Chapter 49

Those who attended the party could be divided into two broad categories: principal guests and general guests.

Naturally, those to whom Marianne sent special invitations in her own handwriting were principal guests. They were Duke of Hubble, Duke Lamont and his daughter, Grand Duke Christopher, Marquise Chester and her son Ober, Marquis Euclid and his daughter, the Earl Renault couple, Colin and Jed, the emperor’s closest aides, and several other powerful nobles.

Those of lesser importance participated as general guests. Although Earl Lonstat and his daughter as well as Earl McMillan would be regarded as principal guests at most parties, the place they were coming this time was a banquet-cum-ball on the eve of the emperor’s engagement ceremony.

“Madame, guests are coming.”

A maid reported to Marianne at the head table the parlor.

A full-fledged ball was to be held in the evening, while the ladies’ tea party was the main event during the day. Accordingly, those guests arriving now would be the daughters of the invited nobles.

“Get ready to greet them,” she ordered gently.

The maid opened the door of the parlor wide.

The guests waiting for the opening of the parlor in the waiting room were lined up in the hallway on time. When the door was opened, a madame and her daughter, who stood at the very front, entered, helped by a maid.

“Duchess Kathrin, wife of Duke Lamont and the second daughter of His Majesty Frey V under the blessing of our god is entering!”

“Lady Rane, daughter of Sir Shane, the Duke of Lamont, is entering!”

As the order of entry was based on their rank, the highest and most brilliant of them, Duke Lamont, his wife, and his daughter were called first. She was the only living duchess of the three most powerful dukes of the empire.

Marianne headed for the entrance, helped by Mrs. Charlotte and Cordelli.

“Madam, it’s nice to see you here for the first time. My name is Marianne of the Kling and Lennox family. Thank you for accepting my invitation.”

Duchess Lamont, seen up close, was a noble lady indeed. If Mrs. Chester was a strong, seductive red, she looked like a clean, noble gold. Her golden hair, evidence of the bloodline of the Frey family, and her olive eyes inherited from Empress Frida made her more elegant.

“Oh, I should rather thank you. I heard that you were picky about parties, so I didn’t think you would invite me directly.”

Though she had innocent beauty, her vigor was as good as any knight. She pointed out Marianne’s actions without batting an eye in a soft voice, but Marianne felt uncomfortable about each of her words.

“I think I know how busy you are when I hear the rumors getting around in the capital.”

She sharply glanced over Marianne with her olive eyes.

“Sorry, ma’am. As I wasn’t familiar with the social circles in Milan, I didn’t show you proper manners when I got here. Please forgive me with your generosity. I hope you can give me valuable lessons in the days ahead.”

Marianne put her hands on her chest and bent her knees slightly.

It was natural that the duchess did not like her. None of the rumors were helpful to her, and she was highly conceited as a duchess and the daughter of the previous empress. Now, she had to take Marianne as her niece-in-law, who rushed to the tea party hosted by her rival, Mrs. Chester, as soon as she arrived in the capital. She had every reason to be annoyed at Marianne.

“I understand you have a lot of people around you for valuable lessons. I don’t know if you need my help at all.”

“I think my mother is the best among them, so you want to receive her guidance, right?”

Her daughter, standing at hand, quickly interrupted her sharp response. Marianne looked at her with gratitude.

“It’s nice to see you, Ms. Rane.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Rane. Since we are the same age and the same rank, please treat me like a friend. You can speak to me informally.”

Rane smiled brightly, warming to her friendly. With a pleasing look, she was a bit taller than other ladies. She was the image of her mother, and she had a pair of dimples on her cheeks when smiling.

“Rane,” said her mother as if to point out her rudeness. However, she didn’t care and hung on to her arms.

“Mom, let’s go and have a seat. I can’t stand up like this because my shoes hurt. I can’t breathe well because of my dress. If I keep standing five more minutes, I think I have to tear off all the jewelry on my head and give them to the maids. Please!”

