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"Let’s put that topic aside for now. By the way, has there been any reply from Lady Eskis?"
"None at all. Even our proposal to send a get-well message to the Wallace household was entirely rejected."
Dayna shook her head, and Vanessa responded with a frustrated expression.
"According to Lady Wallace, she’s too sick to even write a reply. But honestly, looking at the recent newspapers, I’m starting to doubt that. Some even speculate that Lady Eskis has gone missing and the Wallace family is covering it up!"
“They really are writing some wild novels.”
Letticia replied calmly, feigning indifference.
In truth, some of those "novels" had actually been inspired by Letticia's own ideas.
When the Count of Sharon’s faction decided to wage a public opinion battle, they chose to implement two strategies simultaneously.
Target credible news outlets with critiques on the long-standing issue of hereditary public office among old noble houses, using the Wallace family—who had passed down the post of Knight Commander for generations—as the perfect scapegoat.
Feed gossip magazines and yellow journalism with sensational and speculative stories designed to captivate public attention.
Working together with the publicity department, Kenneth and Letticia dug into every bit of information they had collected over time, connecting the dots of past tensions between Seraphina and Audrey. They compiled everything into a dossier—complete with relevant keywords—and handed it off to the media.
'Jealousy between female cousins, love triangles, or emotional rivalry—it always sells. Add a touch of conspiracy theory, and it’s perfect.'
The information passed on to the press, combined with the creativity of the journalists, produced spectacular headlines and impressive circulation numbers.
Rumors from Audrey’s academy days—ones Kenneth hadn’t even sent—began to surface, funneled in through the press’s own networks.
‘With things this noisy, neither politics nor the media war will be easy for the Wallace family to manipulate—just as Father predicted.’
They had publicly reignited the long-smoldering controversy of hereditary office succession, which would now drive a major clash between the old and new nobility.
Because Letticia was already known as a victim of biased prosecution, even mentioning her name would make the other side look worse. From the outset, they had successfully pulled attention their way and even neutralized several of their opponent’s moves. Just as Matthias had instructed, they had spread doubt regarding Seraphina’s whereabouts.
‘Surely this is noisy enough to satisfy Matthias’s expectations.’
“And the tea leaves were prepared by Lady Mortimer, right? Whether it was intentional or not, they say Lady Eskis collapsed because of that tea. So why are they going after Lady Sharon instead? She didn’t even have anything to do with preparing the tea.”
“Exactly. And the media hasn’t mentioned that at all.”
As Dayna said that, she gave Letticia a subtle look. Letticia slightly shook her head—just enough so Vanessa wouldn’t notice—indicating she would explain later.
Dayna then deliberately lowered her voice and added with a conspiratorial expression.
“Even if Lady Mortimer did prepare the tea leaves, maybe there’s something more behind it.”
“Something more? Don’t tell me... you’re suggesting Lady Wallace was behind it all?!”
Vanessa, seemingly shocked by her own words, immediately covered her mouth. Even she realized she had crossed a line.
But surprisingly—or perhaps fortunately—no one present appeared scandalized by what she had said.
"Lady Maynard, please refrain from making such claims without solid evidence."
"I'm sorry. It just slipped out before I realized..."
Vanessa trembled as she bowed her head. It was a bit of a hassle, but Letticia, seeing how discouraged she looked—as if she were being scolded—decided to comfort her a little.
“…It is true that the relationship between Lady Wallace and Lady Eskis isn’t what it used to be. So it’s not unreasonable that Lady Maynard would think that way.”
Thanks to Kenneth, Letticia had recently learned something new: during this season, some of the old nobles who had followed Audrey since her academy days were now turning to Seraphina.
Most of these nobles were minor figures within Audrey’s faction, so it wasn’t surprising that they would flock to Seraphina, who was becoming a new center of influence. Still, there were a few notable names among them.
Kenneth had analyzed that—if Audrey truly was as prideful as the rumors said—this shift in allegiance would be a massive blow to her ego.
“And I can't help but feel uneasy about how the Wallace family keeps rejecting visits to Lady Eskis. Even if her allergic reaction has subsided, she did push herself too hard before she fully recovered, so maybe she actually is sick…”
“…Still, don’t you think it’s a bit strange? No contact at all, no sign of her. She’s someone so passionate she'd visit orphanages in person. Even if she were truly ill, wouldn’t she have done something by now…?”
