The stream of questions directed at both Lyla and Aslan finally ceased, bringing a noticeable silence to the dining room.
This allowed Lyla to finish her meal with a bit more ease, because of the discomfort of the situation she only managed to eat a few bites.
Aslan, however, was not pleased with how little Lyla had eaten. He stared at her nearly untouched plate with a concerned expression, pondering how he could encourage her to eat more.
Lost in their own thoughts, the group finished their meal, and then they separated by gender, as per Lord Ransfield’s suggestion.
“I’d like to have a deep conversation with Mr. Tesset, just us men,” Lord Ransfield proposed.
Viscount Ransfield, who had initially viewed Aslan with disdain, had become his admirer.
The reason for Aslan’s visit—Lyla—had been pushed to the back of his mind as he focused on strengthening his relationship with Aslan.
In truth, Lord Ransfield still had lingering feelings for Lyla. However, every time he stole a glance at her, he noticed Aslan watching him intently, almost as if he were being monitored.
Aslan’s impassive expression made him difficult to approach and, frankly, rather intimidating.
Lord Ransfield knew he wasn’t capable of confronting Aslan and understood all too well that he couldn’t compete with him. So, rather than focusing on something unattainable, he decided it would be better to build rapport with the man guarding the tree, so to speak, and perhaps learn something from him.
With this reasoning, Lord Ransfield made a suggestion to Aslan.
“If you smoke, perhaps you would like to join me in the cigar room?”
Hearing the mention of smoking made Aslan momentarily think of the cigars lying in his office drawer, causing his hand to tremble slightly. However, the presence of Lyla beside him made it easy for him to overcome the craving.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t smoke. I dislike the lingering smell, so I’d prefer to spend my time elsewhere.”
“Oh… I see. Then, do you play billiards?”
Lord Ransfield, hoping this offer wouldn’t be declined, anxiously looked at Aslan.
Aslan didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he locked eyes with Lyla, gazing at her steadily as if waiting for her permission.
Lyla didn’t quite understand why Aslan was doing this. However, feeling uncomfortable under his persistent gaze, she nodded slightly, signaling him to go ahead.
To Lyla, it was a gesture without much significance, but to Aslan, it was as if he had just been given a command to proceed. Like a loyal dog, he finally spoke.
“When I have time, I enjoy it.”
“So do I! Then, this way, please.”
With a noticeably brightened expression, Lord Ransfield led Aslan away, leaving the women alone in the parlor.
With the four of them sitting there awkwardly, it would have been natural for Lady Ransfield, the eldest and highest in status, to lead the conversation. However, she soon excused herself, looking tired.
“I’m feeling weary, so I’ll be heading to bed. You youngsters should spend some time together.”
This left Lyla with only Diana, who was still shy, and Caroline, who was openly hostile towards her.
As the maids served tea, the three women quietly sipped their drinks. An uncomfortable silence filled the parlor.
But it didn’t last long.
Caroline, who had been glaring at Lyla, suddenly nudged Diana in the side.
Jolt!
Diana jumped in surprise, her body trembling. The teacup she was holding wobbled, spilling a little tea.
Caroline frowned at the sight but quickly composed herself as she remembered her agenda. She gave Diana a sly look and then spoke up.
{I was curious about who helped the Viscount, but I’m not surprised to find it to be a dullard who is only interested in keeping up appearances and has no sense of class}
Caroline wasn’t speaking in their native language. Instead, she used a foreign language, her pronunciation smooth.
After finishing her remark, Caroline gave Diana a meaningful look.
Diana, swallowing nervously, followed Caroline’s lead and responded in the same foreign language.
{Exactly. I was curious to see what kind of amazing person would catch my brother’s eye, but it seems he’s still young and only judges by appearances.}
Gone was the shy girl from before; Diana, now blushing slightly, unleashed her harsh words with a sweet face.
The two women continued their conversation in a foreign language, deliberately excluding Lyla while she sat right in front of them. They blatantly ignored her presence, yet throughout their exchange, they would occasionally glance at her and even suppress a few laughs. Their intention to mock her was clear.
Sip.
Despite their attempts to ostracize her, Lyla remained calm, quietly sipping her tea. The situation was both frustrating and infuriating, but those feelings didn’t last long.
