Yvonne didn't want Annette buying her a pile of clothes.
“I only asked for a polite apology, but now you are mocking me, Your Highness.”
“This is my way of apologizing.
Since I am the Marchioness of the Scheringen and a member of the imperial family, it is difficult for me to easily bow my head in front of others and apologize.
But I don’t want to fight with Miss Yvonne anymore, so this is my solution.”
“Is this the position of someone sincerely apologizing?”
“It seems you weren't paying enough attention to what your ethics teacher was saying in etiquette class.”
Yvonne's hands shook with anger.
Annette also thought that she was a little crazy by saying this, but she couldn't stop her mouth.
“We have to fit your new clothes as well.
So there is a tailor waiting for you outside, let us go inside and take your measurements.”
“What are you saying!
Wasn’t it enough that you poured wine on me and publicly humiliated me, but you started interfering in the affairs of other noble ladies as well?”
“It seems that I have done much more for you than I thought.
Anyway, I want to give you all these clothes as compensation for my rudeness to you.”
“Her Highness the Grand Duchess!
No matter how rich you are after assuming the position of Grand Duchess, I can’t stand all this insolence from you.
What the hell is this?
Why would you visit someone else in his comfortable home and disturb him so early in the morning?”
Yvonne could not bear the situation and screamed in anger.
She was terrified to think of what kind of strange ways Annette would try to tease her this time.
“You know how to lie well.”
"Sorry?"
Yvonne's anger subsided for a moment at the unexpected words that came out of Annette's mouth.
“A comfortable home?
Honestly, this place is so uncomfortable it doesn’t even deserve to be called a home.”
(M.M.: Here the difference between the word house and the word house was used.
A house is a place where a person finds his comfort and is surrounded by people who love him.
A house is the building in which a person lives and simply refers to the walls and the ceiling.)
Annette was well aware that Yvonne was greatly hated by her relatives and subjected to abuse.
‘If I had to compare, it would be more appropriate to call that musty room in the Elysia Mental Asylum a more comfortable place than this place, at least there, I was alone, away from the hateful gazes of others.’
As proof of this, the housemaid was standing in the corner while staring at Yvonne with an annoyed expression.
Her position was never that of a maid looking at her mistress.
Only if the person who came to visit Yvonne was not the Grand Duchess, but just an ordinary friend, perhaps the maid would ask her to leave.
It was clear that the reason she was pretending to consider whether or not to serve tea now was because she knew how Annette was someone who knew how to treat people of lower status harshly than herself.
In fact, the evil Annette used to treat the people under her as if they were slaves at her feet.
Annette haughtily called the boy in charge of the dresses to confirm all the maid's expectations, and then ordered him to move the clothes to Yvonne's room.
The staff who were about to carry the dresses again were extremely exhausted.
It was not common for a customer to buy more than two items of clothing from that store.
“I can't take these clothes.”
“If you want to be ready for the social season, one dress will not be enough.
Especially as a partner of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
A lot of clothing was needed to attend the many parties beginning with the hunting festival.
From riding clothing to everyday wear that looks simple yet luxurious, to dresses created with a distinctive design and a greater desire to stand out.
The hunting festival lasts only half a day, but for the many events, the nobles constantly change their clothes and attend several gatherings throughout the day, as well as changing the colors of their hats and gloves.
“Ah!
Did His Highness the Crown Prince actually give you better clothes than these?
However, it is good to have more clothes in reserve.”
“I will not accept the clothes you brought with you with unclear intentions, and the same goes for the clothes sent to me by His Highness the Crown Prince, Her Highness the Grand Duchess-!”
“Why?”
“This...”
“The clothes sent by His Highness the Crown Prince are of such high quality that they don’t fit me, so I can’t accept them because I don’t deserve them.
That’s why I tried to buy clothes that fit my budget.
Would you say something like that?”
“……..”
Yvonne's face turned red with embarrassment.
Annette said a line that the heroine of any novel would say, but she seemed to hit the mark precisely.
“Stop thinking like that.
How can you get more love, more value, and people accept you as His Highness the Crown Prince’s partner when you can’t even buy a single set of decent clothes?”
Yvonne's mouth closed at Annette's unexpected words.
Annette spoke as if she knew about her argument with Hugo not long ago over the dress issue.
He offered to buy her a dress, but Yvonne did not accept his offer because of her pride.
His love for her, who was of a much higher status than her, was already something that made her overflowing with happiness, so she couldn't bear to receive material things from him either.
Hugo was saddened by her rejection, which eventually led to a quarrel between them.
“Do you like His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Of course.
So if you're going to tell me to give it up again...”
“But I don't like him.”
"Sorry?"
“I'm already married and I don't love him anymore.”
“Your Highness’s love for the Crown Prince was a lie to begin with.
How can you say that you love the Crown Prince to death and then marry another man overnight?”
“The one who truly loves Hugo is you, Miss Yvonne.
I have decided to love Theodore.”
“How dare you say his name like that!”
"What's wrong?
When we're alone, I call him by his name.
