163 2.1.14: First Party III

The Countess ushered for the servants to bring in more tea and she chatted with the Duchess for a little bit longer. A little bit later, the Duchess had to excuse herself and the Countess was immediately surrounded by the nobles who were brimming with curiosity at who the Duchess had brought along.

Countess Roman raised her teacup and sighed, pretending to be astonished with dread. The nobles were waiting with curiosity about who she was, so she could only oblige and tell them what she had figured out. "You mustn't hold me accountable for we all know, I'm not the reliable when it comes to these...rumors," immediately, she had made sure to cushion her words in case something went wrong and it backfired on her. She made sure to push the blame on imaginary 'rumors' to appease the Duchess if she were to ever find out it came from her. "but it seems like, she isn't a second daughter."

The nobles were on the edge with unlaced curiosity as they urged the Countess to continue. She smiled smugly and continued her words slowly, as though she was telling them a story and they were anxious to find out what else happened.

One of the nobles couldn't resist and voiced out, "Oh do tell us, Countess, what is the secret you've heard in the 'rumors' about the girl."

"Well, I'm sure you've all noticed how remarkably similar she is to the Duke; however she is not the second daughter."

"A distant relative?"

Some of the minor nobles were disappointed. They had come and hoped to see and hear some interesting news, especially by a higher aristocratic family, such as the duke, but alas, this was boring.

The Countess tsked and pursed her lips, wondering why she had invited such fools. Her eyes wandered and they picked up the few that realized what she meant. Their expressions shifted into shock that such a scandal had happened and had been kept a secret for all this time.

"Would a distant relative dare to carry the Warrington name and be forced upon Her Grace?" It was so silent that one could hear the soft breathing. Everyone was thrown into chaos but they couldn't act upon their emotions. Instead, they couldn't wait to reveal such a scandal to the outside world. Even though the Warrington Clan wasn't in opposition with any of the nobles—at least not openly—the nobles' greed couldn't be contained. Anything that could cause a disturbance in their reputation was worth the buzz.

Yes it was punishable to defame such a high aristocrat, but these were mere rumors and they couldn't punish everyone either.

The murmurs continued until the Duchess came back, causing the people to act normal again. So many people wanted to ask if the rumors were true, but they couldn't afford to offend her. So instead, they chatted a bit more and the Countess was back to shamelessly bothering her again.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yunhua had been escorted by the servant to the garden, where she was told that the rest of the young people her age were waiting until the customs between the noble parents were over. This was weird from what she remembered in history, but then again, neither GKY nor Ayrelie existed in those historical records either. It was obvious that the countries would have their own individual customs and behaviors, such as this one.

Since the mansion was much bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, it took about ten minutes of walking to finally reach the garden in their sights. Immediately, she noticed the crowds of people, possibly no older than eighteen, in the garden with extravagant decorations everywhere. The beauty of the flowers helped adorn for the birthday party, making it extravagant but chic.

In a sense, this was like the modern world where the teenager invited many people to their birthday party. However, the only difference was that it was a temporary location and they would be going to meet with the adults later, where the actual celebration was going to be held at.

As the servant opened the door for her, curious glances were shot in her direction. Even though she pretended to be calm, she was nervous. This was the chance to meet Harrison, if he was there. This would also be the chance where she would befriend people that would be quite influential in the future as they took the positions of their parents.

Her sky-blue eyes scanned the area until they saw a girl with brunette curls and the same violet-blue eyes as the Countess. With elegant and small steps, she walked over and curtsied, receiving one back from the girl in front of her.

The girl, which the Countess had referred to as Liliana earlier, smiled politely and asked, "Thank you for joining me, Miss...?"

"Oh, my apologies. My name is Violetta Charlotte Warrington of the House of Warrington. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Liliana."

Once the surname clicked in Liliana's mind, her face flushed and she immediately curtsied again, properly introducing herself. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Warrington. My full name Liliana Angelica Roman and I'm honored to have you join my birthday celebration."

Xiao Yunhua felt a subconscious smile flicker across her face as she found herself comfortable in the presence of Liliana. She was very sweet and didn't give off any auras of negativity either. "No need for formalities, you can call me Violetta."

Liliana felt her cheeks grow rosier and she nodded, "And you can call me Liliana."

Violetta nodded and then an awkward silence flittered between them until another person came up and congratulated Liliana. The girl was truly happy and didn't conceal her emotions of joy. In fact, it seemed like she didn't conceal any emotions at all.

A bittersweet feeling filled Xiao Yunhua. So this was how it felt for a child of nobility to be raised with warmth and love. Not that she wanted any, it just made her pity her current character. The Duchess had groomed a soldier to send off to war, not a student to explore the big world. She had trained to be cold and inexpressive, not warm and full of joy. In comparison to Liliana, Violetta was the night in an icy winter and Liliana was the warm, summer day.

It was tragic, but she couldn't do anything about it. Love from anyone except her missions weren't the focus here anyways. Neither was being raised to be apathetic and unfeeling. But that was her life and she could only nod and accept it.