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chapter 2
The baron’s daughter continued without even taking a breath.
“You see, Madam Dupre had to leave in such a hurry for the funeral that the shop assistant misunderstood her instructions, and ended up selling the sample hats as if they were the limited edition!”
In other words, the small black hat Natalie had bought was actually Madam Dupre’s masterpiece of a lifetime.
“And then, of all things, a fire broke out at dawn and the entire shop was reduced to ashes! It seems the only one of the limited pieces Madam Dupre spent three years making that survived is yours, Lady Ailsden! The people who bought the sample hats thinking they were limited editions are protesting, so the whole boutique street is in chaos right now!”
The baron’s daughter fumed as she spoke, yet still flattered Natalie.
She kept asking how Natalie had known it was the real limited edition, praising her impeccable eye.
“Well, it was obviously the prettiest one. It had a certain charm that drew the eye.”
“Oh my!”
Natalie answered coolly, pretending nothing was unusual, and the baron’s daughter gasped in admiration.
In no time, rumors about Natalie spread throughout high society.
Madam Dupre was a once-in-a-century genius in the fashion world, and her creations were masterpieces that couldn’t be bought even with money.
Even royals and imperial families had tried to monopolize her work, but she was famous for rejecting even offers worth astronomical sums without hesitation.
Such a powerful figure in continental fashion was devastated when she lost the masterpiece she had poured her heart into for three years in a fire.
“As of today, I announce my permanent retirement from the fashion industry.”
The entire continent was thrown into an uproar.
As a result, the one and only remaining limited-edition hat by Madam Dupre skyrocketed in value.
People said that with just that one hat, one could easily buy three or four prosperous small territories—though, of course, only if it were ever sold.
In the end, Natalie became the sole owner of the genius designer’s final work.
Her reputation in noble society had never been good, but at least this time, she became the object of considerable envy.
‘I was just lucky.’
Natalie thought it was nothing more than a lucky coincidence, just like everyone said.
The black hat had strangely captivated her at the time, but a hat was just a hat. There was no way to explain it unless it was mere chance.
Thanks to that incident, Natalie began receiving many party invitations for the first time in a while.
Of course, her long-standing bad reputation didn’t suddenly improve, nor did people suddenly become friendly toward her.
Still, everyone was desperate to see the famous hat known across the continent, so Natalie temporarily became something of a celebrity.
Whenever she appeared wearing Madam Dupre’s small black silk hat, imitations would quietly begin appearing at ballrooms a few days later.
As the center of attention, Natalie was even invited to a slightly more exclusive outdoor party.
“Lady Ailsden, how about taking a walk with us?”
“You pick a racehorse’s number and place a bet. If the horse you choose wins, you receive winnings based on the odds.”
It was a wine party with young noble men and women.
As everyone placed their bets, Natalie was swept up in the mood and chose a horse with composed elegance.
But she knew absolutely nothing about horse racing.
So she intended to play it safe and choose the sturdy white horse that most people were betting on—
‘For some reason… I feel like betting on that one.’
It was a scrawny, pitiful-looking horse.
Compared to the glossy, muscular white horse, the small reddish-brown one looked like a complete throwaway.
Even professional gamblers from abroad clearly favored the white horse and paid little attention to the reddish one.
“Lady Ailsden? What are you doing?”
And yet, she couldn’t take her eyes off that reddish coat, as if bewitched.
In the end, after hesitating until the very last moment, Natalie emptied her allowance and bet it all on the shabby horse.
“Haha! My lady, why make such a foolish choice when the outcome is obvious?”
“Oh come on, I’ll be generous—take your bet back and put it on the white horse!”
Even the young nobles who frequently enjoyed horse racing as a hobby had all bet on the white horse.
The young ladies who followed suit hid their smirks behind their fans, whispering among themselves.
“What stubbornness. Does she really want to stand out that badly?”
“Seriously, what a waste of money. I could tell something was off ever since she started dyeing her hair like that…”
“Aren’t you going to start?”
Natalie snapped her fan shut with a sharp expression.
The ladies exchanged glances and fell silent, while the young men merely shrugged.
Soon, the race began.
Watching from beneath the tent, Natalie frowned as she realized too late that her purse was now completely empty.
‘Why did I do something so impulsive?’
But Natalie was the proud daughter of a duke.
People were already whispering behind her back—if she withdrew now, she’d become an open laughingstock. She could never allow that.
She watched as the horses burst forward at the sound of the starting shot.
“Huh?!”
At that moment, dark clouds gathered overhead and poured down a sudden torrential rain.
Amazingly, the white horse, drenched by the rain, began to drip a pale liquid.
As the sticky white substance washed away, the horse revealed blotchy patterns underneath. Its hooves tangled, and it gradually began to slow down.
Neigh!
Then, the reddish-brown horse that had been in last place let out a cry toward the sky.
