Mistaken for a Wicked Woman!

“I’m sorry I look so terrible.”

A woman with hair as white as a fresh snowfall apologized in a soothing voice.

(T/N: I liked how She seemed to like to describe everyone’s hair and hair color in a very funny way hahah. Snowball, Orange-head, seaweed! Lol)

She seemed to have calmed down somewhat, though she still had a few tears left.

“I did not know that Lady Iris had come to the capital.”

Lady Elena wiped her reddened eyes with her handkerchief.

A deep fatigue was evident in her finely wrinkled face.

It seemed that she’d been through a lot since she’d left to find the whereabouts of Young Lady Bright.

“I’m sorry again.”

“No. It’s okay .”

I waved a hand to stop Lady Elena, who was about to bow her head.

We were currently sitting inside the parlor.

The butler helped Lady Elena to her feet and sat her down on the parlor couch, then brought her a cup of hot tea.

He had a worried look on his face.

He tried rubbing her arms and legs, and when that didn’t bring her relief, he disappeared, saying he was going to get a doctor.

“I am Iris Sabrina, I apologize for the delay in greeting you.”

“I’m Elena, please feel free to call me that.”

Lady Elena looked at me with affectionate eyes. It was like when my nanny would look at me before.

“It is a pleasure to see you so grown up, Lady Iris.”

“The last time I saw you was when you were a little girl struggling to walk around…”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, my mother used to live here until she divorced the Marquis of Bright.

I don’t remember much, but when I lived at the Marquis’ mansion, I probably had Lady Elena looking after me as a nanny.

If my mother hadn’t left, I would have been raised by her, along with the young lady Bright.

Would things have been different if my mother hadn’t divorced the Marquis Bright?

If they hadn’t split up and continued to be a family…

It was a meaningless hypothesis, but just thinking about it made my heart flutter unnecessarily.

“In fact… I wanted to raise Lady Iris with my own hands too.”

Lady Elena said with her lips pursed as if she was about to say something. She then opened her mouth cautiously.

A wrinkled hand fiddled with the teacup the butler had poured for her.

“To my two lovely young ladies. I wanted to feed them with only the best things in the world, to clothe them in only the finest things, and to show them only the prettiest and most beautiful things.”

Lady Elena muttered something like a sigh. There was deep regret in her voice.

“Whenever I look at Miss Archie, I also think of Miss Iris, for you two look so much alike, and sometimes I wonder if our second miss would have grown up to be as beautiful as Miss Archie.”

Lady Elena’s words suddenly made me wonder what Young Lady Bright was like for our butler and nanny.

Would the nanny have wanted to raise Young Lady Bright with their own hands too?

Would she think of Young Lady Bright when she saw me and miss her too?

Just as I was both a member of House Sabrina and a member of House Bright, so was Young Lady Bright a member of both families.

Maybe they felt the same way as Lady Elena.

No, they must have felt the same way.

The nanny and the butler had never met Young Lady Bright, unlike Lady Elena who probably took good care of me before my parents divorce, so maybe they clung to her more like sore fingers.

“I’ve always wondered, how you were, and if you were ill anywhere.”

Lady Elena searched through my face thoughtfully.

The warmth in her eyes reflected her longing. She stroked my face, as if she were only stroking my hair.

“I thank you for growing up so well, and I apologize…. for not being able to provide for Miss Archie as I should have.”

“Lady…”

“I’m actually ashamed to see you Miss Iris.”

Lady Elena closed her eyes in grief. She barely managed to speak through a rattling throat.

“I am not worthy as a nanny, and even when I knew Lady Archie was suffering, I could not bandage her wounds and soothe her. I couldn’t comfort her properly.”

Her deeply wrinkled face was filled with deep sorrow and guilt. Her intermittent voice gradually turned into sobs.

“I should have taken more care of her… Everyone was criticizing Archie, and I can’t do anything about it…. ”

Lady Elena sobbed softly, tears were dripping down her cheeks and onto the tea in front of her, her low sobs can be heard all over the walls of the room as well.

“Huhuh.. I…. really… Nothing…… Huhuh..”

Finally, unable to hold back her emotions, the lady raised her hands to cover her tear-stained face.

Her low sobs escaped through her splayed, twitching fingers.

“Lady Elena— I know you really care about Archie, you loved her more than anyone,”

I said soothingly while gradually reaching out to the sobbing woman. Lady Elena was like a mother to Archie.

“Don’t cry.”

I soothed her and gently touched her shoulder, and as if on a cue, the sobs grew even louder.

The butler, who had hurriedly fetched a doctor, saw that Lady Elena was crying and quietly left.

Lady Elena did not stop crying for a long time. I couldn’t stop her.

Only Young Lady Bright could stop her tears.

Does she know that there is someone who misses and cares about her so much?

