Chapter 4 – Prejudice (Part 1)

“You’re quite capable. Then I’ll ask you to do it again tomorrow.”

Though it wasn’t exactly praise, the Duchess of Loden expressed her satisfaction after seeing Sophia’s embroidery, took the embroidered handkerchief, and left the room.

The mention of “tomorrow” was bothersome, but seeing the amount of handkerchiefs still piled up made Sophia nod involuntarily.

Once the Duchess left the room, Sophia, finally relieved of tension, collapsed onto the sofa she had been sitting on. Maintaining the same posture all day had left her body on the verge of cramping.

She had diligently embroidered the handkerchiefs as the Duchess of Loden instructed all day, so her body was understandably worn out. Yet, Sophia worked so hard, to the point of exhaustion, because she didn’t want the Dveshi family to be disparaged.

If she did a sloppy job or if the embroidery was crooked and messy, the Duchess of Loden would have immediately slandered the Dveshi family.

She worried that no matter how well she did, the Duchess might find some strange flaw to criticize and insult the Dveshi family, but it seemed the Duchess wasn’t that unreasonable. Of course, judging by the amount of work she assigned, she wasn’t a normal mother-in-law either.

It seems like I won’t be able to finish even if I spend a week on this…

Sophia looked carefully at the remaining handkerchiefs. Seeing the pile of handkerchiefs still stacked high to the ceiling made her sigh involuntarily.

After taking a moment to recover, Sophia got up and headed to her bedroom. It was quite late, yet no one was there. It seemed Killian had no intention of sleeping together today either.

Does Killian even know what I did today?

Previously, Sophia had hoped that Killian wouldn’t come into the room, but after being tormented by the Duchess, it bothered her more that he didn’t come to the bedroom. He wouldn’t know what she had gone through today.

She didn’t expect him to know, but it felt unfair that they both entered an unwanted marriage, yet she was the only one suffering now.

However, this thought was fleeting. It had been an exhausting day, so as soon as Sophia lay down on the bed, she fell deeply asleep.

While she was so deeply asleep that she wouldn’t have noticed if someone carried her away, the bedroom door quietly opened. The sound of soft footsteps cutting through the darkness echoed in the quiet room.

The figure who walked to the bedroom silently watched Sophia sleeping. Then, after placing something on the table next to the bed, they left the room, leaving her soundly asleep.

The next morning, when Sophia woke up, she discovered a small bottle on the table.

“What is this? It can’t be poison, right?”

As she held the bottle and stared at it for a while, Emily came in holding an identical bottle.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a fatigue recovery potion. The maids of the Loden family act like they don’t know there’s a recovery potion. Those bad people! If I hadn’t pressed them about it, they would never have told me! But you already have one?”

Emily, expressing her dissatisfaction with a huff, was surprised to see the bottle in Sophia’s hand.

“A recovery potion? Who left this here?”

Sophia tilted her head as she examined the bottle in her hand closely.

“Maybe one of the workers left it.”

Looking puzzled, Emily handed over the bottle she brought. After placing the recovery potion that was in the room on the table, Sophia drank the potion Emily gave her while pondering who might have entered the room at night.

Did the Duchess instruct someone to give me the potion?

Though it seemed unlikely, she was currently the most likely suspect. If Sophia was to do the same amount of embroidery today as yesterday, she would need the recovery tonic.

But since it wasn’t certain, Sophia couldn’t come to a clear conclusion. After preparing everything, she headed to the room filled with handkerchiefs.

“The person who gave me the tonic must be the Duchess.”

Seeing the same amount of handkerchiefs as when she left the room yesterday, she was convinced that the Duchess was the one who provided the recovery potion.

It was clear she gave the tonic hoping Sophia would do the same amount of work as yesterday.

“Fine, I’ll do as you wish!”

Not wanting to show any incompetence to the Duchess, Sophia diligently embroidered the lion pattern, just like she did yesterday.

