Four days before her big event, Calista was surprised when an unannounced guest knocked on her door. She would usually kick anyone who came without invitation but the proud lady made an exemption as she was bored for having nothing to do. She had Peter handle everything about the party after all.
Calista let out a sigh as she barely recognized the lady in a humble dress and dark circles around her eyes sitting in front of her. After ordering the maid to serve them refreshments and dessert, she stared at her 'guest' who timidly sipped on tea with a shaking hand holding her cup.
"People will think you're a scared bunny and I'm a voracious lion ready to eat you whole when seeing us both right now," Calista started, picking up her cup and smelling the rich aroma of dandelion tea—her favorite.
"T-That…" the other lady stuttered, earning another sigh from Calista.
"What's your name again?" There was no way Calista wouldn't know who she was having tea. She knew almost every noble family in the empire. Her history teacher made her memorize their names when she was six, costing her a few hours of playtime.
Calista simply set a condition in her mind to kick the lady out of her sight unless she would start talking properly. She gave her a chance to introduce herself to start with and it was all up to the lady whether to talk.
"Pardon me for being rude, Lady La Forte. I'm Evangeline Zara," the guest spoke.
A curve appeared on Calista's lips after hearing the lady's introduction. "Oh, I heard about you. The shy but beautiful daughter of Count Zara. How's your father?"
Evangeline was surprised by Calista's sudden enthusiasm.
"Of course, we're not talking like elders here. Never mind Count Zara… I'm more interested in why you came without a word beforehand." Calista drank her tea without losing eye contact with the lady.
Evangeline had never talked to Calista before her sudden visit so the latter was curious as to why the former appeared on her front door.
"Lady Calista!" Evangeline amused Calista when she slumped down on the floor, bending her upper half forward as she started pleading.
"Please spare my life, Lady. It wasn't my intention to get on your way with marrying Lord Hayes. Please do not punish my poor Edmund as he already had enough of the problems you caused him."
Calista was so annoyed by what she heard that she intentionally let go of the cup she was holding right exactly in front of Lady Evangeline. A grim smile was painted on her pretty face while her left eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"Lady Evangeline," Calista called, leaning her back on her seat before crossing her legs. "I assume you have all the evidence needed to prove what you just said," she continued in a quiet voice. "If not, are you saying you came here to accuse me of something I didn't do?"
Evangeline dared not to raise her head as she replied. "Lady Calista, please do not feign ignorance of what you've done. The Hayes family is now in crisis after the young lord rejected your marriage proposal."
Calista found everything the lady said absurdly. She was disappointed when Edmund Hayes rejected her but she wasn't that interested in making him pay or whatnot. She knew there would be a better groom candidate than the Hayes family's pretty boy.
In the first place, Calista only wanted Edmund because of his beauty and nothing else. After the firm rejection she received, Calista began sorting out her thoughts while considering other aspects she could find in another man aside from a nice face.
"You made it sound like I'm truly and deeply in love with Edward Hayes and getting rejected by him turned me into someone who has nothing to do but ruin others' life…Are you serious?"
Evangeline clenched her fists and for a moment, Calista thought something interesting was going to happen. To Calista's amusement, Evangeline started screaming like a crazy psycho, hitting her head on the floor.
'I knew it,' Calista thought, shaking her head while trying not to spill what was in her mind.
"My lady!"
Lola rushed in as soon as she heard someone wailing. Her gaze landed on the lady on the floor. "Lady Evangeline!" Lola covered her mouth in horror when she saw blood dripping off the lady's forehead.
"Don't stop her, Lola." Calista's face was void of emotion as she gave an order to her maid. "It's not like someone ordered her to do it. Don't get me wrong," she paused and stood up, flipping her golden locks of hair.
"I haven't done anything to her yet after the nonsense she spouted," Calista continued.
"M-My lady…" Lola knew Calista too well and she could tell that her lady was not just mad. The way she spoke and controlled her facial expression, Calista was furious.
"Treat Lady Evangeline's wounds, Lola." Calista faced her back to her maid when she told her what to do.
"Yes, my lady."
Lola helped Evangeline to get up from the floor and guided her back to the chair to treat her wounds on the forehead.
"I don't know what you're up to," Calista spoke as she stared coldly at the lady whose face turned pale after hurting herself. "But let me clear one thing for you. I don't like Lord Edmund Hayes a bit," she stated.
Evangeline bit her lip to bleed. Her tear-stained face annoyed the hell out of Calista but after what happened, she just wanted her to disappear from her sight.
"T-Then…W-Why did Edmund want to break up with me? If it's not because of y-you…Then w-why?"
Calista snickered. "Why don't you ask him? You don't expect me to know what's going on in his mind, do you? Besides, I never saw him again after he refused to be my groom."
Evangeline shook her head. "T-That's not true. You're just lying to my face, Lady Calista!"
Calista fought the urge to roll her eyes. She rather get bored than deal with dramatic people like Evangeline.
"I already told you. I don't know what he's thinking," Calista retorted.
"Lady Evangeline, I'm sure you received an invitation to my engagement party. If you don't still believe that there's nothing between me and your dear nothing-but-his-pretty-face Edmund, then you should attend the party and see for yourself whom I am getting married to."
Evangeline clenched her fists and nodded her head. "...And if you're lying? Will you promise to make things right between me and Edmund?"
Calista smirked. "No," she replied. "Why do I have to compromise to cater to your emotional needs?"
Evangeline glared at Calista. "You need to promise! It's you who went between us!"
