To ensure Cinderella became the most dazzling queen at the ball, Valerie personally conducted a reconnaissance mission at the town's tailor shops.
The results were staggering. The truly breathtaking silk haute couture gowns were priced astronomically. Even if she emptied Iris and Fanny's secret stashes, it would barely cover the cost of a hemline.
Just as she was standing in front of a shop window calculating her next move, a grating voice sounded behind her.
"Lady Envoy, whose side are you exactly on?" Iris approached with a wary, scrutinizing gaze.
Fanny snorted in disdain. "You took our gold coins. Are you planning to turn your back on us and help that lowly wench?"
Valerie's eyes turned sharp, but she seamlessly slipped into a mask of fake, merciful concern. "My two beautiful ladies, I am doing this for your own good. A girl as wild and vicious as Cinderella... if I don't keep a close eye on her, what if she goes mad and injures the Prince at the ball? I am clearing the obstacles for you."
Hearing this, Iris instantly broke into a radiant smile. "The Envoy is truly far-sighted! That ugly freak will absolutely have no chance of being chosen!"
Seizing the opportunity, Valerie held out her palm and raised an eyebrow. "Since you understand my good intentions, shouldn't you provide a little more 'operating funds'? It would help me put in a few more good words for you in front of the Prince."
Fanny, however, shook her head with a distressed look. "Lady Envoy, we truly have no money left. Mother took the key to the vault with her."
"But it doesn't matter!" Iris raised her chin triumphantly. "Mother is returning from the outer provinces in a few days. When she arrives, we will make sure the Baroness rewards you handsomely!"
Valerie offered a superficial, flattering smile. "That is truly something to look forward to."
But the moment she turned around, a layer of frost instantly covered her eyes.
The Baroness is returning? Once that legendary, ruthlessly wicked stepmother returned, the variables in this game would become far too dangerous. She had to accelerate her plans to secure Cinderella's wardrobe and grand entrance!
In the dead of night, all was completely silent.
Cinderella slipped into Valerie's guest room like a quiet cat. She awkwardly opened her calloused hands, revealing a few tarnished, low-quality copper coins lying in her palm.
"Fairy Godmother..." She looked so embarrassed she was about to cry. "This is my entire life savings from the past three years. Is this not even enough to buy a hairpin?"
Valerie abruptly sat up from the velvet bed and grabbed her cloak. "Who said we can't go to the ball? Come on, watch how I turn this into gold."
Cinderella was startled, her expression instantly turning deadly serious. "Lady Envoy, my late mother taught me that every penny a girl earns must be clean. I will never sell my body, and I will never do anything lowly or steal!"
Looking at Cinderella's dramatic, ready-to-die-for-her-honor expression, Valerie couldn't help but laugh. She flicked Cinderella on the forehead.
"Put away those tragic imaginations in your head. Not only am I going to make you earn clean money, but I'm going to make those arrogant nobles fall to their knees to stuff gold coins into your pockets."
Inside the dark kitchen of the Baron's estate.
Valerie lined up the cheap ingredients she had acquired from the market: dried roses, lemon peels, beeswax, and most importantly—purified lye extracted from wood ash, and meticulously filtered animal tallow.
"Watch closely. This is called saponification. It's a magic that surpasses this era."
Valerie skillfully set up a distillation flask, using a water bath method to strictly control the fusion temperature of the oils and the lye. Then, she precisely infused the extracted lemon essential oil and crushed rose petals into the pure white soap base.
Cinderella watched in shock as the murky pot of fat miraculously transformed under Valerie's hands into a silky, smooth liquid radiating a rich rose and crisp lemon fragrance.
"Pour it into the molds," Valerie ordered.
Cinderella quickly brought out the wooden molds she had painstakingly carved earlier that day.
In moments, blocks of vibrantly colored soap with a texture as smooth as congealed fat were born. They were even shaped into adorable little bunnies, kittens, and intricate, embossed roses!
Besides the Morning Dew Rose & Lemon Clarifying Soap, they replicated the process to create a "Honey & Goat's Milk Nourishing Soap" and a "Strawberry Pearl Radiance Soap."
The fragrance and texture of these soaps were enough to absolutely obliterate the foul-smelling, harsh lard soaps of this era.
They were ultra-luxury treasures that rivaled top-tier modern designer brands!
"Fairy Godmother, you are amazing!" Cinderella held a bunny-shaped soap, unable to put it down. "First thing tomorrow morning, should we hawk these on the streets, or pitch them door-to-door at the shops?" she asked naively.
"Neither."
Valerie picked out the most exquisitely packaged top-tier rose essential oil soap and tucked it into her sleeve. A predator's gleam flashed in her eyes, and a dangerous smirk curved her lips.
"In a place with such a rigid class hierarchy, a commoner's street hawking is worthless. But a royal trend can trigger absolute frenzy."
Valerie turned toward the door, swirling her black cloak over her shoulders. "Let's go, Cinder."
"According to my calculations, the carriage of Princess Maria—the most favored, yet most notoriously picky princess in the empire—is about to pass through the town's central square. We're going to prepare a... 'calculated, splendid encounter' for her."