Continuing to work hard, it took Sophia about a week to finish all the embroidery. Her fingertips blistered and calloused from the large amount of embroidery each day, but the sense of accomplishment from completing everything outweighed the pain.

What will she make me do next?

Sophia thought she might get some respite after all her hard work, but that was not the case. Her trials were just beginning.

“I plan to invite guests for a week. So you’ll have to take charge of the preparations. Can you handle it?”

Once the embroidery on the handkerchiefs was done, the Duchess of Loden entrusted Sophia with all the preparations for the party, from start to finish.

“Yes, I understand.”

Typically, wedding parties are held 3-5 days after the ceremony, but the Duchess planned to hold it a week later, and over the course of a week.

“Oh, and you’ll need to prepare gifts for the guests, so choose something suitable.”

She even instructed Sophia to select gifts for the invited guests.

“Yes, I understand.”

It was clear to anyone that this was an attempt to burden Sophia, yet she showed no sign of dissatisfaction.

Sophia could have prepared something strange to embarrass the Duchess, but she decided against such cowardly actions.

She intended to prepare everything sincerely so as not to disgrace the Dveshi family. Having helped her mother with party preparations before, she was confident she could manage it on her own.

After much contemplation, Sophia decided to use the spacious garden as the party venue. The party would be conducted in a calm and elegant manner rather than being lively.

To ensure it was a classy and dignified garden party, she planned to hire a classical orchestra. Additionally, the atmosphere needed to be cozy enough for comfortable conversation without being overly luxurious.

For this, Sophia decided to prepare light desserts, simple bread, and cocktails instead of heavy dishes like meat or fish.

Once the direction of the party was set, Sophia became even busier.

From decorating the garden to deciding on the types of desserts and cocktails to prepare, and selecting the music the orchestra would play, each day passed quickly as she made these decisions.

Most of the preparations were straightforward, but one thing loomed as a significant concern.

What should I choose for the gifts?

The invited guests were distant relatives of the Loden family and the wives of retainers, but Sophia didn’t know what they liked.

Choosing something random could lead to complaints, so she needed someone to consult, but there was no one at the Loden household willing to help her.

‘Everyone has different tastes, so I can’t just choose one thing.’

She even asked the Duchess of Loden, but she showed no intention of answering. Asking passing maids also yielded unsatisfactory answers.

She couldn’t very well ask Killian, who didn’t even come to their shared bedroom. It was difficult to meet him, and he spent all his time as a knight, so he wouldn’t know what the women of the Loden family liked.

“What should I do?”

After much deliberation, Sophia decided to prepare something she liked. She had a keen eye for selecting items, so while she might not satisfy everyone, she was confident she could please some.

As the busy days passed, the day of the small party for the women finally arrived. Before the party started, Sophia had to move busily from early in the morning to make preparations.

When the party began, the garden was filled with noblewoman dressed in colorful and diverse dresses. They all wore smiles, but their gazes toward Sophia were less than approving.

Nevertheless, Sophia approached them with a bright smile and greeted them. Although their faces were not welcoming, fortunately, they did not ignore her greeting.

However, they deliberately spoke loudly enough for her to hear.

“How is the new daughter-in-law?”

“Do you think she’s to your liking? She would have been better off as Clive’s wife, but as Killian’s wife, she falls short.”

“Indeed, that’s true.”

Despite the blatant gossip she overheard, Sophia maintained a smile.

“What about Lady Aeri?”

“She suits Killian well. She’s the only woman he truly likes.”

However, she couldn’t help but flinch when Lady Aeri was mentioned. Knowing there was someone to be compared to was not a pleasant feeling.

Who is Lady Aeri, to be considered better than me?

Since she hadn’t spoken with her, Sophia didn’t know much about Lady Aeri, but a subtle sense of competition arose.

Sophia was confident she wouldn’t lose, as she had been raised with excellent home education, earning her the title of the ideal bride. Therefore, she intended to maintain her dignity and act gracefully, no matter what was said.