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During the social season, society gazettes that are usually published every few days switch to weekly or biweekly editions in the summer and winter seasons. But sometimes, an extra edition is published. Right after Alexander's birthday, Lucinella quickly released such an extra.
"<Lord Lucian Jarvis, just how far can heartbreak strip a gentleman of his dignity?>"
At the provocative and blunt headline, Lenard burst into loud laughter. Kenneth, meanwhile, carefully examined the article as if intrigued, while Letticia calmly sipped her soup, listening to her cousin's reading.
"No one can say how deeply the queen of flowers, the Rose, wounded the darling of society's heart when she refused him. But what's certain is that his pride took a fatal blow. And so, after searching for a flower to rival the Rose, he dared to make a most indecent courtship attempt toward an unbloomed freesia. …Wow. That's brutal. Hits right to the bone."
"If he got humiliated this badly, he won't even be able to show his face in the capital. Last year, every time I saw Ezkhiel, Jarvis would swoop in, steal his partner, and laugh at him. Honestly, I always wanted to ruin him socially. Serves him right."
"Exactly. You framed it perfectly, brother."
Even Letticia couldn't help but admire Lenard's quick thinking and sharp sense yesterday.
Thanks to that, the article about Matthias inviting Ariette to dance was pushed to the second page, while the entire front page was dedicated solely to Jarvis's disgraceful display, complete with background analysis and a thorough excavation of his past misdeeds.
"Look, even the words we said when we announced our relationship got printed here. Why didn't they write about that back then?"
"Well, at that time, Jarvis still had plenty of supporters. Focusing on your romance with Ezkhiel made for a better story than exposing him. But now that Jarvis has become easy prey, they're having a field day tearing him apart."
"Even if he goes back east, it'll be hard for him to hold his head up. He's not just embarrassed our family but also dragged down the Averil ducal house with him."
"That's what he gets for bothering Lady Averil. Serves him right."
Letticia thought she wouldn't be surprised if news came soon that Jarvis had been disowned by his family. After all, in romance fantasies, extras who dared to harass the heroine always ended up meeting pitiful ends.
"But isn't it strange that there's barely any article about His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Averil? Shouldn't His Highness always be on the front page?"
Maybe the third-rate society papers, which the butler wouldn't even bother bringing, wrote something different, but at least the mainstream gazettes judged that mocking Jarvis's downfall was more sensational than reporting on the Crown Prince.
For a moment, Letticia wondered if Matthias had interfered behind the scenes. But recalling yesterday, Matthias had seemed completely open in his pursuit of Ariette, so there was no reason for him to manipulate the gazettes.
Lenard, having stopped laughing, answered her unspoken question.
"Jarvis's downfall yesterday was complete. They wanted one last chance to tear him down big and make him a laughingstock. Like it or not, he was popular in society, so it's not strange he got the front page."
"But still, it was His Highness's direct invitation. And they shoved that aside? Could it be they're wary of the Averil dukedom?"
"Not exactly. It's more that there's little benefit in making it a big deal now. During the social season, there are gatherings one after another, so follow-up articles keep coming. But in summer, any story ends as a one-off. They'd rather save the bigger topic for autumn."
Just as Kenneth explained, Lucinella's second page ended with speculation that Ariette might debut in society during the autumn season.
That thought made Letticia a little uneasy, would Ariette start facing pressure to debut earlier than expected?
At that moment, a maid in charge of the communications tube knocked on the door and entered.
"My lady, Lady Eskis is asking if it would be alright to visit today."
Letticia assumed she wanted to talk about yesterday's party and was about to give her consent, when the maid, looking troubled, handed her the communication tube and added.
"And Lady Hailey and Lady Averil also sent word that they'd like to visit. All three of them contacted us around the same time, so it took a while to receive them all, which is why my report is late. I apologize."
"All three? Well, I can understand Lady Dayna, but Lady Eskis and Lady Averil too… No, actually, they both have good reason."
Come to think of it, all three probably had a lot they wanted to discuss with Letticia because of that article.
After a short pause, Letticia accepted the communications tube from the maid and stood up.
***
That afternoon, Letticia received all three of her friends together in her drawing room.
"Thank you all for agreeing to gather here together. I thought it would be better for us to talk about things all at once rather than separately."
"…I wasn't able to attend the ball yesterday, so I only heard about it from my father and sister. Is everything written in this article true?"
When Dayna held out the copy of Lucinella, Seraphina and Ariette exchanged troubled looks before nodding. Letticia then confirmed it outright.
