“Sir Bright?”
Kenneth quickly glanced sideways at Lenard.
Fortunately, it seemed like the three of them were still engrossed in their meeting and hadn’t heard what was said.
“How are you planning to persuade Lenard?”
“What’s there to persuade? As long as the two of us are happy, that’s all that matters.”
“…Are you even sure the two of you like each other? From what I’ve heard so far, it seems like you’re the only one who’s interested and approaching.”
“I’m not sure yet. That’s why I need to keep meeting him. He said he’d come to the Countess Freke’s ball, so I’ll try to dance with him and spend some time together there. Then I’ll know if he’s interested in me.”
“What will you do if he doesn’t seem interested?”
“I’ll make sure he becomes interested in me. But if it turns out he’s not the right one, I’ll give up. Who knows, I might find something about him that I don’t like there.”
“…Well, you’ve only met him three times so far. You should think carefully.”
Kenneth felt somewhat relieved but also a bit concerned after hearing Letticia’s response.
While she said she didn’t know him well since they had only met three times, the truth was that aside from Ezkhiel, the only other men she had met three times were the Averil brothers, whom she met due to some unfortunate circumstances.
‘People say appearance matters, but the truth is, personality is what really counts…’
Letticia had a personality where, if she didn’t like someone’s character, she wouldn’t hesitate to cut ties with them, no matter how handsome they were.
Moreover, her taste in looks was very particular, though she wasn’t fully aware of it herself. In reality, she was incredibly picky.
She disliked the stereotypical noble look, muscular knights, flashy playboys, and cold-hearted stars, so it was very difficult to find someone who matched her tastes.
‘Was it because of the Averil brothers? Considering she mentioned their hair and eye color, it seems likely.’
Kenneth frowned as he recalled the faces of the Averil brothers. Both had silver hair; Alexander had the face of a classic noble, while Achilles was muscular due to his profession as a knight.
Alexander was rumored to be thoughtful and polite, but since Letticia had seen his true nature back in the academy, it wasn’t surprising she didn’t like him.
Achilles had recently apologized, and she had accepted it, but it seemed some lingering resentment remained.
‘But why does she dislike the Crown Prince’s appearance? Is it because she doesn’t want to become the Crown Princess, or does she dislike the Crown Prince himself?’
The Averil brothers could be disliked due to past entanglements, but Letticia had only met the Crown Prince once when they danced as Diamonds.
And yet, Letticia specifically said she disliked his black hair and red eyes.
Even though she seemed upset at the time due to his poor manners and dismissive remarks, could that have really caused resentment comparable to what she felt for the Averil brothers?
‘I don’t really understand. Then again, there have been many times I haven’t understood why Letty acts the way she does.’
Kenneth decided to stop forcing himself to reach a conclusion. Instead, he would compare the conditions he had written in his notebook with the information on the noblemen he had analyzed so far, and pick out some candidates.
‘Sir Bright seems to be the strongest candidate so far.’
Among the more than thirty people Letticia had danced with, the only one she had mentioned liking was Ezkhiel.
Despite his frustration over the endless list of potential suitors, in the end, she had personally named Ezkhiel and asked him to be included as a candidate.
Kenneth couldn’t help but suspect that she had already decided on Ezkhiel but was still looking at others just to be sure.
Of course, she wouldn’t be aware of this herself.
‘…I feel bad for Lenard, but if Letty really likes him, there’s nothing I can do.’
Kenneth apologized silently to Lenard as he made up his mind to find out more about Ezkhiel.
***
Lenard, Marianne, and Lenoa had finally come up with an idea and started planning. After consulting with the adults, they seemed to have decided to move up the release date of one of the products originally scheduled for the fall.
They’re promised to showcase the prototype at the ball to be held at Count Sharon’s residence in two weeks, and since then, everyone has been busy running around to solve the issues related to mass production.
Compared to them, Letticia was relatively free and spent her time preparing for the ball with Kenneth and Camilla, while also attending various social gatherings.
Today, she was scheduled to attend a tea party hosted by the Countess of Cassilis, a friend of Camilla.
Not all social activities during the season involve grand gatherings.
Sometimes, informal visits to acquaintances’ homes are necessary for maintaining connections.
