| Chapter 36

A woman held up a plate with a dome-shaped chocolate dessert, smiling mischievously. Lucienne calmly replied.

“I don’t like chocolate.”

“I suppose. You’ve probably only tasted cheap chocolate cut into flat chunks. But this is different. It’s really soft and sweet. Well, it might not suit your palate.”

The women giggled. Someone looked at Lucienne and dropped their fork, frowning.

“Oh my, I dropped my fork. Would you like to bring me a new one?”

They probably expected Lucienne to bend down reflexively, not knowing what to do, but Lucienne simply raised one hand lightly. A maid quickly approached and replaced it with a new fork.

“I heard you’re taking lessons at home with a tutor. But don’t you think you should attend the academy to get to know people’s faces and study properly?”

“Of course, attending the academy won’t erase the deeply ingrained smell of the lower class, but you should try, shouldn’t you? If you don’t want to embarrass your brother.”

“I heard you ride horses with the baron whenever you have time these days? Then when do you read books? When do you cultivate your refinement, Miss?”

“What book have you read recently? Oh, should I have asked first if you can read? Excuse me.”

Once again, laughter erupted. However, they frowned when they saw Lucienne smiling as well.

No matter how they tried to provoke her from various angles, Lucienne didn’t get flustered or shrink back. The atmosphere became strangely subdued under her calm gaze, which seemed to be observing, like she was listening to someone else’s story. Lucienne’s composed eyes exuded a tension as if a beast was waiting for an opportunity to attack.

“Well, can we let such a good day pass just like this? I hear that our Lord Kirhin Bickman cherishes his sister whom he found belatedly very much. How about it? Why don’t you say a few words for your brother?”

A man who had been watching the group of women with interest called out cheerfully. It was Yuson Kepler, the eldest son of the Viscount Kepler family. Although not as much as Kirhin, he was quite a renowned young man in social circles.

Kirhin, who was nearby, glared at his friend with narrowed eyes. He had caught on to his friend’s intention to tease him.

“Our Lucienne is very shy and not used to speaking loudly in front of people.”

“That’s something that gets better with practice. She can’t stay in her brother’s arms forever, can she?”

“No, really, our Lucy…”

“Then.”

A clear voice cut through the air. Kirhin and Yuson’s gazes turned to the silver-haired girl.

“I will say a few words for those who have attended this gathering.”

Lucienne gracefully walked out from among the women surrounding her. As if unaware of the pouring gazes of people, she was smiling softly at Kirhin.

“My brother is a warm person who willingly accepted me, lacking as I am, as family. Under his protection and affection, I am learning gratitude day by day. Now that such a brother has become the head of the family, I have no doubt that he will further spread the honor of our Bickman family.”

Kirhin’s mouth fell open blankly. Yuson whistled softly as he looked at Lucienne’s sleeve, which she raised elegantly with her glass.

“As I shamefully don’t know much, I will commemorate this day by borrowing the words of an old poet.”

A dreamy, sentimental expression crossed her neat face. Lucienne opened her mouth.

“The tree does not weep in the sorrowful winter.
For it knows what the pain of new buds sprouting means.
Pain will bring spring with the dawn.
It only dreams, hoping for that day when it will bloom brilliantly.”

The voice reciting the poem was clear and beautiful like a bird’s song. Lucienne’s expression, as she slowly looked around at the audience immersed in silence, exuded such composure that it made people feel as if she were the host of this gathering.

Kirhin, who had been looking dazed as if possessed, flinched and turned his head at the sound of someone’s loud applause. The one clapping vigorously with both hands while wearing an expression of admiration was none other than the administrative official, Penu.

“To think I’d see a young Miss reciting Cynthesi’s classic poem. It’s unbelievable!”

“‘Spring and Green,’ it’s truly a wonderful poem. These days, hardly anyone reads it.”

The one who added to the conversation was Viscount Kepler, who had grown a handsome brown beard. The hall soon filled with applause as people who knew the verse started clapping.

Kirhin looked at Lucienne, who was bowing her head with a calm expression. Yuson, rolling his eyes, leaned in to whisper to his friend.

