Chapter 18. A Tea Party Full of Hostility

At first, there were the kind of clichéd greetings you’d find in etiquette books.

They scrutinized Ael with hawk-like eyes, as if assessing prey. Under those sharp gazes, Ael felt like a criminal dragged out into the square.

With nowhere to hide from their scrutiny, Ael’s gaze eventually fell to the clothes she was wearing.

Before coming here, what troubled Ael the most was her attire. Having been invited suddenly, she had to choose something to wear from what she had, but none of her remaining clothes were suitable for a tea party.

She managed to find some clothes from her debut year, but even then, they were long out of fashion.

Moreover, having been left unattended for so long, they were discolored and not in a wearable state.

There was only one solution left: to borrow Elise’s clothes.

Naturally, Elise wasn’t pleased. But even Elise wasn’t foolish enough to prioritize her feelings over this serious situation.

Knowing well that Ael wearing old clothes would immediately affect her reputation too, Elise reluctantly handed over one of the dresses she had bought for this year’s tea parties.

Though she had secured a dress, the problems didn’t end there. Elise’s clothes didn’t fit Ael.

To wear the latest fashion every season, Elise always restricted her meals.

In Denertum, a woman’s virtue was considered to be in her slender arms, legs, and waist.

Also, it was thought that too soft curves of the body incited lust in others, so they were considered vulgar. Thus, everyone tried to wrap and tighten their bodies to appear slimmer.

Of course, Ael was not like that. The moment she put on Elise’s clothes, Ael’s expression became serious.

The arms and waist fit well enough, but the chest didn’t.

She could barely wear it, but as it was, she wouldn’t be able to move properly, like a wooden doll.

Ael and Jenna hurriedly began to alter the dress.

If they had taken it to a tailor, it might have been finished sooner, but it was so urgent that even they refused, saying it was difficult, so Ael had no choice but to do it herself.

Her experience in altering the clothes Elise got tired of wearing proved to be very helpful.

The Viscountess looked at the dress Ael had altered and said with a satisfied face that it was good enough.

〈This should be fine for wearing. But isn’t it a bit embarrassing to have such a dull body? Your father says he’s making his last effort to find you a match this year, so from now on, be careful to appear more modest.〉

Saying this, the Viscountess sighed deeply as she looked at Ael’s chest. Ael had to lower her head, her face flushed.

The Viscountess’s gaze, as if looking at something vulgar, along with the marriage issue she had momentarily forgotten, felt like a sharp stab deep in her heart.

It was the same now. The way others looked at her was as if they were seeing a maid intrude into this place.

Riena guided Ael to her seat. It was the third seat from Riena, the host of the tea party.

Typically, seating at a tea party is determined by one’s closeness to the host.

The third seat was too close for Ael, who was attending for the first time today. Yet, it wasn’t close enough to warrant sending a carriage to bring her.

‘Why on earth?’

Why had Riena invited her to this seat, instead of Elise?

What was certain was that she hadn’t done anything wrong. So, having accepted the invitation, she just needed to enjoy herself lightly as stated in the invitation.

Ael relaxed a bit and straightened her posture.

Was it different from what they thought? When Ael relaxed and picked up the teacup, the people around her looked surprised.

Viscount Aradis’s family. The vulgar family of Elise, who relied solely on her looks.

Compared to Elise, there was nothing better about her sister, who couldn’t hide her frivolity and angered the old nobles, leading to her virtual expulsion and seclusion at home in her debut year.

People couldn’t even remember her name properly, but when someone mentioned Aelfrieda, laughter erupted from all around.

Upon hearing the name of the most powerful heir in mythology, they recalled someone so different from that name.

Others were also curious. Why had Riena invited her inadequate sister instead of Elise?

Their questions were soon answered. Not long after the tea party began, Riena finally revealed the purpose of the tea party that everyone was curious about.

“Elise seems quite busy these days, so I invited only her sister, Aelfrieda. Could you tell her I received the tea from the Ash Merchant Guild well last time? It’s hard to find, and it smelled wonderful.”

“Of course.”

“Come to think of it, I heard that tea was obtained through some help to the Ash Merchant Guild. Since you’re from the same family, Aelfrieda, you must know well what that help was.”

Naturally. The whole matter had started with her in the first place.

Just as Ael was about to speak, Riena, as if she forgot, pointed to a man sitting a little apart and spoke.

“I forgot to introduce him. This is Mr. Ino Baltern, the deputy branch manager of the Ash Merchant Guild’s Denertum branch.”

At Riena’s explanation, the man sitting in the corner, staring at the table before him as if the world had ended, slightly bowed his head in greeting.

“As the deputy branch manager, he seems to know everything about the guild’s affairs. Isn’t that right, Aelfrieda? So I’d like you to speak honestly.”

Ael couldn’t understand why Riena was suddenly saying this to her.

To anyone listening, it sounded as if she was telling a lying child that she knew everything, so they should speak honestly.

Ino seemed just as puzzled. Judging by his expression, it didn’t seem like he and Riena had conspired something, so Ael calmly talked about the commotion that happened that day.

Of course, she left out the part about her running an errand, thinking it might cause unnecessary trouble later.

But when Ael finished speaking, Riena looked very surprised and spoke in a loud voice that was clearly intentional.

“Is that true? What I heard was very different from your story.”

“Yes. We heard that Viscount Aradis and Elise greatly helped the Ash Merchant Guild…”

“Didn’t they say that they were so impressed by Elise’s eye for things that they begged her to accept it?”

People continued to talk after that. From their words, Ael could understand.

Why she had been invited here, and why a person from the Ash Merchant Guild was present.

‘Elise lied.’

She must have boasted to make herself look better while giving away tea, cookies, and other items as if she were being generous.

Ael swallowed a sigh. No wonder Elise was biting her nails anxiously, which was unlike her usual self, before she left. She must have been worried about a situation like this.

If so, she should have spoken to her before she left.

She could have said that she had already spoken like this in social circles, so Ael should adjust her words accordingly.

‘…Though her pride would have been hurt to do so.’

Elise, who had only ever given orders to her throughout her life… even though she was her sister, she treated her more lowly than a maid.

For such a person, admitting her mistake and asking for cooperation would have been harder than dying.

Ael could easily guess Elise’s thoughts. That’s how Elise had always been in Ael’s eyes.

* * *

Once Riena achieved her purpose, she no longer paid attention to Ael.

‘All I needed was to confirm her lie.’

Recently, Elise had been acting arrogantly, having gotten her hands on the Ash Merchant Guild’s tea before Riena.

‘How on earth did she manage to get something the royal family hadn’t even acquired yet?’

Moreover, the Grand Duke seemed to have softened his view of Elise, praising her discernment more than before.

Seeing this made Riena feel as if her vision was turning upside down. She pondered how she could possibly put an end to Elise’s arrogance, and then she discovered that the stories Elise told people were inconsistent.

At that moment, she instinctively knew. That there was a lie among Elise’s words.

‘So I deliberately called for Aelfrieda.’

Even if she called Elise and pressed her, that sly fox would just use her tongue to make excuses as usual.

And she would skillfully slip away. If cornered to the end, she would surely pretend to faint to escape.

So she deliberately brought Aelfrieda, who knew the circumstances to some extent but wasn’t as cunning.

‘It worked as planned.’

Riena was satisfied with the successful execution of her plan. Now it was time to appropriately dispose of what was no longer needed.