* Thank you for the Kofi, bizzanon. [2 of 2] (⁀ᗢ⁀) *
At first, Rachel had to work harder than usual to fulfill Countess Achille’s teachings in front of the aristocrats, who’d become noisy as people whispered and glanced at her.
“It’s alright, Rachel.”
Mike whispered, then squeezed Rachel’s hand gently.
“You’re doing well, you don’t have to try so hard. It’s okay to make a mistake.”
At the very end of the banquet hall.
Mike walked to the area where the Duke of Oates was standing.
“Father.”
“Rachel, you’re finally here.”
The Duke fixed his eyes on Rachel, despite Mike’s greeting.
“I guess they’re all interested in your appearance, which they’ve only heard rumors about. The banquet hall is quite loud.”
He took a look around the hall.
The Duke’s warning glance kept the people around him quiet, but the hall was still noisy.
“This is your first ball, isn’t this kind of interest uncomfortable?”
“…I’m fine.”
People’s interests.
The murmurs caused Rachel to shrink into herself a little bit, but she shook her head at the Duke’s question.
“You can stay with me if you feel uncomfortable. Then they won’t be able to talk to you.”
“Well, won’t it be much harder to deal with older people?”
Mike shook his head quietly.
If she was by the Duke’s side, she would have no contact with young ladies, instead she would have to deal with those who’d already received their titles.
“I will take good care of Rachel, so Father doesn’t need to worry. We’ll just walk around and say hello for a while.”
“Oh, did Rachel agree to this?”
The Duke looked at Mike disapprovingly. He turned to Rachel immediately.
“Duke Oates.”
With an intense gaze that told her to choose him instead of Mike, Rachel was about to open her mouth when someone spoke to them.
“Introduce your daughter to us that you’ve kept well hidden away.”
“If not today, I don’t know when we’ll see each other again, so I have to say hello.”
Rachel bowed to the noblemen, who were as old as the Duke.
“Good evening, Count Haston. I’m Rachel Oates.”
“You know me. It’s nice to meet you, My Lady.”
Rachel was a little relieved that the aristocrats who approached her treated her more favorably than she thought they would. Thankfully, this situation felt less daunting because of her familiarity with the aristocracy, and because she had Mike by her side.
The Duke and Mike created a situation where she could answer comfortably. If she had a troubling question they would step forward to answer it, or if the conversation dragged on too long, they would cut it off.
Despite their efforts, it took a long time before all the greetings came to an end.
“Father, I’ll be taking Rachel with me. Goodbye.”
Mike led Rachel away again after a brief farewell to the Duke before more people could call out to them.
Rachel bid the Duke a soft farewell before she hurried after Mike.
“Rachel, you only have to greet those who approach us first.”
Mike led Rachel to a quiet place with only a few people, as if to give her a chance to rest. However, when Mike and Rachel stopped walking, some young noblemen and noblewomen walked over.
“Lord Oates, it’s been a long time.”
“It’s been a while.”
At first they greeted Mike and asked how he was doing, but soon their eyes fell on Rachel.
“This is my sister, Rachel Oates.”
“Hello, I’m Baishi, the second son of Count Sinou.”
“Hi, I’m Rachel Oates.”
Rachel said, and Mike smiled quietly as if she’d done well. It made Rachel feel at ease, and she was able to do well, as she recalled what she had learned from Countess Achille.
***
“Good evening, Lady Avery. I’m the second daughter of Viscount Hari.”
Diana entered the banquet hall a little late, glanced at the noblewoman as she approached her, and then slowly stepped back.
For some reason, the atmosphere was different today. Unlike usual, it was a little noisy, and she didn’t know why.
“Lady, Lady Oates came to the banquet today.”
“What? Lady Oates? You mean the adopted daughter, don’t you?”
Diana quickly looked around the banquet hall when she heard the news about Lady Oates.
“There?”
Diana pointed to the corner of the hall where people were gathered.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Diana gave a short click of her tongue.
Were they so preoccupied with the appearance of the new young noblewoman that they couldn’t say hello to her?
“I guess there was a Young Lady of Oates family, wasn’t there? I thought she couldn’t show her face because she was sick or terribly ugly, so why did she come to this banquet?”
“She is really pretty.”
Diana gave a stern look, displeased with the answer she was given.
“She’s nothing more than a pretty face, that’s all. Who are you?”
“Oh, I’m Viscount Hari’s…
“Stop bothering me, get out of here.”
Diana coldly warned off the Viscount’s daughter.
