and her blond hair hanging around her face looked lustrous. It wasn't dark blonde, flaxen-colored, like mine, but paler, a cold platinum.

She was that childhood friend.

Why is everyone so pretty?

My whole life I've been surrounded by beautiful people, and even though I had this new body now, I still felt inadequate compared to the ones in this world.

And, of course, a childhood friend would be treated much differently than a lowly bride from a foreign country. I could tell by glancing at the maids. They were looking at Freya in a way in which they never looked at me.

Tch.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Lady Furiana," I said shyly, and Freya's eyes turned wide for a moment before she turned back to Ellenia, her face still housing that beautiful smile.

"Ellen, you didn't tell me the Lady was such a lovely person!"

"You might have thought I said something strange," she replied coolly. She still had a perfect poker face on.

But the way Freya looked at me while tapping her fan was odd. Was something wrong with my clothes?

"I ask for your understanding in advance as my brother's arrival might be delayed. It happens often, but..."

Aha, so that was what you've been so troubled about since this morning.

I wasn't expecting him to come anyway. But I still hoped that he would at least show up, even if he was late.

I have to start working on my image, after all. That was my fate.

***

A carriage bearing the colorful Omerta insignia ran through the walled inner city of Elendale.