My Lover Isn't Interested With The Female lead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even if one is lucky enough to debut at the Imperial Palace Ball, that’s not the end of it.

 

After going through all those difficult procedures, one has to compete seriously with a considerable number of senior debutantes who debuted in the last season.

 

The number of suitable grooms and brides is always limited, and except for a very few exceptions, women could only come out to social gatherings for three years.

 

Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that women are more desperate than men.

 

As a result, it was very common for women to compete and hold each other back to catch a better groom.

 

However, even if the debutantes didn’t try to hold each other back, there were plenty of trials awaiting them.

 

Even if they didn’t have children to marry off, many people in the social circles would evaluate the debutantes, and they were very proactive in tarnishing the reputation of debutantes they didn’t like.

 

Even though the debutantes’ marriages had no direct impact on them, they hindered them just because they didn’t like them.

 

Thinking like this, Letticia, who was selected as the diamond of the social circle, was the most noticeable target.

 

***

 

Letticia, who came out of Faymont, visited the residence of the Duchess of Dinever to attend a literary meeting held in the afternoon.

 

Because it was a literary meeting, not a ball, the chaperones were guided to a completely different room. Therefore, the debutantes had to greet the Duchess alone.

 

“I greet the Duchess. I am Letticia Sharon, the eldest daughter of the Count of Sharon.”

 

The Duchess of Dinever, dressed in an elegant dark brown dress, scanned Letticia’s bowed head and facial expression with eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

 

It was a gaze that even made debutantes who participated in the royal events tremble, but Letticia only wanted it to end quickly.

 

‘She’s really strict, this old lady.’

 

They greeted each other politely as if they were meeting for the first time, but in fact, the two were already acquainted.

 

Various people attended the gatherings of Camilla, known as the queen of the social circles, and the Duchess of Dinever, one of the two great matrons of the social circles, also visited the Sharon mansion twice a year.

 

Of course, the Duchess was not the kind of person to act like a friendly grandmother, so she never said anything to Letticia other than greetings.

 

However, since she was greeting her as if she were meeting her for the first time, it felt strange.

 

Thanks to her honed etiquette and acting skills, the strict expression of the Duchess seemed to loosen up a little.

 

“Camilla taught you well. Even if you were introduced informally at an unofficial occasion, you should introduce yourself again at an official one. These days, many people don’t even observe such basic etiquette.”

 

Instead of responding to the greeting, the old lady gave an evaluation. To this, Letticia responded with a deliberately friendly smile.

 

“Observing basic etiquette is a form of mutual respect. Although I could only greet you before, now that I have debuted, I hope to have the good fortune of hearing some precious words from you.”

 

“You’re just like your mother with your eloquent words.”

 

With words that were hard to discern whether they were praise or criticism, the Duchess nodded her head, signaling her to leave.

 

Letticia, not intending to stay longer, stepped back to find a place to sit.

 

“Letticia!”

 

At that moment, someone from a group of people sitting at a table called her softly. Hearing the voice, Letticia lightly held the hem of her chiffon dress and headed there.

 

Dayna and three other members of the March Blossoms Club welcomed her. If it were an informal setting, they would have spoken informally, but since it was a formal event, Letticia greeted them politely.

 

“Dayna, Valerie, Stella, Chloe, it’s been a while.”

 

“Indeed. We’ve been so busy after graduation that we haven’t been able to keep in touch.”

 

“I heard you became the diamond this season. Congratulations. I was surprised to read the article about you dancing with His Highness the Crown Prince at Lucinella.”

 

“I wished we could have talked at the ball, but you looked so busy that I couldn’t approach you. It was a shame.”

 

When Dayna, the only one who attended the Imperial Ball, said regretfully, Letticia waved her hand.

 

“At the Imperial Ball, we should be busy being introduced to other gentlemen, not talking among ourselves, right? And congratulations on your nickname too, Dayna. ‘Mist Flower’ suits you so well.”

 

Dayna smiled happily at Letticia’s congratulations.

 

Even though receiving a nickname from Lucinella was not as official an honor as being called a diamond, it was still enough to make people talk about it.

