The social debut. It meant being recognized as an adult among noble sons and daughters, and being allowed to join the gatherings of high society.
Here in the Kingdom of Rendel, the earliest social debut came at eighteen. Young nobles were presented to His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, and only after receiving an audience were they considered full adults. With the start of the social season, the royal capital filled with young people from across the land.
I wasn’t looking forward to the ball, but the thought of seeing my upperclassmen and friends from the academy did lift my spirits a little.
On the day of the audience, I prepared myself with great care. A white dress, a silver tiara. My gloves and shoes were white as well. I looked almost like a bride.
Since I had no fiancé, my chaperone was my mother. She seemed far more excited about the ball hosted by Queen Margarette afterward than about my actual debut audience.
When I gave her a deadpan stare, she looked genuinely hurt.
”I’m not dismissing your decision to remain unmarried,” she said. “But you don’t hate marriage itself, do you? So why rush to such an extreme conclusion? You haven’t even had your debut yet. Giving up and running away before making any effort to find someone you love – that’s not like you at all.”
Her words struck home. I had no comeback.
In my past life, I’d accepted political marriages as simply part of a noble’s duty. My sudden declaration of spinsterhood must have been jarring, and I couldn’t blame anyone for calling it rash. For a noble daughter – one who wasn’t entering a convent – to insist on remaining single was that unusual.
What’s more, my mother wasn’t even thinking about noble obligations. She was worried about her daughter’s future, as any mother would. And I’d made it worse by hinting that a love match might be acceptable. Now I had no choice but to attend the ball, meet as many people as possible, and prove that my feelings wouldn’t change.
For now, all I could do was go through the motions.
”Mother, may I have the fan? It hardly seems proper to not know who my partners are until the very last moment.”
The fan served as a dance reservation card, with the gentlemen’s names written on the back. Normally, the mother or chaperone held the fan, while the unmarried young lady carried a bouquet. If a young lady held the fan herself, it meant: “My dance card is already full.”
Judging by my mother’s enthusiasm – and the fact that the bouquet she’d prepared was nowhere in sight – I was almost certainly going to be holding that fan myself.
”Her Majesty Queen Margarette has arranged it personally,” my mother continued. “How wonderful. If you’d thrown a tantrum and tried to run away, your reputation would have suffered. A business owner who’s impulsive and faint-hearted? Unthinkable. Now, if you truly decide it’s impossible after careful consideration, that’s different. That would be a strategic withdrawal.”
”Yes, Mother,” I said, nodding.
Through the carriage window, I looked up at the palace. The glittering royal palace was also the grand stage where I would prove that my decision to remain single was my own.
After entering the palace, we waited in the hall for our turn at the audience.
”Lady Rebecca!”
A familiar voice called out as I entered the hall, and I felt my heart lighten.
It was my classmate from the Royal Lemres Academy, Samantha-jou. This was the first time we’d met since her engagement to Sir Garrett had officially been annulled. She was looking at me with a rather complicated expression.
Samantha-jou had been quite distressed over how I, as Sir Garrett’s fiancée, had been treated. I thought she’d worried far more than I ever had – I’d been rather indifferent to Sir Garrett’s attitude, honestly. We’d kept up correspondence after graduation, and I’d written to her about the annulment, but letters couldn’t convey everything. She seemed concerned that I might be forcing myself.
We lowered our voices and began to speak, mindful of the people around us.
”If it’s about that matter, please, celebrate with me.”
I smiled playfully, and Samantha-jou finally returned a genuine smile.
”I suspected as much from what you said at the graduation party… but seeing your face now, I’m truly relieved.”
”I told you in my letter, didn’t I? I’m already looking toward the future. Speaking of the future – I heard that Evan-sama and Brandon-sama both received quite a scolding from their fathers. They had to give up their holidays, and their postings were adjusted. I hear they’ve been thoroughly looked after.” I smiled meaningfully. “My own brother David was looking rather haggard after whatever Father put him through.”
Apparently, Evan-sama and Brandon-sama were now realizing just how valuable their fiancées and lovers were. They were sending flowers and gifts almost daily, and their relationships had only grown stronger.
”I’m sure their colleagues find it quite troublesome,” Samantha-jou said, “but for the gentlemen themselves, it’s good medicine.”
