I turned to Theodore with an apologetic look and said,

“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced Ellen to you yet. Let’s go together.”

As I extended my arm in a gesture for him to escort me, Theodore awkwardly offered his arm. Turning to Ian, who had suddenly found himself left out, I said,

“Ian, sorry, but could you stay here and talk with Benjamin? There’s someone I’d like to introduce to both of you. The person I mentioned earlier…”

“Sure,”

Ian nodded without complaint. I was about to add that him staying with Benjamin would keep Eloise from approaching, but he agreed so readily that I lost my chance to explain. I felt a little guilty about leaving him behind, but I couldn’t let Theodore keep being bothered, either. I took Theodore and headed straight to Ellen, who was with Mother.

“Mother, Ellen, I have someone I’d like to introduce. This is Mr. Wilson, the lawyer I mentioned.”

“Theodore Wilson.”

Mother, seated elegantly, nodded slightly and then gazed into the hall with a detached expression. Every time I see it, I feel that she knows exactly how to make people feel intimidated. With Theodore visibly uneasy around her, Ellen effortlessly gained the psychological upper hand and smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson.”

Her greeting was confident. Seeing that she wasn’t the least bit intimidated put me at ease. If Ellen had seemed nervous or self-conscious, I would have felt uneasy, too. Showing any sign of weakness is practically an invitation for others to take advantage.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Theodore offered flattery immediately after finishing his introduction.

“When I only heard rumors, it was hard to believe, but seeing the innovative attire His Grace is wearing today, I can see you truly set the trends.”

“You’re too kind. It’s really just the result of borrowing My Lady’s ideas—this outfit today and all the previous dresses as well,” Ellen modestly shifted the credit to me. Theodore looked at me in surprise, and I waved my hands to dismiss the compliment, embarrassed.

“Anyone can come up with ideas, but realizing them is a completely different matter. I could never make something like that.”

“But it’s an idea that not just anyone could think of, isn’t it?”

“I’m sure many others have had similar thoughts. It’s just that we had a talented designer and model.”

And that model, even at her prime, was hailed as one of the beauties of the century—my own mother, who likely would have attracted attention even without the Keppel name. Moreover, Ellen, who’s stood by her side for over 30 years, is practically a master of dresses and embroidery.

“Listening to you both, it’s a bit regretful. If there were patents on dress designs, you could’ve made a fortune.”

I was actually surprised at how forward-thinking Theodore was. Honestly, I thought we were lucky to have any kind of patent law in this world at all.

But then again, in a world with magic, maybe the concept of intellectual property would develop faster than on Earth. Perhaps even magic circles could fall under intellectual property. I should ask about that sometime. While playing along with the conversation, I was looking for a chance to slip away when Mother smiled at me and said,

“Liv, it seems many people are looking for you. You should go see them.”

Hearing her unspoken words—”I’ll handle things here”—made me smile. So, this is what it feels like to have reinforcements on your side?

“Thank you, Mother. Please take care of my mother, too.”

“Maria does just fine on her own.”

Following Mother-in-law’s gaze, I saw my mother, who even here seemed to be instructing the students on something. I noticed Isabella among them, likely becoming her student soon enough.

She’s my mother, but she’s truly amazing. Thanks to Mother-in-law’s support, I felt much lighter as I resumed my search for the old apothecary woman. Fortunately, she was standing near a table with food, and Greta was taking care of her.

“Oh, it’s a shame there’s no meat,” she muttered.

“Why are you still going on about meat?”

“I’m telling you, the meat here just melts in your mouth. Once you taste the steak here, you’ll never want to leave.”

“Quit the nonsense and eat up,” the old woman scolded.

I sighed, watching Greta search for meat in the middle of the party.

“Glad to hear the steak’s keeping you motivated.”

Greta casually turned around, as if she’d known I was approaching. The old woman, on the other hand, looked embarrassed for being caught in such a silly conversation.

“Where’s Sir Murray?”

“Over there, getting drunk,” Greta replied.

I looked where she was pointing and saw Bill, Sir Wayne, and Sir Murray sitting at a table not far off. Drinks at the party are usually served by the glass, but somehow, they were getting bottles. I noticed Bill signaling the servant, who approached to clear the empty bottles, to leave them until later. My gaze narrowed as I watched Sir Murray struggling with the situation.

“Aren’t you being a bit too hard on Sir Murray?”

“Me?”

“Yes. He seems so innocent.”

