TCBCVF 56

~Chapter 56~

That evening, Evangeline locked herself in her bedroom without even eating dinner.

‘Honestly, there’s nothing bad about today.’

She lay sprawled on her bed, thinking about what had happened.

‘Lady Ansi’s reputation seems to have recovered a lot, right?’

It was only natural.

Until now, the direct descendants of the Claudius Duke’s family never formed close friendships with anyone.

But recently, Dietrich and Evangeline were close to Larit (Lady Ansi).

That connection alone was enough for Lady Ansi to become noticed in society.

‘And I also…’

Evangeline’s gaze turned a little hazy.

At the reading club, the ladies had been very friendly toward her.

“I can’t believe the princess came to our club!”

“Oh my, this is the first time I’ve seen you so close!”

She remembered the ladies blushing as they spoke.

Evangeline had already accomplished her main goal: to soften the rumors about her being arrogant.

From the beginning, she had approached Lady Ansi for that purpose and even written up a “friendship contract.”

Now, she was seeing results.

Yet—

“…”

Suddenly, her chest hurt.

Evangeline bit her lip.

‘Lady Ansi looked so happy spending time with the others today.’

Lady Ansi was happy. Evangeline’s reputation was restored.

That meant both of them had achieved their goals.

‘So… I should be happy too.’

But her usually clear blue eyes were now clouded, like a stormy sky.

‘Why do I feel so bad?’

Lady Ansi had been smiling and talking happily with the other ladies.

Even though she was right next to Evangeline at the time…

…for some reason, she felt so far away.

‘Could it be… Lady Ansi prefers making other friends over me?’

Evangeline unknowingly gripped the blanket tightly.

She quickly shook her head.

‘What does it matter?’

She and Lady Ansi only became friends because of a contract.

As long as they followed the contract, it was fine.

Even though she told herself that—

“…This is so annoying.”

Her heart felt sharp and prickly, like a hedgehog.

Unable to understand why she felt this way, Evangeline angrily buried her face into the pillow.

There were countless social gatherings in the capital.

Horse riding, tea, music… all kinds of events.

But among them, there was one group that stood out: The Peony Society.

This group was made up of the “most popular” ladies of high society.

Just being part of it meant you were powerful in the social world.

And the most famous member of “The Peony” was Seraphina Lopez.

She was from the low-ranking Lopez baron family with no land of their own, but thanks to her beauty and kind personality, she was one of the top ladies of society.

But despite her glamorous reputation, Seraphina was currently burning with frustration.

Her influence was slowly but clearly fading.

The reason? Other ladies were starting to resist her, even if only in small ways.

“I heard the Claudius princess attended the Ansi family’s party recently?”

Yes, like this.

Although Seraphina was careful not to openly show her hostility toward Evangeline…

Everyone already knew how much she hated her.

Yet, the ladies casually brought it up right in front of her.

“Oh, and I heard the Duke himself danced the first dance with Lady Ansi!”

The corners of Seraphina’s smiling lips twitched slightly.

‘This is so strange.’

It wasn’t like this before.

Ever since Larit had drifted away from her, things kept going wrong.

It felt like…

‘I used to be the main character of this world, but now I’m not anymore.’

This strange feeling of powerlessness was eating away at her.

Meanwhile, the chatter about Lady Ansi and the Claudius siblings continued.

“My aunt went to the Ansi family’s party in the south, and she said Lady Ansi was very beautiful!”

“What? That gloomy Lady Ansi?”

Seraphina’s name wasn’t coming up at all, only Larit’s.

‘That girl is nothing without the Claudius princess’s protection!’

Seraphina clenched her teeth and forced herself to stay seated.

“And I heard the Gusto Count family’s summer party was completely empty?”

“Well, of course. The Ansi party was so popular.”

One lady glanced at Seraphina with a mocking smile.

“A lot of famous people attended too.”

In social terms, that basically meant:

‘Lady Lopez, you’re not the kind of person who can attract important guests, are you?’

‘How dare they!’

Seraphina’s grip on her fan was so tight the veins on her hand bulged.

Still, she kept smiling.

Because whoever got angry first would lose.

“Come to think of it, didn’t Lady Lopez always attend the Gusto family’s summer parties?”

“Yes, I heard she was very famous in the south.”

“Well, there’s no lady as beautiful and kind as Lady Lopez, right?”

Seraphina’s eyes went cold.

That fake compliment… it was the same way she used to belittle others.

It was a subtle way of saying:

‘You’re so amazing… but you still failed, didn’t you?’

‘This is… not good.’

The mood of the group had changed.

Before, everyone looked up to Seraphina.

But now, there was a clear atmosphere of ignoring her.

After all, there could only be one queen in any social group.

Until now, Seraphina had held that position firmly.

But now, with Evangeline and Lady Ansi rising, Seraphina’s power was shrinking day by day.

“By the way, isn’t it strange Lady Lopez wasn’t invited to the Claudius salon?”

“Yes! Honestly, I thought Lady Ansi would at least try to help you get invited.”

The sharp words stabbed straight into Seraphina’s chest.

“Lady Lopez used to care so much for Lady Ansi.”

“Isn’t she ungrateful?”

Then, as if to pretend they were only worried for her, they added:

“Well, I guess Lady Ansi didn’t want to upset the princess.”

“Still, Lady Ansi used to be so devoted to you. We were honestly jealous of your friendship.”

But Seraphina understood the hidden meaning behind those words:

‘Was your friendship with Lady Ansi that shallow?’

‘Without Lady Ansi’s sacrifices, you’re nothing, right?’

‘Ha… seriously.’