Chapter 32

No, why me!

She almost wanted to believe her ears had misheard something.

Among noble children, piano was a required part of their upbringing, so regardless of gender, there were very few nobles who could play the piano. Of course, some learned more deeply depending on their interest and aptitude, while others only completed the basics.

But for commoners, piano was something only the wealthy could buy and hire teachers for, and only a few learned it. Diane, who barely managed to attend school, naturally never had the chance to learn piano.

“Sorry, but I can’t play the piano.”

Because Lady Lautrec addressed her, Diane regretted not leaving the tea room even sooner, now that everyone’s attention was on her.

“Oh my! You can’t play the piano?”

Lady Lautrec’s eyes grew nearly twice their usual size, looking genuinely surprised at first glance.

But the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and Diane, close enough to see her face, realized she was actually quite pleased. It was the reaction to discovering a weakness in Diane, whom she’d wanted to ignore.

In truth, Lady Lautrec’s feelings might be understandable. She was in a situation where she absolutely had to impress the Young Master, but the Duke’s son seemed completely taken with a mere commoner teacher. Until now, she had tried hard to ignore Diane, but now that she had found an opportunity to trample her, she couldn’t help but welcome it.

“Yes. I’ve never learned.”

Despite Lady Lautrec’s somewhat exaggerated reaction, Diane answered calmly.

So what if she couldn’t play piano? The real misfortune was not being able to leave this place sooner—or even having to sit here in the first place.

“Oh my! I’ve never heard of a noble lady who hasn’t learned piano. Or did your parents have a unique philosophy about education? Which family are you from? I’m curious about your parents.”

It was the Countess.

Unlike before, she now made steady eye contact with Diane, showing genuine interest.

Diane’s calm expression stiffened slightly.

Of course, Diane already knew the Countess was asking such questions because she suspected Diane was a commoner.

She was essentially asking, ‘Why are you sitting here if you’re not a noble?’

But Diane’s face hardened not because she wasn’t a noble.

What chilled her heart was the question about her parents.

She didn’t want to say she was an orphan, that she had no parents.

It wasn’t shameful to be an orphan.

Not being able to play piano, or being an orphan, weren’t her fault.

But just because it wasn’t shameful didn’t mean she wanted to share that with people she’d just met today—especially people who obviously wished to look down on her.

While Diane hesitated, silence fell over the tea room.

The people of the Earldom openly stared at her, as if urging her to speak.

It seemed this silence would continue until she answered.

Diane found a suitable compromise.

She didn’t intend to hide it, but there was no need to tell these people everything.

“I’m not a noble. I never had the chance to learn piano.”

At Diane’s answer, the Countess clasped her hands and tilted her head to one side.

“Oh my, I must have asked an inappropriate question. I never imagined the Young Master’s tutor would be a commoner.”

As soon as she heard the word ‘commoner’, the Countess immediately dropped the formal tone and feigned sympathy, so much so that Diane had to tense her brow to keep from grimacing.

“It’s fine.”

She answered simply, now truly determined to leave this tiresome tea room.

But the Earl’s next remark, following the Countess, held her back again.

“Even commoners should learn piano as a basic accomplishment, shouldn’t they? No matter how poor, your parents must have been quite ignorant about the arts and indifferent to their child’s education.”

Diane looked at the Earl, her face now flushed.

His plump face, so full it had no wrinkles, showed no expression at all.

He was the very model of a snob, indifferent to the hurt his words might cause and deeply contemptuous of poor commoners.

“Proper parents ought to…”

The Earl began to say more.

“Hahahaha!”

Suddenly, Edward burst out laughing, rudely cutting off the Earl’s words.

Wrinkles appeared on the Earl’s previously smooth forehead.

He glared at Edward with fierce eyes.

Other people also turned to Edward, and the common emotion on their faces was anxiety.

“Edward?”

Adrian called out to the laughing Edward.

“It’s hilarious! Look at the situation: his own child’s skills are at that level, yet he says things like that. Even if the parents were passionate about the arts and taught her piano, the daughter’s skills are so poor that she’s grilling someone else with pointless questions, obsessing over piano. If the Earl and Countess want to hear a proper piano performance, instead of making the teacher play, why don’t you play, Brother?”

In an instant, the tea room froze as if hit by a cold spell.

It was a blunt and direct comment, almost unheard of in noble society.

“Edward! Right now…!”

Adrian, who rarely raised his voice or showed his anger, now sounded harsh. He looked at Edward with a reddened face, trying to say something, but Edward ignored him and continued speaking without hesitation.

“If I could play, I’d want to do it myself. But you know, I hate that kind of thing. Who knew our mother and father would be judged as ignorant about the arts and indifferent to their children’s education? For the honor of the previous Duke and Duchess of the Wale family, you should play, Brother.”

At Edward’s words, the faces of the Earldom people, which had flushed with anger, suddenly turned pale.

The honor of the previous Duke and Duchess…

It was a bolt from the blue—Marquis Wale had suddenly shifted the topic from the tutor’s parents to the previous Duke and Duchess.

If he said it like that, didn’t it sound as if the Earldom people had insulted the previous Duke and Duchess?

It was obviously sophistry, but his logic was so natural that there was no way to refute it.

Instead of being able to get angry at Marquis Wale for insulting them, the Earldom people almost had to apologize.

Silence filled the tea room, and the atmosphere was as precarious as an overinflated balloon.

Adrian rubbed his forehead with one hand and bowed his head.

He wished he had stopped Edward before those words came out, but they were already spoken—impossible to take back.

Edward’s ruthlessly rude words were shocking, but Adrian was the Head of the Wale family, the Duke, and Edward was the second son, Marquis Wale.

It was awkward to publicly criticize his younger brother, who held a higher rank than the Earldom people present.

Besides, it was clearly the Earldom people who had first rudely insulted Diane Lina, Leon’s tutor and a servant of the Duchy.

Edward had simply caught them in the net of their own words.

And while the Earldom people’s behavior was vulgar, the real problem was Adrian himself, who had failed to break Leon’s stubbornness and had allowed a mismatched gathering to continue.

In the end, he said nothing.

“It’s gotten awfully quiet, hasn’t it.”

Edward spoke again.

With everyone else, including Adrian, silent and at a loss for words, only Edward spoke freely, even seeming cheerful.

It felt as if one more word from him would burst the balloon of tension in the tea room.

“My skills must have been lacking.”

It was Lady Lautrec who managed to let the air out of the balloon.

Her face was red, but she managed a smile.

The smile, forced to suppress shame and anger, showed just how desperately she wanted this marriage, making her appear almost pitiful.

“No, Young Lady. It was a wonderful performance.”

Adrian immediately countered her words.

“Duke, I didn’t know your piano skills were so exceptional. My hands are embarrassed. Could you play a piece for us? I’d really love to hear it.”

At Lady Lautrec’s words, Adrian shook his head, about to decline.

“Duke Wale, you’ll grant my daughter’s request, won’t you? Surely you won’t refuse?”

Suddenly, the Countess joined in, supporting her daughter’s request.

It was clear the Countess wanted Adrian to play as compensation for the indiscriminate attack from Marquis Wale.

Indeed, Adrian couldn’t refuse the Countess’s pressure, who was asking for a performance for her insulted daughter.

“It’s been so long since I’ve sat at a piano, I’m not sure how it will go, but since it’s the young lady’s request, I suppose I must.”

In the end, he gave Edward a brief glare and approached the piano.

When Lady Lautrec moved aside, he nodded to her and sat at the piano bench, immediately beginning to play.