 

Since Dayna was from new noble family and there’s Letticia, she wouldn’t have an expectation to be a diamond, so it must have been an unexpected stroke of luck for her.¹

 

“Thank you for your congratulations, Letticia. Honestly, I never thought I would get a nickname, so I was quite taken aback.”

 

“What do you mean? Among our peers, you’re the only one from a Viscount’s family! Only two of us have attended a royal audience.”

 

“That’s right, Dayna often underestimates herself,”

 

Valerie and Chloe grumbled, and Stella tried to soothe them.

 

“It’s understandable. How many people from new noble families have received nicknames? This time, except for Letticia and Dayna, everyone else who received a nickname, except for one neutral party, were all from old noble families.”

 

“Well, that’s true…”

 

Valerie conceded reluctantly as Dayna whispered, noticing the people who had entered the drawing room.

 

“Ah, they say even a tiger comes when you talk about it. Look over there.”²

 

Everyone turned their heads in the direction Dayna indicated. Letticia also turned to see who they were.

 

Letticia saw two people heading towards the Duchess.

 

‘Seraphina Eskis, and…’

 

It took Letticia a few seconds to remember the name of the woman with the navy blue hair standing next to Seraphina.

 

“That’s Lady Audrey Wallace, right? The daughter of the Count of Wallace.”

 

“Yes, she was considered a diamond candidate alongside you at the academy.”

 

Dayna confirmed, and Letticia recalled her memories from the academy.

 

After Ariette transferred, the old nobles in Letticia’s class didn’t openly show their resentment towards her.

 

Instead, they tried to check her by praising Lady Wallace, who wasn’t even in their class, more than before.

 

Though Letticia didn’t care, she was often left to clean up the mess when her peers argued with them.

 

She had often wanted to tell them to go ask the professors to transfer to Wallace’s class if they liked her so much.

 

Perhaps that was why not only Letticia but her other friends also didn’t have a good opinion of Lady Wallace.

 

“Everyone said Lady Wallace would be the diamond and put Letticia down, but who knew how things would turn out.”

 

“Looking at Lucinella, they did nickname her the Daffodil, but she ended up being overshadowed by the Swan.”³

 

Chloe murmured, and Stella hurriedly hushed her.

 

Thankfully, the two who had just finished their greetings didn’t seem to hear Chloe’s comment.

 

“Why are those two come together?”

 

“Didn’t you know? Machioness Eskis is from the Wallace family. I heard she’s the Count’s sister.”

 

“Really? Then Lady Eskis must be staying at the Wallace estate in the capital.”

 

“Probably. It seems the Countess is acting as her chaperone.”

 

Stella, who was knowledgeable about such matters, kindly explained.

 

Letticia, feeling the sudden attention, turned her head to meet the gazes of Seraphina and Audrey Wallace. Neither of them looked at her kindly.

 

‘Why are they glaring at me like that?’

 

Letticia frowned, feeling bewildered. Audrey Wallace smirked, while Seraphina turned her head away with a cold expression.

 

Feeling equally disdainful, Letticia ignored them and refocused on her conversation with her friends.

 

“By the way, did everyone prepare for the literary meeting today?”

 

“I managed to finish a book yesterday. I’ve been so busy with balls and gatherings that I barely had time to read.”

 

“At least you read something, Chloe. I didn’t do anything. Why did the Duchess have to hold a literary meeting…?”

 

“Valerie always dozed off during literature classes at the academy.”

 

Letticia teased her, and Valerie groaned.

 

“Honestly, if the Duchess hadn’t invited me, I wouldn’t have come. The only books I remember are the ones I had to read for exams.”

 

“That’s fine, you can just talk about those. If they were covered in the academy’s literature classes, their literary value is assured.”

 

“Maybe I’ll have to.”

 

Valerie sighed in resignation.

 

As everyone seemed to have arrived, the Duchess took her seat. An elderly woman with gold-rimmed glasses sitting next to her stood up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

🍓 :

 

¹ Referring to her still being able to earn the title of ‘Mist Flower’ because she had no thoughts of becoming a diamond this season.

 

² This suggests that someone just mentioned has appeared.

 

³ In literature and conversation, a ‘swan’ often symbolizes grace, beauty, and a higher status, while a ‘daffodil’ is also beautiful but might not be seen as possessing the same level of elegance or prominence.