Letticia, who had recently debuted in high society, would sometimes meet her friends at Faymont, but more often, people like the Countess of Cassilis would host small tea parties at their homes to invite guests.
“Welcome, Camilla, Lady Letticia!”
The Countess of Cassilis, who had come out to greet the guests, warmly welcomed the two and led them to the tea room. There were about six women present, who appeared to be around Letticia’s age.
One of them was her friend, Stella, and among the remaining five, four were not her peers but were people she had seen either at the academy or in social circles—faces she vaguely remembered even if she didn’t know their names.
The Countess of Cassilis first introduced the only unfamiliar woman.
“This is my daughter, Melanie. I’ve brought her to the capital for the first time, and I wanted to introduce her to you, Lady Letticia.”
“Nice to meet you, Lady Cassilis. I’m Letticia Sharon. Count Sharon is my father.”
“Pleasure to meet you. I am Melanie Cassilis. My father is Count Cassilis.”
After confirming that the two had exchanged greetings, the Countess smiled and suggested to Letticia.
“Since Melanie has grown up only in the county, she doesn’t have any friends in the capital yet. Would you be her friend, Lady Letticia?”
“For you to make such a suggestion, Countess, I couldn’t be more delighted. I look forward to getting along well with you, Lady Cassilis.”
“I hope we can get along well, too.”
After exchanging suitably noble conversation, the atmosphere was amicable, and when the Countess left with Camilla, everyone sat down.
Letticia deliberately sat next to Stella and exchanged small greetings.
“Letticia, you’re attending this as well?”
“How have you been, Stella? I didn’t know you had ties with the Cassilis family.”
“We have business relations through truffle trades.”
Seeing the friendly exchange between the two, other women quickly joined the conversation.
“Miss Stella, don’t hog Lady Sharon to yourself. Please introduce us as well.”
“That’s right. We’ve been looking forward to meeting Lady Sharon so much!”
It seemed that the people gathered here were either from newly risen nobility or neutral factions friendly to them.
The old nobility would always use their surnames even among friends in such gatherings.
However, this wasn’t necessarily a good sign. Today’s gathering was hosted by the Cassilis family, and Letticia was merely one of the guests.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. But perhaps it’s time we all sit down and enjoy some tea?”
Once all the introductions were made, Letticia skillfully redirected the conversation.
If she allowed them to keep talking to her and ignore the hostess Melanie, she would later be accused of stealing the spotlight from the hostess.
Indeed, Melanie had shown signs of displeasure when the other guests rushed to greet Letticia first.
Normally, Melanie should have led the introductions, but when everyone went straight to Letticia, she seemed quite irritated.
So, rather than continuing the conversation with them, Letticia decided to sit down and give Melanie the chance to lead the discussion.
‘Not only are the new nobles friendly here, but so are the neutrals… Is it because there are no men around?’
Even if they would fiercely compete when men were present, competition among women could momentarily cease when they were among themselves.
And even if that wasn’t the case, having her friend Stella here made the situation a little less tiring.
While Letticia was relieved internally, a maid came in with hot water and a teapot, and Melanie continued with the introductions.
“Today, we have three kinds of tea prepared: White Opera, Arenne, and the finest Eflor.”
“Oh my, you managed to get the finest Eflor?”
“I heard that you can’t even purchase it unless you’re on the VIP list of the Marquess of Brie. How on earth did you manage to get it?”
“Well, there are ways. I’ll serve you Eflor first, but if you prefer another tea, I’ll switch it for you.”
Seeing the other ladies surprised by the mention of the final tea, Melanie looked at Letticia with a very satisfied expression.
It was as if she expected Letticia to be equally impressed and envious, just like the others.
‘Not really something to be impressed by. Our family also purchases it every season, so…’
The Sharon family had been regularly purchasing Eflor ever since receiving an introduction from the Averil family five years ago.
Of course, this season was no different, and Camilla had bought enough tea leaves to serve guests until the summer. Letticia even had enough to enjoy a few cups by herself if she wanted to.
So, although being served Eflor was not something particularly remarkable to Letticia, she decided it was only polite to respond with admiration to match Melanie’s intentions.
