“I don’t know.”
Erin quietly took a step forward towards Julia Charte, as if throwing a stone into a calm lake.
“What conversation are you enjoying so much?”
Naturally, everyone’s attention turned to Erin. She calmly met their gaze as she looked at them.
“Oh? Madam?” Julia reacted upon seeing Erin.
“I also wanted to have a little chat with Lady Julia.”
Erin replied with a twinkle in her eye. As Erin abruptly intervened, they seemed tense and bewildered.
Erin turned her expressionless face towards them again, facing Julia. A lady spoke to Erin, “Lady Lienster, it’s nothing special.
Lady Charte is just a very interesting person.”
“That’s right. Lady Charte was sharing stories about her life, the more you listen, the more fascinating it becomes.”
They continued to casually compliment and ignore Julia, pretending to praise her.
“Really? I’m curious too.” Ha ha ha ha.
Ho ho ho ho.
They exaggeratedly laughed at insignificant remarks.
Erin raised the corners of her mouth.
“I guess you can’t completely change a person in a short time. It’s nice to see her modest and innocent appearance still intact.”
“That’s right. We don’t have that at all.”
Once again, they burst into laughter. Despite Julia wearing an expensive dress, her background and rustic nature couldn’t be concealed.
The laughter and exchanged glances sounded like noise to Erin. Her face briefly wrinkled, then quickly returned to normal.
Then Erin spoke up.
“Yes, indeed. Despite not overly dressing up to look glamorous, Lady Charte has her own unique aura.”
Erin held up Julia, turning the tables on those who ridiculed her.
“No, Lady Lienster exudes much more elegance.”
However, Julia, oblivious to everything, blushed and waved her hands in embarrassment at Erin’s praise. Erin gave her a gentle smile.
“Oh my, I didn’t mean to say that just to hear it. But it’s nice to hear it, after all. Lady Charte has even humility.”
In an instant, she made the other ladies feel uneasy. Erin intentionally exchanged a few more words with Julia in a friendly manner.
She glanced at the other ladies and debutantes and said, “Surely there’s no one among us who would mock and make fun of such humility.
Surely, there wouldn’t be someone so rude.” Erin covered her mouth as she let out a soft laugh.
Awkward silence passed among those who understood her intent.
Julia also noticed the current situation. However, Erin, instead, spoke more openly to them.
“How entertaining,” Erin said, flashing a sharp smile. Her mouth was upturned, but her eyes remained cold.
“Even if you say it with a smile, even if you couch your words,” Erin said sharply.
“The words of ladies and debutantes are not to be glossed over.”
No matter what excuses they made, the intent behind their earlier words remained the same.
Erin’s warning was clear: she saw through their facade, and the forced smiles they wore began to crack and harden.
“Julia Charte is the only daughter of the esteemed Charte Marquis. Moreover, she’s the lady whom the Marquis has spent a lifetime searching for.”
Where and how she had been raised didn’t matter. Just being the cherished daughter of the Charte Marquis meant Julia was protected.
“Can you handle it if this issue becomes public?”
“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”
One of the ladies began tentatively. Erin cut her off and turned to look at the visibly sweating Countess Arlet and Lady Chase.
“Countess Arlet, Lady Chase,” Erin deliberately called out their names. Their lineage was a far cry from that of the Charte Marquis.
“Excuse me, ladies. That’s not what I meant…”
“The reason you’re able to stand here and laugh is all thanks to Lady Charte keeping quiet.”
They weren’t doing well. So they shouldn’t act all high and mighty now.
Erin quietly addressed them.
“But isn’t it true that the only person who can inform the Charte Marquis about this fact is Lady Charte herself?”
Erin smiled, stepping on each of the ladies gracefully.
Their faces were gradually freezing. They were all speechless.
Erin stared at them fiercely. Everyone clenched their jaws.
Erin grabbed Julia’s hand.
It was a gesture of support for her, an expression of protection.
