“It was probably around the fifth time we met. At Countess Freke’s garden party, your father asked me to dance. While we danced, we started talking, and he listened to everything I said seriously and responded. It wasn’t about literature or art; we talked about current events and social issues.”
“Oh, well, my father knows a lot. He reads the newspaper every day.”
“Haha, no matter what the topic was, our conversation never stalled. We kept talking until we realized the dance was over. I didn’t even feel that hungry, but I suggested we have tea, and we talked for quite a while at the table. I got scolded by the chaperone.”
Camilla smiled softly, her usual sharpness absent from her tone.
“I had never met someone who could converse so easily, who could just keep talking no matter what I said. So I thought, ‘This is the man. This is the man I should marry.'”
“Was that the only reason? Because you could talk well together? Was there no other reason?”
Letticia asked, thinking it seemed like such a trivial reason.
“That was everything. Or rather, that was the decisive factor. It was your father’s greatest strength, something I couldn’t find in any other man.”
Camilla massaged her temple as if recalling other men was exhausting.
“The men who proposed to me would only talk about things like their family history, how much they won at cards, or how many horses they bought. If not that, they would go on endlessly about their hobbies. Conversations among nobles who have too much time and money and don’t work often revolve around such things.”
“Well, in that regard, it’s easier to talk to men who work.”
Not just Ezkhiel, but Alexander and Achilles could talk about different topics than what was commonly discussed in social circles, which was refreshing.
‘Though mostly about Ariette.’
But even that was better than the usual party gossip.
Maybe work is what truly fulfills a person’s inner self and makes them mature, Letticia thought, surprising even herself with such a philosophical reflection.
“Plus, some men would agree with everything I said without really listening, just saying, ‘A beautiful lady should always be respected.’ They would forget what I said immediately afterward. It was the worst.”
“So, did you fall in love with Father the moment you realized you could talk well with him?”
“Well, looking back, I think I already had some affection for him even before that. Your father is quite handsome, you know.”
Camilla joked with a laugh but then answered seriously.
“But it was probably then that I realized my feelings weren’t just about him being better than others but something more.”
“Not just better than others…”
Letticia murmured to herself.
Not just the best among many, but someone she genuinely liked.
‘How can you even know that?’
Having never been in love, Letticia couldn’t imagine how to tell.
In romance novels and fantasies, there are all these stories about mutual salvation or love at first sight, but why is reality so difficult?
“Don’t worry too much, Letty. There will come a time when you’ll think, ‘I could live my whole life with this person.'”
Whether it was meant as comfort or advice, Letticia hoped it would come true.
***
A few days had passed since that dreadful tea party.
To clean up the mess caused by Melanie’s outrageous comments, it seems the Cassilis family spent quite a bit of money. Stella sent a letter saying that they received even more truffles in this year’s trade compared to last year.
Thanks to this, they narrowly avoided making it into the weekly gossip, but they probably won’t be invited to any gatherings involving the people who were present at that party or those related to them.
While the Cassilis family paid the price for raising their daughter poorly, Letticia was busy preparing for a ball at the Sharon estate.
‘Who is the author who just glossed over the ball preparations?’
Letticia cursed the original story and other romance novels for skipping the detailed preparations for such an event.
This was Letticia’s first ball since her debut, and although she was only helping as Camilla’s assistant, there was still so much to do.
For a gathering to be considered a ball, at least 200 guests needed to be invited. With Camilla’s list, it was easy to fill that number, but helping to write the invitations over several days left Letticia’s hands sore.
After receiving the RSVPs and estimating the number of attendees, preparations to decorate the mansion for the ball began.
The scenes of servants carrying furniture and cleaning to prepare the ballroom, cloakroom, tea room, and powder rooms for the guests to dance, refresh, and rest had become a daily occurrence.
Additionally, Letticia had to learn how to hire temporary servants to attend to the many guests, hire a band for the music, and decide on the menu and recipes for the food.
“You know you need to serve tea and snacks until 1 PM, and then a meal after that, right? We already have tea leaves that I bought, so that’s taken care of, but I’m thinking of entrusting the snacks to you. What do you think?”
“Can I use the new recipes that Chelsea developed?”
“We’ll have to try them first and then decide. But if it’s something you and Chelsea made, I trust it will be good.”
When Letticia contracted Chelsea, the head pâtissier of Faymont, she made sure to include a clause in the contract that said, ‘If requested by Letticia, Chelsea will provide desserts needed for social gatherings at the Sharon estate.’
This was because, in the original story, the desserts Chelsea made led to the Duke of Averil’s ball and tea party being a huge success, and Letticia wanted to replicate that.
Thanks to this, the Sharon estate was able to serve desserts made by the best pâtissier in the capital at every gathering, much to Camilla’s delight, as they didn’t need to hire a separate pâtissier.
Once the menu was more or less settled, Letticia returned to her room to choose a dress.
The most important thing she needed to prepare this time was the combination of new products and the dress.
The maids brought out a simple white dress from the wardrobe, and after the Sharon Jewelry staff delivered the boxes of jewels, Lenard and Lenoa entered the room.
“Sister, here are the samples of our new products. You can choose whichever one you want.”
As Letticia was inspecting the white dress, she paused when she saw the samples that Lenoa showed her.
They were jewelry pieces with emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, rubies, and other gems strung together on chains—something she had never seen before.
“What is this? It’s not a necklace or bracelet, is it?”
“It’s a gem chain. The stones have tiny holes drilled into them and are strung on a chain.”
“A gem chain? How do you use it?”
Seeing Letticia puzzled over the gem chain, which looked like a necklace that had been untied, Lenoa explained further.
“Sister, have you ever heard of bead crafts?”
“Beads? You mean like stringing beads or gems together to make decorations?”
“Yes, it’s similar. You can tie it around a dress to decorate it, or you can sew it on. You could secure it just at the start and end points, or wrap it around your arm a few times and tie it off.”
When Lenoa demonstrated by wrapping the gem chain around the sleeve of the dress, Letticia understood what she meant. The previously plain sleeve instantly became an eye-catching, ornate decoration just by adding the gem chain.
“This is great! It’s much easier to decorate than with a jeweled dress.”
“That’s how we’re going to market it: ‘Wrap the gem chain wherever you want, and create your own decorated dress.’”
Letticia was slightly tempted by Lenard’s words, and the customers probably would be too.
Jeweled dresses are certainly glamorous, but the downside is that the design is already fixed.
In contrast, with a gem chain, you can decorate the dress however you like by placing it anywhere you want.
‘Plus, it’s much more economical.’
You can’t remove the gems from a jeweled dress to place them on another dress, but you can detach the gem chain and use it on another dress.
If Patrick and Lenard handle the marketing well, they can highlight this feature effectively.
“And you don’t have to limit yourself to using just one. You can first wrap a colorless gem chain like pearls and then decorate it with a colorful gem chain for contrast.”
“Ah, like using baby’s breath in a flower arrangement?”
“Exactly. Alternating between something simple and something extravagant could create a beautiful balance. My idea is to use diamonds as the base and then intersperse them with colorful stones like amethyst or cherry pink rubies….”
After that, Lenoa launched into a lengthy explanation. It seemed like this was why they had requested a simple dress to start with.
