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'Damn that crown prince bastard…'
Letticia, who hadn't even managed to have a proper conversation, let alone dance, with Ezkhiel, was seething inside. She barely managed to hold back her boiling anger when Seraphina came over and tried to comfort her.
"Lady Sharon, I know you must be very upset, but we can't really interfere with His Highness's schedule."
"You're right… It is His Highness's schedule. There's nothing we can do about it."
When Letticia forced a smile, Seraphina patted her lightly on the back, as if looking at someone handling things with dignity. Just then, Ariette, who had finally been freed after her father and brothers' fuss subsided, approached Letticia.
"Lady Sharon, if you don't mind, would you like to come with us to the tea room? Lord Sharon and Lady Eskis as well. We've prepared the chocolate cake and other things I mentioned before."
"That's a good idea. It wouldn't be proper to attend a birthday banquet and leave without even tasting the birthday cake."
When Seraphina agreed, Letticia changed her mind and decided to join them at the tea room. Since the Duke and Alexander had no choice but to greet the guests, this time it was Achilles who stuck closely to Ariette and followed along.
When they arrived at the tea room, the attendants brought out plates of various desserts and placed them in front of everyone. On Letticia's plate was an Eastern-style chocolate cake. The moment she saw the sliced section, she noticed a fragrance that wasn't apricot.
"You mentioned before that you're not very fond of apricots, Lady Sharon. So, we tried using peach jam instead, and it turned out better than expected."
"Oh, you're right. I'll have to suggest using peach jam to Chelsea next time."
Taking a forkful of cake, Letticia tasted it. It was much better than she expected, and her mood lightened somewhat.
Next to her, Seraphina was savoring the traditional cake made with apricot jam, while Lenard curiously eyed the affogato, ice cream in a cup mixed with rich coffee, and asked Ariette.
"Did I ever mention to you that I like this?"
"Ah, Sir Bright told me. And since we happened to have Southern-style ice cream prepared today, and my eldest brother also likes coffee…"
"I see. Thanks to that, I've received an unexpected kindness. Thank you very much, Lady Averil."
When Lenard smiled, Ariette blushed faintly, looking shy. Achilles nearly glared at him, but when he met Letticia's gaze, he flinched and lowered his eyes.
Whether it was thanks to the physical therapy or the scolding, she didn't know, but it was a relief not to have to go through another scene of her brother insisting he had no interest in her sister.
"But seeing how many guests have come today, I wonder when Sir Averil will even get a chance to have cake. It looks like quite a number of important people have attended."
"You needn't worry about my brother. Even if he doesn't eat it today, there's always tomorrow. Besides, he never really liked chocolate cake that much to begin with."
"If he doesn't like it, then… is there perhaps a family tradition of having chocolate cake on birthdays?"
"Yes. Since Arie's favorite cake is this one, we made it a family tradition to always eat this cake on birthdays."
At Achilles's words, Seraphina paused, fork in hand, and asked again.
"So, because it's Lady Averil's favorite cake, everyone eats this same cake even on other people's birthdays?"
"Yes. There are plenty of other days in the year, I can eat what I like then. And besides, my brother never really cared for cake, so it's not much of an issue."
"I heard before that he liked opera cake."
"Oh, did you? I didn't know that."
When Seraphina heard Achilles's indifferent reply to Lenard's words, she stared at him in disbelief.
"So let me get this straight… You make sure to prepare Lady Averil's favorite cake for everyone else's birthdays, yet you don't even know what kind of cake Sir Averil himself likes?"
"My brother prefers to have what Arie likes prepared instead of what he himself wants. If Arie is happy, then he's happy too. What's the problem with that?"
Achilles's tone turned sharp, as though offended, but Seraphina answered him sternly.
"Even if Sir Averil wants to honor his sister's preferences, then it should end with preparing a small cake just for her. A birthday is the day when the person born is celebrated by others. If we were talking about the Duke, who gave him life, that would be different, but Lady Averil shouldn't take precedence on her brother's birthday."
Seraphina's words seemed to deliver quite a shock to the siblings. Achilles froze with a look as though he couldn't comprehend the language he was hearing, and Ariette could only stare silently down at the chocolate cake without saying a word.
As the atmosphere grew completely stiff, Lenard gently set his spoon down and addressed Ariette in a kind tone.
