Lady Cinderella - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Lady Cinderella, Chapter 22

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Mary was kept busy from morning, checking over the luggage. Unlike other dressmaking shops, Rose Gold built its trade around custom orders from regular clients, so the chances to display several gowns at once were rare. As if they had known as much, the Grand Duke’s Residence had sent carts ahead of time, along with servants to carry the dresses.
‘What considerate people.’
Mary had been slow to hear the gossip. All she knew was that the Duke had secretly brought his fiancée over, and the Capital had been thrown into an uproar. She had even come up with a reasonable guess of her own: a man who loved someone that dearly would go to such lengths over a gown. The Grand Duke’s servants did all the heavy lifting, so Mary was led to the Side Residence with only two other staff members. She hung the gowns neatly on the racks and waited eagerly for the Duke’s fiancée to arrive.
“Lady Elleidis is now arriving.”
“I am Mary Rose Gold. It is an honor to meet you.”
She bowed deeply, bending at the knee and waist, and when she lifted her head, the Lady was hiding her face behind an ornate mask. Given how much people talked, it made sense that she would want to conceal her identity. Mary kept her expression perfectly composed and presented the gown she was most confident in among those she had brought.
“This is the most beautiful gown our shop can show you.”
Without a word, the Lady pointed at the embroidery at the center of the dress. Mary smiled with confidence; of course that was the piece that caught the eye.
“I see this is the part you like best.”
As if trying to disguise her voice, the Lady merely nodded in silence. Now that someone who could recognize real worth had appeared, Mary longed for Ella more than ever.
‘This distinguished lady finds your embroidery to her liking, Ella. Where on earth are you?’
If the Duke’s fiancée truly admired Ella’s embroidery, Mary intended to ask her to help track Ella down so a new gown could be commissioned. To that end, Mary deliberately began praising Ella’s work, stretching the truth a little.
“This is embroidery that a skilled artisan from our shop painstakingly stitched, one thread at a time. It’s a treasure that even most noble families could never easily obtain.”
In Mary’s view, it was her most ambitious piece, combining the finest fabric with Ella’s embroidery. When the Lady nodded, Mary’s group was asked to step outside briefly so the Lady could try the gown on.
‘Somehow she looks familiar…’
Her height and figure, somehow, struck a chord. Moreover, the hair she had glimpsed beneath the mask looked very much like Ella’s silver hair. Because she missed her so badly, Mary told herself she must be seeing things, and she nibbled away at the snacks the Residence had provided.
“Aren’t you nervous?”
“Why?”
While the staff, who had never imagined setting foot in the famed Wellington Grand Duke’s Residence, were frightened half to death, Mary, once a viscountess, remained utterly carefree.
“Anyway, that’s a relief. It seems the Grand Duke’s fiancée likes Ella’s embroidery.”
“Of course. Ella is my treasure.”
“Still no word from her, then?”
Mary was always bright and optimistic, but the moment Ella came up, her face fell. Though they had known each other only a short while, the girl had won her heart so completely that Mary let out a deep sigh.
“I just hope she’s safe. Now that the Lloyd Count family has stopped watching her so openly, I wish she would simply come back.”
Running her hand over the gowns hanging on the rack, Mary openly showed her wistfulness. If Ella’s embroidery were stitched onto these, even these gowns would shine all the brighter.
“Who is this Ella person?”
While the Lady changed clothes, Olga asked casually. Half hoping for something, Mary carefully broached the subject.
“She’s a precious embroidery artisan at our shop, but I’m afraid she’s gotten caught up in some sort of trouble.”
“It sounds like you cared for her a great deal.”
“Yes. She’s truly gifted. I’d like to help her, since she seems to have no one to rely on, but I’m in no position to step in openly, so I can only fret over it.”
A viscountess who had lost her husband could hardly hope to win against Count Lloyd. Listening through the door to Mary’s sincere worry, Ella forced back the tears welling up inside her.
‘I won’t cry.’
It was a blessing to have such a precious friend. Ella swallowed her tears and smoothed the embroidery Mary had praised. Mary had gasped in admiration more than once at the openwork lace Ella had made, stitched through the whole night, calling it a gift from God.
At Ella’s gesture, a maid signaled Olga. Now that Mary’s sincerity had been confirmed, Olga led the waiting Mary into the room.
“It seems you’ve finished dressing. Shall we go in?”
Tailored precisely to her measurements, the gown flattered the curve of the Lady’s back as she turned away. Mint-green jacket paired with delicate pink lace evoked the brightness of spring, and the dress accentuated her slender waist, bringing out her femininity all the more.
As Mary double-checked the shape of the gown, she removed her mask and turned around, and Mary’s breath caught in her throat. Ella, whom she had searched for so desperately, stood there in the dress Mary had made, smiling brightly.
“Ella?”
“I missed you, Mary.”
“Ella, wait a moment. Lady Elleidis?”