Erin took on the role of protecting Julia, standing in her place.
Before she knew it, Erin had firmly placed herself at the center of Julia’s problem.
She didn’t want to stay there any longer.
So Erin took Julia’s hand and left the reception hall.
With each step, Erin’s mind became more tangled.
Erin wished for Julia’s well-being.
Deciding to take a different ending from the original work was one of the things I most wished for.
Even if Julia doesn’t end up with Aiden as in the original, it seemed that it would no longer bother her as long as she became happy.
It was Erin’s sense of debt and responsibility.
In the original work, Julia was a brave and confident character in her own right. So she didn’t even flinch at Erin’s torment.
“So I wasn’t really worried.”
Erin held Julia’s hand even tighter.
She held on to her tightly and led Julia, never letting go.
Erin was completely unaware that her appearance was akin to a knight on a white horse rescuing a princess.
Erin marched towards the front of the carriage waiting for them.
Julia, in a fluster, ended up boarding the carriage belonging to Lienster with Erin.
Once onboard the carriage, a strange silence fell.
Perhaps due to Erin’s serious expression, the carriage departed without a word.
It wasn’t until then that Erin realized Julia was staring at her intently from across.
“What have I done?”
Looking at Julia’s face, which held so much, Erin was left speechless, feeling awkward.
The anger that had been boiling in Erin’s head until just a moment ago vanished in an instant.
Erin couldn’t even meet Julia’s eyes and busily rolled her eyes.
Being alone in the carriage, she couldn’t find a way to escape.
“Now what do I do?”
That was the problem.
Erin thought that this would be the end of their connection for just today.
But the current situation was completely opposite to Erin’s plans.
As she struggled to find the right words to say, she looked at the empty space and bit her lips, but Julia spoke first.
“Thank you for earlier.”
“……”
It was a natural greeting as Julia, but upon hearing those words, Erin felt even more uncomfortable.
“No, it’s wrong to behave like that.”
Remembering what happened at the reception, she became angry again.
In fact, if the situation were to repeat itself, Erin would have stepped in, even if it wasn’t Julia.
It was malicious and despicable harassment, something that should never be done.
If they were noble people who considered themselves different from others and prided themselves on their dignity, then it was even more deplorable behavior that should never have been done.
Erin, who associated with them in her own way, felt responsible for not immediately recognizing this fact and letting it go, even if others felt it had nothing to do with Erin.
Therefore, Erin decided to properly address this with Julia this time.
“Miss Charte, if something like this happens again, don’t just stand by quietly like today, especially if it’s out of concern for the Charte family.”
“……”
Julia just smiled ambiguously.
“You two are certainly not the kind of people to turn a blind eye to a problem for the sake of the family. Instead, you will work together to resolve and address the issue for Miss Charte.”
The Charte couple would only make decisions for Julia’s benefit.
Erin sincerely advised, “The Charte family has a reputable lineage. They are not easily swayed. So, you don’t need to worry.”
“……I wasn’t just standing by.”
Julia cautiously responded. Looking at her face, it was clear that she was not just pretending to be okay.
In fact, Erin had her own doubts as well, so she decided to ask.
“Then why did you just endure it?” Erin knew Julia was not weak.
In fact, she had a much stronger and more spirited personality than what was currently being shown, which made Erin wonder.
“Well… I’ve been living in the countryside all this time, so I still don’t really know what the conversations of nobles are like.”
Julia said, tilting her head to the side.
“I wasn’t sure if I really understood what they were saying, so it was difficult for me to respond.”
Even though it was obviously a blatant conversation, she seemed to be pondering it once more.
“If by any chance it was genuine and I misunderstood, it would be disrespectful to everyone.”
Erin almost forgot to close her mouth for a moment.
Was Julia Charte really such a naive person? Erin couldn’t decide whether she was pure or immature.
However, Julia’s words didn’t end there.
“Besides… I looked too weak.”
She paused for a moment, as if she had difficulty saying something, then carefully continued.
