“She’s still clueless about the situation and is shamelessly shouting like that. Do you really have to kneel for the sake of the lady? For someone who doesn’t even know what they’ve done wrong?”
“We’ll teach her again what she did wrong and what she shouldn’t have done. We’ll make it clear, so please, I’m begging you!”
Lord Cassilis’ bowed his head deeply.
However, despite her brother’s efforts, Melanie only barely realized that the situation was turning strange and was left bewildered.
“Mother…? Brother…?”
“Melanie, you need to apologize immediately!”
“Why should I apologize? No, why are Mother and Brother going to such lengths—”
“Hurry up!”
Lord Cassilis forcibly grabbed the back of Melanie’s head and made her bow.
Camilla, witnessing this forced apology, scoffed incredulously and turned her head away entirely.
Despite this, lord Cassilis made his sister kneel to make her apology seem more sincere.
But Melanie still seemed to not understand why she had to apologize.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Watching this scene, Letticia turned her head with a cynical expression. If she had known she’d have to witness this kind of farce, she wouldn’t have come to the tea party today.
She felt sorry for Camilla, who had to deal with them.
“…You may get up now. I’ll cancel the last remark out of consideration.”
Though her words were cold, there was a slight bitterness in Camilla’s tone.
Even so, she couldn’t completely harden her heart when a friend was kneeling and pleading like that.
“If you don’t approach my daughter, I won’t stop you from attending. However, the agreement not to have any private exchanges still stands. There’s no need to interact with someone who dares to call my daughter such derogatory names and insult my husband and in-laws.”
“Thank you, Camilla….”
“Thank you, Countess!”
“You can express your thanks after you’ve apologized to my daughter.”
When the Countess, lord Cassilis, and Melanie finally stood up, Camilla gestured towards Letticia.
At those words, all three bowed their heads to Letticia and apologized.
“Lady Letticia, I apologize for my daughter’s rudeness and for yelling at you without hearing your side first.”
“I also want to apologize for my rudeness and my sister’s behavior, Lady Sharon.”
“…I’m sorry, Lady Sharon.”
Although she didn’t want to accept it, Letticia reluctantly nodded.
She then briefly glanced at the others behind her and quietly spoke.
“I’ll accept the apology directed at me. However, I expect the Lady Cassilis to apologize to each of the guests here today for her rudeness.”
“I’ll do so, Lady. Melanie, go ahead and apologize.”
“Mother!”
“Hurry!”
Even after reaching this point, Melanie still didn’t understand what she had done wrong.
But seeing the determined look in her mother’s eyes, who seemed ready to force her to bow if necessary, Melanie lowered her head with a humiliated expression.
“…I’m very sorry for causing an unpleasant experience at my tea party.”
It was clear she was only saying this to get through it without really understanding, but no one expected more from her.
When it came to Lady Campbell, who was the first to be involved, she turned her head away, clearly not intending to accept the apology. The others were no different.
Only Stella accepted the apology with a smile. Considering the business between the Cassilis Count’s family and the department store, she couldn’t refuse.
“It’s your first tea party, so it’s understandable that there were some issues. I hope both families will continue to maintain good relations in the future.”
Even though she said this, Letticia didn’t believe Stella was sincere. She was probably thinking about finding another truffle source.
‘I hope I never have to see them again.’
Once the apologies were over, Letticia returned to the carriage with Camilla. Normally, she would have gone shopping with Stella, but she was in no mood for it now.
***
“How could someone like that have come from under Elise’s care… No, never mind. She’s growing up in the West, it couldn’t be helped.”
Camilla sighed as she leaned against the window of the carriage. She seemed more exasperated than angry.
“She was actually quite lenient. Only cutting off private relations instead of completely ostracizing them from the capital’s social scene is merciful.”
Camilla was known for being ruthless to her enemies.
Especially when it came to people who offended her family, she wouldn’t hesitate to sever all ties.
So ending it with a warning not to approach Letticia was, in a sense, an act of mercy.
“Considering the past ties and the fact that they humiliated themselves to the point of begging, you have to show some leniency. But she probably won’t find a suitable match in the capital now. Everyone has mouths, after all.”
Apologizing on her knees and abandoning all dignity was bad enough, but Melanie’s rudeness wasn’t something that could be easily resolved with a few apologies.
The impact of words like ‘half-breed’ and ‘nouveau riche’ was enormous.
