“Is she out of her mind?”

The three of them did not return until around sunset, long after Irina and the Duke had finished lunch.

Delphia had bought Irina sweets from the busy district as a gift, but when she heard what had happened, she angrily crushed them.

Consequently, the four of them were now angrily eating the biscuits that Mr. Bayden had made for Florence.

“How could anyone say such things to another person?”

As expected, Delphia was the most furious.

She raised her voice while tugging at her hair, which had grown slightly longer over the past few months.

“I’ve thought this for a long time, but she’s far too rude!”

“That is true.”

Rio, who had been quietly sipping his tea, nodded.

“Count and Countess Florence spoiled her far too much.”

“Even if the girl was sickly, they shouldn’t have raised her that way.”

So she truly was in poor health.

Irina sipped her tea while listening attentively to Delphia and Rio’s conversation.

“What did His Grace say? He said he would lodge a formal protest, didn’t he?”

Delphia looked ready to march straight to the duke if Winfried had said otherwise.

“Yes. He said he would ensure that Count and Countess Florence sent me a written apology.”

“As they should!”

Only then did Delphia sit down, seemingly satisfied.

Irina fidgeted with her teacup.

“Still, I’m worried she might be punished too severely.”

“She is getting off lightly.”

This time, Viscountess Helpriton spoke.

“If Count and Countess Leonid still been alive, this incident could have escalated into a dispute between the two families.”

“Is it truly that serious?”

“Of course!”

Bang!

Delphia slammed the table again and widened her eyes.

“Of course it is! She treated their precious daughter like—like that!”

Her anger had clearly not subsided.

Delphia began raging again, while Rio simply ignored her.

“No matter how I look at it, I think you should decline Lady Florence’s invitation to the tea party.”

Viscountess Helpriton was busy trying to persuade Irina.

“Lady Florence’s tea party would be a wonderful opportunity for you to enter high society. There will be many young ladies your age there, and all of the guests come from families of considerable standing.”

The viscountess gently patted Irina’s hand where it rested on the table.

“Even so, I don’t think you should become further involved with Lady Florence, regardless of whether she has genuinely reflected on her behavior.”

“Exactly!”

Delphia, who had been fuming by herself, abruptly turned toward Irina.

“I’m certain she’s secretly holding a grudge. His Grace took your side in front of her, didn’t he?”

Rio nodded once again.

Was there more to it than that?

Irina could certainly understand being hurt if one’s cousin sided with someone else.

However, Delphia’s reaction suggested that this was not the only reason.

“Delphia, did something happen between the two of them?”

“You could say that.”

Rio calmly poured himself more tea as he answered.

“If the war not broken out, the two of them might have become engaged.”

Engaged.

In other words, they had nearly married each other.

“But they’re cousins. Can cousins… get married?”

“The Houses of Winfried and Florence are so distant that it would be difficult to call them even collateral branches of the same family. Their connection has been maintained through the friendship of their ancestors. To be honest, they are practically strangers.”

When Irina froze with her eyes wide, Delphia reproached Rio.

“The possibility of an engagement was only mentioned casually before either of them was even born.”

Delphia popped a cookie into her mouth, quickly chewed, and swallowed it.

“From what I’ve heard, the heads of Houses Winfried and Florence two generations ago made a promise. They agreed that when their children were born, they would marry them to each other.”

Irina looked at Delphia.

“But as fate would have it, they both had sons. Since they could hardly marry two men to each other, they decided to wait and see whether the next generation would produce a granddaughter and a grandson instead.”

Delphia frowned as she took a sip of her tea.

“Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place when His Grace and Lady Florence were born, but then the war broke out and dragged on for years. In the end, the whole matter simply faded away.”

Resting her chin on one hand, Delphia let out a deep sigh before continuing.

“To be honest, it was only a lighthearted promise between their ancestors, and even their parents’ generation had already stopped taking it seriously. His Grace probably never thought of her that way in the first place. She’s the only one infatuated with him and making such a fuss about it.”

“I see.”

As though another question had suddenly occurred to her, Irina leaned slightly toward Rio.

“But Sir Rio, you said they were such distant relatives that they were practically strangers. Yet from what I saw earlier, they seemed rather close.”

“That does not mean the families had no contact whatsoever.”

This time, Rio answered.

He set down his teacup and replied casually,

“Even during a war, funerals must still be held. Since they are relatives, they occasionally encountered each other at such gatherings.”

“Ah….”

Irina nodded.

So that was how it had been.

“In any case, I should start looking for a suitable invitation.”

Viscountess Helpriton murmured as though speaking to herself.

“I’ll need to narrow them down to gatherings Lady Leonid could attend.”

