Men preferred Ethel over Helena. It was clear that everyone liked her better than the adopted daughter. Helena was also prepared to remain single for her life. For an unknown reason, she had difficulty finding chemistry with men. Helena would turn into a nun rather than go through loveless miserable marriage. Perhaps, it was part of growing up watching her mother or because she already knew romance was not pretty. Adham was the only man who sent sparks into her heart.
She was surprised to see a gift wrapped inside a green box. Helena received a dress and a set of jewellery. It came with a letter inside the box.
"This is my gratitude toward my saviour. May your kind heart always be blessed."
"I have to say, My Lady. Whoever sent you these gifts knows which style suits you." Violet said with a smile.
Helena pulled out the dress. It was a deep purple ball gown. The dress was decorated with lilacs made from the golden thread. The jewellery was pure gold and shaped like roses and leaves. This style was tailored for someone like Helena. She did not know who the sender was, but Helena accepted it. From the letter, it was someone's way to deliver their thank you.
"Lady Helena. You have one more letter." Scarlett gave her a red envelope.
"This one was brought by a knight. He told us to give it directly to Lady Helena." Azure added.
The letter had a fancy envelope without a mark. Helena opened it and was surprised when she read it. She excused herself and ran to her room. Helena's heart was beating fast. She read the letter one more time in front of her desk. While the first letter came from an unknown source, the second letter came from Nora Vermillion.
"To Lady Helena Blackmoore,
I will write it down to the point. Prove that you are not part of the cult. You have received an invitation to Marquis Wisteria. Someone named Richard Grey will attend the party to do drug dealing. Follow him and find the password used during the exchange. I will give you a reward if you succeed."
The letter was short, sharp and easy to digest. Inside the envelope was a photo of the target. The letter said no punishment would befall if Helena failed. Nevertheless, she would gain benefits if she learnt the password. She received the trust of the most powerful lady and one unknown present.
Helena wanted to cry now. She was just a pitiful girl who regressed her life twice. How did her life go this way? She went back in time for the third time, found out a demon played with her soul, almost got involved with a cult and now must go investigate some random guy to prove herself.
Helena slumped her head against the desk. "Thank God I'd gone insane and evil in my second life already..."
The awaited day had finally arrived. Helena and her whole family visited the Marquis's party. Their parent had a matching look. His father wore a blue noble suit with a golden cape while her mother wore a mermaid blue dress with golden thread. Ethel wore a pink dress with lace, ribbon and pearl, while Helena wore her new purple outfit.
The party was packed. Helena could see many well-known people gathered inside the place. She watched influential noble ladies, noblemen from different ranks, and wealthy merchants talk to each other. Everyone went on their own way. Her mother gathered with other older ladies, and her father met his friends. Helena usually stayed in the food corner or looked out for a dancing partner, but now she was on a mission. Her eyes scanned around the room to find Richard Grey.
"Sister."
Ethel had brought up a few ladies behind her. Lady Heather was standing among them. She remained silent behind Ethel. Guess she managed to receive an invitation as well. Ethel definitely planned to embarrass her again. After all, she did this in her previous lives. On the first life, Helena shrunk at the insult while she replied with a crude remark on the second life. However, this was getting annoying. She did not have time to play along with her childish.
"I want to introduce you to my friend."
She was a beautiful young lady with brown long hair. She was a tall yet plump woman with a voluptuous body. Her small lip was curved and her eyes round eyes were purple. One look and Helena had recognized her opponent. She greeted that person with respect. "Greetings, Lady Wisteria. Thank you for inviting me and my family to your party."
Ethel and her friends were surprised. It was a normal reaction considering they never met before. Rowena Wisteria glared at her. Her father was the host of this party, but she invited the whole Blackmoore family to meet Helena.
"How do you know me?"
"House of Wisteria recently known for their discovery of emerald mining. I assume you are from there from the size of the gems on your necklace." Helena smiled politely. "Pardon me if my guess is wrong."
It was a bluff. Helena learnt about Rowena in her second life. They did not have a good relationship as she supported Ethel. Lady Wisteria was difficult to tackle since she was rich and the social butterfly in high society. Even Helena avoided fighting her face-to-face, knowing her loss was inevitable.
"No, you are correct. I am indeed Rowena Wisteria. Your knowledge impressed me, Helena Blackmoore. I hear a lot of stories about you from Ethel. I wonder what kind of girl has been taking care of her."
Helena could guess that Ethel bad-mouthed her as usual. If she combined her experiences from previous lives, insult was nothing but an empty word. She was immune to trash talk. It was no longer capable of hurting her. Everything came in from her right ear and came out from her left ear. She decided to avoid making a scene to preserve her strength.
