Normally, a magazine has only one editor, who is the founder of the magazine. In the case of women's magazines, the founder's wife often plays an important role as well. They usually work from home, receiving submissions from writers who send in letters or simply hiring critics, journalists, and columnists to provide articles. The editor's only task is to check for spelling mistakes and remove any sentences that might be problematic, and then hand the manuscripts over to the printer.
However, *Ladies' Monthly*, under the Duke's patronage, not only had a dedicated office and reading room but even employed three full-time editors, two of whom were women.
At this moment, sunlight streamed into the office, casting a glow on the white walls adorned with pale green floral wallpaper. A wall full of bookshelves stood, filled with books, while above the fireplace in the middle of the room hung a landscape oil painting. The three editors were seated at a long mahogany desk, reviewing manuscripts.
"I have to say, the recent novel submissions are starting to look the same," the young female editor, Lucy, sighed. "I'm tired of Cinderella stories. Can't we have something fresh?"
"I guess if there were anything new, they wouldn't send it to us," the male editor said with self-deprecating humor. "After all, we've only been publishing for half a year, and Lunton is full of magazines that have ceased publication."
Lady Archat, the chief editor, didn't engage in their conversation. She was holding a silver-handled letter opener and slowly unsealed a large envelope, looking somewhat worried. "When the Duke mentioned this to me, I thought he was joking. But they've really sent it over. Does he really believe his students can create drawings that will sell?"
"It's just an overly optimistic teacher's care for his students," the male editor commented. "But he did say that we are the ones who will be overseeing this. He expects us to meet *Ladies' Monthly*'s standards for illustrations. I wonder if that's too high a standard to expect?"
"The only one who needs to worry is Lucy," Lady Archat teased. "After all, the illustrations for the magazine have always been your responsibility."
Lucy gave a weak smile, waving her hand. "In front of you two, I'm just a student."
At that moment, Lady Archat had opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of drawing paper, with cream-colored manuscript paper on top.
"This should be the manuscript that goes along with the drawings," Lady Archat said as she passed the cream paper to the others, curious to take a look herself.
The story began with a girl named Helen who fell ill, lying curled up in a narrow bed, hoping her parents would help her. However, her mother, Mrs. Chris, insisted they didn't have enough money to hire a doctor, and they asked Helen to wash all the family's clothes instead.
Lady Archat: "???" This was infuriating.
Helen cried out, saying the money she earned as a maid was taken by her parents, so how could they not have any? Yet, her parents still refused to hire a doctor for her, and her brother even mocked her, laughing that she was going to die.
Lady Archat, who also had a younger brother, clenched her fists.
Just as Helen was on the brink of death, a carriage from the noble Victor family arrived. The housekeeper, seeing how grave Helen's condition was, immediately called for a family doctor. She slapped Helen's mother and told her that if Helen died, their family would never be able to live in Lunton again.
This made Lady Archat feel a bit better. "Would the housekeeper really slap someone? Though it's a bit unreasonable…"
Helen was soon healed, and the housekeeper told her that she was actually of Victor blood. Helen's mother had swapped her with her own daughter when Victor's wife gave birth. In other words, Helen was the real daughter of the Victor family, and the girl who had grown up there was actually the maid's child.
Lady Archat: "???" This is absurd.
The manuscript then went on to describe Helen's tragic childhood, where, despite being part of the family, she was treated like a servant, doing all the housework, and was beaten and scolded whenever her parents were unhappy. The neighborhood children would mock her, and her brother was allowed things she wasn't. Despite having a family, she was envious of the children who wandered the streets.
*Because she was so hungry, Helen grabbed a piece of biscuit her brother had left behind and devoured it, only for her brother to catch her. He clapped his hands and shouted, "Waste eating my biscuit, waste eating my biscuit!"*
*"It fell on the ground, and you didn't want it," Helen tried to explain.*
*Mrs. Chris roughly grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the small room on the attic floor, locking the door without hesitation. "Stay here and reflect on your behavior."*
*She was left hungry for two days, gnawing on the wooden edge of the bed. A large, bloated mouse, seemingly attracted by her movements, cautiously crawled out of its hole to watch her.*
*"Even a mouse can fill its stomach," Helen muttered to herself. "I wish I were a mouse."*
"Why treat her like this? She's just a child!" Lady Archat's chest heaved with anger.
As an editor, Lady Archat had read countless novels featuring orphaned female protagonists. When reading these stories, she viewed them as just stories. But Helen's story struck a chord with her like no other, making her feel an unprecedented level of empathy. When she saw Helen being mistreated, Lady Archat felt the frustration as if it were happening to her.
