Chapter 16
“Sis, you came at the right time! When did you call her? What’s going on? Why is she saying she’s going to the tea party with you?”
Melody shoved Liliana aside and clung to Estelle. She looked triumphant, fully confident that Estelle would take her side.
In contrast, Liliana kept her lips tightly pressed together, glaring at Melody. Judging by the strands of light brown hair scattered on the floor, it was clear who had been grabbed first.
‘Melody scratched Lilliana’s cheek, and in retaliation, she must have grabbed her hair.’
The hair-pulling didn’t matter—both had grabbed and pulled at each other.
“Sis? Say something.”
The real problem was the scratch on Liliana’s cheek. It wasn’t deep, but it was enough to leave a faint scar.
“Melody, did you make that scratch on Lady Liliana Gannet’s face?”
“…She grabbed my hair too! Why am I the only one getting blamed?”
Even as she pointed at her cheek, Melody still acted as if she had done nothing wrong.
The Marquis of Gannet cherished his daughter, whom he had only managed to have in his later years. There was no way he would just accept an apology and let this go.
‘This could turn into a fight between Winchester and Gannet.’
Dealing with Gannet’s letter of complaint would be the Duke of Winchester’s problem, not hers. However, this incident could ruin Estelle’s relationship with Liliana.
‘I can’t let Melody ruin my chance to gain financial independence.’
If this escalated, she might not only miss the tea party but also lose her invitation to the sorority.
“Step away.”
“…Sis?”
She needed to handle this before it got out of control, just like she had in the boutique.
Adding just a hint of personal emotion, Estelle raised her hand and struck Melody’s cheek.
‘Slap—’
“You must have no respect for me if you think you can lay your hands on my guest.”
Melody’s head snapped to the left from the impact.
The gathered servants held their breath in shock, and even Liliana reached out to stop Estelle.
“L-Lady Winchester, I’m fine.”
“…You hit me?”
Clutching her swelling cheek, Melody slowly lifted her head. Her stunned, disbelieving laugh dripped with indignation.
“You? You hit me? Even Father has never laid a hand on me! Who do you think you are?”
Her voice trembled with resentment and humiliation.
“I am the eldest daughter of the Winchester Ducal House. That alone makes me your superior. And Lady Liliana Gannet is my guest. Are you saying I have no right to discipline you?”
“Lady Winchester, if we don’t leave now, we’ll be late for the tea party.”
Liliana, who had been surprised at first, now looked satisfied. Perhaps she wanted the matter to end here, as she urged Estelle to hurry.
‘I should stop here.’
Estelle turned her gaze to the gathered servants.
“If your mistress is acting out of line, you should have stepped in to stop her. Instead, you just stood by, tarnishing Winchester’s name.”
The servants quickly bowed their heads.
“L-Lady Estelle, this is—”
“Head butler. Make sure no word of today’s events spreads. No one is to speak of this. Take Melody to her room.”
The butler, who had arrived late, bowed deeply before approaching Melody.
“Sis! If Father finds out about this—”
Melody struggled against the butler, using the Duke of Winchester as a threat.
But Estelle could wield their father’s name as well.
And between the two of them, only Melody feared falling out of his favor.
Estelle placed a firm hand on Melody’s shoulder, leaning in close to whisper so only she could hear.
“Melody. Be smart about this. Gannet will send a letter of complaint. Do you really think the marquis will overlook that scratch?”
“…!”
“That’s right. Father cherishes you, so he won’t scold you openly. But dealing with Gannet will be exhausting, and that frustration will inevitably reflect on his opinion of you.”
Her tone was kind, as if she were a caring older sister.
“If Father learns this is your fault, he’ll be disappointed. I’m only looking out for you.”
‘Disappointed.’
Estelle deliberately emphasized the word.
Because Melody’s greatest fear was the Duke of Winchester’s disappointment.
“…F-Father?”
“Yes. The Duke cherishes you, but before that, he is the head of House Winchester. The Marquis of Gannet is a high-ranking noble of similar status to him.”
