Chapter 60
Raylenne blinked a couple of times.
This lady must be the only daughter of Countess Shablin Hamilton that Aiden mentioned.
[It’s best to avoid her as much as possible.]
Although Raylenne didn’t know why Aiden said that, she decided it was better not to approach Mackpin, judging by her fierce look. Mackpin seemed displeased even though she had just seen Raylenne. Still, she needed to greet her.
“Hello, Miss Mackpin.”
Despite Raylenne’s greeting, Mackpin remained silent. Unable to bear the awkwardness, Countess Shablin Hamilton intervened.
“Oh ho ho, our Mackpin is very shy and reserved. She’s probably more nervous in front of you, Miss Raylenne.”
As she said this, the countess subtly pushed Mackpin forward, signaling her to leave. Mackpin left without hesitation. As Raylenne watched Mackpin’s retreating figure, Countess Shablin Hamilton gently turned her around by the shoulders.
“It seems like everyone is here. Shall we start the tea party?”
* * *
“Miss, I’ll be over there. Call me if you need anything.”
“…Alright.”
Raylenne felt a bit uneasy as Janie, who was her support, moved away. A separate table was set for the maids and attendants, so Janie went there. Raylenne’s seat was unfortunately the one closest to Countess Shablin Hamilton. The gazes from others were intense, but Raylenne knew they would look away if she met their eyes.
At this point, she became curious about her image in high society. While Countess Shablin Hamilton welcomed her warmly, others didn’t seem as receptive.
‘It feels like they’re afraid of me….’
The one to break the silence was naturally Countess Shablin Hamilton, the host of the party.
“Hello, everyone.”
She smiled as she looked around at her guests.
“Thank you all for coming to my party. I went through the trouble of planting dahlia flowers, but it’s a pity they can’t shine because of your beauty.”
With her strong influence in high society, Countess Shablin Hamilton had excellent conversational skills. Her guests began to respond to her comments.
“Oh ho ho, you’re too kind, Countess.”
“The new dahlias are really beautiful.”
The awkward atmosphere quickly softened. The countess, smiling with satisfaction, raised her voice.
“Thank you for saying that. Since we have such beautiful guests today, let’s introduce ourselves, shall we?”
The women quieted down, indicating their agreement. As all eyes focused on her again, Raylenne swallowed nervously.
“First, let me introduce Miss Raylenne Ergen from the Ergen Ducal family.”
Despite the countess’s lively tone, the women responded with awkward smiles and claps. But the countess, being an experienced hostess, smoothly introduced the other attendees to Raylenne.
“This is the second daughter of Baron Maklar….”
“This young lady is the second daughter of Count Beltvis….”
Introductions continued for a while. Raylenne paid close attention, waiting for Lavita’s name to be mentioned.
“This is Miss Lavita, the second daughter of Marquis Beltvis.”
Finally, the name she was waiting for. Raylenne looked at Lavita. Though not a striking beauty, she had a gentle charm. Lavita seemed shy and didn’t make eye contact, only offering a small bow.
After the introductions, Countess Shablin Hamilton addressed Raylenne.
“Miss Raylenne, would you like to greet the others?”
Nodding slightly, Raylenne looked at the people around the table. For once, no one avoided her gaze. Instead, they looked at her with curiosity.
“I haven’t been able to attend such gatherings due to my health, but I’m gradually recovering and hope to participate more. I look forward to your kind cooperation.”
Raylenne smiled warmly. The table fell silent for a moment before breaking into polite applause.
The countess smiled contentedly and spoke up.
“Today’s tea is jasmine. I visited the imperial palace a few days ago and loved the fragrance, so I arranged to get the same one.”
Maids brought out dainty pink teacups and set them before the guests. Just as the countess had said, the aroma was delightful, gently tickling their noses. Raylenne wanted to savor the scent longer, but the conversation quickly resumed, with her as the focal point.
Once the initial introductions were over, the women began asking Raylenne questions, their guard seemingly lowered.
“Miss Raylenne, you couldn’t attend your debutante ball due to your health… Are you fully recovered now?”
“Not completely, but I’m well enough to attend gatherings like this.”
“That’s such a relief.”
Another noblewoman joined in.
“I saw you when you were very young, and you’ve grown so beautifully! Do you know what people call you?”
“What do they call me?”
“They call you the ‘Black Rose on the Cliff.’ The Ergen Ducal estate is on a high cliff, and with your dark hair, people started calling you that.”
“…Haha, that’s an excessive title.”
Raylenne laughed awkwardly at the overwhelming compliment. It seemed people had many questions for her since she hadn’t attended such events before. The countess, the hostess, was surprisingly gentle. Though her authority was evident, she was kind to Raylenne.
When the dessert plates were half-empty, the countess raised her voice.
“Shall we ladies have a separate chat? I’m sure the young ladies have plenty to discuss amongst themselves.”
“That sounds good.”
The women nodded in agreement, and the countess looked at Raylenne.
“You’ll probably enjoy talking with your peers more, Miss Raylenne.”
As the countess suggested, there were too many people at the table, and the ones who asked most questions were the noblewomen, leaving little room for the younger ladies to speak.
Raylenne was particularly unable to exchange even a single word with Lavita, so she kept watching her carefully.
