#conseille

a very merry christmas to the wonderful @conseille ! thank you for spending this hellish year with me girl, i couldn't have made it through without you <3 here's to another year together! and ofc i had to commission vivrin for your gift, OUR BEST GIRLS!! having some nice downtime at seiren :')) hope you have the best day girl!! 🧡💚

a target as big as the red orchid was intimidating enough to make even vivian second-guess herself. she had expected security to be tight and the staff clever and sharp... but in the end, no one seemed to find her suspicious. vivian was welcomed with open arms by a sweet director and a helpful staff that showed her around the entire place. they almost made it too easy.

yet no one was quite as oblivious as the man she was working under. sungtae reminded her of her own grandfather. perhaps that was why vivian had such an easy time fooling him     and why she felt so terrible about it. there wasn’t a distrusting bone in his body; he believed everything vivian told him, and was kind enough to respect her privacy when she offered no details.

there were days when she considered begging pippa to switch jobs. as the gardener, she was allowed to roam the estate freely, but surely there were better strategies. maid or concierge might prove more useful, giving her access to the guests’ belongings... anything with a horrible boss she’d have no problem conning.

after a lunch break spent scoping out which guests made the easiest targets, vivian readies herself to return to work. as she walks to the elevator head to the ground floor, she tries to clear her head of any guilty thoughts. she’s made it this far. quitting now would be a waste of all her hard work.

a voice calling out suddenly jolts vivian back to reality. she notices a girl rushing to the elevator, and manages to push the button to open the doors right at the last second. it’s only when the other steps inside that vivian realizes she knows her. they’ve never really spoken before, but she’s seen her around sungtae many times. from what vivian studied up on the hotel staff, this is his granddaughter     the younger one. vivian has seen the eldest at the restaurant, and her intimidating air definitely made her stand out from the rest of her family. this girl ( yerin, she remembers ) matches sungtae’s warmth much better.

“ hey, ” vivian promptly greets her, putting on her friendliest smile. “ good timing. you do not want to take the stairs here. ” joking comes as second nature to her even now; sometimes vivian wonders how much of it is truly an act.

she should keep her distance from yerin and leave their exchange at that. vivian will give sungtae enough grief when she disappears one day and he finds out the truth about her; she’d rather not add to that list of disappointed people... yet it’s not in her nature to be cold or distant.

before she can get another word out, however, the elevator stops abruptly. the sudden halt causes vivian to lose her balance for a moment     before quickly regaining it by steadying herself against the wall. without thinking, she reaches for yerin as well. her hand catches the other’s wrist easily, tugging gently to keep her in place.

at the crack of dawn, the palace is already buzzing with preparations for the upcoming celebration. countess dubois is beloved by the court, so it’s no surprise her birthday is marked by a luxurious ball, with many neighboring kingdoms invited. there’s halls to be decorated with extravagant ornaments, and mountains of delicious food to prepare for the guests.

while hyejin is not particularly close with the birthday girl, she’s looking forward to the party     or was, until she saw through her father’s plans for that night. out of all the visiting nobles, he had singled out the prince of almia, still unwed and looking for a wife. it didn’t take much to put two and two together, especially after her father instructed her to make a good impression. hyejin knew this day would come, that she could only put off marriage for so long... with their kingdom’s economy failing, it was only a matter of time.

knowing her sister will soon come through the door, hyejin makes a quick stop by her vanity to make sure her exhaustion does not show. she hasn’t been able to rest much since speaking with the king     something which yerin would be able to tell immediately. she was always incredibly attuned to hyejin’s emotions, empathetic to a fault. it’s something hyejin loves about her... if only it didn’t cause her to worry so much.

the bags under her eyes are barely noticeable, but she applies some quick face powder just to be sure. today is supposed to be fun for the two of them, with no other duties than to prepare for the party. hyejin would hate to bring down her sister’s mood, especially over something that seems to already be set in stone.

she rises from her seat upon hearing familiar footsteps outside, promptly walking to the door. hyejin opens it before yerin even has to knock, greeting her sister with a warm smile. “ good morning. ” she gently pulls her inside, taking a moment to peek out of her room and greet the guards as well. they’re used to yerin coming over by now, despite it being frowned upon by their parents; hyejin made sure to cover their bases and ask for them not to tell     it helps that both sisters, the youngest in particular, are so well-liked around the palace, staff included.

closing the door behind them, hyejin guides her to her bed so they can both sit down. there’s not much for them to catch up on, having seen each other just before heading to sleep the night before, but hyejin always enjoys these little moments between them.

       ears were quick to flicker upon realizing just who was staring at her.  usually she was pretty adept at hiding within the shadows,  but it seems this time she’d been caught  (so then why was this lady still staring ... usually people would just chase her away.)

“ ... if you’ve got something to say, then out with it already.  this is getting kinda awkward - ”

“Haha well, consider me your very own knight for the day, Yerin! My services will be free just for you.”

character aesthetics: yerin lee (original character)

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jasmine watched the guards leave before turning her eyes on her new handmaiden. prior to her mother’s death, she had used her mother’s helpers. she probably still would but they were getting up there in years and most preferred to either retire or take on lesser roles since being at the princess’ beck and call everyday meant for longer days. it saddened jasmine not to see their familiar faces and get to hear more tales of her mother but putting elderly women to work also felt cruel so jasmine knew a new, younger face would be needed.

“ please sit. “ jasmine gestured to the satin, embroidered pillows that were littering the floor and where she sat as well. jasmine could easily admit the girl was a pretty little thing and looked to be about her age. maybe it would be nice to have someone similar around. it wasn’t like chatting and gossiping with the older ladies was all that fun or salacious in comparison to a friend.