“Excuse me, but may I have the honor of meeting Lady Letticia Sharon?”
“…Lady Sharon is currently in the lounge. May I ask who I should say is here to see her?”
Dayna, slightly wary that he might be another uninvited guest like Viscount Plumfetter, hesitated. However, the man introduced himself with the polished demeanor typical of old noble families.
“My name is Ezkhiel Bright. Baron Bright is my father.”
***
“Letticia, you have a guest.”
“Already? Oh…”
Letticia, who had been reclining lightly against the sofa’s backrest to avoid wrinkling her dress, groaned as she got up at Dayna’s call.
While a maid adjusted her dress, Letticia yawned, and Dayna smirked mischievously as she added,
“The guest said his name is Sir Ezkhiel Bright.”
“Lord Bright?!”
The moment she heard the name, Letticia jumped up and dashed to the vanity table. The lazy atmosphere she had just exuded disappeared entirely, replaced with an urgency to check her reflection and adjust her appearance. Dayna was taken aback by the transformation.
“There’s no time to tie my hair. I’ll just comb it and touch up my eye makeup a little. Oh, no, I should redo my lipstick too.”
“…You don’t look that disheveled, though.”
Letticia was known for maintaining a flawless appearance even when she was resting in a lounge outside her residence, to the point that she never took off her shoes.
This dedication to perfection was primarily a professional habit as a promotional model, not an effort to impress men.
Seeing Letticia unable to tear herself away from the mirror as she adjusted her hair and makeup made it clear that she genuinely liked Lord Bright. Dayna found it fascinating.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of her friend’s feelings, Letticia quickly finished combing her hair and freshening up her makeup. During that time, the maid carefully inspected Letticia’s dress, checking for any wrinkles.
“Where is Lord Bright now?”
“He’s by the modern art section. Chloe is explaining it to him.”
“Chloe? Her explanations about modern art always take forever!”
“Exactly. That’s why we’ll have time to see how you look before you go out.”
At Dayna’s words, Letticia frowned. Dayna’s response indicated her intent to observe how Ezkhiel would react to Chloe’s famously lengthy explanations.
“Do you really have to do that?”
“Of course. It’s important to see how he treats the friends of the woman he’s courting.”
As the social season entered its later stages, some men, having decided to focus entirely on one potential match, started neglecting basic etiquette toward other women who weren’t their targets.
While it was rare for anyone to be openly rude, it was still hard to view someone favorably if they treated a friend disrespectfully.
However, Letticia wasn’t worried about that at all.
“He’ll probably listen to her whole explanation and even agree with her points.”
“Really? Does he like art?”
“No, it’s not about that. He just doesn’t like interrupting people or dismissing what they’re saying.”
Once the maid had finished smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress, Letticia stepped out of the room. Dayna followed closely as Letticia hurried along, stopping at a spot where they could see Chloe and Ezkhiel standing near a landscape painting.
As expected, Chloe was delivering a thorough explanation, her expression and posture reminiscent of a professor lecturing a class.
“…This ‘Picnic at Three in the Afternoon’ is one of the most frequently cited works when discussing Ruben’s later artistic style. Ruben primarily focused on realistically depicting natural landscapes. Initially, he aimed to reflect real-life situations, but as his career progressed, he started believing that directly observing and portraying reality was the truest form of art…”
Chloe paused briefly before diving back into her lengthy monologue. Watching her, Letticia shuddered in exasperation.
“That’s basically a full-on lecture. It’s like she’s torturing Lord Bright.”
“Well, at least she’s imparting knowledge. Let’s see… how’s Lord Bright doing?”
Dayna subtly leaned forward to glance at Ezkhiel and found that Letticia’s prediction was correct.
Ezkhiel was attentively listening to Chloe’s lengthy explanation with a genuinely engaged demeanor. He wasn’t zoning out or ignoring her words.
“Wow, he’s really listening to her.”
“Didn’t I tell you he would?”
Letticia responded with a hint of pride as Dayna expressed her admiration. Holding the hem of her dress, Letticia gracefully approached Ezkhiel.
Luckily, Chloe had just finished her explanation about Ruben’s later works, making it the perfect moment to join them.
“Lord Bright, have you been waiting long? I’m so sorry—I was taking a break.”
