Chapter 2 Part 12 – A Changed Honeymoon

On that day, both Eli and Emily were not present. It was a day when Emily didn’t come to look for Ruby.

“What is this nonsense?” It was a sudden disturbance in the mansion that had been quiet for a while.

“Why can’t I go inside my own mansion?” It was Mary’s voice.

“You’re just not allowed on the second floor. You can go anywhere else, My Lady.”

“Why should I have to ask for permission?” Mary’s voice seemed to have grown stronger, making her words clearer.

“It’s my master’s orders.”

Damon stopped Marie desperately.

“Okay, I’m gonna stay a little longer and then leave”

She lightly groomed herself and started to rise, but the maid stopped her this time.

From the way Damon and the maid behaved, it was clear that Eli had said something else.

“I don’t mind.”

“But Dowager Marchiones…….”.

“You won’t get into trouble.”

With those words, Ruby left the room.

“Damon, in the absence of Eli, I’m not the oldest in the Grit estate. So get out of my way” 

Marie said. She wasn’t exactly screaming, but her tone had risen a bit, to say nothing of the high-minded anger she was accustomed to.

“Please pardon me,” he said.

“What’s going on, Damon?”

Ruby asked as he descended the stairs.

Only then did Damon signal Marie to stop. The distinct discrimination seemed to have left an impression on Marie.

“It seems you have to go somewhere.”

“Let’s go out for a moment.”

But Marie, making an effort not to get angry, said, “Lady Starlet has invited me to a tea party, and I’d like you to attend it with me.”

Even without seeing it, Ruby could sense the atmosphere at that tea party.

***

“As you know, the Viscount Starlet has held the position of head of the Guard for generations, so it’s important for El to establish connections…”

“I understand.”

Marie’s lengthy explanation was interrupted, she had no intention of listening to it anyway.

“Ma’am, His Lordship will be back soon. He told me to assist you.”

Damon spoke with concern still trying to stop Ruby from going with the Dowager

“It’s okay.”

Ruby reassured him instead.

“You can’t say anything to stop me from following her if I wanted to.”

Ruby smiled softly and left with Marie in the carriage and Damon couldn’t stop her.

***

“Oh my, Lady Grit!”

Lady Starlet, the Viscountess, greeted Ruby with excessive enthusiasm and took her hand. From this action alone, it appeared as if they were very close friends who hadn’t met in a long time. 

In the past, Ruby might have responded with enthusiasm to match her’s, but this time, she simply nodded politely with a formal smile. After a brief exchange of eye contact with Marie, Lady Starlet led the two of them to the garden where a tea party was taking place.

The noisy commotion from the arriving ladies who had arrived early could be heard. Ruby briefly paused upon hearing a sound she hadn’t heard in a long time. She never had a good experience at gatherings, especially those with a large number of people, which she had attended with Marie.

Marie, who had been observing Ruby’s actions from behind, raised one corner of her mouth and smiled.

 “Look who’s here.”

Lady Starlet, with a bright voice, drew everyone’s attention. 

“Oh my, it’s been a while. Lady Grit, Dowager Marchioness.”

Everyone looked surprised as if it was unexpected. “If the Dowager is here then Marchioness Grit should be here as well.”

“I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t come.”

“We’ve been waiting for your arrival.”

Ruby was almost unfamiliar with these people, yet their greetings were very natural. Ruby maintained her smile and composed herself.

“It’s been quite some time since you arrived in the capital. Why haven’t you attended a party?”

“We’ve all been waiting for you.”

As soon as Ruby sat down, conversations began to flow from all directions.

“I’ve been quite busy.”

Ruby spoke with a slightly apologetic but polite smile, never losing her manners.

“No wonder you’re busy.”

Agreeing with Ruby, someone chimed in, but the tone was sarcastic, unlike the content.

“You’ve got a lot on your plate.”

“Oh my,” laughter filled the air, not in denial but in agreement.

The woman who had initiated the conversation seemed confident as if she saw nothing wrong in Ruby’s gaze.

“Oh, why would you say that? Lady Grit is just very kind.”

“…”

“She was simply helping someone who happened to be not a lady. Even if it had been a noblewoman or a noble’s daughter who was in a difficult situation, Lady Grit would have offered assistance.”

“Right Lady Grit?” Lady Starlet asked Ruby.

“Oh my. I didn’t know Lady Grit is so kind,” the woman who had been mocking Ruby exaggeratedly apologized. 

“Now you do.”

Lady Starlet nodded graciously and addressed Ruby again. 

“That’s how aristocratic society works. Even small matters get blown out of proportion. That’s why you always have to be careful and considerate in your actions. We aristocrats can’t live as freely as we might want.”

Her gentle words had a somewhat pedagogic tone as if she were explaining to a child what it meant to be an aristocrat.

“Don’t take it to heart. People often categorize nobility as one group, so when one person makes a mistake, it affects the reputation that everyone has worked hard to build. It’s an unavoidable sense of shared destiny.”

