“Oh, Lady Sabine!”

Sabine was dressed in a deep green velvet gown, unadorned but elegant. Her rich and luxurious golden hair matched perfectly with the dress, making her stand out even more.

“You look stunning as always, Lady Sabine,” one of the women complimented.

Sabine folded her hands gracefully and offered a charming smile. “Thank you for always saying such kind things.”

After politely acknowledging the flurry of compliments, Sabine turned to her mother, sensing a sharpness in her gaze. Sabine hesitated for a moment before leaning in to whisper something to her mother, but not before asking the others for their indulgence.

“Please excuse me for a moment, I have something to whisper to my mother.”

The ladies around them feigned envy, chuckling as they turned their heads away to give the pair some privacy.

“Oh, go ahead, dear. We won’t listen.”

“How lovely to have such a sweet and beautiful daughter.”

“Let’s all give them a moment, shall we?”

With the other women now looking away, Sabine leaned in and whispered to her mother. After a brief exchange, Charlotte responded with a playful scolding.

“Your brother already gave you a very expensive gift, and you’ve also received an incredibly generous present from His Majesty. And now you expect something from me, too?”

Sabine’s eyes widened in mock surprise, and she raised her voice in a feigned scold, “Mother! I whispered so no one would hear, and now you’re saying it out loud!”

The ladies who had turned their heads away burst into laughter at the playful exchange.

“The day you were born was the day I suffered to bring you into this world. You should be giving me gifts instead.”

“Oh, Mother!”

As Sabine pouted, the noblewoman laughed even harder, and Charlotte shook her head, pretending to be exasperated, as she rose from her seat.

“If we stay any longer, things will only get rowdier. Let’s take our leave.”

Sabine, following her mother’s lead, wrapped her arm around Charlotte’s. The women around them all remarked on how daughters always seemed eager to receive gifts from their mothers, playfully urging the pair along.

The stunning mother and daughter duo exited the lounge, drawing the admiring eyes of everyone around them. After gently dismissing the people who tried to follow, they gracefully strolled along the fifth-floor railing. Being on the top floor, they had a clear view of the people moving about on the floors below.

Once they were far from the lounge, Sabine stopped and let her discontent show.

“Do you really have to make me look like a spoiled child?”

“Not spoiled, but someone to be envied,” Charlotte corrected her.

“You could have simply said we needed to step away for a moment. Why do you always use me like that when something like this happens?”

“Use you? Did it ever occur to you that there might be a reason for what I do?”

Sabine’s irritation faded as she recognised the sharpness in her mother’s voice and fell silent.

The air between the two grew cold as they both turned to gaze over the railing.

Suppressing her frustration with her mother, Sabine let her eyes wander downward like a queen surveying her domain. The department store’s design made it look like a carefully constructed tower, with each floor visible from above. Amidst the dazzling array of sights, Sabine’s eyes were suddenly drawn to something below.

There are things in this world that catch the eye immediately. Whether it’s an object, a piece of art, or a person, some things stand out no matter how many others surround them.

And there it was, something that captured Sabine’s full attention and pulled her mind away from thoughts of her mother.

“Mother, look at that,” Sabine murmured, turning to Charlotte, who was also focused intently on something below.

“Do you see the woman with the red ribbon in her hair?” Sabine asked.

Charlotte’s elegant eyebrows arched ever so slightly, a barely perceptible movement.

Amidst the store’s heavy and rich hues, the woman stood out as though someone had delicately drawn over an oil painting with coloured pencils. Something about her disrupted the cool atmosphere surrounding the mother and daughter. Their gazes, so similar to each other, followed the woman below.

Elsewhere in the lavish department store, another pair of eyes was covertly watching the same woman.