Who thinks of her and worries about her like this?

I continued to soothe Lady Elena until she collapsed in exhaustion and fell asleep, and then I had the butler carry her away.

When I returned to my room, refreshed, the Tailor was already waiting for me.

“Hello. I’m Amarth! The tailor assigned to make your debutante dress!”

Amarth. The Tailor who was invited by Marquis Bright for me. He was a sturdy man of middle age.

Sophie had heard that he
is one of the most sought-after Tailors in the capital these days. He started making a fuss.

“I will make you the best dress with all my heart, so that you become the center of attention at your debutante ball.”

Amarth was in high spirits, unlike me, who just absent-mindedly placated Lady Elena.

I greeted him in a groggy voice.

“Okay.”

I said. I thought of Lady Elena again and my heart grew heavy.

“Let me take your measurements first!”

The Tailor was very passionate. He was probably surprised to see my face, because it really bore a striking resemblance to the Young Lady Bright, but he showed no signs of it.

It was a far cry from the last time when the shoemaker had visited the mansion. He freaked out as if he had seen a ghost when he saw me.

“I think you’ll look good in blue, Miss Iris, or maybe turquoise..”

Amarth took the measurements and furiously scribbled something in his notebook.

In the meantime, Sophie was picking blue silks and cloth with Amarth’s apprentice.

I couldn’t help but be amused.

“Yellow is good too. I think it would look better with some golden beadings to make it look like it was sprinkled by gold dust.”

‘I thought yellow wouldn’t be bad too.’

“You don’t like yellow?”

“I think yellow dresses are usually worn by younger girls… So there’s a perception among people that it’s a child’s color. Do you like the color yellow?”

“I don’t hate it, but—”

I was afraid to answer, and the tailor’s eyes lit up like a fierce beast that had spotted its prey.

“Then shall I make you one?”

“No. You don’t have to.”

I shook my head before he could say anything more.

I told myself not to feel pressured to anything the Marquis would give me, but my breath still couldn’t help but be caught in my throat everytime I looked at the piles of fabric in my dresser and the jewelry filling my ten-tiered jewelry box.

I told them to make a few more just in case, but my real goal was to keep things as much as possible, whether it was dresses or jewelry.

It’s better to keep them and sell them in a pinch to help support our manor than to waste them.

Is it because I’ve lived so long as the heiress to a poor estate?

I’m only a debutante…

It seems like such a waste to spend this much money to pay for me.

“Do you have a favorite color or style?”

“I don’t have any.”

“Anything would be great. I’ll take it into account when designing.”

“Well, first of all, I don’t like anything too flashy, whether it’s color or style. I think a lot of decorations are cumbersome as well.”

“Aha, I heard you wanted to be a knight, so you like to be active.”

“Is that so? Anyway, I like things that are easy to move around in.”

“Yes, I see.”

Amarth took notes furiously.

He looked back and forth between me and his notebook, and then pondered for a while.

“I think we can go with a clean slate. I guess…… Hmmm, something that you can move easily on… If it’s one design….”

He muttered to himself as if weighing something up, then snapped the notebook shut.

“Then I’ll come back to you next time with a few designs to look at, let’s see…. I think I’ll be back in about three days.”

The day was over sooner than I expected, if it wasn’t for the whole measurement thing, It wouldn’t have taken longer.

Sophie, who had been brushing my slightly disheveled hair, called out urgently as she saw Amarth turning over to leave.

“Please don’t forget to stop by the butler on your way out. He’ll give you the contact details for the shoemaker and the Jeweller.”

“Very well!”

“And if you say the slightest word about Miss Iris to a newspaper reporter, the contract is off at once.”

“Don’t worry, the stakes are high, I know!”

He said, after Hearing Sophie’s warning, Amarth gave me a thumbs-up and laughed heartily.

“Credit is my job if I want to stay in this business long, I’m not going to trade my life for a bunch of pennies, so hold on to your worries.”

Amarth said in a confident tone.

True, a debutante dress can cost as much as a mansion in the suburbs. If you’re on a tight budget, a reporter might be able to get your poor ass for a few bucks, but for a Tailor in their prime, it would be more than a nosebleed allowance.

“Miss Iris.”

Amarth had gathered his things and was about to leave the room when he heard the butler’s voice at the door.

“May I come in?”

“Come in.”

The butler stepped inside after I gave him permission.

“You have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Who?”

“That’s….”

The butler hesitated for a moment, and had an awkward look on his face. He then looked towards Amarth.

“I’ll leave you to it then!”

Since he was a Tailor who was used to dealing with so many nobles, Amarth was quick on his feet.

The butler then opened his mouth after he led his apprentice out.

“Countess Olette has come to see you, young lady.”

Orange-haired? Why is she here?

Have the people in the house gone mad?

I stared at the butler in disbelief.