Marriage.

A debutante ball was a rite of passage into high society. The primary purpose of a debutante was to announce that a young lady was of marriageable age and to attract suitors.

Sophia thought that even if she forced herself to participate in a debutante ball, marriage would still be impossible.

Even in this era where free love was popular, a bride’s dowry was essential. Although Alex and Ellie were a couple united by love, Ellie’s dowry had been immense. The Finega family, one of the wealthiest merchant families in the capital, had generously provided their daughter’s dowry, which had been a great help to Ariel.

During his time at the academy, Alex had made a name for himself in the capital due to his good looks. Ellie had triumphed over countless other women by winning Alex’s heart.

Unless Sophia, like Alex, gained fame for her beauty and ignited fierce competition among suitors, a dowry was a non-negotiable requirement for her marriage.

Sophia knew all too well that she could never have a marriage where the other person, like Alex or her aunt, would lose their senses and take on everything.

“No one knows better than me that I lack both beauty and the skills to attract men.”

Given her situation, the only options left for Sophia were to marry an older man who was remarrying or a poor man with no title.

But Sophia disliked both older men and poor men.

Therefore, to her, spending money on a debutante ball was not worth it.

However, Baron Ariel and Alex did not give up. It was still considered shameful for a noble lady not to have a debutante, so they persistently tried to convince Sophia to hold a small one.

At that moment, her aunt’s letter arrived, as if she already knew Sophia’s situation.

The Duke of Wiscombe’s family had two children: Philip and Isabelle. Philip was 23 years old, two years younger than Alex, and Isabelle was an 18-year-old young lady.

In the Uranos Empire, young ladies typically held their debutante balls at around 15 or 16 years old, so Isabelle’s debutante was already quite delayed. For Sophia, who was now 20, this was her last chance as well.

Typically, young ladies would spend at least three years in high society after their debutante, searching for a suitable family and partner to marry. The duchess’s letter asked Sophia to have her debutante alongside Isabelle and to help her during the event.

Isabelle, the daughter of the Duchess of Wiscombe, received an overwhelming amount of attention, even though she hadn’t yet held her debutante. The duke and duchess had delayed the debutante because they were concerned about Isabelle, who was quite shy.

***

By now, the sunlight had reached Sophia’s feet. As the afternoon progressed, the drawing room grew warmer. In the heat of early spring, Sophia found herself thinking about her mother and her aunt.

“Would it be too harsh to compare the two?”

Sophia didn’t think her mother had been unhappy. But sitting in such an opulent drawing room, one that made her feel small, naturally led her to compare her mother and her aunt, and reflect on their vastly different lives.

Sophia’s curiosity about her aunt, the Duchess of Wiscombe, grew all the more.

As the afternoon sunlight began to fade, a maid entered the drawing room and spoke politely.

“The duchess has encountered an issue and will not be able to meet with you today.”

Sophia stood up without hesitation. She had seen enough of the drawing room.

“Then please escort me to my room. I’m still unfamiliar with the layout and can’t quite recall the way back.”

The maid led Sophia to her room, and Sophia was certain.

‘The Duchess of Wiscombe definitely didn’t invite me here to help me.’

She had to let go of the expectation that her aunt, just because they were family, would naturally help and like her.

‘There must be more important matters for the duchess than meeting a niece she’s seeing for the first time.’

Sophia finally began to understand the concerns her father and brother had been expressing.

After walking for quite some time, they arrived at Sophia’s room. The distance between Sophia and the duchess was so great that even within the same residence, they had to walk a long way.

The Wiscombe estate was a two-story building that stretched out to the left and right from a central hall. Sophia’s room was at the far end of the right wing on the second floor, while the Wiscombe family’s quarters were concentrated in the central and left sections.

The advantage of Sophia’s room was that it was quieter than expected; the disadvantage was that it was so far from the family’s quarters that she would rarely cross paths with them.

Before leaving, the maid said, “Due to the preparations for the debutante and the redecorating of the house, you won’t be able to use the central staircase. Please use the staircase at the far right where we just came from.”

Sophia nodded. She already knew that the family and guests were using the central staircase freely. After all, she had seen people ascending the central staircase as she left the drawing room.

The maid’s words dashed Sophia’s expectations once more.

‘Did my aunt plan everything just to shatter my expectations? Or is she simply indifferent to a poor relative like me?’

No matter how much Sophia pondered, there was no way to truly know the mind of someone she had never met. She could only resign herself to lowering her own expectations.

* * *

Sophia planned to stay in the capital for two months—one month to prepare for the debutante and another month to respond to social invitations.

“What could possibly happen in just two months? I’ll come to the capital quietly, and leave just as quietly, unnoticed by anyone.”

Sophia assumed the worst outcome would be that no one would pay her any attention, and she would fade away without anyone noticing.

“That would be enough.”

The next morning, Sophia prepared to go out as soon as she finished breakfast. She planned to visit the Finega family, offer her greetings, and deliver the gifts that Ellie and her family had sent. After that, she intended to take a walk around the city and enjoy some sightseeing, so she slipped on her well-worn but comfortable shoes.

“Just strolling through the shops in the city will be a nice change of pace.”

As it was her first time in the capital, Sophia had received a list from Ellie of stores and landmarks she should visit. She was sure Helen Finega would also step in to show her around.

Despite her aunt’s cold treatment, Sophia looked forward to visiting the Finega family and exploring the city.

As she was getting ready to leave, there was a knock on the door. The same maid from the previous day informed her that the duchess was asking to see her.

‘At last, I’ll meet the famous Duchess of Wiscombe.’

Sophia resolved to address her as the Duchess, not as her aunt.

Taking a deep breath as she left to meet the duchess, Sophia reminded herself, “I’m meeting the Duchess of Wiscombe. I’ll handle this with all the proper etiquette.”