How dare the daughter of a Viscount she’d never heard of address her? Diana glared at her once more, turned her head to the side with a huff, then went in search of a face she was familiar with.
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“Lord Sinou! Baishi!”
“Oh… Lady Avery.”
Diana finally caught him by the arm, glad to finally see someone she knew. However, once he’d confirmed it was Diana, Baishi smiled awkwardly, as if he wasn’t pleased to see her.
“…You’re here.”
“I heard Lady Oates is here.”
Baishi nodded slowly, but his gaze had long since turned away from Diana.
As if he wanted to end the conversation quickly, Baishi turned to another person.
“She didn’t show her face, so I thought she was sick, but that wasn’t the case…”
“Baishi!”
Then another young man called Baishi from afar.
“Oh, I’ll be on my way.”
Baishi gave a small bow to Diana, then immediately moved towards the man who called out to him.
“We’re not done yet. Where are you going?”
However, despite Diana’s cry, Baishi left without looking back.
“Huh? What the heck? Now I feel annoyed.”
Diana slowly looked around the banquet hall. Somehow it seemed like everyone was staring at her.
Diana glared fiercely, looking at the young lords and ladies, who hurried to avoid her gaze. Then she walked towards the place where Lady Oates was.
She wanted to see her first.
“Oh…”
People gave a brief sigh as Diana approached, then they hurried out of her way. They stepped back as if they didn’t want to be involved with her, instead of coming towards her to speak like they would usually do.
Diana gritted her teeth with a small mocking smile for those people.
“Lord Oates.”
“Oh, Lady Avery.”
Diana bowed softly towards Mike, and slowly turned towards Rachel.
“….”
Diana stared at Rachel, and immediately raised the corner of her mouth.
“My Lord, is this the famous adopted daughter?”
“…I’m Rachel Oates.”
“I’m Diana Avery. Can I call you Rachel?”
At Diana’s aggressive approach, Rachel took a half step back, as she looked bewildered.
Mike and Rachel’s shoulders bumped together slightly.
“Lady Avery.”
To Rachel, who was feeling burdened, Mike quietly called out to Diana.
“If you want to be friends, you have to be polite first.”
Mike smiled softly, but his eyes were cold.
“What?”
“Aren’t honorifics the basics of manners used when talking to a stranger?”
“Why? Do you feel bad about me speaking informally?”
Diana looked at Mike for a moment, and then turned towards Rachel.
“Lady Avery.”
“No, I don’t mean any harm by it. I’m just trying to be friendly, I don’t know why my lord is being so sensitive about it.”
Diana complained as if she was being wrongly accused.
“Right now she’s a noble lady, but what was she before she was registered? I don’t even know that, so what honorifics are you talking about?”
At that moment, the smile on Mike’s lips disappeared.
“Also, why haven’t we seen her face for two years? I thought the rumors were true that there was something wrong with her.”
Mike raised an eyebrow at Diana’s rude words.
There was only one reason to mention negative rumors related to Rachel in this situation. It was only to find fault with Rachel, and to prevent her from adapting to noble society.
“Sigh…”
Mike sighed briefly, and pulled Rachel to his side.
“Don’t you know that the Empire was at war for two years? Ah, I wonder if you had more leeway than the other families, since your family cowardly tried to sell out the Empire by stepping back from the war.”
Mike gave a small mocking laugh.
“I didn’t know that Lady Avery would come today. Didn’t you know this was a victory feast?”
“Lord Oates.”
“Ha, aren’t you being impudent?”
Diana looked around as if searching for someone to help her with Mike’s insulting words.
But everyone was chuckling, and no one was willing to stand up for Diana.
“On such a happy day, I don’t want to be in the same place as an Avery, who tried to betray the Empire in a time of crisis. Would you please go back to your seat?”
“Saying that we betrayed the Empire, that’s too much.”
Diana glared at Mike with a flushed face.
“During the war, it was simply not possible to send the family’s knights since they were quelling the civil war that broke out among the Avery landowners.”
“Had the civil war been going on for two years?”
“So, hasn’t my house already taken responsibility for this? I don’t know why you brought this up again.”
“Responsibility? Duke Avery’s misjudgments have tarnished the reputation of the dukedom. Until then, it’s the responsibility of the ducal house.”
Diana glared at Mike, as if she wanted to spit curses at him, then she turned away from him.
Oates had beaten Avery. The hall once more became noisy at this declaration.
None of them were on Avery’s side.
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It was great news for many, who’d been waiting for the fall of the Avery family. Because if the Oates drew the line first like this, they could draw a line against the Averys as well.
***