The next afternoon, Letticia welcomed Seraphina in the reception room where she usually received her friends.
Seraphina, dressed in a modest blue gown suitable for outings, sat upright with an impeccable and composed demeanor, just as she had appeared at the ball.
‘Why is the villainess from the original story coming to see me…?’
In transmigration novels, the role of the original villainess is usually one of two types.
The first type throws away the title of villainess and becomes the transmigrated protagonist’s best friend, often bringing girl-crush moments and a satisfying sense of justice.
The second type antagonizes the transmigrated protagonist rather than the main character of the original story.
‘Both are annoying, honestly.’
The second type goes without saying, but even the first case can be equally troublesome.
According to Dayna, the western nobles didn’t even consider terms like ‘nouveau riche’ or ‘half-breed’ as slurs and used them in everyday conversation.
So, in the original story, the insults Seraphina hurled at Ariette probably involved calling the duchess a ‘nouveau riche’ or referring to Ariette as a ‘half-breed.’
It would be impossible to be friends with someone who casually made remarks that even readers in a past life wouldn’t find satisfying.
‘I just hope she gets to the point and leaves soon.’
With a pile of other headaches to deal with, if anything else were added, Letticia might actually set the temple on fire. She hadn’t even had a proper romantic experience with Ezkhiel yet, so getting arrested as an arsonist was out of the question.
Thus, Letticia deliberately spoke more politely to Seraphina.
“What kind of tea do you like?”
“Arlene, please. No milk is necessary.”
When the maid brought the tea leaves and water, Letticia skillfully brewed the tea. She served straight tea for Seraphina and added milk and sugar to her own cup before stirring it with a spoon. Seraphina silently savored the tea in her cup.
“I’ve prepared strawberry tarts for tea snacks. How do they sound?”
“A wonderful combination. The lady’s taste is truly remarkable.”
Seraphina’s unexpectedly civil demeanor, unlike someone like Melanie, took Letticia by surprise.
As the eldest daughter of a western noble family, Letticia had expected comments like, ‘Arlene isn’t that sweet,’ or other similar remarks.
After taking a sip of tea, Seraphina looked Letticia straight in the eyes with a serious expression. Just in case she decided to throw her tea, Letticia had deliberately worn her cheapest and least favorite dress. She subtly glanced at Seraphina’s hand, trying not to make it obvious.
However, Seraphina’s actions defied all of Letticia’s expectations.
“I sincerely want to apologize for my reckless behavior at the ball that upset you, Lady Letticia.”
Setting her cup down, Seraphina spoke with the utmost sincerity, offering an apology. Words Letticia never expected to hear from the lips of the villainess of the original story left her wide-eyed in astonishment.
“Apologize…?”
“I’ve heard all the details about what Lady Cassilis did at the tea party from the Countess and others. Although Lady Sharon’s subsequent actions cannot be deemed commendable, it’s clear that it wasn’t a one-sided case of bullying. In fact, Lady Cassilis was more at fault.”
“…Indeed.”
Even though Letticia had splashed tea, no one blamed her. That’s how outrageous Melanie’s comment was, earning everyone’s wrath.
“But due to my personal prejudice, I assumed Lady Sharon was in the wrong without hearing your side and unfairly confronted you. Naturally, I must apologize for that. I am truly sorry.”
“Personal prejudice?”
They had never even spoken before—what kind of prejudice could Seraphina possibly have against Letticia?
When Letticia tilted her head in confusion, Seraphina calmly explained.
“…On the day of the Duchess of Dinever’s gathering, my cousin Audrey and I were in Faymont, guided by Viscount Langford, a friend of my uncle, the Count of Wallace. It was to show me around the capital since I am not familiar with it.”
“Duchess of Dinever… Oh!”
Letticia recalled the troublesome situation she had dealt with alongside Ezkhiel and frowned.
Come to think of it, that Lang-whatever fellow had indeed made some nonsense remark about escorting noble ladies and demanding others to move aside.
‘That was Seraphina and Lady Wallace?’
As Letticia’s gaze sharpened, Seraphina quietly continued.
