Chapter 10
Of all people, to have my weaknesses exposed to someone who rushes headlong into everything… Cassian lamented inwardly.
But whether Renak knew his thoughts or not, he cheerfully urged, “Come on, let’s have another round. I have to start packing again since dawn.”
With that, he clinked his brimming glass against Cassian’s. “I knew it would come to this.”
~×xx~
I hid myself in a secluded corner of Lady Sinaba’s elegant reception room, praying that the expensive furniture surrounding me would shield me from the scrutinizing gazes of the attendees. This was precisely why I didn’t want to come to the salon in the first place.
My suspicions had proven true once again. Lady Sinaba had invited me with malicious intent. As soon as I arrived at her palace, I noticed the absence of anyone coming out to greet me from inside when the carriage of Count Carneluti’s family stood in front of the palace.
“They must have heard me coming.”
I chuckled self-deprecatingly in my thoughts. No matter how splendidly I dressed up and presented myself, it always ended up like this. It wasn’t the case in every salon I’d been invited to, but generally speaking, it was.
Leaving Laura, who usually accompanied me, in the carriage and entering the palace alone with my invitation in hand felt both embarrassing and awkward. And in front of the reception room, it was even more so.
I recalled the disdainful look of the chamberlain as he checked my invitation, feeling his eyes scanning me with distaste.
“Miss Renata? Oh, from the Carneluti’s.”
The woman, with a mocking smile, opened the door, and the moment I stepped into the reception room, everyone who had arrived earlier stared at me in silence as if ice water had been poured on them.
In the end, no one among those invited to Lady Sinaba’s private salon said a word to me. In that moment, I felt a sense of disillusionment about whether I really had to live like this.
I thought I had become accustomed to being ignored, but the truth was, I still wasn’t used to it.
“Is it a lie? Are you trying to make fun of me?”
“Why would I do that? I even borrowed my mother’s necklace for this occasion. See?-”
“Yes, you look beautiful. You’ve come well-prepared,” said someone nearby, their voice drifting over as I stood pressed against the crimson curtain, lost in my own thoughts. Being alone from the beginning, my ears involuntarily tuned into the conversations of others.
“By the way, Lord Hasias!”
“I’ve never seen him visit the salon before. Oh, what should I do? My heart’s all aflutter.”
“Come to think of it, Isillia used to attend Barcalia with Lord Hasias…”
“Hush, don’t say any more. It’s a secret.” Now that I think about it, Isillia Lubera was here too. But her crush on Cassian isn’t exactly a secret. Well, not that it’s a secret, considering she’s been infatuated with him since her Barcalia days. If you were a noble studying at Barcalia back then, you’d know her for sure.
She was the same age as me, Isar, and Khalid, and we attended classes together. And every time Cassian, who was two years our senior, passed by, she looked at him with dreamy eyes. Isar was particularly kind to me, despite his rank, and was gentle to everyone regardless of their status. So it wasn’t hard for her to develop feelings for him.
As for Khalid, well, he was the type to be endlessly enamored with troublemakers and mischief-makers. But I was nothing like that, so I never even tried to understand them. Anyway, because most of our peers were in love with the twin princes, Isillia Lubera’s presence at the time was remarkable.
But Cassian always remained oblivious. Speaking of which, I realized that I hadn’t seen Cassian at the salon either, despite our age. But given our age, it could be that we’re starting to attend salons and balls to find marriage partners.
For nobles, marriage is a matter of life and death, not just for oneself but also for the prosperity of the family.
“But Isillia, and Karina too!”
“Oh, hehe, oh my, I feel dizzy. Who called me?”
It was a time when Isillia and the other noblewomen were enjoying their drinks, enthusiastically discussing love affairs.
An intoxicated young lady, her breath reeking of alcohol since early hours, stumbled in from somewhere. Was it Karina? Karina Rezenin, perhaps?
I lifted my head and saw a striking beauty with fiery red hair and green eyes, her face as flushed as her hair, singing a tipsy tune.
“Oh my, oh my. Where did you get this drunk?”
“Where else but here? The drinks provided by the nobility are indeed different. They’re high-quality.”
Goodness, what is this? Karina, what kind of spectacle is this? Pull yourself together.
As Karina staggered towards me, Isillia exclaimed in shock, but Karina pointed a finger at Isillia, as if telling her to shut up. Ironically, it was Karina herself who wobbled over to Isillia.
Confused, Isillia blinked her eyes repeatedly like a rabbit. Karina chuckled.
“I am of noble birth, after all,” she said with a pretentious air. “But when you strip it all away, we’re all the same.”
“Stop it. What are you trying to say? There are gentlemen here too.”
Isillia covered her mouth with her hand and subtly stepped aside.
Karina Rezenin was similar to me in status, yet different. Her family, the Rezenins, bought their noble title around the same time as the Carnerlutis. But unlike me, Karina didn’t receive complete disdain from the majority of nobles.
The reason was simple. Whenever she attended salons, she was almost always drunk beyond measure. And when she was in that state, she would pick fights with anyone she came across.
So it’s no wonder she’s rumored to receive a hefty allowance in exchange for her antics.
It was speculated that she harbored an inferiority complex about being a newly minted noble, but whether that was true remained unknown because those who said so were all from the old noble class who despised mixing with newcomers.
Perhaps Karina wanted to push back against the snobby nobles by using her drunkenness as an excuse to confront them one by one.
“Oh, what can I do? There are gentlemen here. What am I supposed to do?”
“…Why would Lady Sinaba invite someone like her…”
“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you, your breath stinks.”
“….”
Now Isillia seemed to be getting up altogether. Given Karina’s drunken state, it was wiser for Isillia to avoid confrontation.
Isillia glanced around with widened eyes, as if experiencing an earthquake.
In that brief moment, Karina staggered and lunged towards her.
“Whoa, thirsty. Oh, you, Karina, give me that.”
“Ugh, Karina!”
At that moment, all Karina could see was the teacup Isillia was holding. Karina clumsily tried to snatch it away.
Then, with a start, Isillia instinctively raised the cup high into the air.
Crash!
“Oh my, what happened? Oh my.”
“Hmm? Oh.”
As if suddenly sobered, Karina widened her green eyes.
And Isillia, who had pretended not to notice all along, glanced at me.
“Spilled.”
Luckily, the tea had cooled down.
I sneezed and wiped my nose. What luck, Isillia spilled the tea, but at least it didn’t splash towards me.
But it was still fortunate. Now, with this excuse, I could leave early, and no one would object.
“Oh, no, it’s not intentional. Are you okay, Lady Renata? I’m really sorry, it wasn’t on purpose.”
Karina apologized frantically, her reddened face suggesting genuine remorse.
She didn’t need to apologize so earnestly.
I waved it off, saying I was fine. With the common ground of being newly minted nobles, Karina and I were relatively forgiving of each other.
“It’s okay, I’m not burned or anything.”
“No, still. What should I do? Handkerchief! Oh, none, right. Come here, I’ll wipe it for you.”
Karina fumbled with her dress, looking for something. Unable to find anything suitable, she reached out to me.
“It’s okay. Just like this…”
Just like this, I’ll go home.
It would be the best if I caught a cold on the way. If I fell ill, the engagement ceremony would be postponed.
As I thought about that, I flinched at the sound of mocking laughter nearby.
Several people had gathered around us.
“Ha, what’s with that sight?”
“Please, refrain from speaking. She’s going to be the Crown Princess Consort, you know?”
Are they mocking my appearance like that?
Without realizing it, I found myself looking down.
