Chapter 52
“It’s fine.”
But Cassia simply shook her head lightly.
“I’m here today as a member of the Azure Dawn Knights.”
With that, she opened the conversation, wearing a charming smile.
“They say the way you carry an outfit is what matters most, right?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t I look pretty decent in pants, too?”
“Haha, you really do.”
At her confident joke, the duchess couldn’t help but laugh.
At the same time, a strange sense of anticipation bloomed in her heart.
‘Has Her Highness… really matured?’
Cassia, turning down a dress? That Cassia?
She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of expression her husband would make when he heard this.
* * *
I followed the duchess’s lead and headed to the garden of the ducal estate.
Maybe it was thanks to the tearful effort I’d put into getting along with her as much as possible.
At least compared to when we first met, the atmosphere had softened considerably.
‘Ha, what a relief.’
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly as I looked around the garden.
At the same time, my eyes widened slightly.
“Wow, the garden is so beautiful.”
“Is it? I’m glad you like it.”
At my heartfelt compliment, the duchess smiled gently with her eyes.
A refreshing breeze blew gently.
Warm sunlight poured down just enough to feel pleasant.
The scenery of the neatly arranged, radiant garden reflected the refined taste of its mistress.
A spot for tea time set with a pure white tablecloth without a speck of dust, colorful high-end desserts, and fragrant tea.
It was truly a flawless setting.
“So, the new dress from Pello’s boutique this time…”
“You know, the merchant group my husband recently invested in…”
Voices engaged in light conversation could be heard from a distance.
They were the guests who had arrived early for the tea time.
I scrutinized the guests with hawk-like eyes.
‘They’re all older than me.’
There were hardly any young ladies; most were noblewomen of middle age or older.
After all, this was a social tea party inviting Northern figures of note for light conversation and networking.
Naturally, the age range leaned older.
Just then, the duchess cleared her throat softly to announce her presence and opened her mouth gently.
“Everyone, are you enjoying yourselves?”
“Oh my, Duchess Diaz!”
“You’ve finally arrived!”
The noblewomen turned toward us with bright expressions.
And then—
“Ah.”
The moment they saw me, the noblewomen stiffened completely.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence fell.
And it lasted… quite a while…
“P-Princess?!”
A moment later.
Startled, the noblewomen shot up from their seats.
They then hurriedly gave their formal greetings.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
“We greet the Princess.”
Mmm…
Their overly dramatic reaction caught me off guard a bit, but I soon understood.
‘Well, given how notorious the original Cassia was…’
Just from what I knew of the terrible things Cassia had done up to now.
Grabbing another lady by the hair just for exchanging a few words with Giscard.
Splashing wine in someone’s face for supposedly acting disrespectful.
Throwing a tantrum because the angle of a gentleman’s bow wasn’t to her liking.
Slapping a lady for daring to wear a dress made of the same fabric as hers, accusing her of trying to mock her…
…Let’s just stop there.
“It’s truly a joy to be welcomed so warmly by you all.”
I responded as warmly as possible, showing my best social grace.
It was my own attempt to thaw the frozen atmosphere somehow.
“Today, I’m not here as a princess but as a member of the Azure Dawn Knights, so please feel free to treat me comfortably.”
I didn’t forget to smile politely.
But the tension in the noblewomen’s faces showed no sign of easing.
‘Ugh, this is heartbreaking.’
I suddenly felt incredibly disheartened.
It was the original Cassia who caused all the trouble—so why was I the one cleaning up her mess?
This just wasn’t fair!
* * *
Just after leaving the garden, the Duchess glanced back with a doubtful expression.
In the distance, she could see Cassia smiling brightly.
‘Will it be okay?’
After introducing Cassia to the noblewomen,
She had stepped away briefly under the pretense of visiting the restroom.
As a result, only Cassia and the noblewomen were now seated at the tea-time table.
‘…Still, Her Highness the Princess does seem to have matured a bit.’
