"It's so tight......"

The moment the rope was tightened, Vikily straightened her back, and she almost threw up all the drinks she had had from the previous night.

"Stella, is it necessary to push so hard? I'm not a slender-waisted bee! She turned her head and shouted to the puppet.

"I'm sorry, Count Klose, but the profession needs it." Stella's smile was reflected in the mirror, but the strength in her hands was undiminished, and she wanted to strangle Viklico's waist to the thickness of her thighs.

"Okay......" Vicilico glanced at her pompous image in the mirror, which looked exactly like the vase that had come from an upside down!

She suddenly realized that she had never seen this skirt before, the red and white skirt, the meaningless lace lapels, and the place where the waist and chest met there were three or four thin chains of pure gold!

"Stella, don't tell me you sewed this dress yourself!" She struggled to her feet, her bulky metal skirt swaying from side to side like an ugly performance costume...... If she laughs at her dress, she'd rather run into the woods and find a place to hang herself! But if she hangs herself in such clothes, she will definitely be mistaken for some kind of large wind chime!

"Of course not, I haven't practiced in a while...... This is specially hired by Mrs. Zeen Wenya to customize it to your previous size, but it seems to be just right, and it looks very spirited! Stella folded her hands over her left shoulder and squeezed out an exaggerated smile.

This was the second big news that Vikliko had learned when she first returned to Vlaktu: during the time she was away, her father Abraham was busy with construction work on the East Coast as usual, and although the project had not progressed much due to the influence of the Azra family, he had gained another valuable asset - his wife.

Ms. Zeenwenya is an aristocratic capitalist from Hecheng, the founder of the famous clothing customization brand "Radvia", and one of the "Golden Three of Hecheng". In fact, she was not much different from Vickyri, at least in the eyes of the Misarans, the fifty age difference was negligible, but nominally, she had become Vickylic's stepmother.

"'She'? No wonder, I never had any expectation of a capitalist aesthetic......"

Vekli shook her head helplessly, she could understand her father's thoughts, it was time for the old guy to think about remarrying. Although Zeenwenya could not fill the empty seat in the name of "mother" at all, she "fulfilled the obligations of a mother", at least according to Archduke Abraham.

"I remember wearing a short skirt to their wedding, did you wash it?"

Stella shook her head, "According to your instructions, it was indeed washed, but the fabric has wrinkled, I'm afraid I won't be able to wear it......"

"Can't you dry clean with detergent? What a waste! ”

"Earl, I did so, but according to the designer Benrao, 'this dress was meant to be worn only once,' and no one seemed to have thought about how to wash it." Stella lowered her head in embarrassment, as if she sensed that she had done something wrong.

"It's a luxury to wear it only once...... Forget it, it's almost time, let's go? Vicilico raised her hand to brush her hair in a clump and reached out to open the door to the room.

"Wait a minute, there's one more thing!"

Stella hurriedly grabbed her wrist and handed her a wooden box engraved with patterns.

"You haven't put on your shoes yet!"

……

Two o'clock later, the garden of the "vine" of the Heskett estate.

The carriages flowed from the foot of the hill to the last avenue of the garden, and the rich ladies and ladies from all parts of the territory of Nicandros strolled through the gardens with parasols, seemingly leisurely, but in fact desperately searching for the Archduke Abraham, for whom they had been preparing for it a month before.

And the younger nobles were almost all crowded around Viklico, red, purple, and black trench coats and flower-collared shirts floating around, just to completely fill the pavilion, which was originally only for sixty rao, and even the iron bars painted white were dyed with impetuous colors.

"It's so crowded......"

Vicky was forced to stand up, and with Stella's support, she walked to the corner of the pavilion, facing the stranger in front of her.

"Count Klose, I would like to introduce to you that these gentlemen are Hetriss. The pride of the Baron Rasban's family, Mr. Rasban, Mr. Rasban, Mr. Rasban, and Mr. Raspain. Stella politely bowed slightly to the four young men and turned back to Vickirico.

"Good afternoon, countess." The boys bowed to varying degrees, and one of them even plucked up the courage to take the countess by the hand and kiss it.