“That day, the Viscount explained to us that the view of Clermont Street from the fifth floor of Faymont was exceptional. So, while waiting to ascend to the fifth floor, the Viscount returned later and apologized to us, saying that Lady Sharon had demanded others make way for noble ladies, using her escort and guards to force her way ahead.”
“Ha!”
Letticia let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. It was absurd that the Viscount, embarrassed about being unable to get his way through his own bluff, had pinned the blame on Letticia.
“To my regret, I developed a bad impression of you from that incident and unknowingly judged you with prejudice. I also want to apologize for that part.”
“Um, before accepting your apology, I need to clear up a misunderstanding. That Viscount Langford—he didn’t even have the right to go to the fifth floor in the first place.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
Seraphina’s emerald eyes were filled with surprise. Letticia suppressed her irritation toward the Viscount and explained as gently as possible.
“The building where Faymont is located belongs to me. Faymont occupies floors one through four, but the fifth floor is my personal space, reserved for myself and people I know. Yet people keep mistaking it for some kind of VIP room and try to go up there.”
“That building… belongs to Lady Sharon?”
“Yes. That day, I intended to have refreshments on the fifth floor with my party, but Viscount Langford threatened the staff, insisting he had to go up.”
“Threatened? Are you saying that gentlemanly person did something like that?”
Shock filled Seraphina’s face.
To Letticia, Viscount Langford had been an arrogant troublemaker, claiming to escort someone almost as important as royalty. However, it seemed he had acted rather courteously toward Seraphina.
“Not only did he threaten the staff, but he also told my party to step aside. The staff repeatedly explained that no one could enter the fifth floor without the owner’s permission.”
“So, the Viscount tried to force something that was normally impossible using his power. On top of that, he shifted the blame to Lady Sharon to save face.”
Seraphina’s expression grew serious. Letticia, reminded of the troublemaker she had long forgotten, felt her disgust for him resurface and had no intention of defending him.
After pondering for a few seconds, Seraphina relaxed her frown and apologized to Letticia once more.
“It seems my prejudice against you was also based on a misunderstanding. I made the same mistake twice—believing one side of the story without verifying the facts, and with the same person no less. I feel deeply ashamed. I’m sorry.”
“…No, honestly, it’s a bit funny that you came all this way to clear things up.”
Unaccustomed to receiving such a swift apology, Letticia awkwardly tried to brush it off. However, Seraphina maintained her serious demeanor and shook her head.
“As you know, I’m from the west, so I was privately educated by a tutor and relied on the connections of the Wallace family even in the capital. Since I haven’t met many people, I sometimes forget that someone kind to me might not be the same toward others.”
“Well, I guess that could happen if you only meet people you know.”
“Yes. In fact, apart from the Wallace family, this is the first time I’ve personally sought out someone myself.”
This kind of ‘you’re the first’ sentiment wasn’t particularly welcome.
Just like Ariette and now Seraphina, why was it that everyone seemed so obsessed with making Letticia their first?
“Was your sole purpose for visiting me to apologize?”
“Yes. Since I was disrespectful to you, I felt I had to apologize.”
Seraphina answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It reminded Letticia of the odd moment during the chaotic Countess Freke’s ball when Seraphina had introduced herself to her.
“And I didn’t want it to be just words—I thought I should also show my apology through some action. I’ve been considering what I can do and wanted to consult you.”
“An act of apology?”
“Yes.”
Compared to the exhausting battle with the Duke of Averil’s family, this was an unbelievably swift and sincere apology.
Even though Seraphina hadn’t directly insulted Letticia but merely sided with Melanie without knowing the full story, this much effort was unexpected.
‘I’ve never seen someone reflect so well before. She’s much better than those three men.’
While Letticia was admiring her, Seraphina clasped her hands together neatly and looked directly into Letticia’s eyes.
“I believe that the success of Sharon Jewelry must be of great importance to the Sharon family. So, if I were to purchase the new gemstone chain from Sharon Jewelry, could that be accepted as a sincere gesture of apology toward your family?”
