All women have a sense of vanity—Serena was no exception. Even knowing Princess Vivian posed no real threat, Serena refused to lose to her in aura or imposing presence.
For their first meeting, of course she had to dress to impress!
Prince Nolan's aide was highly efficient. Less than fifteen minutes after Serena gave her order, he brought her a dazzling golden gown—so radiant under the sunlight that its value was obvious at a glance.
Serena's gaze flickered as she probed, "A golden-threaded gown? Did Prince Nolan prepare this ahead of time?"
"Miss, this isn't the golden-threaded robe—it's made from Southlyn's unique golden silk. There's a kind of silkworm in Southlyn that spins gold silk, and the clothes woven from it look just like golden-threaded robes, but technically, they're not. Prince Nolan prepared this for you—not just this one, but many others as well. If you're not satisfied, you can pick one yourself." To be Prince Nolan’s aide required quick thinking, and he would never fight a battle unprepared.
"No need, this one will do." Serena pushed down her suspicions, silently chiding herself for being too paranoid. Prince Nolan shouldn’t know she was coming yet.
Serena washed, bathed, and changed. To match the grandeur of the Southlyn silk gown, she—normally indifferent to jewelry—had to wear a few pieces to bring out the garment’s luxury.
It had to be said—Prince Nolan was truly considerate. Not only had he arranged trunks of clothes for Serena in Southlyn, he'd also bought a trove of exquisite, luxurious jewelry, all in matching sets and none of it ordinary.
Seeing all these things, Serena had to admit her vanity was satisfied in some ways. She wasn’t fond of fancy clothes and jewels, but she liked Prince Nolan’s thoughtfulness. Women needed to be coaxed—even if they said they didn’t care, deep down, they still hoped for it.
Prince Nolan had impeccable taste. He knew exactly how to dress Serena to bring out her most beautiful side. Once she put on the outfit he'd prepared, Serena didn't become a different person, but she was undeniably changed from just moments before.