🦋M.o.m.m.y V.i.l.l.a.i.n.e.s.s🦋

Chapter 205

She noticed that everyone– as in literally everyone in the room– was looking at her face and hair with awe. Well, it was strange for them to see hair as black as hers. But it wasn't illegal so it was fine with her if they marveled over it.

The hostility the girls had towards her a while ago was now replaced with admiration.

Okay, it's time to switch gears.

"Girls, we shouldn't fight over the duke when we should all know that he belongs to the duchess," Tilly said with a smile. Most citizens in the empire were weak against good-looking people so she was confident that she could charm her way out of that little trouble that her nasty temper gave her. "I apologize for my rudeness, ladies," she said with a vow. "As a fan of the Duchess of Oakes, I was hurt by your baseless accusations against her so I became hostile. I only said that I was after the duke to mess with you. I'm sorry about that." She gestured the vacant chairs (of the table for four that she occupied). "As an apology, will you join me and let me treat you to breakfast?"

The three girls that she was just "fighting" immediately took the seats around her.

She could clearly see that they hadn't recognized her as the Duchess of Oakes. Was it because of her different hair color? Were they too young to remember her face when she was still in the Royal Capital? Or was it because she had been gone for too long that no one would expect that she would suddenly appear in a cheap diner?

Well, I'm just glad that they haven't recognized me yet.

"Sister, you're so beautiful," the girl with curly brown hair said. "Can I call you 'sister?'"

"Sure," Tilly said with a smile. "You can all call me "sister.""

"This is the first time that I've seen you in this area, sister," the blonde girl, now completely smitten by her beauty, said. "Are you a tourist? A foreigner? A visiting merchant?"

She shook her head. "None of the above."

The girl with light-brown hair with freckles gasped and clapped her hands. "Ah! I know," she said excitedly. "Sister, you're here to audition for House Nystrom's search for their first ever advertising model, aren't you?"

Her ears perked up at that.

She vaguely remembered that she felt a note for Kiho in case their new business didn't go well: to find a suitable person to promote their products.

Kiho, you're working hard.

"House Nystrom is going to launch a new collection of jewelry," the light-brown haired girl continued. "They're going to hold an audition to look for their first "advertising model." Since it's the first time in the empire that a business will hire an "endorser," even the higher nobles are going crazy about it. I heard that even high-ranking noblewomen will audition."

That audition sounded like a good stage for her "debut," huh?

The girls looked excited for her.

They remind me of Leni and Lani.

"Sister, will you be alright though?" the blonde girl asked worriedly. "I heard Lady Huxley will join the audition, too. A lot of people are saying that she's the one who's going to get picked by the sponsors."

"Well, those people haven't seen me yet, have they?" she asked with a smile.

The girls giggled.

"Wait, wait, wait," the blonde said as if she just realized something. "Lady Huxley became the talk of the town because of the prophecy. According to that prophecy, Duke Nystrom was supposed to marry a woman with jet-black hair. From what I heard, the Duchess of Oakes had the darkest hair among the noblewomen in the past so she was chosen to be the duke's bride."