Now reassured, Vanessa timidly voiced her thoughts. Dayna quickly agreed.
“I think so too. If things continue this way, I’ll end up handling all the music event preparations. Knowing Lady Eskis’s sense of responsibility, she wouldn’t just leave it like this.”
“Then why don’t you send a letter to the Wallace estate yourself, Dayna? Say it’s regarding urgent matters about the music concert, and that you must meet her in person.”
“Got it. I’ll include the names of the nobles Lady Eskis originally planned to meet, too.”
Ever quick-witted, Dayna clearly understood the next steps without needing more instruction.
With all this in place, Letticia felt confident they had done what they could for now. At ease, she picked up a knife and cut a bite-sized piece of cherry tart from the plate before her.
***
At today’s tea party hosted by the Viscountess of Sheafield, a guest who had never attended before caused quite a stir among the usual crowd.
Camilla entered the salon in a calm, tea-appropriate dark plum dress, adorned with a necklace of diamonds and pearls. The moment she stepped in, all conversations halted as the women turned to stare at her.
But Camilla herself remained composed, walking straight over to the hostess with graceful poise.
“It’s been a while, Viscountess Sheafield. I believe the last time we met was at the royal ball?”
“Countess Sharon! I’m so delighted you came!”
The Viscountess beamed, welcoming Camilla warmly.
The others, however, exchanged uneasy glances and whispered among themselves.
‘Why on earth is Countess Sharon here?’
After all, the relationship between the Viscountess and Camilla was no more than that of former schoolmates who barely exchanged words during their academy days.
What’s more, the Viscountess typically invited only old nobility to her gatherings. Though Camilla was of noble birth, she had married into the new nobility, and no one had expected her to receive an invitation.
“Where shall I sit?”
“Right over here. Countess Wallace, I’m sure no introductions are necessary between you and Countess Sharon?”
Still, the surprise faded quickly. The other noblewomen turned their attention to the table Camilla had been assigned to and, upon recognizing who else was seated there, their eyes lit up—anticipation clearly building in their curious gazes.
‘Did she come here to meet the Countess of Wallace?’
‘This might be our chance to find out what’s really going on behind all those rumors in the papers!’
The woman with navy-blue hair, seated at the center of everyone’s attention, gave a slight nod to the Viscountess of Sheafield and exchanged eye contact with Camilla.
The other four women sitting at the table were so tense that none of them could speak. Camilla, however, maintained a relaxed smile as she took her seat and greeted each of them, one by one, meeting their eyes.
Yet none of the women could return the greeting with composure. All of them stammered nervously in reply—or glanced anxiously at the Countess of Wallace before acknowledging Camilla’s greeting.
The last to receive Camilla’s attention was Baroness Bright, who tried to maintain a smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched with visible tension.
“This is our first time meeting like this, Baroness Bright. Our children have formed a connection, and yet, somehow, we haven’t had the chance to properly greet each other until now. It's truly a shame.”
“Ah, no, not at all! I’m sure the Countess has been quite busy…”
Gone was the haughty demeanor Baroness Bright usually showed toward other wives of the new nobility. In front of a woman descended from a lineage older than the Empire itself, she responded with deference, bowing politely.
Camilla received it as if it were only natural, giving a small nod before turning to meet the eyes of the Countess of Wallace, who sat directly across from her.
Until Camilla arrived, the Countess of Wallace had been the highest-ranking lady at the tea party. Now, confronted with Camilla’s unexpected presence, she hesitated briefly, unsure how to proceed, and chose to open with a cautious remark.
“…I didn’t expect you to attend this tea party, Countess Sharon. It’s been quite a while since we last saw each other, hasn’t it?”
“Well, the social circles you and I frequent don’t really overlap, do they? Come to think of it, has it been twenty years since we sat across from each other and actually talked?”
“Ever since you got married, we’ve barely had any contact.”
Though the two women conversed calmly, not a single person at the table touched their tea.
Everyone nearby was straining their ears to catch what was being said, while the Countess of Wallace worked hard to gauge Camilla’s true intent.
Taking control of the atmosphere, Camilla gracefully lifted her teacup, savoring the aroma before offering tea to the Countess of Wallace as a subtle, poised gesture of dominance cloaked in courtesy.
🍓; Yellow journalism refers to a style of news reporting that is sensationalized, exaggerated, or even false, aimed at attracting readers and boosting sales rather than providing accurate or balanced information.
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