Vicilico glanced at the four brothers in front of her, and she was about to wave her hand perfunctorily, but her eyes were caught by a figure walking towards her from the side. At the same time, the men of the Rasbans cowered as if they had seen a lion's antelope, pretending to be attracted by the sumptuous dessert at the tea party.

"Sister Klose, no...... Countess Klose, long admired. Contrary to the habits of the aristocracy, the young man seemed to be extraordinarily confident, with his left hand pressed against his chest and his left foot taking a step back at the same time, stooping in salute.

"Gui'an ......" symbolically turned slightly sideways, lifted the skirt, and bent down to return the salute. But she couldn't remember the other party's name for a while, maybe she hadn't seen him at all, so she had to turn her head sideways and look at Stella's mouth inconspicuously.

"About ...... Joshua. Mr. Quilford. The awkward problem was solved, and Viklico looked up and greeted her with the perfect smirk her father had ever taught her.

The Quilford family was a new aristocracy that rose during the civil war in Nikanlos, originally a group of capitalists who monopolized the heavy industry of Hecheng, but after the end of the civil war, they took the opportunity of the promulgation of the new charter to stand almost on a par with the Klose royal family, and the marriage of the two families seems to be the inevitable result of the development of the times.

"Good afternoon, isn't it?" Joshua pretended to be casual and turned his head sideways to take a delicate box from the servant's hand.

Yes, if I hadn't seen you, it would have been a great afternoon......

"Yes, I hope you can enjoy the tea party at the estate." The smirk on Viklico's face became more pronounced as she held onto the metal skirt, waiting for instructions to allow her to return to her seat.

"Unfortunately, it's getting hotter and hotter lately, and I'm having some difficulty walking." Joshua hid the box behind him, frowned and smiled bitterly.

If you are also wearing twelve-centimeter-high heels, wearing alloy skirts and Zhu Lin's snow-capped antelope leather corset, you will really not be able to walk!

"You seem to have something for me?" Vekily asked with a hard smile, taking two steps to her feet.

"Ah, I can't escape your eyes......" Joshua rubbed his chin in embarrassment, and pretended to open the box as if he had thought twice about it, and handed it to Viklico.

A pair of earrings are set in an air cushion made of gold silk, and the pure white light envelops the crimson gemstones, as if they were specially selected to pick the stars from the sky on a quiet night.

"It's ......"

"The red crystal from the Ilanye River Valley, set in platinum with the purest purity, was acquired at the auction in Hermanstat, and the starting price seems to be a bit high, and no one wants to ask at first......" Joshua unconsciously tapped his index finger to his lips, as if brewing the words in his head.

"Countess, I confess that I am a person who is easily carried away by compliments, but the first time I saw these crimson gems, I thought of your beautiful eyes, and I did not leave time to think about it, just to get your smile in exchange."

The young Joshua bent down slightly, raised her head and looked at Viklico affectionately, but she could no longer maintain this difficult smile.

Can you be more direct? If there's no one around, you're almost on one knee and proposing!

"They're beautiful, they're like stars...... But alas, I couldn't accept the gift. Vikiriko shook her head in frustration, covered her mouth with one hand, and bowed her head in apology.

At the same time, she noticed the last carriage coming from a distance, which, unlike the mounts of the dignitaries, was a dilapidated carriage pulled by three mongrels, with a slight hint of careful scrubbing, but still one could not help imagining a farm wagon pulling crops in the fields.

"Ah......h

Joshua panicked when he saw that Vicky was about to pass by him, and he turned his head to look at the servant, smiling politely but awkwardly.

"Hehehe...... It's okay, I've also prepared gemstones from the East...... Uh, well, it's green! It's called Emerald! You will love earrings like this! Joshua followed her heart, unable to understand how she could walk so fast in her high heels.

"I'm sure they must be beautiful, too." Viklico rolled her eyes, only raising the corner of her mouth to pretend to smile.

She pulled the side bun behind her ear, touched her earlobe and replied helplessly:

"But you see, I didn't have a place for them."

