“Move it up by an hour? Suddenly on the day of the appointment?”

Lucas let out a hollow laugh and asked the secretary. Of course, it was more of an exclamation out of disbelief rather than a question asked to hear an answer.

Knowing this, the secretary remained silent before eventually speaking in a troubled tone.

“……What should we do, President?”

“Have the car ready. We must comply with the old man’s wishes.”

He could certainly accommodate changing the dinner time. In return, he would make sure to gain several times more benefit.

‘I’ll make sure to milk him properly.’

As Lucas was about to rise from his seat with a cynical smile, his gaze suddenly fell on the calendar placed on his desk.

More precisely, on the circle marked on today’s date.

……Tea party.

“Ah, damn……”

Lucas’s brow furrowed momentarily. The secretary, who was about to leave to have the car ready as ordered, turned to look at him.

“President, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell……”

“No, I’m fine.”

Contrary to his response that he was fine, he remained motionless, supporting himself with both hands on the desk.

Sensing something was amiss as Lucas stared intently at the calendar, the secretary was about to speak again when Lucas spoke first.

“……Can the appointment be canceled?”

“Pardon?”

“No, never mind.”

The secretary, shocked by the unexpected words, opened his eyes wide just as Lucas waved his hand and retracted his statement.

However, the secretary had no time to be relieved as he was even more shocked by what followed.

“Cancel it unconditionally.”

“Pre-President! Cancel the appointment? It’s an appointment with Marquis Naiars! The maternal uncle of His Majesty the king……”

“I know. Still, cancel it. This is perfect timing. We can just relay the message to the person who came from the Marquis’s household.”

Lucas spoke calmly to the secretary, unlike someone who had just uttered such shocking words.

“Bu-But President.”

“And immediately search for a flower shop or a dessert store. I need to prepare a gift for my wife’s first tea party.”

He interrupted the secretary who was about to say something again and gave another instruction. At this, the bewildered secretary’s eyes blinked.

“Tea…… tea party? Your wife’s first tea party is today?”

The secretary’s face turned ashen at the thought of not knowing about such an important event of the person he served.

“It’s not that you forgot. I didn’t tell you.”

Lucas continued speaking to prevent the pitiful secretary from fainting. It was his mistake from the beginning for not telling his secretary.

Having never had much of a personal schedule, he hadn’t thought to inform him. After all, the secretary had been managing his schedule even before he could mention it.

“It’s entirely my fault for not checking while going in and out of the mansion every day, President. I’m truly sorry.”

Despite his words, the secretary bowed his head, flustered.

“Anyway, time is short, so I’d like you to hurry.”

Lucas smirked at his repeated apologies and spoke. The secretary let out an “Ah” sound, bowed his head again, and then turned around.

The dinner appointment with the so-called maternal uncle of the king had already flown out of the secretary’s mind.

‘I can’t ruin the madam’s first tea party!’

Immediately after, the secretary, who had firmly resolved, contacted all the famous flower shops and dessert stores in the capital.

* * *

Jewelry, perfume, dresses……

Throughout the tea party, Giselle suppressed a yawn that was about to emerge naturally and picked up the teacup placed in front of her.

If it hadn’t been for the refreshing lemon tea, her eyelids might have drooped long ago.

‘Choosing lemon tea was truly an excellent decision.’

She glanced at the head maid who had recommended the lemon tea and gave her a slight smile. The head maid opened her eyes wide and then smiled, bowing.

“Mrs. Taylor doesn’t seem very interested in what we’re talking about.”

“……Pardon?”

“You haven’t said anything for a while now.”

The one who spoke to Giselle, who had been fighting against the encroaching drowsiness, was none other than Giana Dalton.

‘Ah, is it finally starting?’

She had thought it was strangely peaceful, but as expected.

Giselle put down her teacup, smiled at the hostile gaze directed at her, and straightened her back.

“As you all probably know, I have almost no knowledge about things like jewelry or perfume.”

“Ah……”

Someone who had been listening to her words sighed as if in pity. Simultaneously, the corners of Giana’s mouth curved up crookedly.

Sympathy, or mockery.

The reactions of those attending the tea party were thus divided into one of the two. Particularly, the reactions of young ladies or noble daughters around Giselle’s age were clearly evident.