It's not like I'm hugging him or fawning over him."
“Why are you doing this!
Do I look pathetic enough for you to suddenly make fun of me like this?”
Annette decided to destroy Yvonne and Hugo's love, but she ended up giving them advice.
She didn't even know what happened to her when she suddenly said all that, but only strange things kept coming out of her mouth.
“Honestly, I also feel weird that I didn't come here to say that.”
Annette clenched her fists.
She really didn't mean to say all that.
She was about to spread rumors that she had bought clothes for Yvonne, from whom she had previously demanded a formal apology, and humiliate her in front of everyone in order to intensify the fight between her and Hugo.
However, Annette knew too much about Yvonne so she could not see her being insulted by her shabby clothes.
Her unfortunate story, the fact that she was mistreated by her relatives, her high self-esteem in front of her lover who was higher in status than her, and her refusal to lose her dignity and pride in front of anyone.
Yvonne was the heroine of this novel before she became Annette's enemy.
Just as Annette hoped that Theodor would become a good Emperor later, she hoped that Yvonne and Hugo would find happiness as well.
But she felt miserable about having to ruin their lives with her own hands, so she ended up saying mean things to Yvonne.
Knowing other people's circumstances was a huge burden on Annette's shoulders.
It was very uncomfortable.
Because Annette must destroy Yvonne's love and turn her future upside down in order to achieve her goal.
But interfering with another person's love was something very evil in Annette's eyes and she could not accept it easily.
Yvonne and Hugo are not married, so there would be no legal problems, but isn't there a moral responsibility?
Even though Annette was a selfish person who only looked out for her own benefit, she felt uncomfortable knowing that she had to intentionally be an evil person in Yvonne's life in order to advance her own interests.
But isn't Annette doing this to survive?
Saving someone's life is a good thing, right?
That's why she hoped that the good heroine would understand this and forgive her.
These thoughts were haunting Annette's heart and making her uncomfortable because she didn't want to ruin an innocent person's life, so she started talking nonsense without realizing it.
“To sum up, I want you to accept my gift.”
“What the hell are you saying?”
Both women felt exhausted at the same time.
“Yes, actually, I didn’t come here to say that either.”
“If you have nothing to say, please hurry up and leave.”
“……Do you love the Crown Prince so much?”
"Sorry?"
This time, Yvonne did not respond to Annette's question easily, thinking that she was making fun of her again.
But Annette's expression was very serious.
Annette's abusive words to Yvonne were countless, but this was the first time she asked about Yvonne's feelings with clear and clear eyes.
So Yvonne answered Annette's question directly and in a confident tone.
“Yes, I love him.”
“To the point where you will not surrender under any circumstances?”
“A-yeah.”
This time, there was hesitation in Yvonne's answer.
The answer was supposed to come out of her mouth immediately, without hesitation, but somehow she wasn't sure of her answer when she saw Annette's straight eyes.
Annette noticed that gap.
This should have been a love that would not waver an inch before the storms, but there was certainly hesitation in Yvonne's heart.
“If you really love him, why would you fight with him just over one piece of clothing and put your self-esteem before being with him?”
“Because I love him for himself, not for his money.
I don’t want to take anything material in exchange for my love for him.”
“Don't you think, Miss Yvonne, about his standing in comparison to you?
If you really, really love him, why do you refuse to the last to accept a few dresses that will allow you to be by his side without making disparaging comments or trying to make fun of you?”
Yvonne was speechless for a moment.
Annette touched her forehead tiredly, realizing that she was playing with Yvonne's thoughts without realizing it.
She really didn't come here for this.
“You make a lot of mistakes that may destroy the relationship between you and the person you love.”
Annette was finally ready to leave.
“Never reject the clothes that His Highness the Crown Prince sent you.
They are so beautiful that you will stand out more than me if you wear them.”
If this continued, Yvonne would have an argument with Hugo, and her pride would be hurt, so she would reject the gorgeous dress he had sent her and go to the hunting festival in her usual shabby clothes.
After others make fun of her appearance in private and Annette makes fun of her clothes in public, she will go into a deep forest and cry heartbroken, and then she will be attacked by a wild beast there, and then Hugo will appear and save her in time, and make her wear the clothes he had sent her earlier, which were the best dress in the entire empire, instead of her torn and shabby clothes.
Annette really didn't want to see such a childish development of their story.
Annette would not be able to achieve her goal this way.
“I have no idea what the hell you mean.”
Yvonne looked exhausted, but Annette kept talking until the end.
“I gave you tips to follow and clothes to wear, so I'm leaving now.”
It looked like Annette was going to leave, but when she got to the door she turned back to Yvonne again.
“What…what is it this time?”
“I know this isn't right, but I have to tell you something.”
After all, it's not just about wearing a few dresses.
Annette felt bad when she saw the pink-haired girl who couldn't understand what she was saying and acted so fiercely, so Annette decided to give Yvonne a chance at least once in order not to be against her.
But the words that came out of her mouth were far from compassionate.
“What do you think about separating from His Highness the Crown Prince?”