“Me?”

Irina’s eyes widened.

She still lacked proper etiquette, refinement and knowledge.

Despite studying diligently, sometimes even sacrificing sleep, she could hardly compete with those who had been educated from a young age.

“It’s all right, my lady.”

Viscountess Helpriton smiled.

“I’m not saying that you should make your official debut in high society. We merely need to introduce you publicly before any malicious rumors begin to spread.”

“Malicious rumors?”

“Yes. Until now, you have mostly remained within the estate, where there was no one to spread stories about you. But that is no longer the case, is it?”

The viscountess was right.

Lady Florence had visited the estate that day.

News about Irina would inevitably spread, whether through Lady Florence herself, one of the maids who accompanied her, or the coachman.

“We’ll get ahead of those strange rumors by showing everyone what kind of person you truly are.”

After speaking, the viscountess rang the bell.

A maid who had been waiting nearby approached.

“You called for me, Viscountess?”

“Would you bring Mr. Eren here?”

“Yes. I’ll fetch him immediately.”

The maid bowed and promptly departed.

Not long afterward, there was a knock at the door.

“I was told you wished to see me.”

“Have any invitations arrived for me? I informed several people that I would be staying here this year.”

“There are a few. Shall I bring them at once?”

The viscountess nodded.

“And I would also like to see the invitations addressed to the Winfried estate. I will obtain His Grace’s permission myself.”

“May I ask why you wish to see the invitations?”

Ordinarily, managing them would have been the responsibility of the Duchess of Winfried.

However, that position was currently vacant.

Consequently, Eren, as the butler, was now solely responsible for handling the invitations.

“It is nothing in particular. I simply believe it is time to introduce Lady Leonid to society. Of course, we must first receive His Grace’s permission.”

At Viscountess Helpriton’s words, Eren immediately nodded.

After all, had he not witnessed what happened today with his own eyes?

“As it happens, there is one particularly suitable invitation.”

“What?”

Irina’s eyes widened.

Could it truly be decided this quickly?

“I can’t dance, and I’m still terrible at reciting poetry.”

Frightened by Eren’s suggestion, Irina vigorously shook her head.

“And I can’t play the piano either….”

“Please don’t worry, my lady. This is not a gathering where you will be expected to dance or recite poetry. In fact, I think you’ll enjoy it. His Grace will probably give his permission as well.”

Eren sounded so confident that Irina could not help but ask,

“Where is it?”

Eren smiled.

“It is an art donation gala.”

***

‘This feels so awkward.’

Seated inside the carriage, Irina nervously fiddled with the pink ribbons on her bonnet.

The art donation gala that Viscountess Helpriton and Eren had mentioned a few days earlier was taking place today.

Because of that, she had been woken up early, still half asleep, and passed from one pair of hands to another while they got her ready.

She was dressed in a frilly, lacy gown unlike anything she had ever worn before and wearing a bonnet adorned with flowers that made her scalp itch.

Nothing felt comfortable.

‘…And once the carriage stops, I’ll have to speak with other people.’

There was nothing at all comfortable about this.

If the viscountess had not assured her that today’s gathering would not be too formal, Irina might have fainted by now.

“How fortunate that Viscount Percy’s donation gala happened to be held at precisely the right time. The viscount and most of the people he usually invites enjoy conversing with strangers.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that is why other noble families sometimes wait for an invitation from Viscount Percy when arranging a young lady or gentleman’s first social gathering.”

Moreover, as the paintings and artworks provided another subject of interest, it would not be difficult to keep the conversation flowing.”

The Viscountess added, placing the bonnet on Irina’s head.

Nevertheless, Irina’s worry and nervousness did not subside.

‘Will I be able to do well?’

She had received some training in etiquette and manners, as well as a little dance instruction, but only for one season.

She could not compete with those who had been educated from childhood.

She would be fortunate to avoid embarrassing herself.

However, Irina did not mind being humiliated.

After all, she was well aware of her shortcomings.

She just did not want the people of the Winfried estate, who had treated her so kindly, to be spoken ill of because of her.

“…….”

Irina frowned, pressing her lips together tightly.

She could already hear mocking voices directed at the people of Winfried.

Without thinking, she tightened her grip on the ribbons she had been fidgeting with.

“Ah.”

Perhaps she had pulled too hard when holding them.

The beautiful bow tied by Viscountess Helpriton came undone, causing the bonnet to fall onto the floor of the carriage.

It mustn’t get dirty!

Irina quickly reached for the fallen bonnet.

However, another hand picked it up before she could.

It belonged to the Duke of Winfried, who was sitting opposite her.