It was true that Cassia had always been extremely arrogant and insolent.
But today’s Cassia seemed somewhat different.
She behaved politely and was able to consider the other person’s feelings.
So—
‘At the very least, she probably won’t cause a sudden commotion like before.’
Nodding to herself, the Duchess walked briskly across the hallway.
…But things were not okay at all.
In the short time the Duchess had gone to the restroom,
An intense war of words had erupted at the tea-time table.
* * *
At first, the noblewomen stiffened like mice before a predator the moment they faced me.
But when I simply sat there quietly sipping my tea, they gradually began to bloom with chatter again.
“I heard that rose-patterned lace decorations are in fashion these days in the capital.”
“Oh, yes, I heard about that. Ever since Lady Glenn wore them, it’s been trending… oops.”
The noble lady who was speaking instinctively stopped mid-sentence and quickly glanced at me.
Well, in the original story, Cassia couldn’t stand the idea of any other lady receiving attention besides herself.
So I could understand why she’d shrink like that.
‘This is kind of a nuisance.’
It’s not like I’m some kind of plague victim.
I gave a bright smile, full of reassurance.
“Oh, Lady Glenn started the trend with the rose-patterned lace decorations?”
Showing that I was engaging in the conversation,
“I see. That’s nice.”
I responded lightly, but then I paused.
It was because the noblewomen were staring at me in a daze.
‘Huh? Did I say something wrong?’
I don’t think so. Didn’t I handle that pretty smoothly?
As I rolled my eyes slightly in thought, I added,
“Lady Glenn is very beautiful, so I think rose-patterned lace would suit her well.”
“……”
“……”
There was that expression again.
A look of shock, fear, and strangeness—like they had just witnessed a cosmic mystery.
I furrowed my brows slightly.
‘Ugh, whatever.’
Keeping an eye on people’s reactions constantly wasn’t really my style.
So I decided to stop caring about what the noblewomen were thinking.
In other words, I quietly helped myself to some snacks.
Whatever I did, it’d just be taken as the unruly behavior of the unruly princess anyway.
‘Oh, this is tasty.’
I took a bite of the madeleine and widened my eyes.
It had a strong orange aroma—maybe they’d added orange peel?
‘The knights would probably love this if I baked it for them.’
On the way back, maybe I should stop by the kitchen and ask how they made it?
Just as I was immersed in the flavors of the dessert—
The noblewomen had relaxed again and resumed their conversations.
Then—
“By the way, have you heard the news about Lady Morious?”
“Oh, that eccentric lady?”
Eccentric?
I, who had been absorbed in the variety of dessert flavors, perked up my ears.
‘Lady Morious… isn’t she the daughter of the Morious viscount family?’
The Morious family—
They had served as the ducal house of Diaz’s attending physicians for generations.
‘So why are they calling her eccentric?’
That question was soon answered.
“To be honest, Lady Morious is a bit too much in many ways.”
“Indeed. Can you believe a lady graduated from medical school?”
“I’m just so glad my daughter is quietly taking lessons to become a good bride.”
With that as the starting point, the noblewomen began to tear into Lady Morious, figuratively chewing her up and savoring every bite.
“They say she even opened a private clinic.”
“Oh, I heard that too. She didn’t attend this tea party because she said she had to manage her clinic.”
The noblewomen lowered their voices to a whisper.
“But I heard she doesn’t have a single patient anyway.”
“Well, who would want to be treated by a rookie doctor?”
They pretended to speak out of concern, while subtly putting her down.
Their wide-open fans and the sneering smiles hidden just beneath.
“Lady Morious is already of marriageable age, yet she’s not even thinking about finding a good husband… I’m truly worried about her. Don’t you agree?”
TL/N: WHY ARE THEY TALKING LIKE SOME AUNTS IN A FAMILY GATHERING LOL!
Cctastic
Eww their behavior are totally auntie like🤨