Greta chuckled.

“Innocent? The knights are smart; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“That’s not really the point here.”

“Do you think I’m calling him my fiancé just to mess with him?”

“…Aren’t you?”

She looked like she was enjoying it far too much for that not to be the case. But seeing my suspicious look, Greta suddenly got serious.

“I need to keep Murray on edge so the other knights can relax.”

“…”

“You can see it in their eyes—they’re relieved, thinking, ‘Ah, Sir Greta must be interested in Sir Murray.’ And Murray knows that too, so he’s going along with it, half-playing his part.”

I realized the meaning behind her words. The knights who’d unintentionally witnessed Greta in an unguarded moment were now feeling uneasy around her.

Greta had even made strange threats because she wanted to spar, which was probably why things turned out this way. In other words, all the knights had essentially given Greta leverage over them.

However, Sir Murray was the only man who hadn’t seen her body, even though he’d sworn to take responsibility for Greta. He was the one man who could stand up to her without any weaknesses. It was surprising to think he was taking on the role of scapegoat and voluntarily shouldering the burden.

Unconsciously, I looked back at Sir Murray. He was hiding his face in his hands, his head bowed as if something Sir Wayne had said had embarrassed him deeply, his ears turning bright red. Sir Wayne was slapping Murray’s shoulder, laughing loudly. I looked at him sympathetically and spoke to Greta.

“Did Sir Murray actually say that, or is it just your guess?”

“It’s a guess. But doesn’t it make sense? If he wasn’t doing it for that reason, why would he keep agreeing to be my partner, even though he claims to dislike it?”

“Maybe he thinks it’s a gentleman’s duty not to refuse a lady?”

“There’s such a duty?”

Yes, there is. Generally, girls who grow up as ladies don’t even make such requests because they’re afraid of being turned down. But if they do gather the courage to ask a man to be their partner or to dance, men usually accept, even if they aren’t interested, at least once.

If a woman is refused, people gossip, saying things like, “She must really lack charm if…” Sometimes, women even use this to their advantage to win love. But if I told Greta that, who knows what she’d do with the information, so I kept quiet.

“Honestly, what a strange sense of duty. Why do people live such difficult lives?”

“I have no idea. I’ll take the Grandma now, Greta, so please try not to cause any trouble.”

“You make it sound like I’m always causing trouble.”

I chuckled and took the old woman with me. Ian and Benjamin were still waiting exactly where I’d asked them to. They seemed to have more to discuss than I’d anticipated.

“So, how many participated in this meeting?”

“Fifteen. But counting their aides, the number of seats is… Oh, Liv, you’re here?”

Ian noticed me and smiled, an automatic, reflexive smile. I felt a bit strange, though I couldn’t quite pinpoint why. Something felt mechanical about it. Still, I approached with a gentle smile, not revealing my thoughts.

“Were you discussing something important?”

“No. And on your side?”

“Oh, let me introduce you. This is the person I mentioned who knows how to make an instant remedy and has a good understanding of Roscari.”

“I’m Glinda Loren.”

Suddenly, I realized that I didn’t even know the old apothecary’s name, as I’d always just called her “Grandma.”

“Grandma, this is Count Benjamin Hershey, and this is my husband.”

“Grandma? You two must be close?”

Benjamin asked, looking surprised. Since my paternal grandmother passed early and my maternal grandmother was estranged from my mother, I didn’t have anyone I could call “grandmother.” Nobles are sensitive about titles, so it made sense that Benjamin might misunderstand. Instead of explaining that I used the term “Grandma” to act like a commoner, I lied seriously.

“Yes, so you should take good care of her. She has something she’d like to discuss with you. As I’m the host of today’s party, I can’t leave, so please escort her and listen to what she has to say.”

“Oh, uh, should I take her to the lounge?”

Leaving the flustered Benjamin, Ian turned to me and said, “I’ll take her to Liv’s sitting room. It’s quieter there.”

“Good idea. Grandma, go ahead.”

“I’ll escort you.”

The old apothecary, suddenly receiving such respect from a duke and count, looked a bit bewildered as she followed Ian. The duchess’s sitting room, attached to my bedroom, was the most private place for conversations in this estate.

They should be able to talk properly there. After sending them off, I began to look around, searching for tasks to tend to as the host of the party. Of all the people I’d invited, everyone had arrived except Betty, who couldn’t attend due to other commitments. This was the first time such an event had happened, and it felt a bit surreal.