"It's true. Lord Jarvis tried to make advances toward Lady Averil, but was stopped and thrown out by Sir Achilles."
"Heavens… And on top of that, His Highness the Crown Prince requested a dance with Lady Averil?"
"Yes. In fact, that's actually what brought us here today, we wanted to seek some advice about that."
Looking genuinely distressed, Ariette glanced at the three of them and asked.
"I haven't even debuted yet, but so many gentlemen keep trying to ask me to dance… Is it really only because I'm a duke's daughter?"
"Well… in Jarvis's case, yes. He was definitely just chasing after someone with better prospects than me. If you look at the article, you'll see that when I announced my relationship with Sir Bright, he even had the audacity to say he was a better match for me. That kind of man just wanted to prove—'I can get a girl better than you, that's the level I'm at.' He was desperate to show off."
"People like that aren't worth even acknowledging, Lady Averil. If you accept a greeting once, they'll take it as an excuse to keep talking."
"B-but… I can't just ignore a greeting, can I? Wouldn't that be ruder?"
At Dayna's advice, Ariette looked bewildered. Setting down her teacup, Seraphina stepped in to explain.
"In that case, instead of replying, you simply give a slight nod without making eye contact. Since you haven't debuted yet, no one will consider it rude."
"Oh… so that's what I should do?"
"Yes. Normally, if an un-debuted young lady has to attend a gathering, she would have a governess with her to respond in her place. But since you don't have one, it's better for you to withdraw to the side or stay close to the duke or your brothers."
Hearing Seraphina's words, Ariette nodded several times, as though committing the advice to memory. Watching her, Seraphina's eyes took on a resolute gleam before she posed a question.
"And I know this might sound rude, but… could you perhaps tell us what topic you and His Highness discussed yesterday?"
"Uh, yesterday? We didn't talk about anything particularly important…"
"I should clarify, I'm not asking out of idle curiosity. I came to the capital with the goal of becoming Crown Princess, and I've been doing my best to achieve that. Still, I've prepared myself for the possibility that, regardless of my efforts, His Highness might choose someone else for political or other reasons."
The moment the words Crown Princess left Seraphina's mouth, Ariette's face drained of color. The atmosphere instantly froze, and Dayna quickly tried to ease the tension, addressing Seraphina.
"Isn't that thought a little too extreme, Lady Eskis? As you know, Lady Averil hasn't even debuted yet, and she's made it clear she doesn't intend to. Even if His Highness did invite her to dance, it's impossible for an un-debuted noble to become Crown Princess."
"But I've heard that in the capital, even noblewomen who never debuted can still meet people and marry outside society. Couldn't the same apply to the position of Crown Princess?"
"That's only possible for those who take up professions and have no plans to join the social scene. To appoint a Crown Princess without the debut process would turn the entire social world into enemies. Besides, didn't the Duke declare that Lady Averil will never debut?"
At Dayna's calm explanation, Seraphina looked silently at Ariette for a moment before giving a small nod. Only then did Letticia notice how tightly Seraphina's hand had been gripping her teacup.
"…You're right. I was too hasty. I let my own impatience get the better of me and made you uncomfortable. I truly apologize."
"Oh, no, it's fine. But… to hear that you came all the way to the capital to become Crown Princess, that's amazing."
"It was only possible because my father allowed it. If His Highness chooses someone else as Crown Princess, or if he still hasn't chosen by next autumn, I'll have to return to Clarence immediately."
"You'd return to the west? You wouldn't remain here?"
Ariette exclaimed in surprise. She knew Seraphina was from the western territories, but she had never imagined she might actually return there.
"Yes. As the eldest daughter of a great lord's house, I have a duty to marry a man of suitable standing and pass down the bloodline. And in the west, noble families from other regions are treated as one rank lower than their original title. So unless I wed the heir of at least a ducal house, my family would never acknowledge the match."
"But there are dukes' heirs in the capital's social circle too. Couldn't you choose one of them?"
This time, it was Dayna who answered Letticia's question.
"The Duke of Dinever's grandson is only seven years old, and the heir of the Barthset dukedom is already married. As for the north and south, bloodline issues make them unsuitable. That leaves the east… but Prince Grenier won't come of age for another two years, so the only remaining houses are…"
"…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked something so careless."
Letticia quickly apologized. No matter how urgent Seraphina's situation was, she couldn't possibly bring herself to suggest that option.
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