When Helen learned she wasn't really Mrs. Chris's child, she initially couldn't believe it.
*"I'm the daughter of Mr. Victor?" Helen stammered. "I'm… am I… your servant?"*
Helen envied her little "mistress" who learned the piano and foreign languages, having such fine things. She would dream of wearing such clothes and receiving the affectionate attention of her parents, but all of that was never meant for her.
And then Helen realized why her childhood had been so miserable: her fake parents had been treated badly by Victor's family and had retaliated by abusing Victor's real daughter. They took Helen to the Victor family as their own daughter, so they could derive twisted pleasure from the deception.
*"We've been kind to her," Mrs. Chris said hurriedly, grabbing Helen's arm to explain to the housekeeper. "We didn't know what was going on. Why is Helen saying she's Mr. Victor's child? You must have made a mistake! Helen, tell them I've been good to you!"*
Helen tried to avoid Mrs. Chris's hand, and the housekeeper noticed Helen's bruised arms. The new scars piled on top of the old ones, forming layers of dark bruises.
*"They haven't hit me for two days," Helen quickly explained.*
With a loud *bang*, both the male editor and Lucy immediately looked up. Lady Archat had slammed her hand on the desk in frustration, so hard that it hurt.
"Vile! Despicable! Revolting, like a toad!" Lady Archat paced around the office, the manuscript paper rustling loudly as she fumed. She cursed the family that had treated Helen so cruelly. "I've never seen a family so evil! They deserve to go to hell! To hell!!"
The male editor and Lucy remained silent, like two frightened quails, not daring to interrupt, even though they were incredibly curious about what had happened.
After Lady Archat calmed down, Lucy finally asked boldly, "Madam, what made you so angry?"
"The damned, vicious family," Lady Archat started again, unable to contain her fury. "How dare they swap their child with the Victor family's daughter and abuse that poor child."
"What?" Lucy's eyes widened. "Such a thing really happened?"
"In this manuscript," Lady Archat shook the manuscript in her hand, making it rustle. "If you want to see it, you can take a look. I don't want to see it right now."
Lucy quickly grabbed the manuscript, but not before reporting, "I've already seen the drawings that were sent. To be honest, I think they're quite good, but I don't really understand some of the text. For example," she picked up one drawing, which depicted a girl in a light gray cotton dress, her hair tied up with a white headscarf, holding a bouquet of violets. Below the drawing, the text read:
*"Helen would meet her birth parents. She wore her only dress, which had faded to a pale white with no patches. She borrowed money from the housekeeper to buy a bouquet of violets, which symbolized eternal love. She hoped to receive warmth and love from her long-lost parents."*
"Oh, poor Helen," Lady Archat's fingers traced the girl's face on the drawing, sighing. "After she's recognized, she will surely be happy."
Lucy tilted her head, confused at first, but after reading a few lines of the manuscript, she suddenly understood, "The drawings and the text are matched together. The drawings are based on Helen's story. Wow, what a great idea."
"No," Lady Archat corrected her, returning to her calm demeanor, "According to the Duke's instructions, the drawings are for a kind of toy."
Although the Duke had not requested confidentiality, Lady Archat, with her high professional ethics, would never let the new product development details slip from her mouth.
Lady Archat began reviewing the drawings. From her perspective, although the designs for
the clothes were a bit raw, they were quite fitting for Helen's character and the text under each drawing. Many of the illustrations just needed minor modifications or added details.
What truly surprised her, however, was the use of color in the clothing. For example, a red dress usually appeared in solid colors, often paired with black, or sometimes gold. There were even a few dresses paired with white or plaid. But in one of the drawings, she saw a dress with a deep green sleeve and a pale red bodice, which caught her attention.
After all, the concept of contrasting colors wasn't popular until the 20th century. But this vibrant and artistic use of color had a strong visual impact and was very unique.
"This could even be its own special feature in an issue," Lady Archat thought, excited. "How did they come up with the idea to print flowers on the dress?"
Elena had indeed hidden her skills and fame. She simply drew the kinds of clothes that were common in later films and combined them with magazine layouts. As long as *Ladies' Monthly* approved, she could truly let her creativity run wild.
Just as Lady Archat was preparing to share the illustrations with others, Lucy slammed her hand on the desk and shouted angrily, "How can they be so biased! That's their own child!"
"What?" Lady Archat immediately looked up, her eyes sharp. "Biased? Their own child? What's going on? What happened to Helen?"