Ruby, who had been listening without responding, looked around at the people at the tea party and saw that they were all looking at her. In their eyes, there was a sense of aristocratic pride, but at the same time, there was also an element of disregard or disdain toward Ruby.

“Lady Grit might understand…”

“I just can’t stand listening to this.”

With a smile on her face, Ruby slowly wiped away her smile as she spoke. Some looked at Marie and Lady Starlet with perplexed expressions.

“What… do you mean?” Among them, the most prominently resolute Lady Starlet asked, 

“Do you mean to tell me that you believe an article in a gossipy newspaper that slanders the reputation of the Marquis of Grit as fact?”
Ruby said, looking at her.

“Me?”

“So you were just talking about my behavior?” 

Her confident expression, in the face of a direct question, seemed to be replaced with a flustered look. Nevertheless, she didn’t deny it.

“Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m a Marchioness Grit. So when you speak ill of me, you’re looking down on the Marquis of Grit too”

Ruby glanced at Marie and said, “And it’s not something to discuss in the presence of Dowager Marchioness Grit.”

Marie, who hadn’t expected to be involved, couldn’t refute this.

Viscountess Starlet was in the same boat. Even if they had conspired to create this situation.

“I’ll take it as your concern for me since I’ve only been married for a year.”

Before the Viscountess could offer further explanations, Ruby cut in and nodded as if she understood, saying, 

“Otherwise, you’d have to be an entirely unreasonable person to bring baseless gossip to the tea party where you invited the Dowager Marchioness Grit and her daughter-in-law.”

“Am I right Lady Starlet?” Ruby ended her statement with a kind smile toward the tea party participants.

“By the way, now that I think about it, Marquis Girt, has a large estate to manage, there are many tasks for the lady of the house to handle, so what you said makes sense, doesn’t it?”

She directed this question towards the lady who had mocked her with that intention.

However, her reluctant agreement was evident to anyone. The tea party attendees fell silent as if wondering when Ruby had turned the tables.

Ruby was the only one casually sipping the tea in front of her. This was the first time she felt so at ease during a tea party she had attended with Marie. Her determination to no longer continue with this marriage had changed her.

“Marquis Eli Grit has arrived”

At that moment, a maid timidly entered and announced Eli’s visit, glancing around nervously.

Lady Starlet’s gaze turned toward Marie.

Marie nodded slightly, and Lady Starlet reluctantly allowed it

“Tell him to come to …….”

“Oh my.”

Eli entered the garden with a bouquet of roses.

“I hope I’m not interrupting your pleasant time.”

Even Ruby had the illusion that Eli might have no idea about this tea party from his appearance.

“The flowers, by any chance are for…”

“Oh my. Lord Grit, you’re still a good son.”

People who wanted to break the icy atmosphere made comments one by one. Of course, their admiration for him was genuine since they hadn’t seen him in a while. Despite the reactions around him, Eli handed the bouquet of flowers to Ruby instead of Marie.

“I’ve been looking for you. You didn’t tell me you will be attending a tea party.”

As he placed the flowers in Ruby’s arms, he kissed her forehead lightly, as if it were a familiar gesture.

“You said you had some business, but you came back quickly.”

Marie pretended not to notice the gazes directed at her, forcing a stiff smile.

“I bought flowers for Ruby. We actually planned to have a date today.”

Eli’s nonchalant words made a few of the women blush and exclaim,

 “Oh, you still seem like newlyweds.” Someone among them let out a genuine sigh of admiration.

“It seems my wife would have to refuse my mother’s request today, so I’ll take her with me since we had plans first.”

Eli walked away with Ruby, bowing to the ladies. 

“Did you come here in a hurry?”

“Why?”

“Your hair got messed up.”

“Where?”

As he let his hair down, Ruby paused for a moment and looked at him.

“Would you like me to fix it for you?”

Not finding a mirror, Eli asked, “There’s no mirror, is there?” and offered to help Ruby, who seemed to be in thought. While Ruby was pondering, she neatly adjusted his fallen hair with her hand.

“Is it good now?”

“Just a moment,” she said, using the opportunity to tidy his collar.

After that, she finally stepped back from Eli.

“But is it okay to leave like this? Lady Marie might have something to say about it later.”

Marie disliked anything unbecoming of nobility the most. She used to say that very small and trivial flaws could become significant. Eli, who was raised under Marie’s guidance, always acted like a gentleman, neat, and flawless.

His response was indifferent.

“But did you know about the tea party?” Ruby asked.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have come so quickly,” Eli replied.

“Was it always like this?” Eli asked after they got on the carriage, and there was a long silence.

Ruby looked at him as if to ask what he meant.

“I mean the party. Was the atmosphere always like that when I came?”

“Today was relatively fine,” Ruby answered after a moment of contemplation.

Eli, who had been looking at her intently, soon turned his head. Ruby also turned her head to look at him.