As expected, Melody’s once-defiant attitude disappeared immediately, and she lowered her gaze.
‘He cherishes her, so he won’t be disappointed in her.’
Melody crumbling at just the mention of “disappointment” was pathetic.
‘She reminds me of myself. That’s what makes it even more disgusting.’
Estelle gently patted her shoulder.
“Sis, it really hurts. You didn’t have to hit me,” Melody whined, sulking.
“I did it for Lady Gannet to see. It pained me too. Go put some ice on it.”
“…Alright.”
“But first, apologize. I’ll take care of the rest, but you need to make an effort as well.”
Melody glared at Liliana, still unwilling to lower herself first. She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
“Melody. Don’t you have something to say to Lady Gannet?”
“…Liliana. I’m sorry.”
Her pride sufficiently trampled, Melody squeezed out an apology and ran up the stairs in haste.
“Heh.”
Liliana let out a small scoff, but when Estelle turned to look at her, she quickly bowed her head.
“Lady Winchester, I apologize for the commotion. Last night, an urgent repair was needed at my estate, so the tea party venue was changed to the Aslan Marquisate. I thought it would be best to go together, so I came to escort you—”
“I see.”
So that’s why she had come to Winchester Manor.
“I only responded to Melody because she annoyed me. I didn’t expect things to escalate like this…”
Liliana had truly come with good intentions.
Since the venue had changed suddenly, and it was Estelle’s first time meeting the members of the sorority, she had come to look out for her.
‘The Aslan Marquisate…’
Estelle had already replied that she would attend the masquerade ball there. It was a place she had to visit eventually.
Going with Liliana was a better option than arriving alone.
“Thank you for coming. If you hadn’t, I would’ve been in trouble with the sudden change in venue.”
At some point, Anna had quietly approached, offering a jar of ointment.
‘She’s quick-witted. That’s why she immediately backed down when she saw my change in attitude.’
Keeping Anna around had its uses.
Estelle took some of the ointment and gently applied it to Liliana’s cheek.
She pursed her lips, looking embarrassed.
“What’s wrong, Lady Gannet?”
“I feel ashamed facing you, Lady Winchester. If it’s not too much to ask, can we pretend this never happened?”
This meant that Gannet wouldn’t be sending a letter of complaint.
It also meant that Liliana wouldn’t revoke her decision to invite Estelle to the sorority.
Estelle was grateful—Liliana made sure she wouldn’t regret soothing Melody afterward.
“Anna, fix Lady Gannet’s hair.”
“Yes, Lady Estelle.”
Anna tidied up her hair, erasing any traces of the earlier commotion. When she was finished, Liliana looked as if nothing had happened at all.
“…I misunderstood you before, Lady Winchester. I thought you were simply a sister who doted on her younger sibling.”
“I did cherish her.”
She had.
Until Melody poisoned her tea with snake venom, stole her fiancé, and made a mockery of her.
“That’s past tense, isn’t it?”
“…Lady Liliana, may I ask why you wanted to invite me to the sorority?”
Estelle wanted to steer the conversation away from painful memories.
‘And I’m also curious why she wants to include me.’
Liliana curled her lips into a smirk.
“I want to be friends with you. If we’re in the same sorority, we’ll have more opportunities to interact.”
“…”
“And, well… My father always taught me that when someone gives you something, you should return the favor. Think of it as repayment for the dress you bought me at the boutique.”
The Marquis of Gannet had certainly raised his daughter well.
‘Unlike Melody, who, when asked what I had failed to give her, said she could have had so much more without me—before killing me.’
That was why Liliana appealed to her more.
“Um, Lady Winchester… May I call you by your name?”
Had she not let go of Melody, she would never have gained this friendship.
“…Of course. Call me Estelle. Friends call each other by their names.”
“I’m happy. Then, Estelle, please call me Liliana too.”
Allowing her first friend to call her by name wasn’t difficult at all.
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