We were giggling together over such talk when my name was called. It was time to move to the audience chamber.
I passed under the glittering chandeliers and ascended the grand staircase, its handrails polished to a mirror shine. After walking through the long corridor, I arrived at the audience chamber.
Young ladies making their debut into society greeted His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen with a lady’s curtsy. Afterward, receiving a white flower from the Queen marked the successful conclusion of the audience.
My name was called.
I stepped forward toward the throne with grace, elegance, and confidence. A gesture I’d performed hundreds, even thousands of times before. It almost felt as though I’d been practicing all this time for today. I wanted to convey my genuine reverence. Paying careful attention to every detail, from the spread of my dress’s hem to the smallest motion, I slowly bowed to His Majesty and the Queen.
From somewhere, I heard a soft sigh.
A moment later, the Queen offered me something along with the white flower – a fan.
”I humbly accept,” I said.
I received the flower and the fan with both hands and withdrew from the audience chamber. And just like that, my social debut was complete.
The flower bestowed by the Queen served as my invitation to the ball that would follow. It was ceremonial, of course – the moment I received permission for the audience, my attendance at the ball was already guaranteed. But the flower in my hair carried an important message: “This young lady is making her debut today. She’s under the Queen’s personal attention, so please, no mischief.”
And then there was the fan.
The crest of the royal family was inlaid at its pivot point. No gentleman would dare approach a woman carrying a fan like that – except, of course, for those introduced by the Queen herself.
I hurried my mother, who was beaming with that wonderful smile of hers, and we returned to the Howard family’s designated waiting room.
I snapped the fan open.
What was written there –
”Oh my.”
Even my mother, peering at the fan over my shoulder, looked genuinely surprised. I was speechless.
My hopes were either a quiet life in the countryside or emigrating abroad to expand my business ventures.
And yet…
I stared at the words written across the entire surface of the fan – “A man of the royal family who yearns for you” – and I felt like crying.
At Queen Margarette’s ball, which I attended with an unsettled heart, many young ladies were wearing white flowers in their hair. Most of them held fans themselves, perhaps due to parents’ concerns that their newly debuted daughters wouldn’t be left as wallflowers.
When I spotted Samantha-jou, I clenched the pivot of my fan. It might have been a little unnatural, but if she saw the royal crest, her sharp mind would surely suspect something. My mother was chatting some distance away, so I decided to enjoy my conversation with my friend without reservation.
After a while, the hall buzzed with activity. Someone notable had apparently arrived.
”Oh my. I heard he didn’t care for such events. Could it be a surprise?”
Samantha-jou sounded surprised, but I didn’t turn around.
A chill ran down my spine. The person who had arrived – it was the one I’d wanted to see one last time before he returned to his territory. My intuition told me so.
I wanted to see him. But I didn’t. Rather, I felt I shouldn’t. Just catching a glimpse from afar would be enough. So –
Just then, Evan-sama appeared and took Samantha-jou’s hand. He wanted to introduce his lovely fiancée to his friends. I watched them disappear into the crowd.
The presence of that person drew nearer, and my heart churned against my will.
I decided it was better to stay close to my guardian at a time like this, and I turned toward my mother –
”Long time no see, Rebecca.”
A voice came from behind me…
My heart leaped. My fingers tightened around the fan.
Summary:
Rebecca completes her social debut with a white flower and a fan bearing the royal crest. She reunites with her anxious friend Samantha and learns that Evan and Brandon have been punished by their fathers. At the ball, sensing the approach of someone she both longs for and fears, she tries to retreat but is stopped by a voice from behind.
Trivia:
- Rebecca’s mother is more excited about the ball than the actual debut audience.
- Holding the fan yourself signals that your dance card is already full.
- The white flower from the Queen marks you as a debutante under royal protection.
- The royal crest on the fan deters most gentlemen from approaching.
- Rebecca’s past life accepted political marriages as noble duty.
- Evan and Brandon are now sending daily gifts after their fathers’ punishments.
- Rebecca’s brother David looked haggard from their father’s training.
- Samantha’s engagement to Garrett was formally annulled.
- Rebecca wants either a quiet countryside life or emigration abroad.
- The fan’s message is written across the entire surface.