~Chapter 05~
El wore a shining golden dress sent by her relative Brina and elegantly braided her hair.
But despite her beautiful appearance, her face looked sullen.
In contrast, Laura, who was dressing her daughter after a long time, had a big smile on her face.
“You look truly beautiful like this, Eloise.”
“Mother, do I have to go?”
“It’s a rare invitation. I wish I could go too, but as you see, I don’t have any clothes.”
Hearing the disappointment in her mother’s voice, El quickly fell silent.
El wasn’t interested in parties or teatimes, but Laura was different.
When her father was alive, Laura’s whole life was about dressing in beautiful clothes and expensive jewellery and attending elegant gatherings.
While helping El get ready, Laura gently stroked the smooth fabric.
Seeing the faint sadness on her mother’s face, El sighed.
But now, everything is different.
“To me, teatime and parties are a luxury. Buying bread for tomorrow is more important…”
After her father died, all their relatives stopped contacting them.
Or rather, after her father failed in business and lost all money, the contacts gradually disappeared.
“I guess they were afraid I’d ask to borrow money. Poor relatives are just a burden.”
Among all the relatives, only Brina Hyem, the daughter of the Hyem Count, kept in touch with El.
Brina, who was the same age as El, had helped her a lot since childhood.
The reason El still had some fancy dresses and simple accessories was that Brina invited her to parties and teatimes about once a month.
Though El didn’t always attend, Brina would send dresses and jewellery every two or three months.
Brina knew El sold those to make a living, so she sent some valuable things.
Because of Brina’s kindness, El sometimes accepted the invitations.
But this time, she didn’t want to go.
She didn’t know why, but she just felt uneasy.
“Go and have fun. Don’t worry about home today. Just enjoy yourself with the other ladies, okay?”
Laura knew how hard her daughter worked.
She knew she hadn’t done much for her as a mother.
Because of their fallen family status, they couldn’t appear in high society.
They couldn’t even have a proper debutante ball.
So, at least every two or three months, Laura wanted to give her daughter a taste of life’s pleasures.
More than that, she hoped to connect her with a good family heir.
“If she shows up at these gatherings often, a smart and beautiful girl like Eloise will surely get good marriage proposals.”
Laura believed this and encouraged El to attend the meetings often.
Reluctantly, El smiled at her mother.
“I’ll try to have a good time.”
“Good. Take care.”
El climbed into the fancy carriage sent by the Hyem family and waved to Laura.
It was just a few hours of teatime, but she felt uneasy today.
To shake off the feeling, she rubbed her hands and put on her silk gloves.
***
“We have arrived.”
Today’s teatime was held at the Peyton Count’s house.
Brina, who loved travelling, spent three or four months a year visiting places around the Eneriton Kingdom.
This time, she was staying in the capital, so she invited El to the party.
Anna Peyton, the same age as Brina, welcomed her with open arms.
The Hyem family was well respected by the royal court, and Brina’s lively personality helped, too.
In the sunny salon filled with warm sunlight, Anna had prepared a tea table and smiled brightly as she looked at the invited ladies.
However, when her gaze settled on one young lady, Anna’s smile slightly twisted.
“Welcome, Lady Eloise Moora.”
“Thank you for inviting me, Lady Anna Peyton.”
El gave a slight bow out of politeness, but compared to her smile, Anna’s expression was not very warm.
It wasn’t just Anna.
Except for Brina, everyone else looked displeased about El attending.
Ignoring the cold stares, El picked up the teacup in front of her.
Her mother’s favourite flower, roses, were delicately patterned on the exquisite porcelain cup.
“If Mother saw this, she’d like it.”
The tea, which touched her lips, was much more luxurious than what she drank at home.
Since she was already here, planning to enjoy something tasty, El took a cookie from the plate.
It was delicious, too.
As El happily sipped her tea and ate cookies, Brina whispered, “Glad you came, right?”
“The taste is good.”
“Don’t mind those ladies. When we leave, I’ll pack something special for Aunt Laura.”
“Thanks.”
El appreciated Brina’s kindness, but ignoring the other ladies’ glares was not easy.
Thinking there was a wall beside her, she forced herself to ignore their looks and took another cookie.
