Chapter 9
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Chapter 9
"?"
Who?
Me?
"What is that vacant expression? Did you not hear me? Lower your head this instant!"
He was speaking to me.
"You barge into someone else's home uninvited and speak such nonsense?"
"Banzi, that's enough. He may not have known. We shouldn't insult someone in front of everyone."
It was then that a woman named Adeline reprimanded the butler.
"Ah, Miss. My sincerest apologies. I was thoughtless."
"As expected of Miss Adeline...!"
Watching them pat each other on the back was utterly absurd.
"I'm sorry. My butler acted hastily out of concern. You understand, don't you?"
She assumed I would naturally comply. Adeline, who had grasped my hand without permission, smiled.
"I don't understand. I'd like an apology."
"My?"
Adeline faltered.
"Is that how you speak to Miss Adeline?"
"Shocked by such vulgar speech. A woman like that with Dale? If Dale has been kidnapped, we should help dangle a carrot to save him."
Adeline glanced around before letting out a soft laugh.
As she laughed, her eyes narrowed at the corners.
"I'll apologize instead. I'm sorry."
"..."
"Did I upset you? Are you very hurt?"
Adeline blinked her innocent eyes rapidly.
'Something feels off.'
As the murmuring grew louder, Adeline's eyes twisted with sorrow.
She fidgeted with her hands while looking at me.
"Actually, I heard a new neighbor had arrived, so I stopped by to invite you to our gathering, but this happened."
A neighbor?
Strictly speaking, the young lady of Kidland was not a neighbor.
The Kidland domain sprawled far beyond the boundary line.
"Ah, since Miss Anne is a foreigner, you wouldn't know?"
Adeline closed her mouth and smiled sweetly.
'Ah...'
I had never ventured into High Society, and it had been so long that I had momentarily forgotten.
My personal maid Emma had shared various stories with me, and one of them was about High Society.
The so-called backhanded compliment technique.
"You wouldn't understand since you're an outsider, would you?" — a remark meant to exclude me.
Adeline tossed her angelic golden hair back with a graceful sweep.
"Grunvalt and Kidland have very close ties between our territories. We exchange visits frequently, and I've grown so fond of Grunvalt's natural beauty that I'm staying at the Lord's Castle."
"Adeline and the Lord of Grunvalt are relatives. She's practically like his own granddaughter."
Her butler — Banzi or Pander, I wasn't sure which — added a supplementary explanation from beside her.
"Though Ann is an outsider, she'll be living here from now on... eventually... right?"
I thought I heard the sound of teeth grinding.
Had I misheard?
"So Ann is also my fam——."
Adeline closed her mouth and ran her tongue across her lips. Then she smiled again.
"I'd like to invite you to a tea party. It must be difficult to adjust since you're an outsider, but I'll help you. After all, you are an outsider."
Adeline smiled gently. She certainly looked like a beautiful and kind noblewoman.
But with every sentence, the word "outsider" followed.
'Adeline Kidland.'
Kidland, Kidland.
I watched her quietly and pondered.
"I hope it won't be too much trouble?"
That's when I snapped back to attention at what Adeline was saying.
Behind her, Adeline's followers were laughing.
"As if she could compare to Adeline's perfect etiquette."
"Would she really accept the invitation so eagerly?"
Adeline Kidland. This woman was currently living at the Lord's Castle, she'd said.
'The Lord's Castle means the Grunvalt Lord's Castle, doesn't it?'
The place where the Lord was rumored to be afflicted with a mysterious curse, making it difficult to approach.
"If the invitation is a burden for Ann..."
"I'll go."
I nodded readily without hesitation.
"My! Really?"
Adeline's eyes narrowed with delight as she smiled. Her green eyes sparkled.
"Thank you for the invitation. I think I'll have much to learn."
I quickly accepted the invitation card and smiled.
And I made one thing perfectly clear.
"My Dale is an outsider too, after all."
"..."
* * *
Adeline descended from the carriage, her feet stamping against the ground in agitation.
"Ugh! This is infuriating!!"
Crash!
A loud bang erupted from the carriage wheel as her foot connected with it. Adeline hopped about, cradling her swollen foot.
"Infuriating! I'm absolutely seething!"
"Miss!"
"That's the woman Dale chose? Did I see wrong? Is that really Dale?!"
Fury had replaced the smile on Adeline's face.
The composure from moments before had vanished, leaving only a woman shrieking like a beast.
Adeline gnawed at her fingernails.
