TCBCVF 107

~Chapter 107~

It couldn’t help but grow gloomy. Because as soon as the news of the charity party spread—

“They say Senior Priest Evans entrusted Lady Lopez with planning the charity party?”
“My goodness, the two must be very close.”
“Don’t you think they suit each other so well?”

Such rumors were everywhere.

And after checking, it turned out to be true.

Thanks to her connection with Senior Priest Evans, Seraphina’s once-fallen reputation soared to the skies.

“What on earth is she scheming?”

I frowned and muttered to myself.

While I worried, Lady Eva suddenly hugged my neck tightly.

“Well, I’m not worried. Because I have Laritte.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Of course. No matter what tricks Lady Lopez pulls, I already have my best friend.”

With a proud declaration, she rubbed her cheek against mine, smiling with her eyes.

“I don’t care at all about reputation.”

“But, my lady…”

I patted her back and reminded her,

“Wasn’t the reason you wanted to restore your reputation at first… because of the reduction in dignity expenses?”

“Ah.”

I must have hit the mark.

She froze like a startled cat, then quickly lifted her chin proudly.

“Eh, not anymore. I already have someone I want to look good for.”

Then she gave me a sly side glance.

…Why are you looking at me like that?

Regardless, she leaned her chin on my shoulder, staring at the invitation card in my hand.

“But Laritte,” she asked, eyes still fixed on the card,

“What’s this event called ‘The Brightest Star of November’?”

I reread the words written on the invitation.

[As light entertainment, we will choose the Brightest Star of November.
If you donate an item, it will be put up for auction and sold.
All proceeds will be used for charity.]

‘Wait, isn’t this the Rose Game?’

I filled Eva’s empty teacup with warm tea and asked,

“My lady, do you know the Rose Game?”

“Ah… I’ve only heard of it by name.”

The Rose Game.

A lighthearted social game with hints of romance, played at gatherings of men and women.

Usually, the ladies offered things like embroidery, a fan, or a drawing as auction items.

The gentlemen then bid on them.

The proceeds would then be used to buy expensive gifts for everyone at the gathering.

If a lady had a fiancé, he usually bought her item.

But for other ladies, it became a matter of pride.

“Because it’s an auction, right?” I shrugged.

“By seeing how much the gentlemen bid on a lady’s item, you could measure how much interest she had from them.”

“Ohh, I see?” Eva nodded, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

For reference, Seraphina had always been the winner of the Rose Game.

Gregory once bid so much on her handkerchief that it equaled the cost of renting a small hall for a whole day.

And me?

I used to watch their sweet display and think,

‘Wow, what a beautiful handkerchief! They both have such good taste!’

…Yes. That’s the kind of nonsense I said.

And Gregory never even looked at my items.

Not once.

Ha. Oh, foolish past self.

While I was drowning in bitter memories, I glanced at Lady Eva.

‘If she had ever attended those games, Seraphina wouldn’t have stood a chance!’

But Eva had never joined. She rarely even went to social gatherings.

And yet she was still regarded as the most dazzling rose in society.

That showed just how beautiful, graceful, and lovable she was.

While I burned with admiration, Eva narrowed her eyes and asked,

“So, to summarize… the game measures how much attention a lady gets from gentlemen. Correct?”

Gasp.

I snapped back to reality.

Because whenever Eva spoke in that tone, something always happened.

Eva muttered in a low, ominous voice,

“In that case, we cannot lose.”

“Huh?”

This feels dangerous.

But Eva was already fired up.

“Laritte, what are you going to submit?!”

“Uh… I haven’t thought about it yet.”

I answered awkwardly.

Well, it did sound like a pride contest.

“Since it’s optional, we could just donate money instead…”

“No!”

Eva shook her head firmly, her eyes blazing.

“This is a challenge.”

“Huh?”

“It’s obvious Lady Lopez planned this event to flaunt her popularity!”

Hmm… she wasn’t wrong.

Seraphina must have already lined up someone to buy her item for an outrageous price. Most likely Senior Priest Evans.

But did we really have to play along?

If we just gave money, there’d be no comparison at all.

Still, Eva clearly thought otherwise.

She grabbed my hand with a sly grin.

“I kind of want to be a little mischievous.”

“…What?”

“You’ll help me, right?”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry, it won’t harm the charity. It’ll only add to it.”

I couldn’t keep up with her words, only repeating “What?” again and again.

Her smile deepened.

“Fufufu… fufufufu…”

That sinister smile—what are you thinking?!

And then—

“Lady Laritte.”

Amy approached in quick steps and handed me a letter.

Puzzled, I looked up.

“What’s this?”

“A card sent in the name of the Claudius Ducal House.”

“Huh? But I’m right here.”

Eva also looked confused.

“Other than me, who else from my family would send you… oh, no way?!”

At that moment, she turned to me with a mischievous gleam.

“Could it be… my brother?!”

“….”

I avoided her burning gaze and opened the envelope.

And yet, my heart felt strangely light.

‘Come to think of it… isn’t this the first time the Duke has sent me a card directly?’

The card was filled with writing.

‘Ah.’

I traced my fingers over the letters.

‘So this is the Duke’s handwriting…’

The letters leaned slightly, elongated vertically—scribbled in a way typical of someone who worked with documents daily.

But that made it look even more elegant.

“What are you doing, Laritte?”

I had been staring blankly at the card when Eva’s sharp voice snapped me out of it.

“Are you having a staring contest with the card?”

“N-no!”

I quickly dropped my gaze back to the writing.