For a commoner living in the city, if a few people around them spoke ill of them, they could simply ignore it. But in the world of the nobility, reputation was as vital as life itself.
It was on that reputation that friendships were formed, marriage proposals were exchanged, money was entrusted, and careers were built.
*Unlike what people think, Lynnia is actually quite perceptive. Even though she knows nothing of the language or physiology of high society, she knows she is being looked down upon, and she knows that her reputation is important. That is why she is driven to the brink of madness.*
She wanted to do well, but she didn’t know how.
There was no one around to help her.
She had to navigate this all by herself, unsure if she was right or wrong, and she was terrified that her mistakes might bring shame upon her brother as well.
Edel felt like she understood Lynnia’s heart.
“So, who is going to go?”
Just as the sound of objects being smashed on the second floor began to subside, Marsha asked, looking around at everyone with an annoyed expression.
Edel found Marsha’s attitude repulsive—the way she usually acted as if she were Lynnia’s dedicated maid, yet tried to use others as scapegoats the moment trouble arose.
So, when everyone kept their mouths shut and silently stepped back, Edel stepped forward.
“If you will allow it, I will go.”
Marsha’s eyes narrowed. Her look suggested she was wondering what trick Edel was up to.
Edel calmly stated her reason.
“Given the events of the past, the young lady won’t hit me. But if anyone else goes in, there’s no guarantee what might happen.”
At those words, Daisy and Salia, who were standing nearby, gently tugged at the hem of Edel’s skirt. However, after giving their hands a short, firm squeeze, Edel looked back at Marsha.
Marsha seemed unsettled, but she couldn’t send anyone else in this situation. If the person she sent in her place came back beaten, the resentment would fall on her.
“If you’re that confident, get in there and clean it up quickly!”
Even though Edel had offered to solve her troublesome problem, Marsha acted as if she were doing her a favor.
Edel gathered a broom, a dustpan, a trash bin, and a rag, then headed toward Lynnia’s room.
By the time she knocked on the door, she could hear sobbing from within.
“My lady, it is Edel. I am coming in.”
After announcing herself in the calmest and most steady voice possible, Edel quietly entered the room.
The sight that greeted her was a disaster.
Candlesticks that had been adorned with crystal beads, replicas of famous sculptures, and exotic ceramic vases were all smashed and scattered across the floor, and the dresses that had been hanging in the closet were thrown everywhere.
Lynnia was slumped over her vanity, crying.
Edel began to clean the room without a word.
She carefully dusted off the dresses—dresses that were incredibly flashy but completely mismatched to Lynnia’s charm—and hung them on the back of a long sofa, then swept up the glass shards scattered everywhere.
The *swish, swish* of the broom continued for a while, and just as Edel thought she heard a faint voice from Lynnia, she stopped sweeping.
“…They told me to come tomorrow, too. They said I must come and grace them with my presence.”
Lynnia sniffled.
“They really are horrible, nasty things. They look down on me, they mock me. And yet, they never tease me to my face, do they?”
Edel nodded.
It was a natural occurrence in aristocratic society, but to Lynnia, who had lived as a commoner, it must have felt like an act of cowardice.
*If they had insulted me to my face, I could have grabbed them by the hair, at least.*
“You must have had a very difficult time.”
“…Yes.”
Lynnia barely managed to get out that one word before she began to cry again.
Edel sighed softly and went back to sweeping. First and foremost, she needed to clear away all the dangerous shards so that Lynnia wouldn’t get hurt.
After sweeping up the glass, she wiped up the water that had spilled from the broken pitchers.
The large trash bin she had brought was soon filled with fragments and flowers that hadn’t even withered yet.
Only after things were tidied up did Edel approach Lynnia and speak carefully.
“My lady. For now, you must wash up and rest.”
“No. If I wash up and go to sleep, I have to go there again when I wake up. I don’t want to.”
Lynnia’s despair was as vivid as if it were tangible.
Edel gently gripped Lynnia’s shoulders.
“If you don’t go, they will talk behind your back even more. An excuse about being sick won’t work. Even if it’s hard, you must go and act as if nothing is wrong, and face them.”
“Why? Why must I do something like that?”
“Why have you been doing it until now, my lady?”
At the unexpected question, Lynnia bit her lip.
