“Hello, Lady. I am Amelda Sirael, who will be taking charge of your bridal lessons.”
Countess Sirael greeted me with efficient movements as soon as she entered the drawing room. Her calm voice, devoid of any pitch variations, was pleasant to hear.
I, somehow finding my trembling had ceased, gestured to the servant to leave us and offered Countess Sirael a bright smile.
“Welcome, Countess Sirael. I hope your journey here wasn’t too uncomfortable?”
“Fortunately, it was quite comfortable.”
“I see.”
She settled into her seat as we spoke softly to each other.
“About the tea…”
“It’s okay. I’m not one to enjoy snacks during lesson time.”
“Oh, I see, then.”
I tried to hide my embarrassment at her polite refusal with a faint smile. My heart felt uneasily anxious, as if things were off to a rocky start.
Just when the sound of my heart seemed to noise loudly in my ears, Countess Sirael turned the conversation.
“Before I explain about the lessons we’ll have in the future, there’s something I’d like to ask you, Lady.”
“What is it?”
As I looked at her with puzzled eyes, Countess Sirael removed the gloves she was wearing and gently placed them on the table, then stared straight at me.
“Why do you try to make a good impression on me, my lady?”
“……”
I was speechless at the question that hit the nail on the head.
Confusion surged like a flood, and my mind went blank, but soon it was filled with a single question.
Why is she asking this?
Even if she had noticed that I was trying to make a good impression on her, there was no need to ask for a reason. Yet, her asking in such a manner meant there must be another purpose behind it.
I examined Countess Sirael, trying to figure out her intentions.
But Countess Sirael didn’t have a look of testing or an expression that hinted at an underlying meaning. She just looked at me with the same infinitely calm gaze as before.
Having failed to decipher her words, I hesitated before I responded.
“I want to become friends with you.”
“Hmm.”
“And……”
I trailed off while looking at the ambiguous response from Countess Sirael, wondering if it was okay to reveal the real reason I wanted to get closer to her.
The moment of worry soon came to an end. If someone had been involved in the social circles for as long as Lady Sirael, it would be easy for them to guess my true intentions. It would be better to reveal it myself now rather than having it discovered later.
“I desperately need your help to establish my position in society.”
“I see.”
Despite my admission that I was using her to secure my place in society, Lady Sirael did not show any reaction. Instead, she drew a gentle smile as if she had been expecting it.
After a moment, Lady Sirael spoke in a relaxed tone.
“I saw the lady faint at the engagement banquet.”
“…You saw that.”
“Yes. In fact, I had been watching the lady throughout the banquet. It was striking how the guest of honor was always in the dimly lit corners.”
“Ah…”
“Lady, why do you think I am telling you this?”
“To be honest, I don’t know.”
The way I acted at the banquet was nothing short of embarrassing, so it couldn’t be that she was trying to compliment me. But it didn’t seem like she was scolding me, either.
As I racked my brain, unable to guess why, Lady Sirael continued the conversation.
“I wanted you to know that I had seen you before you noticed me.”
“Excuse me? What does that mean……?”
“What I mean is, you don’t have to try so hard. Others, including myself, would take the initiative to get closer to you.”
“As you know, you are soon to be the empress.”
Countess Sirael added a few words quietly at the end of her sentence and lifted the corners of her lips a bit more.
Other people will take the initiative to get close to me…. Ah.
It was belated, but the moment she understood what the other woman meant, her previously anxious heart felt as if it had stopped.
Countess Sirael’s words were all correct.
Currently, I was engaged to Ruth. Of course, I was a fake fiancée, set to break off the engagement after a 150-day contract.
But others didn’t know that fact, so in their eyes, I would appear as the future empress. This meant they would fawn over me, lowering themselves even if I didn’t need to, as I would be the person of the highest status next to the emperor himself.
I swallowed the chuckle that was about to escape through my lips.
“I think you could afford to be a bit more confident. Acting without confidence in high society is like giving a bone to wild dogs to tear apart.”
Wild dogs, a bone to be gnawed. Unexpectedly raw words came from the mouth of Countess Sirael, who seemed like she would only speak in elegant terms.
