‘Ugh!’

However, what was inside the cup was not her favorite coffee but tea.

‘Oh, right. I’m pretending to be pregnant.’

She was also pretending to like tea for Edgar. Among the many gossip The Little Bird’s News had, there was one single opinion she agreed with.

[However, the drink called ‘tea’ that was offered at the tea meeting was extremely hard to get used to. Of course, a handsome nerd like Duke Claymore might find it tasty, but its unfamiliar scent and vague taste makes it hard to be approached.]

Rubica put down the cup without drinking even half of it, not trying to hide her detest.

“You don’t actually like tea, right?”

Gabriel regretted saying that as soon as she said that. As usual, her mouth was making trouble. That was why her mother had hesitated to send her, but Gabriel had succeeded in persuading her and made her believe the duchess would find it too much if the countess went herself, so in the end, she sent Gabriel instead.

“Do you think so?”

Rubica smiled awkwardly. Even though the others didn’t know what to do, she didn’t hate the girl’s honesty.

“I liked the tea meeting very much, but I cannot say the same about tea.”

“Well, I cannot drink this without any cake.”

“You drink it because His Grace likes it, right?”

Gabriel asked as if she could understand. Her mother hated the color green very much, but she changed the mansion’s curtains into green every spring just because her husband liked it.

Husband and wife had to come to an agreement at some point even if their likes and dislikes were not exactly the same.

“Well… yes, that’s it.”

More accurately, she decided to pretend to like tea to get rid of the relatives who almost stormed into Edgar’s office, but she just agreed with the girl for now.

“Although the tea meeting is great, I don’t think it will be able to last long if people don’t like tea. Not every noble family is capable of making delicious cakes and cookies like Claymore.”

Now that was quite harsh. She was such a weird girl that Rubica had to look at her. She didn’t know what to think of her. Although her imitation of Elise was enough to freak anyone out, she had a witty way of talking that somehow drew people in.

“Is there any solution for it?”

Gabriel smiled and asked a maid to bring sugar and milk. Even though her mother had scolded her for playing with expensive ingredients, sugar and milk were a way she had found to enjoy tea.

“According to my research, it tastes the best when it is brewed really strong, almost toxic, but this much would do fine.”

Then, she poured in almost all the sugar the maid brought, added milk to it, and then mixed it. The tea changed color in no time.

“Please, try this.”

“But isn’t this what they do at coffee houses?”

It was how men drank coffee to wake up in the morning after having fun all night. However, Gabriel only widened her eyes as if she couldn’t see what was wrong with that.

“But this isn’t coffee. This is tea. Plus, in that logic, the tea meeting itself isn’t right. Wasn’t a discussion about literature and art considered to only belong to coffee houses?”

That was what Gabriel liked the most about the tea meeting. Even though everyone had been shocked to see the great poet, Lord Russel, show up and forgot to point it out, prostitutes had been considered the only women who could discuss poems of love with men. However, the duchess let girls from noble ladies talk about love in broad daylight, although it seemed like she didn’t realize what she had done yet.

“Yes, as tea isn’t coffee, it has nothing to do with what they do with coffee at coffee houses.”

Rubica found the courage and had a sip of Gabriel’s tea.

“Oh, it’s delicious.”

When milk was added to it, it didn’t smell like grass anymore. It was quite spicy and tasted a lot like nuts. Ann and Elise got curious and took turns to taste it.

“It is certainly better.”

“I… don’t know. I think I like to drink tea on its own.”

Elise looked a little confused. It seemed like she had a similar taste to Carl, but most people in the room preferred tea with milk and sugar a lot more, just like Rubica.

“I think adding milk and sugar would let us enjoy tea without any dessert.”

Rubica looked at Gabriel with admiration. It was just adding a few spoonsful of sugar and some milk, so why did she not think of it herself?

“Then Your Grace, could you ask for sugar and milk and add them to your tea at my mother’s tea meeting?”

Gabriel was going to put an article with the title of ‘Duchess Claymore’s New Way of Drinking Tea’ right on the day after Countess Tangt’s tea meeting.

Both her and Tatiana were sure that the article would give them the biggest sell ever.

“You don’t have to ask me that. From now on, I am going to always add milk and sugar to my tea.”

Gabriel’s mother was going to regret telling her not to play with food when she saw the duchess drink her tea with milk and sugar. Unable to hide her joy, she jumped to her feet and yelled.

“Thank you so…”

However, she couldn’t finish the sentence. She fainted. Rubica was so surprised and didn’t know what to do, but Ann quickly took the girl to the nearest resting room.

She made all the maids leave, closed the door, and undid the straps of Gabriel’s dress. Then, she wetted a towel in cool water and dropped it on her face.

A moment later, Gabriel slowly opened her eyes. Rubica was worried that she might be greatly ill.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

Gabriel said casually to calm her down.

“It’s nothing? But you just fainted!”

“I just fainted for a moment. That is normal.”

“Does this happen to you often?”

“Oh, yes.”

Gabriel looked embarrassed.

“I weigh too much, so…”

“Being overweight has nothing to do with fainting! And you are not overweight at all.”

Gabriel widened her eyes at seeing Rubica very angry. Whenever she passed out, even her mother said she should have lost weight. However, Rubica seemed genuinely concerned about her.

“Are you ill?”

“No, I’m not ill.”

“It must be because her corset was too tightened. Your Grace, please do not press on the poor girl. She just woke up.”

Ann said as she handed Gabriel a cup of cold lemon juice while Rubica glared at her royal blue dress.

It was quite pretty and splendid, but she had been hating it since the moment she saw it.

“Who made your dress?”

“What? Oh, it’s Christopher’s work.”

Gabriel wanted to order the exact dress that Elise had worn at the tea meeting from Madam Khanna, but as her mother had predicted, her shop was getting too many orders.

Moreover, she couldn’t even talk to Khanna as her mother prioritized her own dresses over Gabriel’s debutante dress. She had to be content with Khanna’s promise to make her a debutante dress before autumn.

-I’m sorry about Madam Khanna. Although you haven’t been introduced to society yet, I have many meetings to go to.

-I know, it would be a disgrace to our family if your dress is not as good as Marchioness Miramont’s dress, but if I wear a lousy dress, I would be a lousy Gabriel, just like usual.

-Gabriel… just tell me any designer you want except for Khanna. I will get you any dress you want.

And to satisfy her daughter, the countess called Christopher who was the most famous designer in the capital. And he showed them the royal blue fabric as if he had been waiting to be called.

It was almost impossible to get the fabric in the market, but Christopher had his own ways of getting things.

Gabriel had one thing in common with her mother that she didn’t want to admit. She just couldn’t be behind fashion.

Christopher said, ‘With this royal blue dress, you will be called a fashionable lady.’ Gabriel, almost enchanted by his words, then ordered a dress from him.

-And this dress is for a thin lady, so you should lose some weight.

So, she gladly promised to lose weight, even though she tried and failed every year.

-If you fail to lose weight, you should tighten your corset to make a silhouette that is right for the dress.

Of course. Gabriel had to wear the royal blue dress no matter what. She had a small hope that the dress would let her become like Elise, and that hope took control of her.

“And that designer told you to tighten your corset that much?”

“Yes, he said I had to tighten my waist as much as possible to look pretty.”

Rubica bit her lips hard. A designer who made a girl tighten her corset until she passed out? She was enraged once again about the designer who had stolen Khanna’s design but was enjoying fame and wealth that he didn’t deserve.