The charity art exhibition hosted by Letticia and her friends was held at the gallery on the 7th floor of a department store run by Stella’s family.
Although most of the people invited were new nobles, given the hosts’ social status, quite a few old nobles who were courting the hosts were also invited, as it was the latter half of the social season.
And many of those suitors were Letticia’s guests.
“Lady Sharon, it is such an honor to receive your invitation. I am truly delighted.”
“I should be the one thanking you, Count, for graciously attending in support of the hospital.”
Since Letticia had delegated much of the preparation work to her friends, she was now focusing her efforts on greeting the guests.
After greeting the 12th suitor, making polite conversation, and offering a brief explanation about the event, Letticia finally saw him off. At that moment, Dayna and Chloe approached her.
“Letticia, take this opportunity to go and rest for a while. You’ve been standing for two hours straight.”
“I can’t. What if another one of my suitors shows up while I’m away? I’ll need to greet them.”
“Then I’ll have someone call you if that happens. Just go rest for now.”
“Exactly. Everyone else has taken a break except you.”
“Alright, I’ll take a short break, then.”
With Chloe joining Dayna in urging her to rest, Letticia finally relented and headed toward the staff lounge. Watching her retreating figure, Chloe muttered, exasperated,
“They really do keep coming. Usually, when representatives of suitors are mentioned in ‘Lucinella’, those who aren’t confident in competing back off. But how are there still 11 others besides the Count of Cromwell?”
“Well, for Letticia, it’s not about her family title or wealth—it’s about whether she likes the person. That probably gives them hope, even if they fall short in terms of status or fortune.”
Among the suitors, there were men with neither money nor prestige, hoping to marry a wealthy woman to secure their future. Many of those targeting new nobles fell into this category.
“Letticia must be going through a tough time,”
Chloe remarked, shaking her head in disbelief. Dayna silently agreed, nodding subtly.
Because of the Sharon family’s preference for love marriages, people often assumed Letticia was a naive girl dreaming of a romantic love story straight out of a novel.
They imagined that if they just set the right mood and whispered a few sweet words, she would fall for them.
‘Letticia really can’t stand people like that.’
The men most popular in the social circles were often the farthest from Letticia’s preferences.
Her choices made it clear; she had rejected the likes of the charming and eloquent Lord Jarvis, the exotically handsome Lord Carmen, and the distinguished Marquess Digby, with her favor falling solely on Lord Bright.
‘Well, if Letticia had ordinary tastes, she might have aimed to become the Crown Princess…’
Recalling something Letticia had once said, Dayna sighed. Over the past five years, there had been times when Dayna felt a difference in values between herself and Letticia, but this time was especially shocking.
Every debutante in the same generation as the Crown Prince must have, at least once, dreamed of becoming the Crown Princess. Even Dayna had, during her academy days, felt her heart flutter at the sight of the Crown Prince from afar and imagined herself as the Crown Princess.
But Letticia, who was in a position where such a dream could easily become reality, had willingly given up the opportunity. As a friend, Dayna had tried to understand, but Letticia’s remark that she couldn’t imagine being happy as the Crown Princess was still difficult to grasp.
As Dayna began to slightly shake her head, a guest entered through the gallery’s entrance, prompting her to quickly put on a smile and greet them. However, the man ignored her greeting, striding forward with an arrogant tone.
“I’m here to see Lady Sharon. Where is she?”
“…Lady Sharon is currently in the lounge. May I ask who I should say is here to see her?”
Chloe replied on Dayna’s behalf after her greeting had been ignored. The man gave Chloe a haughty look before answering.
“I am Viscount Plumfetter. Tell her that.”
At the name ‘Viscount Plumfetter,’ Dayna nearly took a step back in shock.
Viscount Plumfetter was infamous as a gambling addict. For nobles, engaging in moderate gambling was considered a refined hobby, but the Viscount’s habits far exceeded that standard.
A man who couldn’t even pay off gambling debts exceeding 1,000 gold yet continued daily card games at gambling clubs and bets on horse races and sports wasn’t enjoying gambling—he was addicted.
Even creditors, who had previously lent money based on the honor and history of his family, were now demanding repayment. Dayna couldn’t believe that someone like this was pursuing Letticia.
‘Wait a minute. Did he say he came to see Lady Sharon?’
Most people would say they were invited to an event, not that they came to see a specific person.
Curious, Dayna decided to probe further.