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at this distance. Before I knew it, the tension that seemed to freeze my body had extinguished like a match flame.
“How did you know I wanted to make a good impression on you?”
I asked with a smile in my voice, and Countess Sirael shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyone could tell by looking at your dress and behavior, even a fool. That you wanted to make a good impression on me.”
“Ah.”
Indeed, it might be more strange if she hadn’t noticed, given my current appearance.
As I glanced down at my stiff dress and muttered to myself, Countess Sirael playfully said,
“It seems our first lesson will have to be about your mindset, my lady.”
“Indeed.”
While nodding in agreement with Countess Sirael, I cautiously asked,
“By the way, I’m not sure why you’ve decided to take on my bridal lessons. A teacher of your stature must already have a full schedule.”
“Ah, that’s because…”
With a mysterious expression upon my question, the countess soon lit up her obsidian-like eyes.
“It’s to keep a promise I made with you before.”
“What?”
A promise, out of the blue?
I frowned at her puzzling statement, unable to recall any memory of meeting Countess Sirael.
Thinking about it, Countess Sirael must think I’m her sister. Then, did she meet my sister in the past?
“Uh… have we met before?”
“Yes. We met briefly when you picked up a handkerchief I dropped. You must have been about six years old, so it’s understandable if you don’t remember.”
If my sister was six, that would be around when I was born.
After calculating the timeline in my head, I began to speak.
“So, that promise was…”
“Oh dear. I planned to only greet you today and leave early for your next class, but it seems the time for your next class has already come.”
Just before I could finish my question, Countess Sirael, checking her watch, cut me off.
Following her, I checked the time and saw that an hour and a half had already passed.
Despite my disappointment, I smiled.
“Unfortunately, but it can’t be helped. I enjoyed our meeting today, Countess Sirael.”
I was curious about the promise made with Countess Sirael when my sister was six years old, but there were many days other than today.
Countess Sirael blinked slowly once at my greeting, as if she felt the same.
Then, she greeted me warmly.
“Then, see you next class.”
***
After the meeting with Countess Sirael ended, I returned to my bedroom, declining lunch on the pretext of having no appetite.
“It’s comfortable.”
I muttered while leaning back in the armchair. It felt good to feel lighter after changing out of the uncomfortable dress and into indoor clothes.
Contrary to my worries, the meeting with Countess Sirael was successful. Although it wasn’t solely my own doing but rather something that had transpired between my sister and Countess Sirael.
Well, the outcome is satisfactory, so does it matter?
I wrapped up my pleasant thoughts and, feeling languid, rested my chin in my hand while looking out at the snow piled up outside.
Now, what to do.
As I aimlessly watched the white snow and sorted out what to do next in my mind, someone knocked on the door.
“Lady, there are invitations for you.”
It was Isabella.
“Invitations?”
I was already considering meeting others, so receiving invitations was timely.
Thinking this, I told Isabella to come in.
But no matter how long I waited, Isabella didn’t enter, so eventually, I got up and opened the door myself.
“Why aren’t you coming in…”
As soon as Isabella saw the bravely opened mouth, it closed instantly. More precisely, after seeing the numerous invitations she was holding.
“Are all these invitations for me?”
I couldn’t hide my bewildered feeling and asked, to which Isabella shook her head vigorously up and down.
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to bring more besides these?” Her concise answer suddenly reminded me of what Countess Sirael had said earlier.
“So what I mean is, you don’t need to make an effort like this. Others, including myself, will take the initiative to build a friendship with the lady.”
“……”
I struggled to keep my lips from curling up slightly.
Countess Sirael was right. I didn’t have to demean myself to make friends; others were reaching out to me first.
Of course, not everyone might have sent the invitations with good intentions.
Having quickly glanced through the numerous invitations Isabella was holding, I took a deep breath.
I had to check each one and decide which invitation to accept. And since that’s not all of them, it seemed like it would take even longer.
Just estimating, it looked like a task that would take at least an hour, and my eyelids were already starting to hurt.
Even though it seems like it will be quite a tiring task because it’s my first time receiving invitations from others, I’m excited.
