Chapter 16
Aira remembered the past seven years she had spent as a princess consort.
She had done her best to support Xavier, and she felt that the most help she received was from Luna, especially when it came to socializing with noblewomen.
Unlike Aira, who had a calm personality and didn’t enjoy noisy social gatherings, Luna maintained close and friendly relationships with noblewomen her age, and Aira was proud of her for that.
However, there were times when she had to face those women without Luna, and their cold attitude towards her left her feeling hurt.
Even though she was a high-ranking princess consort, building relationships with women who treated her coldly was difficult.
“Aira, you’re too stiff. That’s why everyone finds you difficult to approach.”
Sometimes, Aira would blame herself for her personality after hearing Luna’s advice.
Despite this, she occasionally made mistakes, like giving a noblewoman the wrong gift, and Luna would step in to solve the problem.
“By the way, how is Lady Karis? Is her peanut allergy alright?”
“She’s still recovering, I think. Aira, how did you end up giving that gift?”
“Well, Luna, you said she always enjoyed peanut cookies…”
“Aira! Are you seriously blaming me? You must have mixed up the ladies, and I didn’t expect you to take it that way and blame me.”
“Blame you? No, Luna. It’s my fault. I should have been more careful…”
Not sensing any malice from Luna, Aira isolated herself even more.
Had she not been able to regress and died as she was, Luna would have naturally taken her place by Xavier’s side.
With the favor of Julienne VI obtained through the treasure and the support of the noblewomen she had thoroughly won over, Luna would have easily secured her position.
“Ah, Aira Marceline, my lady.”
As Aira entered the event hall, recalling past events, she stood before Lady Reina Chesswig, the Countess who hosted the party.
Reina, who was the same age as Aira, had come to the Marceline family when she was twelve, and Aira had memories of playing with her and Luna with dolls.
There was one time she had cried because a doll’s dress had torn and went home, and after that, she had no contact with Aira, only maintaining a relationship with Luna.
At social gatherings, Reina would openly show how much she disliked Aira, and the sight would send a chill down her spine.
“I thought I was seeing things. Luna said…”
The noblewomen surrounding Reina cast cold glances.
“She said you’re not one for the idle chatter of ladies with no real purpose, isn’t that right?”
A cold atmosphere descended between them.
Aira immediately understood how Luna must have used her words to tarnish her image.
A woman who acts like she’s superior will eventually be rejected by everyone.
“Did you come to this party to eat a hearty meal and lighten your mood?”
Reina’s sarcastic remark was followed by the noblewomen giggling and casting looks at Aira.
But Aira didn’t flinch; she didn’t even change her expression and shrugged her shoulders.
“A meal that satisfies my hunger is enough. And while it’s true that I don’t participate in parties because they don’t suit me…”
“…”
“I’m not narrow-minded enough to gossip about others as being idle women.”
At her words, Reina’s eyebrows twitched.
Aira continued calmly.
“So if Luna said something like that about me, then either she heard it wrong or you, Lady, heard it wrong.”
“But…”
Reina was about to argue but stopped, opening her fan and fanning herself.
Aira, with a relaxed smile, walked calmly to the reception desk, registered her belongings, and sat down.
As Reina’s expression darkened, the other noblewomen beside her chimed in.
“How shameless! Do you think we’d believe such a thing after you say it now?”
“Didn’t you also gossip about us to His Highness the Prince? Aira Marceline.”
“But I heard your father, Count Marceline, dislikes you because of your bad temper…”
They were already aware of the atmosphere within the Marceline family, thanks to Luna.
“So, you must always be the one just going through the motions in your family.”
“She really can’t compare to Luna… Has Luna contacted you yet?”
“She said she’s not feeling well today and will just drop by briefly at the end of the event. But she’s bringing a beautiful ring to top off the finale of the party, they say.”
Although the influence of the Marceline family wasn’t particularly large among the nobility, the gifts Luna gave to her friends or the things she distributed at parties were always valuable and high-quality, comparable to those given by any high-ranking noble’s daughter.
Reina, slightly upset by Aira’s confident attitude, relaxed her expression upon hearing news of Luna.
Initially, she had disregarded Luna because of the bias against her as a bastard, but remembering the events from when they were twelve at the Marceline estate and Luna’s position…
‘Maybe, as Luna said, the real bastard is Aira.’
Soon, the charity auction event began.
A small party organized by young noblewomen under the value of noblesse oblige, where they sold and bought items donated by the noble young ladies, with the proceeds going to help the poor in the streets.
The accessories that Reina had put up for auction were sold for quite a good price by the noblewomen who liked her.
As Aira momentarily forgot her thoughts and focused on the party,
“The next item is a piece donated by Lady Aira Marceline. It’s a checkered dress for a Rita doll.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to the item Aira had put up for auction.
Rita dolls were expensive dolls that noble young ladies played with when they were young, and most of the young ladies gathered here had probably played with them.
The checkered dress for the Rita doll that Aira presented looked a bit old, with clumsy stitching, and the buttons were quite shabby.
There were sneers from all around as people cast mocking glances at Aira.
Who would buy something like that? Those were the kinds of looks.
At that moment, Aira slowly stood up and spoke. At charity auction events, the person who donates the item is usually expected to say a few words about it.
“…”
Reina, who had likely mocked Aira’s item, surprisingly looked at her with a stiffened brow.
Aira’s voice echoed through the event hall.
“This dress for the Rita doll was made for a friend who visited our home when I was twelve. We were playing with dolls, and my friend’s Rita doll’s dress got torn. She said it was something precious that her late grandmother had made…”
In Reina’s eyes, memories of that day began to resurface.
She had cried so much when her dress was horribly torn. And Aira, instead of comforting her…
“So, I immediately went into my room and found a fabric similar to the dress. There was only one piece left. And I started making a new dress for my friend. It wasn’t as good as the one her grandmother made, but I hoped it would comfort her.”
Reina’s pupils shook violently as she listened.
What Aira was saying was different from what she had been told. Luna had said:
“Aira closed the door and went inside because she didn’t want to hear Lady Reina’s crying. She probably won’t come out until Reina leaves. Isn’t that cruel?”
“That can’t be…”
Reina muttered as Aira’s clear voice rang in her ears.
“When I finished the dress and went out to give it to my friend, she had already left for home. I thought I’d give it to her the next time she came, but… she never came back.”
The fabric used for that dress was not something that had recently been made, as it was fabric that had been discontinued even at that time.
The clumsy stitching could only have been done by a young girl.
Reina, feeling dizzy, placed a hand on her forehead, and some noblewomen rushed to support her.
Aira quietly watched Reina. It was time to clear up the long-standing misunderstanding she had not resolved before her regression.
“What? Are you going to talk about that now, Reina? Aira thinks too much. You should think about it a bit more.”
Not long before she was about to enter the palace for her marriage, Aira had mentioned such a concern while organizing her belongings—only for the dress to mysteriously disappear.
Luna, who had been oddly nervous during that time, seemed fine after the dress vanished.
“…”
After a long silence, Reina raised her hand, her face complicated as she muttered,
“20 Berks.”
The other noblewomen widened their eyes in surprise at the price Reina named for the shabby doll dress, which seemed to be worth no more than 1 Berk.
Reina’s expression was stiff.
‘That can’t be… but I need to check first!’