The topics among the noble ladies were predictable.
They praised one lady’s dress because she changed designers, talked about the popular novel Wizard Pilate, and seriously discussed what jewellery to wear to the upcoming ball.
El already knew most of these topics.
El had a surprisingly extensive knowledge of general knowledge and gossip, thanks to Brina’s occasional invitations and the different stories she heard at the market.
Whether some of it was true or just rumours didn’t matter.
All she could recall was the information that would help her survive.
While eating her fifth cookie, Anna smiled at her.
“You must be very hungry. These cookies have plenty of butter. I heard you work with your hands a lot, so you should eat well. Should I get you more?”
Anna was subtly mocking El, who was eating five cookies all alone—cookies everyone else avoided for fear of gaining weight—and working in the fields.
Brina was about to speak up in protest, but El gently grabbed her hand and spoke first.
“The cook’s skills are excellent. Thank you.”
Anna was speechless watching El’s unshaken gratitude.
Seeing El’s shameless face made Anna blush instead.
Catherine, holding a teacup, then spoke.
“Lady Eloise, what do you think?”
“Hm?”
Speaking of Wizard Pilate. Who do you think was the woman he loved?”
El watched Catherine carefully as she lowered her eyes slightly.
Catherine was the daughter of the Amber Count.
She and Anna were rivals—Anna supported the crown prince, Catherine the princess—but they always stuck together at tea parties.
El found this funny but pretended not to notice.
Which do you prefer, Sisily or Luria? You’re familiar with the tale? It’s a very popular novel now… though I guess you’re too busy to read books. You’re more familiar with dirt and fields than stories.”
Her smiling tone was very annoying.
As was to be expected, she covered her mouth with a fan and whispered something to a woman nearby, and the room echoed with stifled laughter.
All El wanted to do was eat her cookies in silence and go, but now she was uncomfortable.
Above all, she couldn’t bear to see Brina’s face.
For Brina, who always treated her kindly despite others’ whispers, El decided this time she wouldn’t stay silent.
She put down her cookie and looked Catherine straight in the eye.
“It’s probably Sisily.”
“Why? Sisily is just a noble’s daughter, but Luria is a precious princess of the Hana Duchy. And Pilate gave the Dragon’s Heart to Luria, right? Do you even know the story?”
“The Lar Gorge, where Pilate lives, is a neutral area, not part of any country. But the Hana Duchy tries to invade it because of a huge copper mine buried there. That’s why he gave the Dragon’s Heart—not as a pledge of loyalty, but as a political move. Pilate is a man who can separate politics and love.”
El gave a brief synopsis of the three-volume book’s contents.
Catherine was left speechless.
But losing here would be a huge blow to her pride.
No surprise, the other young ladies watched the tense exchange with interest, especially Anna, whose eyes shone brightly.
Catherine, struggling to reply, retorted sharply.
“I know that much. But that doesn’t prove he loves Sisily. He might marry Luria for political reasons.”
“That wasn’t your question. You asked who Pilate loves, not who he marries. Did you forget so soon?”
Catherine blinked, speechless.
She hadn’t expected El to answer so sharply.
She thought Catherine didn’t know the book and asked lightly—but now her gaze at El grew hostile.
Because the young ladies were giving her unfriendly looks, El stood up from her chair.
They had been especially talkative today.
“As you know, I’m a bit busy… I have to water the fields. Please enjoy the rest of your time.”
When El stood, Brina also stood up.
In an apologetic gesture, Brina clasped El’s arm as she led her to the carriage.
“I invited you to cheer up with some good food. I’m sorry.”
“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s just one or two days. I’ll go now.”
“Take care.”
El, who also packed snacks for Laura, sighed as she sat in the carriage.
“Ah, did I feel uneasy because this kind of thing was going to happen?”
Now that the ladies’ tea party was over, this uneasy feeling should have gone away, but the back of her head still tingled.
El slightly drew back the curtain and looked outside.
She saw Brina going up the stairs and a few servants moving peacefully about.
Turning her head, she still couldn’t erase the uneasy expression.
“Ah, something’s wrong. I feel like someone is watching me… Is it the cold stares from the young ladies?”
El shook her head to get rid of the uneasy feeling.