Just as the maids whispered, this was not the first time she had returned home after being humiliated.
However, Lynnia had continued to attend the parties she was invited to, returning hurt again and again.
There was only one reason.
“Because I was afraid my brother would be insulted because of me.”
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, her voice trembling.
“But now… I feel like my brother will be insulted even if I attend. No matter what I do, people look down on me and mock me. What on earth do they want me to do?”
Edel stroked her back.
Lynnia, whom everyone pointed fingers at, calling her immature and hysterical, was actually a fragile young lady who loved her brother deeply.
“First, you must set your reputation to ‘zero’.”
“Set it to zero? How do I do that?”
“Go to the party tomorrow and sit there as if nothing happened. Listen to what others are saying, nod lightly, drink a little tea, and then return at an appropriate time. If someone asks for a dance, you may dance, but don’t say much while on the floor.”
“And?”
Urgency laced Lynnia’s voice.
“Offer a polite greeting to the hostess, Viscountess Emerson. Do not show any sign that you are dwelling on today’s events. That is all you need to do tomorrow.”
Lynnia, who had been keeping her eyes tightly shut, finally nodded after a long silence.
Edel knew that it had taken a great deal of courage to make that decision.
“All right. I will do that.”
“To make sure your face isn’t swollen tomorrow, you need to bathe in warm water with scented oil and then get a good night’s sleep.”
Lynnia nodded again.
Edel pulled the bell rope to call for Marsha.
Marsha seemed quite surprised to see Lynnia sitting quietly beside Edel.
“The young lady wishes to wash up. Marsha, please help her. I will finish cleaning the room.”
Lynnia stood up and followed Marsha without a word, her strength seemingly drained away. Even as she exited, Marsha kept looking back at Edel with a gaze of pure shock.
Left alone, Edel separated the dresses she had draped on the sofa, hanging the damp ones separately and dusting off the others before putting them back in the closet.
Then, she examined Lynnia’s closet carefully.
*If she walks around wearing dresses like these, it is a perfect invitation for gossip.*
Whether it was because she wanted to emphasize their expense or simply because she liked gaudy things, most of Lynnia’s dresses were heavily decorated.
There were ribbons, ruffles, and lace, not to mention all sorts of cheap jewelry hanging off them.
But if one looked closely, the quality was poor. It was clear that someone had deliberately tried to deceive Lynnia by mixing good materials with cheap ones.
Edel searched through the wardrobe and pulled out one that, at the very least, would suit Lynnia.
*Lynnia is tall and has a sturdy frame, so something like this would actually suit her better.*
The dress she chose was a simple, pale green muslin evening dress.
It exposed only a little of her shoulders and wasn’t overly revealing in the front; it was trimmed with modest lace of the same color at the shoulders and chest—there were no other decorations. However, the fabric was of genuine quality. Anyone with a discerning eye would immediately recognize it as high-grade muslin.
Unlike the other dresses that seemed to be struggling to look cute or provocative, this design was elegant and mature.
*I don’t know who picked this out for her, but I’m glad it at least exists.*
Edel placed the dress on the tea table and opened Lynnia’s jewelry box.
She could be falsely accused of theft if she weren’t careful, but she wasn’t afraid.
*Hmm… if I remove a few of these, the quality of the jewelry isn’t actually that bad.*
Hoping that she hadn’t been swindled too badly, she took out a necklace made of teardrop-shaped emeralds.
The emeralds toward the front were decent in both color and clarity, and at four or five carats, they wouldn’t be a target for criticism.
She placed the necklace into an empty jewelry case and set it atop the dress.
‘Will she be angry that I overstepped my bounds?’
But for Edel, she wanted to help Lynnia Krissus in any way she could.
Hoping Lynnia would understand her sincerity, Edel pulled the trash bin and left the room.
* * *
‘What should I do…?’
Unable to put an end to the worries that had persisted since last night, Lynnia stared at the dress and necklace on the tea table for the umpteenth time.
When she had returned after her bath the night before, she had found a dress she had completely forgotten about, along with a necklace she had never particularly favored, resting on the tea table.
It was clearly something Edel had done.
‘Why did I have to go and blubber in front of that woman yesterday?’
Lynnia regretted the previous night, still embarrassed whenever she thought about it.
However, it was true that Edel’s calm voice had been a great source of comfort.