"Excuse me?" Calista shook her head. "I sent a marriage proposal to Edmund Hayes as he didn't have an official fiance. Do you think I would stoop low to ask someone to marry me when he already has a woman he likes? I didn't know about him having someone at first nor did I know it was you until you came here to confront me for nothing."
Calista stopped talking when she felt an ominous aura around Evangeline. She frowned when she caught a glance of a dark shadow looming over the lady's head.
'What's that?' Calista wondered.
"I won't forgive you, Lady Calista. I would never forgive you if you take Edmund away from me, not even if you're the Duke's daughter!" Evangeline yelled before storming out of Calista's drawing room.
"Troy," Calista called her knight who was on standby outside the drawing room. "See to it that Lady Evangeline gets home safely," she told him.
Troy appeared and nodded his head. He was about to follow the lady when Calista stopped her.
"Make sure she gets home in one piece. I have a bad feeling about her," she added.
Troy smiled. "I know you're concerned for the lady but what happened to her wasn't your fault at all, my lady. She must have misunderstood the situation," he said, trying to comfort her.
"I don't need your opinion on this matter, Troy. Just leave." Calista gestured her hand for him to go. "Keep an eye on her and report to me what happens later when you're back."
"Yes, my lady."
Calista knew something was not right but couldn't put a finger on it. After spending the rest of the day thinking about what could have gone wrong, she decided to summon the butler to make changes to her plan.
"It doesn't matter who it is. The point is, I'll be the one choosing the man I'll spend with for the rest of my life. Then, I wouldn't be blaming anyone if things messed up…"
"My Lady, this is Peter."
Calista turned her head to the door. "Come in."
Peter stepped inside her office and remained quiet until she spoke again.
"How's the preparations going, Peter?"
The butler fixed his glasses and faced the lady. "Everything is going smoothly, my Lady. We're sending the invitations by tomorrow, following the schedule you made."
Calista hummed in response. She was calculating whether there could be enough time to make some changes. "I need you to make some changes to the invitation letter," she started. "Just add another sentence in the end. Do you think you can manage to finish them before tomorrow?"
If he was being honest, Peter would rather not make any changes. There were other things to take care of aside from the invitation letters that were supposedly done already.
However, seeing how serious the lady was about her engagement party despite not having a fiance, Peter couldn't help but work harder and faster to finish all the remaining tasks on time if not earlier.
"I'll do the changes as you wish, my Lady."
Calista smiled when she heard the butler's words. "Listen carefully, you must add this note at the end of the letter…"
Meanwhile, in a territory in the East…
"Your Grace, an invitation was sent from the capital."
A dark-haired man raised his head from the documents he was reading. "Burn it," he told Coton, his aide.
"Y-Yes, Your Grace…" Coton stood still with a red letter in hand. He was not the type to easily give up. "The letter is from the La Forte Duchy," Coton added. A victorious smile crept into his face when he noticed a hint of excitement in his Master's eyes.
"Here you go, Your Grace. I will take my leave now," Coton said and handed the letter to the Duke. He turned to leave after completing his task.
Coton was holding his breath as he closed the wooden door in the Duke's office. His heart almost jumped out of his chest when he found the others waiting for him outside.
"What are you doing here?" Coton loosened his tie to improve his breathing. "I almost died there," he mouthed.
"Did he take it? Did His Grace read the letter?" A man in his early fifties asked.
He stood out like a sore thumb with his hair dyed in red. It would have been better if whoever did it made sure to lather the dye properly to cover the roots as they remained gray and the color combination just didn't match the butler's age.
"Donovan, it's still Mizleae. You're two months early preparing for Ghost Day in Sprileae. Are you sure you want to dress up as the Crimson Witch? You'd better keep your hair long and mend some of Gloria's old dress. I suggest you choose a different character," Coton commented upon seeing the butler's hair.
"Pfft!"
A woman in her late forties with a seemingly tight-fitting uniform due to her potbelly covered her mouth with a hand. She was trying to keep a straight face as the head maid but Coton's remark was so funny she couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Gloria, you're the one who did this," Donovan grunted when he saw the head maid laughing in secret.
"What? Glo, you're so mean. How could you do this to Don?" Coton snorted at the head maid and faced the butler.
"You shouldn't have trusted her, Don. She was the Crimson Witch in her last life," Coton said, taking Donovan's side this time. "Of many colors… Why red, Glo?"
Gloria managed to keep her face straight when the men decided to team up. "Ask the old man. It was he who chose the dye. I just lent him a hand," she said, hands on her waist.
"I'm afraid you have to shave your head tomorrow, Don." Coton patted the butler's shoulder to show his sympathy. "Don't worry. I'll wake up earlier than usual to help you rid of that…uhm…ugly hair."
Donovan's face fell. "D-Does it really look that bad? Is my judgment this time wrong?"
Both Gloria and Coton nodded their heads to the butler's question.
"Should I have used a green dye instead?"
"No!" The two replied at the same time.
"Unless you're planning to become the witch's headworm. You know, they're green," Coton added, referring to the folklore about the Crimson Witch who said to eat green worms.
It was a popular lore in the continent that actors often played on stage, especially during the Ghost Day in Sprileae.
"Anyway, I feel bad that you have to shave your head in the end. You were trying your best to grow them," Coton muttered and sighed. "I wonder how His Grace would react when he sees you—"
Coton hadn't finished what he was saying when the door flew open. The Duke rushed outside, holding the letter he just delivered to him.
"Donovan, you're here." The Duke already looked upset until he saw his butler's odd hair.
"Who are you?"