……

By the time Joshua had given up his last struggles and stood still, Viklico had already walked to the side of the carriage and had already opened the door before the coachman could dismount.

There were three people sitting in the carriage, a girl who looked to be only four or five years old, a man in a shabby tuxedo that couldn't be put on the countertop, and the most familiar face - Hedwin.

"Sister Heidwin! Long time no see! Excited, Vickyly forgot her identity for a moment, and opened her arms to embrace her old friend

"Vicky ......"

As soon as Hedwin was about to spit out the word, she noticed the man next to her making a gesture towards her, and immediately changed her tone, becoming low, serious, and unfamiliar.

"Count Klose, ...... Gui'an"

The re-exit greeting relieved the man, and he stepped out of the carriage first, holding the child in one hand and Hedwin in the other, standing in front of Vicilico.

Twisting the corners of their skirts and taking off their top hats and tapping them on their chests, the two of them formally bowed to Viklico, and even the girl who had just stood firm imitated awkwardly.

Are you used to it......

Vikily tried her best to stop the estranged "politeness", but she knew that no amount of asking would help, after all, she was already "Count Klose" to the person in front of her......

In her eyes, twenty years may be just a number, but she doesn't know that it is really long for the Canaanites, long enough to change the friends she knows best.

"Hedwin, who is this?" She wiped away the thoughts that had plagued her, and prepared to talk to the two of them in the most normal way possible.

"You may not know that not long after the Yazra clan appeared in Xinglixi Prefecture, we fled to Yishen for refuge according to Duke Alice's instructions, and this is seventeen years...... He's my husband, Sheffield. Heidwin looked at her husband and introduced it to Viklico.

Sheffield ...... Where have you heard of it?

The man looked at Vickyly's puzzled eyes and smiled bitterly, he shook his hands, as if in this way he could shake off the cheesiness on his body, straighten his waist a little straighter, and introduced himself to the Count:

"Sheffield, Sheffield. Hoffman, we're going to climb the Sinai Mountains with Mr. Delano and you! ”

"Ah, Hoffman! The one who was shot in the thigh! Vickirico suddenly pulled out the image from the mess of memory fragments, when she and Draenor had just helped the Eichenryder escape from the traffickers, and on the way to the snowy mountains, she had operated on the young man herself!

"Yes! If it weren't for you, I would have been buried in the ground and rotting and stinking right now! ”

The man paused for a moment, he felt his wife pinch his back hard, and quickly picked up the girl and changed the subject.

"Ah, this is our daughter, Draco. Hoffman, named after you and Mr. Delano with one syllable each. Derrank, greetings to Lord Earl? ”

The girl grabbed her father by the collar tightly, turned her face slowly from her father's arms, and looked shyly at the strange countess.

Hedwin is already married and has children...... Time flies so fast, she didn't get any fat obviously, but she did have some wrinkles on her face, after all, she was also in her forties...... Still, "Deranco" is a beautiful name, but how does it feel like I had a birth with Draenor!?

Vicky teased inwardly, smirking and patting Hedwin on the shoulder.

"Then again, with our relationship, it's okay to recognize me as her godmother, right?"

"Huh? This, this can be ......" Heidwin was a little panicked for a moment, she knew the difference between commoners and royalty very well after living in Vlactu for so many years, if the news reached the ears of other nobles...

"Shh......h This is the countess's order, and this request must be met by me. Vickyli pressed her index finger to Hedwin's lips and feigned seriousness.

"Yes, of course, I can't ask for it, Count Klose." Hedwin smiled knowingly, looking sideways at the face in her husband's arms.

Vikiriko walked up to the child, her beautiful blonde hair slightly curly, exactly like her mother.

"Don't listen to what the adults call me, my name is Vicky, just call me Vicky. From now on, we will be a family, Deranco! She smiled and held out her finger to the lovely child, the corners of her mouth revealing a dimple overflowing with happiness.

"Well, Vicky godmother!"

The kid smiled too, revealing a row of teeth that hadn't yet grown together, and pinched Vikilic's index finger with his outstretched palm, no matter how cold it was, no matter what it had been through, just feeling its affection with its own innate body heat.