“Sigh, I should not have said I was going to a tea party. But for the sake of my family, now is the best time. Edil is doing his best, but just sending money is not enough. I want to use the Duke family’s connections if possible.”
Right now, Father’s military success in the war is still fresh, the Duke family’s donations and Edil’s support are hot topics, and both our family and the Durtal Duke family carry a lot of influence.
It is the best timing to promote the fabrics, fruits, and wood of the Blanchard County territory.
Riding in the carriage toward the Abernethy Marquis family, I look over at Rosa, who is coming along.
The maids assigned to me, including Rosa, are veterans in their early forties. I do not see any young girls, and I have never seen Iris’s maids.
I even suspected that they might make me wear a weird outfit and send me to the tea party to embarrass me, but that does not seem to be the case. The dresses I was bought are all of good quality and do not look strange at all.
Compared to the dresses I brought with me, it was like heaven and earth. Nine out of ten people would point at the dress Iris chose and say, “I want this one.” The remaining one person is me. Because I had an emotional attachment to the dresses I brought.
The Abernethy Marquis family’s estate was large, though not quite as big as the Durtal Duke family’s.
When was it… they even produced a Prime Minister five generations ago, so they must be very smart!
I will make connections at this tea party and do some promotion.
Since I would be in trouble if my debts increased, I will avoid going to tea parties for the most part from now on.
The Duke did not strictly say I must go or must not go, so with how wealthy he is, socializing at tea parties probably is not mandatory.
Guided by a servant toward the garden, tables and chairs were already set up, and the other participants were already seated.
There is only one chair left.
Huh? Am I late? I thought I arrived early.
“My, you really came.”
A young lady with navy hair spoke up, but looking at her appearance and seating position, she is not the host, Lady Grace Abernethy.
“Good day. Thank you for inviting me multiple times.”
Not knowing where the host is, I surveyed the entire table and greeted them, but a few people, led by the navy-haired young lady, giggled.
I felt Rosa tense up behind me.
“Showing up even though you were not invited. Isn’t that a bit shameless?”
Huh? Is this directed at me?
The navy-haired young lady keeps talking—is she second-in-command after the host? Or is she more like a sycophant?
“No, I was invited. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be strange to let me pass all the way here?”
I already handed the invitation to the Abernethy Marquis family’s servant, so I do not have it on hand, but wouldn’t letting outsiders come this far mean suspicious people could just walk right in?
“My, it is as if you forced your way in just because you, representing the Duke family, happened to come here? Look over there, please. There is no chair for a Duchess.”
The one seat left must be for the host.
“Oh, is that so? Then it seems a fake invitation impersonating the Abernethy Marquis family was sent to the Durtal Duke family. I still have the envelope, so I must report it to the Knights immediately. Well then, sorry to disturb you. Excuse me.”
I bowed and turned on my heel.
The Marquis family’s servant frantically tried to stop me, but I ignored them and started walking.
I saw Rosa quietly following me behind, but somehow, is Rosa smiling?
“Wait a moment!”
I heard that voice from behind, but I kept walking while ignoring it until a flash of red suddenly entered the corner of my vision, making me stop.
Running with a breathlessness unbefitting a young lady, and chasing after me, was a young lady with red hair.
“Hah, hah… Duchess, it seems there was a misunderstanding. We will prepare a seat for you immediately, so please return to the garden.”
This rare red-haired twin-tailed young lady must be Lady Abernethy. Her appearance matches the prior information drilled into me by Iris.
“Oh, but a fake letter impersonating the Marquis family is a serious matter, so we must deal with it right away.”
“No, I sent the invitation. Saying you were not invited was just a misunderstanding on that young lady’s part. I hope you can forgive us with a generous heart.”
“However, it seemed there weren’t enough chairs.”
“That was also a mistake by the servants.”
Aren’t there a bit too many misunderstandings and mistakes?
When I glanced at the maid standing beside her, she averted her eyes blatantly.
Hmm, is this part of the harassment? I am glad Iris didn’t have to go through something like this, but if everyone has the same attitude as the navy-haired young lady, today might not be very good for promotion.
“Is that so?”
What should I do, should I just go home? But if I leave too early, it will start rumors.
I had chosen one of the easy-to-move-in dresses Iris bought for me because I thought it would turn into a catfight with someone saying, “How dare you force a marriage on the Duke with a royal decree!”
Hmm, would it be enough to promote my family with just this tea party and one more? I am starting to feel it is pointless to promote to people who pull childish pranks like this. Still, I want money, and right now is the best time to raise my profile.
When I followed behind Lady Abernethy back to the venue, another chair had been added right next to the host.
“Are you sure I may sit here?”
“Of course.”
I sent a glance toward the navy-haired young lady as well, but she turned her face away.
Sitting next to the host, the tea party begins.
It seems not everyone here is close friends with Lady Abernethy… at least not judging by the various wandering gazes.
“Is it true that the Duchess of Durtal had a tailor called over just for this tea party?”
“Did she buy ready-made clothes?”
“Oh, do you know about that? Have you perhaps been watching our house all this time?”
Even though it was only decided on the day of the event to call that tailor, rumors have already spread!
Iris said that shop owner is tight-lipped, which means someone must have either witnessed the owner loading ready-made clothes or kept watch on our house, right? Since they are calling them ready-made clothes, they must have also seen the owner entering our house.
I just raised a pure question, but Lady Abernethy’s face turned red and she froze.
I wonder, is she just that embarrassed that she cares so much about the Duke? Since marriage proposals were made multiple times, it is common knowledge, so isn’t it fine to just say it?
Or maybe she wants to hear about Iris?
“Iris chose and bought the dress for me. She was also the one who called the tailor.”
“By Iris, you mean…”
“Iris-san. She is a very beautiful and wonderful person.”
Calling her a mistress doesn’t sound very mood-appropriate, does it?
Since Iris told me to fight in her place, I suppose I should elevate Iris’s image here.
“Are you getting along well with his mistress?”
“Yes, because it is the duty of an air wife. We always drink tea together in the salon. She treats me very well.”
It seems there were young married women as well as young ladies at today’s tea party. I answered one of the women with a bright smile while purposely fluttering a shawl I brought to promote the Blanchard County’s textiles.
After all, you have to show it off when everyone’s attention is on you! I brought this shawl specifically because Iris approved of it!
“Eek!”
Hearing a scream and a clatter from behind, I turned around to see a young servant dropping a tray, breaking the tableware on top.
“What are you doing!”
“I-I am so sorry!”
Lady Abernethy scolded the servant, while the other servants hurriedly cleaned up the shards and wiped away the spilled tea.
And I went through all the trouble of fluttering it!
The participants’ attention went straight to the broken dishes, so unfortunately, nobody asked me about the shawl. After all, I can’t just say, “Hey, hey, buy this.”
Ah, how disappointing.
I tried to look for the next chance, but Lady Abernethy looked flustered, perhaps because of the misunderstandings, mistakes, and falling objects during the tea party.
With the host like that, the other participants couldn’t really get excited either.
What should I do? This awkward atmosphere.
As I shifted my gaze wondering if the mood would change, I noticed that tea had spilled onto the hem of Lady Abernethy’s dress. It must have happened when the servant dropped the dishes earlier, and because the dress was dark-colored, it went unnoticed.
“Um, there is tea spilled on the hem of your dress.”
That was simultaneous with hearing a low, ominous growl.