After all, the language they were using was Polish, a language Lyla was fluent in. It was the same foreign language she had been teaching to the village children. Lyla had studied Polish extensively since childhood and could converse with native speakers fluently.
In fact, Lyla had once made money by translating Polish texts.
Given that Polish was as familiar to her as her native tongue, she could easily understand their awkward conversation. Their language skills were so poor that even the children she taught had a better grasp of vocabulary.
{She probably has no idea what we’re saying, no class at all.}
Even though she understood every word, Lyla chose not to respond. She decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to engage with them.
After all the experiences she had gone through in Central, this kind of petty bullying didn’t bother her much.
These were people Lyla would likely never see again, so she decided to play along with their conversation until the right moment to leave presented itself.
‘And honestly, I kind of pity them,’ she thought.
Lyla could guess why Caroline was being so prickly, even though they had just met. From what she had heard, Caroline had come to this house to recover her health, and in the meantime, she was keeping Diana company.
{Someone like Lord Ransfield deserves a woman who isn’t just vainly obsessed with her appearance but who has cultivated her mind through extensive reading and possesses the grace and dignity befitting a noble.}
{Someone like Caroline?}
{Well, if you must put it that way, yes.}
In reality, Caroline’s family was poor, and she didn’t have many suitable marriage prospects. So, she had decided to stay here, dreaming of marrying Lord Ransfield, who had both a title and an estate.
But then, Lord Ransfield, who had been lukewarm toward Caroline, suddenly showed interest in Lyla after just one meeting and even invited her to his estate. Caroline had every reason to be furious.
‘I can’t exactly tell her that I’m not interested in him…’
Even if Lyla were to say it, it wouldn’t dispel Caroline’s anger. It might even make her angrier—thinking, “Who do you think you are, turning down the man I’m aiming for?”
Lyla knew that not everyone acted logically all the time. Having been the victim of countless unwarranted anger, she had learned that avoiding conflict whenever possible was the best course of action.
But since Lyla wasn’t reacting, the two women grew bolder in their behavior.
{Patrasche said that a person’s value is determined from birth.}
{Wow, Caroline, you’re so smart! Reading Patrasche’s book… What you just said was amazing. I’ll remember it and use it next time.}
{Yes. Diana, you were born with exceptional intelligence, so you’ll be just like me soon enough. But as for her…}
Caroline giggled, covering her mouth with her hand—a laugh that was grating to anyone who heard it.
{Did you hear earlier? Her parents run an orchard. Born into such lowly circumstances, she’ll probably spend her life working hard just to make ends meet, never becoming anything like us. Poor thing.}
At those words, the calm expression that Lyla had been maintaining suddenly hardened. She didn’t mind being mocked herself, but dragging her family into it was a different matter.
Lyla replayed Caroline’s words in her mind. Born into lowly circumstances, she had said. Lyla clenched her fist, her eyes narrowing with intensity.
Seeing a reaction from Lyla for the first time after she had been as still as a rock, Caroline thought the moment had come and decided to press further.
{But do you think that girl even knows how to think?}
{How much can she possibly use that tiny brain of hers?}
{But you never know. Should we ask her? You—your name is… Lyla, right?}
Lyla stared directly at Caroline, who had called her name.
The coldness in her gaze made Caroline flinch for a moment, but Diana’s interjection helped her regain her composure.
{Oh, she understood her own name?}
{…Names sound similar even in foreign languages, don’t they?}
{That’s true. Well, good. Caroline, go ahead and ask.}
Prodded by Diana, Caroline cleared her throat and addressed Lyla.
{Miss Lyla, did you feel anything while listening to our conversation? You won’t get this kind of experience again, so I hope you learned something today.}
“….”
Lyla didn’t respond.
Caroline, assuming that Lyla was too intimidated to answer because she didn’t understand, became even more confident.
Giggling, Caroline switched to her native language.
“Miss Lyla, didn’t you hear me? Why aren’t you answering?”
Staring intently at the smirking Caroline, Lyla finally opened her mouth.
And then—
{I’ve had many thoughts, but I was just taking my time to figure out where to start, how much to say, and in what way. That’s why I didn’t answer right away.}
The room, which had been filled with high-pitched laughter, suddenly fell silent.