Flustered and at a loss, Mary was caught off guard, and Olga stepped in to mediate. Unable to think of a suitable excuse, she invoked the Duke, who was not present. As the situation was explained, Ella gripped Mary’s hand tightly.
Faced with a client as enormous as the Wellington Grand Duke, Mary had still praised Ella’s embroidery as her ambitious piece, valuing it even above her own gown. Unlike the stepmother and stepsisters, who had done nothing but speak ill of Ella whenever she was absent, Mary had kept her friendship and her word, even with a large contract on the line.
―Listen to how your friend speaks of you when you’re not there. A true friend will never betray your trust.
This matter had been proposed by Calaile himself, meant to comfort Ella’s heart, which had been wounded by her stepmother’s doings. There had been a worry that Mary might not recognize her, but it proved unfounded. Mary was too busy checking after Ella, asking whether she had been well all this time.
“You’ve put on some weight in your face. That’s good. Or should I say, ‘I’m glad’ now?”
“Please keep speaking to me just like you always have, Mary. I don’t want any walls between us.”
Holding Ella’s hand firmly, just like a mother would, Mary first checked whether she had been hurt anywhere. Just as Ella knew Mary, Mary knew Ella too, so she resolved to treat Ella exactly as before so that Ella would not feel slighted.
“So you really are the Duke’s fiancée? That was really you?”
“It just sort of happened that way.”
The two of them, reunited after so long, had far too much to talk about. Not everything could be told, but Ella gave a rough account of the many twists and turns she had endured.
“So what you’re saying is, Ella, that you were actually a count’s daughter, but your stepmother tormented you and had you treated like a maid?”
“Yes. And the one who rescued me was His Grace the Wellington Grand Duke.”
“Then, surely he’s the one who bought your handkerchief too?”
Ella only nodded silently. A man had come asking for whatever the young lady who had just left had made, and I’d sold it to him without a second thought, assuming he was someone who fancied Ella. I never dreamed it would tie into all of this.
“Well, aren’t you something. What am I supposed to do now, with my most talented Master Embroiderer snatched away by the Grand Duke? Where on earth would I find another like you?”
“What do you mean, Mary? I plan to keep working, you know.”
At Ella’s bombshell, both Mary and Olga’s eyes went wide. Calaile, who had slipped in to look in on the cheerful atmosphere after hearing his close friend had arrived, caught every word.
“But if you become Grand Duchess, you’ll be terribly busy, won’t you?”
Even apart from that, it was hard to imagine the future Grand Duchess looking for work of her own, but Ella’s resolve was firm.
“No one knows what the future holds. Whatever his intentions may be, I want to keep working just as I am now.”
Her engagement to the Grand Duke was, after all, only for a limited time, so Ella needed somewhere to return once this happy moment had passed. Her family would only be a burden to her, so it was far better to build her career under Mary and walk the true path of a Master Embroiderer.
“But…”
“There’s nothing wrong with doing it as a hobby. I won’t object to it.”
“Your Grace?”
At the Grand Duke’s arrival, everyone except Ella dropped to their knees in greeting. Ella knew she was supposed to fulfill her duties as the Grand Duke’s fiancée, and she wondered whether she had been too blunt in speaking her mind, yet she did not look away from Calaile’s eyes.
“Did you embroider this yourself?”
“Yes. Embroidery for a dress is usually attached in this manner.”
“May I touch it?”
Densely stitched across the fullness of the bodice, the embroidery bloomed with lavish flowers against the pink fabric. Calaile asked for permission with great courtesy and touched the embroidery gently. He was simply amazed at how those small hands could create something like this.
Each fine pattern was built from countless precise stitches, gathering into an intricate and splendid design. He couldn’t bring himself to let go, and kept running his fingers over the surface, when he noticed that everyone around them had quietly looked away.
“Um, Cal?”
“Hm?”
“Are you planning to keep touching it like that?”
The design was so beautiful that he hadn’t been able to take his hand away. When he finally looked up, Ella’s face had flushed a deep red, and she was clearly flustered. It wasn’t as though he’d had any improper intentions. Only then did Calaile realize where his hand had been resting, and he jerked back in a panic, hiding it behind him.
“Ah, sorry. The embroidery is just so lovely.”
“Your Grace, really now.”
The married women, who knew all too well how things stood, burst into giggles, and the faces of the two of them burned hot. In the awkward air that lingered, Calaile, since things had already come to this, boldly drew Ella’s shoulders into an embrace.
“I hear you are a dear friend of Ella’s. Your dress is truly lovely.”
“She is a dear friend to me as well, Your Grace.”
Mary was courteous without being servile. She was a woman of such poise and spirit that Ella’s eagerness to see her made perfect sense. Still, most people would try their hardest to make a good impression before someone of the Grand Duke’s rank, yet she showed not the slightest flattery or nervousness.
Ella had been worried, since there were so few good people around her, but Mary did not strike her as someone who would do harm. If anything, she seemed the kind who would help.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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