“Your Miss is really something else, isn’t she? Wasn’t Cynthesi known only for the romantic poems he wrote in his later years?”

“I don’t even know who Cynthesi is. Where on earth did she…”

Kirhin, who was muttering with an incredulous face, suddenly paused.

No. He had definitely heard about this recently. That’s right, certainly.

‘Of course, it’s decided. The person who will come as the administrative official for our succession ceremony is a man named Penu. He’s a distant relative of the Marquis Condol family. What kind of person, you ask? Well, he’s a very old-fashioned and boring old man. Reading books by the fireplace is his only pleasure.’

‘Could I know which author he likes? Or poet?’

‘Well, since he often attends recitation gatherings, I should be able to find out. But why?’

The poetry book he had given to Lucienne a few days later, who smiled brightly then, was indeed by Cynthesi. Penu was said to be very fond of classic poetry, and among them, he knew almost all of Cynthesi’s poems by heart.

“Huh.”

Unconsciously letting out a sigh, Kirhin stared at Lucienne, who was standing nobly like a single flower amidst the crowd.

She had memorized Cynthesi’s poem to use at this gathering. In other words, from the beginning, she had aimed for the attention and recognition of Penu, who held the highest position here.

This is not just a level that can be described as more cunning than expected. Feeling somewhat tense, Kirhin swallowed dryly. Just then, he saw Penu approaching Lucienne with a broad smile.

“Would this old man be allowed to request the first dance as a sign of respect?”

“Respect? I’m unworthy of such.”

Giving a humble reply, Lucienne looked in this direction. Kirhin, who happened to be looking at her, reflexively nodded in response to her gaze that seemed to be seeking permission.

Although he hadn’t expected this at all, Penu was a good choice. Since Lucienne was unmarried and didn’t have any male acquaintances yet, if she were to dance her first dance with some ambiguous man, it would give gossip-mongers something to talk about.

The music started flowing, and Lucienne and Penu began to dance. People who had been watching her with evaluating gazes soon had to bite their tongues.

The graceful swaying of her skirt following her fluid movements was like embroidering a picture. Kirhin felt the gazes of men watching Lucienne grow deeper.

She had certainly caught their eye. Not as a mere object of curiosity, but as a proper young lady of a noble family with dignity and refinement.

It’s something to be happy about. As she said, the reason Kirhin had taken her as his sister was because he judged her beauty to be quite useful. Of course, there was also the calculation that having a girl Lars showed interest in would be helpful in some way.

But for some reason, he couldn’t smile lightly. It felt like there might be things in that small head of Lucienne’s that he couldn’t even imagine.

“May I ask for the next dance, Kirhin? All these wolves are looking this way, so if I don’t ask quickly, I might miss my turn.”

Yuson smiles as he adjusts his clothes. When an unmarried young lady makes her debut in society, it’s customary etiquette to seek the guardian’s permission before dancing. Currently, Kirhin is Lucienne’s guardian, so everyone is looking at him.

“…The next one is obviously me. Where do you think you’re going?”

Barely managing to retort, Kirhin cleared his throat with an ‘ahem’. It was inexplicable why he felt nervous.

Following the lively music, people gathered one by one to dance. The night at the Bickman mansion was deepening.

* * *

It was only when the atmosphere of the party began to subside that I was finally able to slip away. Although I had been pretending to be calm, both my mind and body had long since hit their limits. My legs were trembling from dancing for so long under tension.

“You were truly amazing, Miss! Everyone is talking about nothing but you! And look at these gloves here!”

Maya thrust a basket forward with an excited face. Inside were layers of gloves embroidered with family crests.

Leaving one glove behind was a custom among noble sons to formally request a meeting with an unmarried woman. Some said that how many of these gloves a woman received on her debut day symbolized her position in society.

“I suppose you’ll have to discuss this with the master? To decide the order of meetings. With so many, it won’t be easy to allocate time… Oh, Miss!”

As I staggered, Maya quickly supported me. I bit my lower lip and took off one of the shoes I was wearing. Maya’s eyes widened as she looked down at the shoe.

“Oh my, Miss. This, this is…”