Looking at the young girl in front of her, Eluse quickly stood up. Although she was still worrying about Eliana, she could not abandon basic etiquette.
“Today’s dress suits you very well.”
“Th-thank you both.”
As she mentioned the dress, Eluse gave a forced smile and a word of thanks, but a hint of embarrassment surfaced on her face.
‘They couldn’t have noticed something, could they?’ After all, she had taken it upon herself to… the dress…
“Your jewelry selection is also excellent.”
“Yes, lately the ladies of the Royal City seem to think that the more jewelry they wear, the better. Actually, rather than displaying gems and one’s financial power, choosing to showcase yourself like this is quite a good choice.”
“Ah… th-thank you.”
The feeling of embarrassment grew stronger, to the point where Eluse involuntarily avoided the gazes of the two women. It was true; the jewelry and gems on her dress were indeed far fewer than those on the other ladies. Even some ladies whose status and wealth were inferior to hers had much more luxurious decorations on their dresses.
However, when she first set out, Eluse’s dress had been just like theirs. It was just that during the journey, the girl had privately removed most of the jewelry herself.
Lady Vanessa had always disregarded her, and a demon lived within the Duke’s mansion. There was no telling if there were demonic spies around, so she had to save up as much of her own private money as possible.
Therefore, she had set her sights on these pieces of jewelry. Although doing so might damage the reputation of the Duke’s mansion, Eluse clearly did not care.
‘I’m about to die anyway, so why do I need my reputation? Staying alive comes first. Surviving Eliana’s hands is the most important thing.’
But she hadn’t expected to be praised for doing this. It was truly strange.
Their praise improved the girl’s gloomy mood quite a bit. This way, she wouldn’t be lectured by Lady Vanessa when she returned.
However, a displeased voice suddenly came from the side.
“Oh my heavens, Miss Lexio, are you mocking me?”
Eluse followed the sound. Not far away, a girl covered her mouth with a fan and was looking this way. The dress she wore was covered in jewelry; to Eluse, she looked like a walking diamond.
“Guess for yourself, Miss Chris.”
The two girls who had just greeted her snapped back without any politeness.
‘Is the war starting already?’ No wonder she had always heard that the ladies’ tea parties were battlefields for women. At this thought, Eluse retreated a few small steps, fearing she might be caught in the crossfire.
‘The two girls probably praised me just to pull me into their camp…’
Sigh… she should just think about her own affairs.
Eluse gracefully picked up her teacup and sat to the side, completely ignoring the war nearby.
Just as the two women were arguing incessantly, Eluse rubbed her aching temples and stood up, looking ready to leave.
As she stood, she naturally attracted the attention of others.
“Is the lady preparing to leave? Would you like to sit a while longer?” a girl nearby asked curiously.
Attending a lady’s tea party and leaving early was clearly not a polite move, nor was it respectful to the host who held the party. But Eluse did not care about any of that.
For her, surviving the demon’s hands was the most important priority.
As for the gazes of others—could they serve as a meal, or could they save her life?
“It is nothing, I—”
Eluse was just about to leave gracefully when the content of the two ladies’ argument suddenly caught her attention.
“Do you believe I have connections with the Dark House? With just one letter, I could commission them to finish you off!”
“You think I don’t have connections? Hmph, who’s afraid of whom!”
‘Dark House? What is that place?’ A look of interest appeared on Eluse’s face.
It sounded as if one could commission the elimination of others. In other words, could she also commission them to kill Eliana?
‘She is only a maid now. As long as she dies silently, no one will care!’
She sat back down, picked up a cup of black tea to taste slowly, and pretended to listen casually, hoping to capture more information about the Dark House.
“Hmph, ridiculous.” Miss Chris let out a cold snort, the gaze behind her fan filled with contempt. “Do you think just anyone can contact the Dark House? Without a specific recommender and enough sincerity, you can’t even find their door.”
“How do you know I don’t have one?” Another companion beside Miss Lexio, a girl with curly brown hair, raised her chin. “My cousin has a way. As for sincerity… as long as the price is right, they can do anything.”
Seeing the topic become increasingly dangerous, the host of the tea party, an older Viscountess, cleared her throat at the right moment and gracefully interrupted the conversation.
“Everyone, how is the black tea? I specifically had it brought in from the South.”
The atmosphere was forcibly shifted, and the discussion about the Dark House came to an abrupt halt. The ladies regained their reserved smiles and began to comment on the taste of the tea and the snacks.
Eluse knew she wouldn’t hear anything more if she stayed, so she bowed slightly and used the etiquette she had only recently learned to take her leave from the host.
“Thank you for your hospitality; the tea and snacks today were very delicious. I still have some matters to attend to, so please allow me to leave first.”
Although the host was somewhat surprised and displeased, she did not try to keep her too long, only nodding with reserve.
Stepping out of the tea party garden and into the carriage back to the Duke’s mansion, Eluse leaned against the soft backrest and fell into deep thought.
‘Dark House… it sounds like an underground intelligence or assassination organization. If it truly exists, perhaps at some point in the future, it could become a way out for me, or at least a channel for information.’
She looked down at her much simpler dress and felt the bag of jewelry hidden in her sleeve pocket. In any case, she would keep these for now and exchange them for money later.
The girl sighed. She did not have the business talent of a protagonist in a comic; this was the fastest way for her to get money.
Survive. Save money. Find a way to deal with Eliana, or at least find a way to escape.
Eluse gripped the necklace around her neck; the cold touch cleared her chaotic thoughts a bit.
The carriage drove through the tall iron gates of the Duke’s mansion, and that familiar, suffocating pressure descended once again.
She took a deep breath, preparing herself to face Eliana once more.
Just as she held up her skirt to step down from the carriage, a tall and familiar figure was leaning in the shadows of the front hall corridor, seemingly having waited for a long time.
Eliana wore a sharply tailored maid outfit with her hands crossed in front of her. A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth, and her pale gold eyes were locked onto the girl who had just returned in the dim light.
‘This feeling again…’ Eluse took a deep breath and looked back at Eliana.
Wait… The girl was slightly shocked, because that thick, black malice had appeared on Eliana’s body once again!
Just as Eluse felt strange, her gaze caught something hidden in the maid’s sleeve.
Looking closely, it was actually a Table Knife!