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"Now that things have come to this, how about the three of us start a social gathering instead of that etiquette group? We could use it to show that Lady Eskis is different from the other old nobles. Wouldn’t that work?"
"Lady Sharon?"
Seraphina looked at her in surprise, but Letticia continued sharing her thoughts without hesitation.
"After all, we promoted our music concert as a gathering that goes beyond faction lines to do something good. We’ve already filtered out the people we can’t trust, so among those who are left, wouldn’t it be fine to say we’ve genuinely become close, regardless of faction?"
"…You’re really that bothered by the fact that some people are unhappy just because they think Lady Eskis is getting special treatment, Letticia?"
"Then, Dayna, do you think it’s fair for Lady Eskis to be treated the same as someone like Lady Wallace?"
To that question, Dayna also shook her head firmly. Considering not just what Audrey had done, but also Lady Wallace’s attitude of never even speaking to those like them, new nobles, it was actually insulting to compare her to Seraphina.
"I hate it when people judge based on emotions, whether to bring someone down or lift them up. I don’t like seeing Lady Eskis unfairly criticized, and it makes me even angrier when it’s my own friends doing it. So I want to stop it from happening."
"Lady Sharon, I truly appreciate the sentiment, but you're a central figure among the new nobles. There's no need for you to do something that could cause a rift between you and your friends because of me."
Seraphina, who had been quietly observing the whole time, tried to dissuade Letticia with a calm voice. But Letticia had no intention of backing down from her stance.
"It’s not really for Lady Eskis’s sake, it’s because I’m angry. So don’t worry. And I’m not asking you to go around shaking hands and pretending to make peace with all the old nobles. I just want to make it known that Lady Eskis doesn’t look down on new nobles like the others do. Is that really such a big deal?"
"…Once people calm down emotionally, they might be able to accept it. But for now, it’s probably a bit too soon. It’s not even the first time you almost got into serious trouble because of a false accusation. Everyone’s worried things might turn out like at the Academy again."
"But it worked out in the end back then too. You all helped me a lot. And if people want to get mad, tell them to get mad at those three. Lady Eskis didn’t do anything wrong."
"Lady Sharon…"
Maybe it was just her imagination, but Seraphina’s voice seemed to carry a hint of emotion. Dayna also appeared conflicted but gave a small nod in agreement.
Even though she had been speaking from the position of representing the new nobles, it wasn’t because she believed Seraphina was in the wrong.
"And if we start this social gathering and let people know over the summer that we’re close, wouldn’t that ease some of the tension between factions? Honestly, if the faction wars escalate, both sides lose. The customer base, the market, everything gets split in two."
"Lady Sharon has a point. In extreme cases, the old nobles might refuse to attend any event that includes the new nobles, and the new nobles might respond by avoiding any occasion shared with the old nobles."
"That might be true, but I think buying out everything at the market would be a more effective strategy… though that’s not the important part here."
Dayna fell silent with a dark expression, as if imagining that very situation.
Factional disputes in high society were common, but an incident of this magnitude was unprecedented.
Because a dispute between old nobles had dragged in the new nobles, it was only natural that the new nobles would be angry. And the old nobles might try to restore their weakened unity by turning that anger into hostility toward the new nobles.
If things escalated like that, marriage itself would become incredibly difficult. Even noblemen from the old factions who wanted to marry debutantes from new noble families would have to consider the opinions of old noblewomen, so they wouldn't be able to openly pursue such relationships.
‘I have Ez, and things seem to be going well for Dayna too, but the real problem will be the girls debuting this fall.’
Dayna seemed to have reached the same conclusion. She let out a silent sigh and turned her head toward Seraphina.
"…Lady Eskis, what do you think? Even if the gathering no longer focuses on etiquette and refinement, as you originally proposed, would you still be willing to support it?"
In response to Dayna’s question, Seraphina answered in a composed tone.
"Given the current situation, I understand it would be difficult to continue with the original form of the gathering I had suggested. Let alone teaching both the old and new nobles together, just the three of us forming a group would be enough to cause complaints."
"Let’s save that kind of education for later, once the faction tension calms down a bit. We could evolve this group into a networking and educational gathering. Though, of course, we’d have to thoroughly vet the personality of anyone who teaches."
As Letticia spoke, Dayna took a sip of tea and added.
"And one more thing, if we truly want to claim we’ve formed bonds that transcend faction lines, we should include at least one neutral party like Vanessa."