“Did a marriage proposal really come up? Lady Cassilis mentioned something like that earlier.”
“She hinted at it. They even asked if it would be okay for her son to visit during the courtship season.”
It seems that Melanie’s words had some truth to them after all.
Still, asking for permission to visit during the courtship season was relatively within the bounds of reason.
“Did you give them permission?”
“I did. But since I’ve cut off private relations, they won’t be coming back.”
Camilla said this with a slightly bitter expression.
“Men from the West are no good. Even if they are decent themselves, the people around them are like that.”
“But Mother, you’re from the West too. Do you dislike Western nobles?”
“Why do you think your grandfather sent me to the capital? After constantly fighting with everyone around me, he decided that I could never marry in the West, so he sent me to the capital academy. No one could get through to me there, really.”
Camilla shook her head in frustration.
She was too strong-willed for the West, which was too small to contain her rebellious nature, as shown by her insistence on marrying Patrick despite their status differences.
“So, I’m telling you, never marry into the West. If you do marry a Western noble, make sure he comes to live with us. You must never go to live with his family.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“Yes. You take after me. Although you’re a bit less rebellious than I am, you still can’t stand things you find unreasonable.”
“Well, yes, that’s true.”
Letticia agreed on that point.
Even though she had no intention of revolutionizing anything like Camilla, who overcame the social order of status differences to get married, she would still fight back against anyone who dared to criticize her.
“So, if you go to the West, it’s going to be a disaster. It’s a place full of people who are obsessed with bloodlines, and if someone like you, with mixed noble blood, goes there, you’re bound to end up in a fistfight and get divorced.”
“Mother, shouldn’t you be saying something like ‘you’ll get hurt’ instead?”
“Do you think you’d just get hurt and do nothing? You’d definitely make sure they paid for it, whether by pulling their hair or landing a blow.”
Letticia couldn’t think of a way to deny it, so she didn’t argue.
She wouldn’t mind ending the bloodline of anyone who dared to criticize someone else’s lineage.
“Even if your husband turns out to be a decent person, you can’t expect the people around him to be the same. You saw how Lady Cassilis behaved earlier, didn’t you?”
“Then why didn’t you stop Lord Cassilis from coming?”
“Why would I stop him from courting you? It’s up to you whether you accept or not.”
“Don’t you think I might say yes?”
“He doesn’t seem like your type. You barely remembered him after the dance at the Imperial Ball.”
“He didn’t leave much of an impression. But he’s still better than his sister.”
Sometimes it’s better not to leave any impression at all than to leave a terrible one.
“So, one suitor down. I wonder how many will come during the courtship season.”
As Letticia muttered indifferently, Camilla chuckled.
“If you want to avoid competition from other girls, you should find someone before the season starts. Why don’t you go meet someone yourself instead of waiting?”
“I’d like to, but how can I visit someone who’s busy? I can’t just barge into his workplace.”
One of the things Letticia hated the most about romance novels was when the protagonist would suddenly show up at their lover’s workplace unannounced.
‘Who wants to know about their lover’s workplace? It’s TMI (Too Much Information).’
Having grown up in a household where personal and public spaces were clearly separated, with even family members addressing each other formally, Letticia couldn’t understand the idea of crossing that boundary.
Besides, she and Ezkhiel weren’t even in a relationship yet, and they had no reason to meet without an excuse. She’d rather call Ezkhiel than run into Matthias, but she couldn’t bring herself to visit.
Seeing Letticia’s mood drop at the thought, Camilla smiled.
“Hmm, the way you’re talking, it sounds like there’s someone you’re interested in?”
“Yes, there is. But I’ve only met him three times, so I’m still at the ‘I’m interested’ stage.”
Letticia leaned back against the carriage seat. She hadn’t eaten much, just a few sips of tea and a madeleine, so she didn’t feel too full to lie down.
“Interested, huh… Well, you’ll have to meet him more often to confirm your feelings.”
“I’m planning to. But it might take some time since he said he’s busy.”
“That’s unfortunate. It was so easy to meet your father. He was looking for a bride and acting as a promotional model, so I could always find him at big balls. It was wonderful.”
As Camilla reminisced with a girlish smile, Letticia, half-reclined, asked curiously.
“So, when did you decide you wanted to marry Father? It wasn’t the first time you met, was it?”
“Of course not. We just exchanged polite greetings the first time.”
Camilla laughed as she continued.