Unlike older ladies who knew how to skillfully hide their emotions, they were still inexperienced in that regard.

As if to prove this once again, Giana continued in a sarcastic tone.

“That would be the case. You wouldn’t have had the opportunity to cultivate ladylike refinement while paying off your father’s debts. Moreover, since you were constantly mingling with men before marriage……”

Giana let her words trail off and lightly waved her fan. It was clearly a malicious statement.

Even the older ladies who had been hiding their emotions furrowed their brows.

……Constantly mingling with men.

Doesn’t it sound like she’s criticizing her for promiscuously playing around with men?

“Well. Mingling with men, you say……”

Giselle repeated what Giana had said and then laughed lightly. It was a different reaction from what was expected, which was to immediately protest the insult and get angry.

Disappointment flashed across the faces of those who had been watching with excitement, expecting to see the two women fight.

But on the contrary, there were also those who showed interest in her composed demeanor.

Of course, Giselle didn’t notice any of the reactions directed at her. She had no leisure to look around, wondering if the sound of her wildly beating heart was leaking out.

‘I don’t want to lose to this woman, at least.’

She hadn’t forgotten how Giana had addressed Lucas familiarly.

Besides, even without that, she didn’t want to unconditionally show kindness to someone who had displayed hostility toward her.

“If that’s how you define studying and working together as ‘colleagues,’ then… I guess you could say I mingled with them.”

“My, aren’t you agreeing too readily? The social circle is extremely small, madam. It won’t take much time for the conversation we’re having now to spread throughout the capital’s social circles.”

Giana once again fanned herself lightly and spoke as if giving advice to Giselle, with a winner’s smile.

Giselle calmly tilted her head and responded to Giana’s mocking words.

“We haven’t had any conversation that would cause problems. Come to think of it, among the people I ‘mingled with,’ there are quite a few family members of the ladies present here.”

Giselle looked around at the others seated at the table demonstratively. Then, making eye contact with each person one by one, she continued speaking.

“Including Viscountess Harper’s husband, and Count Petermann’s young lord.”

“What do you mean……”

Viscountess Harper, whose husband had been pointed out by her, opened her mouth with a pale blue face.

Additionally, Countess Petermann, who had been watching as if observing a light spectacle, furrowed her brow and showed her displeasure.

“Both of them were my academy classmates. Well, we didn’t have much of an acquaintance though.”

“How can you say we mingled when there wasn’t even an acquaintance!”

Viscountess Harper, somewhat relieved by Giselle’s additional comment, exclaimed again. Giselle looked at her and tilted her head sideways.

“Indeed.”

“……!”

“I never particularly shared acquaintances with others, neither at the academy nor at the office where I worked until recently, but since you referred to it as ‘mingling,’ I thought the word might be used differently in social circles than the dictionary meaning I knew.”

Giselle answered them with a hint of laughter in her tone, then looked back at Giana. Giana glared at her, her cheek twitching as she struggled to contain her anger.

“As Miss Dalton said, I didn’t have the opportunity to cultivate ladylike refinement because I was paying off my father’s debts. So I don’t know much about the speech patterns used in social circles.”

“……”

Giana bit her lips tightly at the sight of Giselle looking at her with such a relaxed expression. Just as she was about to open her mouth to retort, Countess Petermann spoke first.

“We don’t use that word differently in social circles, Mrs. Taylor. ……It seems that Miss Dalton has some misunderstanding. Isn’t that right, Miss?”

The Countess’s sharp gaze pierced Giana. Meeting that gaze, Giana involuntarily flinched.

Come to think of it, she remembered that the Countess’s young lord, Young Count Petermann, was about to get married.

She couldn’t help but know, since her father had sent all sorts of luxury items as gifts to the Petermann family to attend his wedding.

She also knew how desperately her father, who had been a commoner and had barely received the title of baron after donating a large fortune to the royal family, yearned to be integrated into noble society.

“Oh, yes! Yes, that’s right. I…… made a mistake. I apologize, Mrs. Taylor.”

Giana’s face turned bright red with shame. Giselle, not wanting to argue any further, concluded by accepting her apology.

‘Whew……’

She was about to pick up her teacup again but saw her fingertips trembling and naturally lowered it.