To everyone’s astonishment, the small horse drank in the rainwater, stretched its limbs, and began to run with far greater strength than before.
In the blink of an eye, it thundered forward and crossed the finish line in first place.
“And the winner is—only one! Lady Natalie Ailsden!”
As silence fell, the foreign bookmakers cheerfully announced the result and brought over a mountain of gold coins.
Natalie’s jaw dropped at the amount—it far exceeded three years’ worth of her allowance.
Those who had lost their money protested, but the foreign gamblers argued loudly that changing a horse’s color for aesthetics wasn’t a problem.
“The reddish horse is native to humid regions. It dislikes clear weather but thrives in the rain. It’s a rare wild horse we’ve only just managed to tame and present.”
Since the essence of horse racing was the ability to judge horses, the nobles—who cared only for appearances—had no choice but to hand over their money in defeat.
Meanwhile, the gamblers asked Natalie how she had figured it out.
Caught off guard, she answered,
“I just liked that horse.”
“Young lady, your luck is extraordinary! Even professionals couldn’t tell… we’ve truly been outplayed.”
At the gambler’s admiration, the nobles who had suspected she might have known something beforehand were left stunned.
“T-That’s impossible. How could a beginner who didn’t even know how to bet have such luck?”
“She got Madam Dupre’s limited-edition hat all by herself too! She must carry luck wherever she goes!”
In an instant, Natalie gained the nickname “Lightning Luck” and became famous.
She had already been well-known, but now she was even more so.
Whenever people gathered, they talked about Natalie every day.
She wasn’t particularly kind, nor especially hardworking, yet she kept gaining sudden strokes of fortune—so half the talk was envy, and the other half jealousy.
Natalie herself didn’t understand what was going on, but after two consecutive lucky events, she felt extremely pleased.
Everyone wanted to meet her—the girl who had grasped such mysterious luck.
Most were nobles hoping that by being near her, they too might receive sudden fortune, or perhaps gain access to valuable information others didn’t know.
Naturally, Natalie received more invitations than ever since her debut in high society.
‘Now they’re trying to win my favor?’
Still, the more famous one was in society, the stronger their position became—so it wasn’t a bad thing.
Though their intentions weren’t pure, people were now actively trying to get close to her.
She, who had always been on the outskirts, felt a little excited.
Carefully choosing among her invitations, Natalie attended several parties—until one day, she received an invitation to a masquerade party, said to host only a select few.
“An auction? Interesting.”
Apparently, there would also be a special auction event.
Wearing a red butterfly mask, Natalie set out in her carriage.
But on the way to the party, heavy rain began to pour.
She had been idly looking out the window, anticipating the party, when suddenly she frowned.
‘I don’t want to go anymore!’
All of a sudden, she felt an overwhelming, unbearable urge not to go.
Even though she had been looking forward to it so much that she had prepared a new dress.
Even though she had already sent her acceptance—backing out now would surely make her a laughingstock.
‘Still… I don’t want to go.’
No matter how much she tried to suppress it, the strange impulse wouldn’t go away. Just thinking about going made her restless and irritated.
Biting her lip, Natalie finally turned her carriage around right in front of the mansion where the party was being held.
By the time she returned home, the rain was pouring down fiercely.
Late at night, the Ailsden mansion was as dark as ever. Natalie changed clothes, lay down, and tried to sleep.
“I thought the hat and the horse were both failures, but something good came out of them. This will probably turn out the same.”
She murmured unconsciously, hoping that this strange impulse would once again be a sign of good fortune.
That night, Natalie had a nightmare.
—Kiiieeek!
She dreamed that the Ailsden mansion was engulfed in flames, set ablaze by monsters spewing fire.
Surrounded by the encroaching creatures, Natalie clutched her dead family and screamed.
“F-Father! Brother! No!”
Bang!
At that moment, a loud noise pierced her ears. Natalie snapped her eyes open.
Her pitch-dark room suddenly brightened, and she heard someone approaching with hurried footsteps.
‘Was it a dream?’
Still half-asleep, Natalie turned her head.
At the same time, the canopy of her bed was thrown aside, revealing Anatole’s face, breathing heavily.
Her older brother, five years her senior.
“Brother?”
Natalie asked blankly. Anatole, drenched in sweat, muttered a curse and let out a sigh of relief.
She looked up at him with drowsy eyes.
“Damn it! You were sleeping, right? You didn’t go to the masquerade party, did you? Huh?”
“I-I was sleeping…”
Natalie nodded instinctively, then frowned in confusion.
How did he know I was going to the masquerade party?
‘I never told anyone I was invited, or whether I’d attend…’
Looking down at her, Anatole spoke stiffly.
“At tonight’s masquerade party, an illegal use of a Class-1 prohibited drug was discovered. Every single attendee was arrested and dragged to prison.”