“Oh, Lady Sharon, please don’t apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry for making you rush. I heard you were resting…”
Ezkhiel turned to Letticia, giving her a soft smile as he acknowledged her apology. Chloe, who had been preparing to continue her explanation, looked back and forth between the two with a hint of disappointment.
“Chloe, thank you for guiding Lord Bright around. Would it be alright if I take over and tour with him now?”
“Go ahead. Lord Bright, I also recommend checking out the medieval art section next. You’ll find it easier to remember how medieval art evolved into modern art if you observe the paintings closely.”
“Thank you for the recommendation, Miss Ecleston.”
After receiving Ezkhiel’s polite acknowledgment, Chloe looked satisfied and headed off to assist other guests.
Now alone with Ezkhiel, Letticia thanked him for listening so patiently to Chloe’s lengthy explanation.
“Chloe really loves modern art, so she tends to get a bit long-winded when talking about it.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Since I don’t know much about art, her insights were actually very helpful.”
Ezkhiel’s gentle smile caught Dayna’s attention, and her evaluation of him rose further.
A suitor who showed respect and courtesy to his beloved’s friends might not reveal his full personality immediately, but at the very least, he had excellent manners.
“I was thinking of hanging a few paintings at home, so I mentioned that I’d like to purchase some here. Miss Ecleston kindly recommended several wonderful pieces.”
“Chloe’s family specializes in art dealing, so her taste is impeccable. Which paintings did she recommend? Landscapes? Or perhaps abstract art?”
“She also suggested a watercolor piece. It’s a painting of a garden, but I couldn’t seem to find it nearby.”
“Oh, that’s probably one of Letticia’s paintings. Letticia, you should show Lord Bright your artwork.”
“Oh… this way, my lord. My paintings are displayed in another section.”
Taking Ezkhiel’s arm, Letticia led him to the area where her artwork was being exhibited.
Watching the two of them walk off, talking cheerfully together, Dayna murmured softly to herself so no one else could hear,
“I can see what Letticia’s type is.”
In the past, she hadn’t been aware, but stepping into society had made Dayna keenly aware of just how rare it was to find a man who was polite, well-mannered, and genuinely respectful of others.
When it came to marriage prospects, one could overlook a few flaws if the conditions were right. However, for someone like Letticia, who didn’t need to rely on a partner’s wealth, lineage, or reputation, she had the freedom to prioritize character and personality.
That was why Letticia wasn’t focused on superficial traits but instead sought someone who was polite and had a good heart.
‘…Honestly, I’m a bit envious.’
Dayna sighed as she thought about her own suitors. Thanks to her nickname, she had attracted suitors with decent qualifications, but the types of men Viscountess Hailey liked and the ones Dayna was interested in were completely different
“Well, there are still suitors waiting for me, so I’d better get back to work.”
Shaking her head lightly, Dayna left to survey the gallery once more.
***
“This is one of my paintings. It’s a depiction of the rose garden in our estate.”
“Wow… the colors are so vibrant. I’m not trying to compare it to the other works here, but this one feels particularly lively.”
Ezkhiel’s candid admiration for the painting, which featured a harmonious array of white, pink, and red roses, brought a soft smile to Letticia’s face.
“Right? My mother loves it too, so she’s planning to ask the gardener to plant it the same way this year.”
“Oh, so the Countess arranged for it to be planted like this?”
“Yes. She thought mixing the colors would make it more visually delightful. My father doesn’t like it, though; he thinks it looks disorganized.”
When they designed the garden, Camilla and Patrick had argued fiercely over it for some time.
In the end, Patrick, who spent most of his time indoors, relented. However, he was so irritated by the arrangement that he eventually covered the windows facing the garden with curtains, saying it made him want to uproot everything and start over every time he saw it.
“Hmm, I can understand where he’s coming from. Some people prefer gardens that are neatly sectioned.”
“He just likes everything to be orderly, like it was measured with a ruler and arranged alphabetically. If we followed his taste, the garden would probably have to be divided into equal sections by flower type and planted alphabetically from the entrance.”
“…That might look nice too.”
Ezkhiel’s lips curled up slightly as if he was imagining it. Letticia recalled how Lenard had reacted similarly when Patrick had suggested the idea, reaffirming the similarities between friends.