That was true. She looked very uncomfortable in her dress.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Contrary to her expectation that the duchess would give her daughter a good scolding, she bowed out, as if she thought she couldn’t help it. Taking a deep breath, she moved to the seats inside, helped by a maid.

Only then did Rane wink at Marianne with a satisfied face.

“Ouch! These damn shoes!”

She held the maid’s arm and walked only a couple of steps before staggering.

When she used indecent language, several people including her mother walking ahead looked at her at the same time.

“Cordelli, please help the lady.”

Marianne quickly pressed on Cordelli. Rane didn’t refuse her favor and grabbed Cordelli’s arms. Only after holding their arms on both sides, Rane walked almost as if she was forcibly led away. She was almost being dragged by them.

Looking at her back, Marianne broke into laughter unconsciously.

“Ms. Rane is a bit unique. You will discover it when you see her.”

She recalled what Mrs. Charlotte told her about her one day when she asked her while reading a public bulletin in the study.

At that time, she wondered why Rane was unique. She now seemed to know what it meant.

To use the expression to her liking, Rane was in the same class as her bosom friend Evelyn. Rane was noisy and liberal.

When she thought as far as that, she suddenly missed many people she left behind in the north. Evelyn, Angelica, Hugo, Mrs. Icell…

At that moment, the maid announced the entrance of next guests.

“Duke Hubble Jr., Sir Elias’s wife Eydue is entering!”

“Countess Erica, Mrs. Chester is entering!”

Even before Marianne was lost in other thoughts, the maid continued to call the guests’ names.

Two noblewomen dressed gorgeously offered greetings to Marianne when they entered.

“Welcome. Eydue and Mrs. Chester. Thank you for coming to the party,” Marianne said, smiling at them. Actually, she found these two women most uncomfortable to deal with, but she deliberately tried to be friendly to them in order to deceive them.

“The duke feels unwell, so Duke Hubble Jr. and I came on his behalf. I hope you will understand generously.”

“Of course. Please send my best regards to him for his quick recovery.”

In fact, Duke Hubble attended the cabinet meeting until last week without any problems. Marianne replied nicely even if she knew it was his excuse.

The wife of Duke Hubble Jr. expressed gratitude to her and moved to her seat.

She looked plain, compared to her colorful makeup. It looked like her luxurious necklace or dress seemed more memorable than her face.

“It’s nice to see you again here, Lady Marianne.”

But this woman was different.

Marianne stared at her, imposing some sort of intense pressure by just standing beside her.

“I’m sorry for what happened at the tea party the other day. I made you and Sir Ober uncomfortable because I was too absent-minded at that time.”

“You’re welcome. Traditionally young lovers often talk about others’ love stories. I don’t think the marquis thought that you caused any trouble. It’s a gentleman’s honor to escort a lady directly to her house.”

The marquise responded with a happy smile.

She seemed to comfort Marianne on the surface, but it was almost disrespect when it came to the meaning of her words. She was not supposed to mention her affair with another man at a party to celebrate the emperor’s engagement. That meant she mentioned it on purpose.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Marianne took pains to grin. She had nothing else to say.

“On my way here, I thought the banquet room was beautiful. It’s sunny. It’s going to be a very exciting party.”

“I hope you can enjoy it.”

Mrs. Chester opened her fan and covered her eyes slightly. She quickly scanned Marianne with her dark eyes and walked away.

“Ms. Beatrice, the daughter of Marquis Euclid and Sir Simon’s daughter are entering!”

“Countess Anelles, Sir Renault’s wife is entering!”

It was the first time Marianne met them, but she heard the familiar names several times before.

The emperor made special mention of Duke Lamont’s wife and daughter.

“Welcome! I heard both of you would help me with my engagement. They say it’s hard to meet at social parties, so I was worried that it would be difficult to meet you again this time. Thank you for coming. Hope I’m in your great hands.”