The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 325

Lady Elara raised an elegant eyebrow. "Is she truly that spectacular?"

"Without question," the Duchess replied, her tone ringing with genuine admiration. "There is a profoundly unique quality to her movements. She captures the delicate restraint of the East flawlessly while seamlessly blending it with Western passion. I've been chasing her performances for three years. Tonight is finally the night."

Louis, thoroughly amused, chimed in from the sidelines. "Auntie, you sound exactly like a teenage fangirl."

The Duchess shot him a fondly exasperated glare. "And what if I do?"

Louis immediately threw his hands up in surrender. "Hey, whatever makes you happy!"

Sitting nearby, Chloe Fontane scoffed inwardly at the Duchess's glowing praise for some common entertainer. Her father possessed staggering wealth; he was a titan in the French corporate world. Why on earth should she lower herself to admire a glorified stage prop?

Unable to restrain her disdain, she muttered under her breath, "She's just a lowly dancer. Why put her on such a ridiculous pedestal?"

She had kept her voice low, but in the pin-drop silence of the aristocratic parlor, the words echoed like a gunshot.

The warmth vanished from the Duchess's face instantly.

She turned slowly, fixing Chloe with a glare so cold it could freeze blood.

"Excuse me. What did you just say?"

All the color aggressively drained from Chloe's face.

She opened her mouth, desperately trying to formulate an excuse, but her vocal cords completely failed her. Panic-stricken, her trembling fingers reached out to clutch Leon's sleeve.

Leon's jaw tightened dangerously. He shot to his feet, smoothly stepping between Chloe and the furious matriarch.

"Your Grace, she spoke out of turn. Please, don't lower yourself to acknowledge it..."

"Spoke out of turn?" The Duchess cut him off effortlessly. Her volume didn't rise, but the crushing weight of decades of absolute authority practically suffocated the room. "The woman is my invited, honored guest, and this girl casually dismisses her as a 'lowly dancer.' Tell me, does the Fontane heiress genuinely believe she occupies a higher station than the rest of us?"

Chloe's face burned a humiliating, violent shade of crimson. Hot tears of terror were already welling in her eyes.

Leon took a deep, highly controlled breath, wrestling to keep his tone perfectly level.

"Your Grace, the fault is entirely mine for failing to properly instruct her. I offer my deepest apologies on her behalf."

The Duchess didn't utter a single word. She simply stared him down with absolute, freezing contempt.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the free entertainment, Louis finally decided to join the fray.

"Leon," he drawled, a wickedly mocking smirk playing on his lips. "You really ought to escort Chloe out. She parades around playing the grand Fontane heiress, but she clearly lacks basic conversational etiquette. Aren't you terrified of the sheer humiliation when word of this gets out?"

Chloe's head snapped up, the tears finally spilling over her heavily powdered cheeks.

"Excuse me?!"

"Did I stutter?" Louis arched an eyebrow, his tone dripping with weaponized sarcasm. "Every single family sitting in this room possesses infinitely more wealth than your father. Exactly what gives you the right to put on airs? Lyra Langford is 'The Sprite of the Stage.' And you? What exactly are you?"

Chloe was shaking violently with rage, her mouth opening to scream a vicious retort—

"Enough."

Lady Elara's voice sliced through the tension. It wasn't loud, but it instantly plunged the entire room into total, terrified silence.

She locked her icy gaze onto Leon.

"Take her, and get out."

Leon's entire body went terrifyingly rigid.

Chloe looked like she was about to pass out.

Lady Elara wasn't finished. "In a few days, I will have Louis pay a personal visit to the Fontane estate. He will ask Pierre directly exactly how he went about raising his daughter. To lack even the most basic respect for your elders... with such abhorrent breeding, how dare you show your face in public?"

Trembling so hard she could barely stand, Chloe desperately gripped Leon's jacket.

Leon stood completely frozen, a dangerous, thunderous fury darkening his handsome features.

But he didn't dare say a word. He simply grabbed Chloe by the arm and hauled her out of the room.

The heavy doors clicked shut.

Madeline mentally handed her best friend another gold medal for supreme unbotheredness.

Just then, a sharp knock echoed through the room.

The usher stepped inside, offering a deep bow.

"Your Grace, Ms. Langford and Mr. Lancaster have arrived."

The Duchess's eyes lit up brilliantly, and she immediately sat up straighter.

"Bring them in at once!"

The grand doors swung wide open.

Christian and Lyra stepped gracefully into the room side by side.

Lyra had a flawless, incredibly gracious smile plastered onto her face. Her arm was looped elegantly through Christian's, her posture a masterclass in poise. She swept her gaze across the room, fully prepared to deploy the perfect expression of humble gratitude—

The Duchess had already risen to her feet, stepping forward to greet her.

"Ms. Langford!" Her voice rang with entirely unmasked delight. "It is an absolute honor to finally meet you! I have attended countless performances of yours, and I am thrilled to finally tell you to your face—you are the most breathtaking dancer I have ever seen!"

Visibly overwhelmed by the glowing praise, Lyra offered a deep, incredibly elegant curtsy. "Your Grace, you are far too generous. The honor is entirely mine..."

As she spoke, her gaze drifted across the room—

And slammed straight into Evelyn.

Evelyn was sitting comfortably beside Lady Elara. She was dressed in a casual beige trench coat, her hair flowing freely, watching Lyra with a gaze so calm it bordered on devastating.

Lyra's honeyed words violently choked off in her throat.

Her pupils contracted into pinpoint dots of pure shock. Her lips parted slightly as a single, suffocated, utterly disbelieving name slipped out:

"Evelyn?!"