Grateful for Countess Shablin’s sensibility, Raylenne spoke in a modest voice.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Countess Shablin left a smiling glance and stood up, leading the noble ladies into the mansion.
The table became quiet. However, soon the young ladies moved their seats closer to Raylenne.
Being with people around her age certainly made her feel more at ease.
“Lady Raylenne, your skin is really beautiful. It’s so fair that we can almost see through to your veins.”
This was because Raylenne hadn’t been outside for a long time.
Staying in her room like a recluse, she had no chance to see sunlight or damage her skin.
But unable to say that, Raylenne just smiled gently.
Inwardly, she was busy planning how to approach Lavita.
From her continuous observation, Lavita didn’t mingle with people to an extent that made her presence at this party incomprehensible.
She hadn’t seen her speak even once.
At that moment, someone spoke loudly, as if throwing a stone into a calm lake.
“I have a question for Lady Raylenne, may I ask?”
It was Macphin, the only daughter of Countess Shablin.
“Yes, of course.”
Unlike her cold greeting earlier, Macphin now wore a thoroughly docile expression.
“First, I hope Lady Raylenne won’t misunderstand. This is something everyone talks about behind your back, but I think it would be better for you to clarify these floating rumors yourself, so I’m gathering the courage to ask.”
If someone else had said this, Raylenne might have thought it plausible, but for some reason, Macphin seemed to dislike her.
Therefore, she also knew that Macphin was now pretending to be on her side.
But if she refused Macphin’s question here, it would also go as Macphin wanted.
Raylenne nodded slightly.
“Yes, go ahead.”
Macphin wore a satisfied expression, like looking at prey that had taken the bait.
“Thank you. The rumor says that the reason Lady Raylenne didn’t come out was because you were shocked by your mother’s death… Is that true?”
The atmosphere around them instantly became tense.
Everyone was watching carefully, as if this rumor floating around was indeed true.
“Moreover, I heard that Lady Raylenne has driven away more than a few employees… Of course, that can’t be true, right?”
‘So that’s what it was…’
Raylenne realized that the not-so-welcoming atmosphere she felt when she first arrived here was due to these rumors Macphin mentioned.
Raylenne looked at Macphin.
Although Macphin was carefully maintaining her expression to not reveal hostility, she couldn’t hide the antagonism in her eyes.
It seemed she had been watching her mother, Countess Shablin, and now that she was gone, Macphin was finally picking a fight.
However, Raylenne wasn’t shaken by Macphin.
“Do I have any reason to answer these ridiculous rumors?”
As the cold blue eyes turned towards Macphin, she flinched for a moment.
“…Then, are you saying all these rumors are false?”
“I don’t feel they’re worth answering.”
Raylenne stood up with a hardened expression as if angered.
“To be insulted like this at a tea party I bothered to attend, I must have chosen the wrong place to be.”
As Raylenne reacted strongly, the other noble ladies stood up in confusion.
“Lady Raylenne, please calm down. Macphin must have misunderstood.”
“That’s right. No one thought that way.”
Raylenne looked at the flustered young ladies and said,
“I don’t want this pleasant tea party to be ruined because of me.”
“Not at all. If you leave like this, we’ll be too ashamed to face you next time.”
“That’s right…!”
Raylenne looked at each of the young ladies trying to stop her, then reluctantly sat down.
“I got excited for a moment. I’m sorry for causing a disturbance.”
“No, you had every right to be angry.”
Afraid of offending the Empire’s only princess, the young ladies hurriedly clustered around Raylenne.
Even Macphin, seemingly surprised, could only blink her eyes.
When she attacked Raylenne, she probably expected her to be flustered and blush.
She certainly didn’t anticipate such a strong reaction.
After that, Macphin remained silent.
The young ladies, trying to recover the ruined atmosphere, enthusiastically engaged in conversation.
Thanks to this, one problem arose.
Raylenne still couldn’t speak to Lavita.
While she was inwardly worrying about what to do, the young ladies’ attention shifted to Lavita, who had been like a shadow.
“Lavita, isn’t there anyone new you’re interested in these days?”
Although the topic of conversation had been unmarried noble men, the sudden shift to Lavita seemed out of place.
Raylenne watched the situation curiously.
“Come now. She once had her eyes on Crown Prince Harbian, how could other men catch her attention?”
The laughter had a hidden cold edge to it.
At the mention of Harbian, Raylenne realized that the incident between Lavita and Harbian had been distorted and spread among people.
Macphin, who had been quiet until now, slowly joined the conversation.
“Didn’t she recently reject Count Rock who courted her? It was Count Rock’s fault for confessing without knowing his place.”
Unlike when she tried to attack Raylenne earlier, she was now openly mocking Lavita.
Lavita couldn’t respond and lowered her face. Her head dropped as if trying to dig a hole in the ground.
Some of the young ladies were watching carefully, suggesting that not everyone wanted this atmosphere.
However, as Macphin, who had been quiet until now, started acting like a fish in water, no one could stop her.
As usual when people gather, there are strong and weak, and here it seemed Macphin was the strong one and Lavita the weak one.
But there was something Macphin was mistaken about.
Raylenne, who had been watching, interrupted the flow by putting down her teacup with a loud noise and spoke.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with having high standards.”
Now, the strong one in this group was no longer Macphin.