"Of course, every family has their own traditions, and it's not our place to meddle too much. Still, if it bothers you, perhaps, as Lady Eskis just suggested, you could make the main cake the one the birthday person likes, and also prepare small ones for the others' favorites."
"…If we did that, would it still mean putting Father and my brothers first?"
"Of course. The main focus would still be the birthday person, while preparing others' favorites would simply show consideration."
At Lenard's words, Ariette gripped her fork tightly and nodded. When her expression brightened just a little, Lenard shifted his gaze toward Achilles this time.
"Sir Achilles, I understand that you care deeply for your sister, but I think it would be better if you took care of yourself as well while looking after her. Lady Averil wouldn't be happy to see her brothers constantly sacrificing themselves for her, would she?"
"……"
Achilles opened his mouth but no words came out. Seeing Ariette feeling guilty for overshadowing Alexander's birthday, he had nothing to refute, yet he still seemed unable to accept it in his heart, torn by inner conflict.
Well, he's lived nearly twenty years worshipping Ariette above all else, if he suddenly changed overnight, even in a novel it would feel inconsistent.
To shatter the values a person has built their life on is, in some sense, to deny the life they've lived. So even if Achilles had the potential to change, if he kept being told he was wrong, it could backfire, stirring defiance instead.
Letticia was just about to consider whether she should try praising him instead when Lenard shifted the topic first.
"By the way, it looks like Lord Jarvis won't be showing his face in the capital's social circles anymore. His Highness personally expressed regret, there's no way that prideful man would remain in the capital society after that."
"Wouldn't he have trouble even if he went back east? Count Selburne said his reputation wasn't great there either, since he always looked down on younger sons."
"It amazes me that someone with such poor manners and character was even popular in the first place."
Seraphina shook her head in disbelief. For someone who held principles and etiquette in the highest regard, Jarvis was nothing short of subhuman.
With Jarvis as the new topic, Achilles seemed to snap back to reality, responding grimly to Seraphina's words.
"For young debutantes entering society, they're expected to follow all sorts of rules. So sometimes those who break them seem attractive. The senior knights call it a kind of fascination with rebellion."
"In his case, his looks were considered decent enough, so people around him exaggerated their fantasies. It was ridiculous, they dressed up his rudeness as if it were boldness."
"…Was he considered handsome?"
Ariette tilted her head in genuine puzzlement. Surrounded since birth by a father and brothers who were described as the most handsome men in the novel's setting, Jarvis's face had never seemed the least bit attractive to her.
Letticia chuckled softly, while beside her, Seraphina spoke firmly.
"Even if someone has striking looks, without inner character it's nothing but a shell. As the heir of a marquess family, he should have cultivated dignity and set an example. But instead he flaunted his lack of manners. His values were twisted from the start. You did very well not to accept the courtship of someone like that, Lady Sharon."
"I can't stand people without manners. And his looks weren't to my taste either. Honestly, I prefer faces like Sir Bright's."
"Ah, that's true, Sir Bright is quite handsome too. When you and he stand together, the phrase 'a fine couple' comes to mind naturally."
"…I agree. To my eyes, you two make a very good match. I look forward to hearing news of your engagement soon."
At Ariette's praise, Achilles expression turned grim. But when he realized she had only meant to say that he suited Letticia well, he seemed to calm down, quickly changing his expression and agreeing with her words.
After about fifteen more minutes of conversation, Ariette rose with Achilles, and the two left the tea room first.
Once they were gone, Seraphina turned to Letticia.
"What do you think, my lady? Do you feel the advice is having any effect?"
"There's some effect, yes. But what he said earlier, when he saw Sir Bright and Lady Averil sitting alone together at the dance, was even more ridiculous."
Still irritated as she recalled those words, Letticia spoke with a biting tone, and Lenard frowned deeply.
"If that's considered progress, then… will Lady Averil ever be able to feel at ease talking to men outside her family?"
"We can only keep hoping and trying. Everyone deserves the chance to recognize their flaws and grow from them."
Lenard said nothing more. He lifted his spoon, lightly stirred what little remained of his melting affogato, and finished it off. As he closed his eyes briefly in thought, a flicker of complex emotion, tinged with struggle, passed across his face.
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