As the audience began to disperse, Duchess Helena stormed out of the hall, her face a thundercloud. Lydia trailed behind her, wringing her hands.
"This is your fault," Helena hissed, not bothering to keep her voice down. "You couldn't even handle that simple girl, and now she's stolen first place!"
You didn't try hard enough, that's how," Helena snapped, her eyes blazing. "I told you to ensure she was humiliated, and instead, she's walking out of here with first place!" She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Useless! Absolutely useless!"
Unable to get a word in edgewise, Lydia eventually stopped trying. Helena stormed off in a huff, leaving Lydia standing in the hallway, her face red with humiliation and anger.
From the corner of her eye, Lydia spotted Isabella leaving the hall, her cheerful expression like a dagger to Lydia's pride. "Humph," Lydia muttered, her eyes narrowing into slits. "This is all your fault, you damned sister. Just you wait—I'll make you pay for this!"