“So, you’re saying you received an invitation from Lady Sharon? Could you show me the invitation?”
“An invitation? This is an exhibition, not a ball. Do you expect me to present an invitation for something like this?”
“The other guests have shown theirs.”
Of course, this was a lie. The actual attendance confirmation process involved signing one’s name next to their entry on the guest list located at the center of the gallery.
However, either unaware of this or unwilling to admit it, the viscount raised his voice and began arguing.
“Ha! Are you accusing a gentleman of lying? Before entering, I saw three people walk in without any invitations!”
“We verify invitations inside the exhibition hall, not at the entrance. Please, show me your invitation.”
When Dayna asked again, Viscount Plumfetter seemed at a loss for words, his lips twitching momentarily before he quickly regained his composure.
“I left the invitation at home. But I most certainly heard about this exhibition from Lady Sharon herself and came here because of her.”
“In that case, please wait a moment while I check the guest list.”
As Dayna turned to retrieve the guest list, the Viscount appeared to falter and changed his stance.
“…I wouldn’t want to trouble a lady. I’ll simply meet Lady Sharon and leave immediately.”
“Lady Sharon just went to rest a moment ago, so I’m afraid that won’t be possible right now.”
“We’ll let her know you came, so please don’t worry.”
Chloe and Dayna were determined to block this rude man from bothering their friend. However, Viscount Plumfetter’s rudeness far exceeded their expectations.
“There’s no need for that. If she’s resting alone, she must be feeling bored. I’ll go keep her company.”
“Excuse me?”
Startled, Chloe asked again, and Viscount Plumfetter, acting as though he was doing a favor, replied smugly.
“I had a delightful conversation with Lady Sharon the last time I visited the Sharon estate. I promised her that I’d gladly be her companion should she wish, and I’ve come to fulfill that promise.”
“But you don’t even have an invitation! That means you’re not allowed to enter!”
Chloe, now utterly alarmed, firmly blocked his way, but the Viscount ignored her protests.
“I’m not here to view the exhibition. I’m here to provide Lady Sharon with conversation. Therefore, my lack of an invitation is irrelevant.”
“What nonsense is that, Viscount? Not having an invitation is an issue, but what kind of gentleman insists on entering a lady’s private lounge? This isn’t just impolite—it’s outrageous!”
“If that’s the case, then go and fetch Lady Sharon immediately. I won’t leave without greeting her.”
The Viscount now stood with his arms crossed, issuing commands as though he had the authority to do so. Dayna wondered if he even realized that she, too, was the daughter of a Viscount and not someone he could order around.
Exasperated, Dayna subtly signaled to Chloe before responding.
“In that case, please wait outside the gallery. Since you do not have an invitation, you have no right to remain inside.”
“I’ll allow that courtesy, but my patience is limited.”
His tone made it sound as if he thought he was being magnanimous, which only added to their frustration.
To think that someone like him was pursuing Letticia—having many suitors isn’t always something to envy.
After the Viscount left, Chloe let out her frustration, glaring at the entrance through which he had exited.
“What was that man’s deal? He shows up without an invitation and demands we bring Letticia? How could someone be so shameless?”
“He’s probably desperate to marry Letticia by any means necessary. Showing up at an exhibition he wasn’t even invited to proves it.”
“Well, if he was someone significant, his name would have appeared in ‘Lucinella’ as one of her suitors. Still, I guess we’ll need to let Letticia know. Should we tell her now?”
“…Let’s not bother,”
Dayna said, shaking her head as she remembered Letticia’s mention of already having someone she was interested in. If it were Ezkhiel Bright, that would be one thing—but Viscount Plumfetter was far too insignificant to interrupt her rest.
“We should just call the guards and have him thrown out.”
“Can we do that? He’s still a Viscount, even if he’s rude.”
“He’s an uninvited guest. Besides, his reputation is already in the gutter, so throwing him out won’t cause much trouble.”
Uninvited guests are only welcome when they’re someone you would plead with to visit in the first place.
Men like Viscount Plumfetter, whose reputations were in ruins, were the kind who were reluctantly tolerated during the visiting season out of courtesy—but otherwise, no one would even want to invite them.
Dayna and Chloe immediately instructed the guards to escort the Viscount out. Soon after, while Dayna was greeting other guests, another man approached her.
He was dressed neatly in a simple shirt and green vest, with fine, delicate features that gave him a somewhat shadowed, melancholic appearance—a handsome man, but with an air of mystery.