"Then how about we invite Lady Maynard? If we exclude just those three, the remaining four of us could get along fine."
"That might be difficult. Vanessa recently got engaged to a southern noble, and she’s busy preparing for the wedding. After the ceremony this summer, she’ll be moving to the south."
Letticia groaned inwardly at the news that the one person who would’ve been perfect for the role was now unavailable. There were a few debutantes from the neutral camp she was aware of, but none of them particularly trustworthy in terms of personality.
Vanessa may have been a bit timid, but she handled her responsibilities well and avoided stirring up trouble, she would’ve been a solid choice. But of all times, she was getting married now. There was nothing to be done about it.
"…Then would it be all right if I made a recommendation?"
"You know someone who would be a good fit, Lady Eskis?"
Dayna asked, surprised. Most of Seraphina’s connections were with the old noble faction, so she hadn’t expected Seraphina to know anyone from the neutral group.
But the moment Seraphina said those words, Letticia immediately realized who she was going to name.
"W-Wait a second. Lady Eskis, don’t tell me-"
"She hasn’t debuted yet, but I was thinking, what if we invited Lady Ariette Averil?"
"Lady Averil?!"
Dayna momentarily lost her composure and raised her voice. Letticia, having expected this reaction, sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Well, since she’s already coming to our estate for tea, I guess inviting her to our social gathering isn’t entirely unreasonable..."
"Even so, inviting her to a social gathering is a whole different matter! Right now, she only interacts with you, but once she joins the gathering, she’ll be engaging with all of us. Who knows how the ducal house might react to that?"
"I’ll convince them. Since I was the one who brought it up, it’s only right that I take responsibility and persuade them."
Seraphina’s firm tone made Dayna ask, still suspicious.
"You seem really intent on bringing Lady Averil into this. Why is that?"
"…I can’t share all the details right now, but Lady Averil is someone who needs help. Unfortunately, in her current situation, she can’t get the support she needs. So I’d like to bring her into our group and offer that support."
Letticia could feel a headache forming. She realized that Seraphina wanted to bring Ariette into this group in order to teach her etiquette and manners.
‘So in the end, she couldn’t give up on helping someone in a difficult situation.’
Of course, Ariette’s circumstances were indeed unfortunate, and Letticia did want to help if she could.
But while she and Seraphina, who knew the situation, might understand, it would be far harder to get Dayna, who knew nothing, to accept it.
"What kind of help does she even need? If it’s about a job or career, there’s not much we can do for her, is there?"
"Dayna, do you remember how Lady Averil wanted to join our study group back at the Academy? And do you remember why she said she wanted to join?"
"Back then… didn’t she say she wanted to study with us?"
"Yes. It’s the same reason as back then."
"Ugh…!"
Dayna, initially confused, let out a sigh of disbelief once she realized what Seraphina meant.
"So it’s going to be a repeat of the Academy days again! The moment you point something out, that side is going to come charging in and throw a tantrum at you all over again, isn’t it?"
"Well, at least the second son of that family seems to be acting like a decent person now."
"I’d bet this year’s entire allowance that the moment it involves his little sister, all that progress will go out the window."
"…Sadly, I can’t disagree with that."
Letticia also stared off into the distance with a bitter expression. No matter how politely Achilles spoke now, no matter how cooperative he was with her, the deep-rooted obsession he had for his younger sister hadn’t changed.
But Seraphina saw it differently.
"If his attitude has improved, doesn’t that mean there’s room for change? And if there’s room, doesn’t that mean he can be changed further?"
"That’s only because you don’t know how crazy that guy really is, Lady Eskis!"
"No, Dayna. Lady Eskis has lived in the duke’s mansion all this time, she’s seen plenty of his insanity firsthand."
That much, Letticia could confidently vouch for after hearing about Seraphina’s experiences.
Even so, Dayna remained skeptical.
"Then what if he actually hits you this time? What would you do?"
"Then I’ll just crack a teapot or a book over his head. Or stomp on him with my heel."
Letticia’s deadpan reply left both Dayna and Seraphina with strange, unreadable expressions, but neither of them said anything to stop her.
After all, if someone keeps making the same mistake, it's either on purpose or a habit. In that case, a reaction like hers wouldn’t exactly be unjustified.
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1 Comments
I like Ariette but it's true that it's so difficult to have any kind of relationship with her because of her family..
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