"I am forever grateful to the Blackmoore family for taking me in. Without their kindness, I won't be here right now. Ethel always has been a great sister to me."
Her answer was polite and humble. Her behaviour was refined and polished. Helena smiled with confidence in her eyes. Insulting her further in front of other nobles would lash back at them. Heather whispered to Ethel. "What now?"
Ethel was upset. The usual Helena would stutter and make mistakes. She expected Helena to embarrass herself in front of Lady Wisteria. Her plan was a failure since Lady Wisteria was impressed by Helena. That girl glared at Ethel with displeasure while her sister shrank at the pressure. Rowena might be a high rank noble, but she did not like flaunting her power.
"I will take my leave first. Please enjoy the ball, Helena Blackmoore."
She curtsied and turned around with other ladies. Helena was relieved and continued searching for Richard Grey. She finally found him standing at the corner of the room. He was a handsome man in his mid-twenties, wearing a white suit, blue tie and grey vest. The brunette had sharp silver eyes and a great smile. Helena recognized that smile everywhere. In her second life, many men wore the same thing on their faces to allure women. Their honey tongue would speak nothing but sweet words.
Her target slipped between the crowds and went outside. Helena followed him from behind while taking a drink from a servant. People would think she wanted to rest alone. The colour of her dark dress helped her move between the dark.
Helena hid behind a wall and watched the man from nearby. A beautiful woman had waited for him. Two of them chuckled and hugged each other. Helena frowned since she could not listen to the conversation. She moved closer to hear their entire conversation.
"Aren't you afraid your fiancée will find out?"
"She is not attending this party anyway. That woman is busy with our wedding preparation."
They giggled and kissed each other. Helena stuck out her tongue, feeling disgusted by their affair. Her face went sour watching the whole scene. Nevertheless, she had to listen to their entire conversation.
Richard asked the woman. "Do you have the item?"
"Hmm, of course, I have. Let me hear the password first."
He stared at her eyes and spoke in a lovely voice. The woman chuckled and gave him a vial filled with clear liquid. Helena was sure it was the drug. A drug was illegal in Eluvuris. It brought nothing but problems to the country. The distribution was not controlled, the effect could be deadly, and the drug dealer did not even care whether they sold it to children or adults.
Helena was relieved when everything was over. She knew the password and could return to the party. Helena stepped on a branch just as she tip-toed back to retreat further. Should have known her luck would get worse in a critical situation.
"Who's there?"
Richard Grey walked to the source of the sound. However, he found no one in there. The woman assured him it was just the wind. They continued their affair without bother hiding their secret. He did not bother to look up at the tree where Helena was sitting. She became grateful for her hard training.
"Wow, I cannot believe the tree climbing will work in this situation. I even did it while wearing a dress."
The rest of the night was regular. Helena met a lot of acquaintances of his father, avoided her sister or her friend, ate the food at the party and just danced her worries away. The next day was her schedule to visit the orphanage and church as usual. The nun and kids greeted her warmly. Somehow another noble was already in there before her. Helena was frozen stiff when Nora Vermillion stood next to Sister Mary. The old nun greeted her and introduced the figure beside her.
"Lady Blackmoore, welcome back. This is Duchess Vermillion. She decides to donate her gold to the church and orphanage today."
Duchess Vermillion chuckled, but it gave Helena shivers instead. "I think it will be nice to contribute something to other people."
The other priests and nuns watched her with admiration. Only Helena was sweating bullets. Charity was just obviously just a reason. Duchess Vermillion was there for her.
"Shall we pray together, Lady Blackmoore?"
It was an order, not a request.
"Ye-yes..."
Two of them were sitting on the bench. The Duchess dropped her friendly act. "Do you get the code?"
Helena nodded and spoke in a low voice. "The snakes will devour the star when it appears on a dark night."
Duchess Vermillion was satisfied. "Thank you. I will send the reward to your home."
Helena gathered all of her courage to ask the Duchess a question. "What is the code for?"
"Well, I guess it will not hurt to tell you. We suspected a drug den belonging to Paradise Star. Theysell a drug called "Fantasy". Someone is going to infiltrate inside. We need a password to enter the place."
"Where is it?"
Duchess Vermillion glared at her. "Don't even try to play hero, young lady. This is a dangerous mission where one can lose their life. This conversation is over."
She left without looking back. Helena was relieved that the black flag had finally gone. After returning from the church, she heard her mother calling her name. "Helena, come here quickly!"
Her mother sounded enthusiastic. Something good must happen. When she walked to the room, her mother gave her a letter with a fancy seal mark. Helena read the content and was surprised. That was Duchess Vermillion's present to her.
It was an invitation to the royal ball.