"Dale must have lost his mind!"
"Miss, please calm yourself."
"I'll calm down on my own, so shut it!"
Adeline could not contain her rage.
"Our Dale? Did you hear that—'our'?"
"Sister!"
A woman approached Adeline, whose eyes blazed with fury.
She was a thin woman with brown hair.
Her face was difficult to place in age—she could have been in her twenties or her teens.
"D-did you just return?"
"Yes. I'm back. In a terrible mood."
Yurta, the Lord's aide, frowned quietly, but Adeline paid her no mind.
She flung her fan away.
"D-don't worry! I'll pick it up!"
The brown-haired woman quickly ran to retrieve the fan.
"I need to throw a proper party."
"A-ah! Yes, yes, of course. I'll prepare everything as you mentioned before."
The woman then looked at Adeline hesitantly, somewhat troubled.
"But where... will you hold it? Not here, as you said, correct?"
The woman timidly touched the ends of her hair, hesitant lest Adeline take offense.
"Sister, I'd prefer it not be at the Lord's Castle. Grandfather is very ill."
"What?"
"You see, sister, what if we went outside instead? A picnic, perhaps...?"
"What are you talking about?"
Adeline pushed the woman away.
"What do you mean 'we'? Did you think I wanted to spend time with you?"
"Didn't you?"
"Sigh... Don't say such ridiculous things! I want to hold a tea party here—I never said I wanted to play with you."
"B-but..."
"No more excuses—open up the Greenhouse that's still standing here. Sophia!"
"The Greenhouse? No, I can't. Sister. The Greenhouse is something I've carefully preserved for Grandfather's treatment...."
*flinch*
Sophia's head snapped down as she met Adeline's piercing gaze.
"I-I'm sorry. But Grandfather is ill and bedridden—I can't possibly host a party. C-couldn't Sister understand? Instead, I could give you Mother's earrings that you've always wanted...."
"I don't need them!"
*smack*
Adeline struck her arm irritably, accidentally slapping Sophia's cheek in the process.
"...!"
"Ah...."
"I-I didn't mean to. No. ... You're the one squirming around there, so you got hit! Do you want to make me look bad?!"
Adeline brazenly doubled down on her words.
She acted as though Sophia's continued distress was utterly beneath her notice.
Sophia held back tears that threatened to spill over.
"What are you doing?"
Unable to watch any longer, Yurta stepped in to stop Adeline.
"The Lord is unwell. Please refrain from causing a disturbance."
"Who doesn't know that?"
Adeline's expression twisted into something ugly.
"You said you liked having me as your sister, didn't you? Can't you grant me one simple request? Did I ask for an estate? Did I ask for money? I just want to invite some people here, to this lonely, boring place, and have a brief conversation. That's all. Why won't you let me?"
"S-Sister...."
"And you call that caring for me? You won't let me do anything I want, and you call that care?"
"Th-that's not what I meant...."
"You're going to disappoint me? After everything I've done for you! And you can't even grant me this one thing?!"
"S-Sister."
"Was it such a difficult request? It's just a request! I gave you my dresses! I taught you how not to embarrass yourself! And yet, you didn't even tell me that Dale was getting married!"
"He only speaks with Advisor and Grandfather...."
"Quiet!"
Adeline's sharp cry made Sophia, who had been hesitating, bow her head in surrender.
"I understand.... Do as you wish, Sister."
Adeline's face relaxed into the satisfied expression of a cat that had gotten what it wanted.
The venomous expression from moments before vanished entirely, replaced only by the angelic smile she was praised for.
"Thank you. I knew you'd understand."
Adeline stroked Sophia's brown bob hair, shot a glare at Yurta, and ascended the stairs with a huff.
"Banzi, you know what day that is, don't you?"
"The tea party day, Miss? Of course I know. It's a very important day, isn't it?"
"Hehe, that's right."
Adeline recalled the face of that woman named Anne she'd seen earlier, gnawing at her fingernails.
That unflinching expression, that smug superiority—it was infuriating.
"She's pretty, which is exactly why it irritates me."
"Still, Miss, you are far more beautiful."
"I understand."
Adeline had always received nothing but praise for being the most beautiful—a compliment that had become her constant companion.
"Invite plenty of other women to the tea party. Only those who are skilled at flattering me."
"As you wish."
Adeline ascended the staircase, a sinister smile playing across her lips. She appeared to be in exceptionally high spirits.
"I must crush their pride before they dare to climb toward nobility."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org