Forbidden Flower of Moriarty || Moriarty the Patriot Fanfiction ||

Chapter 8: Encounter

Elise was standing and talking to a couple of noblewomen near the corner of the room as the dance took place in the center of the hall. She was not fond of social gatherings and such, as she once recalled that the stress and suffocation being surrounded by nobles when she was a child caused it to trigger her attack.

Now that she's an adult, she would attend occasionally when invited, which is basically almost every event she was asked to come. Her reason of attending was to listen to rumors and gather information of many other nobles with dark secrets. Being a woman has its perks, and being the renowned beautiful woman has even more perks.

Meanwhile, the women were showing off their dresses and expensive jewelries, given to them by either their lovers or by their parents, while Elise just politely complimented for their beauty. Not only them but most of the noblewomen in the hall were flaunting their outfits to woo the noblemen they find to their taste.

Despite all that, they couldn't compete to the natural beauty Elise emits. With the red dress given by Albert as a gift, which Louis picked up for her to wear in this occasion plus the white camellia hair ornament given by William...they were pale in comparison to her.

"The dress is beautiful on you, Lady Elise! The silk also looked expensive! Even more expensive than Lady Margaret's silk dress!"

"The hairpin as well! The white camellia looked realistic that I had to second guess myself if it's a real flower!"

"Ah~! They were all given by Lord Albert and Lord William, right? Lady Elise is really loved by her older brothers!"

Of course, it cannot be avoided that there are jealous women who were internally eating their hearts in envy. It wasn't fair that the brunette was born so beautiful is also blessed with a dress more gorgeous than theirs. She has everything a woman can ask for.

In spite, one woman tried to "accidentally" bump to her and spill her drink on her dress to humiliate her.

How childish.

Elise merely sidestepped and grabbed her wrist and held her by the waist before she can spill her drink on her as she tripped. "Ara... Are you all right, Lady Margaret?"

The young Moriarty can tell what her intentions are and she mentally chuckled in amusement upon seeing the surprised look on her face. They were unfortunate that she has fast reflexes and keen observations.

"Are you a little tipsy, perhaps? Do you want to take a little rest? Ah, you shouldn't force yourself to drink more or else you'll spill the drink on your dress...or on someone else." Elise has a smile on her lips, to which the woman flushed in embarrassment and felt a little humiliated upon failing.

"I-I'm fine, Lady Elise. Please excuse me..." She mumbled before hurriedly.

"Oh my, she does look fine. I wonder why she nearly fell over Lady Elise..." A younger noblewoman wondered. "But, I'm impressed you managed to catch her hand before she spilled her drink over, Lady Elise!!"

"Ahahaha. I'm just glad that no one was hurt."

Elise covered her mouth in a modest laugh while glancing at Blitz Enders sitting on a couch. Since earlier, she had been keeping an eye on the man for he is their "leading character" of their "play".

Not far from where she is, William was keeping an eye on both Enders and Elise. He silently praised the young woman for her reflexes and mentally chuckled when the noblewoman at fault skittered away from her.

"Louis has a good eye." Albert says next to him. "The dress he prepared for the voyage suits Elise well. Perhaps too well that she stood out too much."