Marissa greeted Elena as she approached.
“Welcome, young lady. For a while I was worried that you might be sick because I hadn’t seen you in some time. I’m glad you were able to come today.”
Elena felt a little guilty when she noticed Marissa’s disappointment, and she gave a humble smile.
“I’ve always wanted to attend your parties, but as you know I spend so much time managing the household. I’m glad to see you again after all this time.”
Marissa was well aware that Elena managed the Blaise household, but she didn’t believe that Elena didn’t have time to attend her gatherings. Marissa herself was also in charge of the estate of her late husband, but she wasn’t so busy that she couldn’t attend parties either. However, Marissa simply smiled and didn’t say such details.
“By the way, who is this cute young lady? Is she your sister?”
“Yes she is, Madame.”
Mirabelle, who was listening to the two women’s conversation, turned to greet Marissa.
“Hello, Madame. I’m Mirabelle Blaise. I am here with my sister.”
Although Mirabelle was still young, she was sure to grow up beautifully. She may not have the same intense beauty as her sister, but her lively aura spoke of great promise in the future.
“Oh, all of the Blaise children are simply beautiful. It’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady.”
Somehow, Elena felt as if she herself had been praised. After they exchanged their greetings, a white-haired old man who appeared to be a butler approached Marissa and whispered politely in her ear.
“Pardon me, My Lady. All the guests have arrived and we are ready for the party. “
“Thank you, Jeffrey.”
Marissa looked back at Elena and Mirabelle in apology.
“This is a simple tea party, but I hope you enjoy yourselves. We’re going to have a big ball next time, so please come and grace our seats. “
“Yes, Madame.”
Marissa moved to the head of the table with a benevolent smile on her face. Elena didn’t know if this was meant to be a small tea party for close friends to gather, but there were more than twenty noble ladies and young daughters. No matter how small the event may be, Marissa was a powerful member of the community, and the number of people attending would inevitably differ from the norm.
Marissa took the lead to greet everyone.
“Welcome, all. Firstly I’d like to thank everyone for accepting my invitation. I feel wonderful because the weather is sunny, too. So now let’s sit down and enjoy all the delicious refreshments together.”
Several ladies smiled at Marissa’s introduction. To outsiders this may not be a big deal, but one of the most important details about these parties was placement. The closer to the host you were, the better the seats.
Elena took a table with Mirabelle at the far end of the garden. It couldn’t be helped. Chairs were prepared in accordance with the number of guests at each table, and Mirabelle had suddenly been added when only one Blaise was expected to attend. To prevent this situation, the host had to be informed of the number of people before attending the party, but Elena had already responded too late.
Since Mirabelle could not sit in someone else’s seat, it was only natural that they sat down somewhere else. Since Elena didn’t actively attend social gatherings anyway, and there was also the possibility of her not attending and taking the seat. If she were a powerful young woman she could easily request inner seats in this situation, but the position of House Blaise in high society was not a lofty one.
Elena didn’t feel disappointed– it was all rather expected. Marissa had welcomed her anyway even Elena did not make many appearances. It also occurred to Elena that perhaps this distant corner was more suitable for enjoying the atmosphere with Mirabelle.
However, earlier Helen had looked between Elena and Marissa with a disgusted expression, and now Helen still was glowering at Elena where she was seated.
Sarah, the daughter of Viscount Jenner, noticed that Helen was in a black mood and quickly said something in attempt to appease her.
“Oh, look over there. Is Lady Blaise trying to fit in with the enemy? No wonder the capital ignores southern society because of that trend.”
In short, Elena was a disgrace to southern society. Helen jumped at the opportunity to scratch her itch.
“Yes, that’s the style that I would wear only in the kingdom of Carthenia.”
The Kingdom of Carthenia was the poorest country on the continent. Those who knew about fashion could immediately realize that she meant Elena’s dress was unfashionable.
Normally, Helen’s nose was held so high she ignored the other young nobles in lower ranks than she was. However, there were some who wanted to get along with Helen because of her high position and beautiful appearance. Sarah was one of those people. She hurriedly opened her mouth at the chance to win Helen’s favor.
“Although she wears green like Lady Selby, she simply pales in comparison.”
Helen covered her mouth and smiled as if she had honey on her tongue. Margaret, the daughter Count Lawrence, was listening to them quietly.
“Do you mean the dress of Lady Blaise? It doesn’t seem new, but isn’t it adorned beautifully? I thought I should try remake my dress at home instead of looking for something new too…”
Helen’s fine brow furrowed at Margaret’s foolish remarks. Helen thought Margaret ugly and stupid, but she liked her status as a daughter of a count. In addition, Margaret’s face was so plain that Helen had brought her along to emphasize her own beauty.
But that didn’t matter right now. Helen hid her displeasure and spoke with a thin smile on her lips.
“I had no idea that Lady Lawrence was this ignorant of fashion.”
“Huh?”
“What makes that so beautiful? You should have your eyesight checked. If other people found out, no one would want to go to the dress shop with you.”
“W-well…I mean…”
Margaret had a habit of stammering when she was flustered or excited. Helen simply smiled. Margaret was even more intimidated by Helen, who was one of the leaders of style in the south.
Sarah watched Helen’s smiling lips and swallowed nervously. It didn’t matter what was right or wrong in the aristocratic world. Lady Selby was a powerful woman.
Although Count Blaise was not someone to be ignored, his position and wealth was very different compared to Marquis Selby. Furthermore, the Blaises were house of knights, while the Selbys did business in politics.
House Jenner, where Sarah was from, was under the strong influence of the Selbys. When Sarah saw Margaret’s frightened expression, she quickly clicked her tongue.
“I suppose Lady Blaise doesn’t even realize how embarrassing she is, attending a tea party dressed like that.”
“Well, if she doesn’t know how embarrassing she is…should we teach her a lesson?”
“A lesson?”
Sarah’s eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion. But Helen had already made up her mind. Margaret, who was quietly listening, spoke up in a stammering voice.
“S-she was just talking to Lady Holland, maybe they’re friends–”
Helen firmly cut off Margaret’s noise.
“Do you think that Lady Blaise is closer to Marchioness Holland than I am?”
There was no comparison between Elena, who rarely appeared in high society, and Helen, who came from the powerful Marquis Selby.
Margaret’s face whitened.
“O-oh, no. I’m not saying that. I don’t know if…”
“If there’s anything you want to say, say it straight. I can’t stand listening to your simpering today.”
“…Hic!“
Margaret’s hands leapt to her mouth. She was worried that Elena and Marissa might be close, but Helen’s reaction frightened her into silence. However, Helen only became more agitated when Margaret took Elena’s side.
‘What about me…?’
So far Helen had tried to ignore Elena as much as possible, but she felt like her head was about to erupt. She hated when people compared them because they had blonde hair, but today the comparisons stood out even more because they wore the same color of dress.
Of course, Helen’s dress was far more beautiful, but it wasn’t all. There was an overall harmony in Elena’s beauty. And Helen didn’t want to admit it. All she could think of was that Elena wore the same color of dress on purpose to embarrass her. It was impossible for Elena to know, but that didn’t matter to Helen. She was insulted. She couldn’t forgive.
Helen had a sword hidden in her smile, and Sarah attempted to get on her good side yet again.
“What lesson should we teach her?”
“Why don’t we try this?”
