Viscountess Camille Emerson—known before her marriage as the Baron’s daughter Camille Arlet—was quite popular for her beauty and her lively, cheerful personality.
Her parties were said to be as fun and entertaining as she was, but the reason Edel had never attended was that the “fun” was far too often achieved by making a fool out of someone else.
“I’ve heard of Viscountess Emerson a few times. She’s known for being outgoing and fond of making friends, isn’t she?”
“Really? Then do you think I could be her friend, too? She’s still quite young.”
It seemed Lynnia had already taken a liking to Camille. Or perhaps she thought that becoming friends with a prominent socialite might improve her own standing.
Worrying about how to distance Lynnia from Camille without hurting her feelings, Edel spoke as carefully as possible.
“……I think it would be best to observe from a distance until a third invitation is extended. I hear the period leading up to the second meeting is essentially a time for people to vet one another.”
“Oh, really? I’m glad I asked you. I was just about to get all excited and try to act like we were already close.”
Edel felt a pang of pity for Lynnia, who tried to mask her embarrassment with a laugh.
‘How desperate for a single friend must Lynnia be right now? The reason she keeps getting ridiculed at parties must be due to that very impatience.’
In any case, since it seemed she hadn’t aroused Lynnia’s suspicion, she needed to retreat before she caught Marsha’s eye.
“Cultivating true friendship requires giving it sufficient time. I’m glad you seem to be doing well, My Lady. Now, if you’ll excuse me…….”
“Ah, wait.”
“Yes?”
Her heart skipped a beat again.
However, even after calling Edel, Lynnia avoided her gaze for a long time before muttering in a very small voice.
“If…… if you have time…….”
“Pardon? I’m sorry, My Lady, I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“No, it’s nothing! You may go.”
With that, she abruptly turned on her heel and hurried into her room.
‘What was that……?’
Edel tilted her head in confusion before leaving the area. Right now, she had to pay more attention to Marsha than to Lynnia.
* * *
‘A little star that shines everywhere.’
‘Proof that beauty and playfulness can coexist.’
‘The greatest party host in the Piphera Empire.’
All of these were praises aimed at Viscountess Camille Emerson. She intended to maintain that reputation this year as well.
“Is there any problem?”
Camille, standing with her arms spread so the maids could properly arrange her dress, asked the head housekeeper who had entered quietly.
“None at all, My Lady. The guests have begun to arrive, and we have seated them in their pre-assigned spots.”
“Good, good.”
She smiled brightly, catching her reflection in the mirror, adorned in shimmering jewelry and a gown.
“My party will be the most fun again this year.”
Since her marriage, every early March, when the dreary winter faded and spring began, Camille hosted a three-day party. Her birthday was March 3rd, her husband the Viscount’s birthday was March 4th, and since everyone hosted tea parties, big or small, in early March, she had combined it all into a three-day event.
For several years now, that party had never lost the title of ‘The Best Party.’
“My Lady. Miss Angela Bliss has arrived. Shall I bring her here?”
“Oh my, Angela is here! Yes, bring her in.”
Having finished her preparations, Camille welcomed her cousin and close friend, Angela, with open arms. Angela, with her red hair and gold eyes, was a young lady who received many romantic overtures from men thanks to her voluptuous figure and striking looks.
That was why Camille, who was obsessed with her popularity in high society, always kept her close.
“Welcome, Angela!”
“It’s been a while, Camille.”
The two were a perfect match in taste and thinking.
“The party decorations this year are truly stunning! How on earth did you come up with such an idea?”
“Thank you for the compliment, Angela. But it’s too early to be surprised. I’ve prepared so many more wonderful things, so please enjoy them to the fullest over these three days.”
“Give me a hint about what you’ve prepared, so I won’t be too surprised.”
At Angela’s cute coaxing, the corners of Camille’s eyes crinkled further.
“Then shall I tell you one thing? Angela, do you happen to know Lynnia Krissus?”
“Lynnia…… Oh my! Don’t tell me, the younger sister of that mercenary-turned-Count?”
“That’s right. She’s going to make the evening quite entertaining.”
Up until that point, Angela had no idea what Camille had planned. She simply found it unpleasant that Lynnia, a commoner by birth, was attending a party of Camille’s, where invitations were said to be hard to come by.
However, when Lynnia Krissus appeared that afternoon, Angela realized anew that Camille was truly a magnificent party host.
“Goodness, what is that? Is she really a noble?”
“Leave her be. She’s of commoner stock; what would she know?”
“It’s embarrassing just to look at her. How could she…….”
A low stir rose around Lynnia.
Camille had specifically arranged Lynnia’s seat in the middle of a group of noblewomen who enjoyed critiquing others. Lynnia had arrived wearing heavy makeup, strange hair ornaments, and a dress more suited for a courtesan—just as she always did.
“Camille, is this what you were talking about?”
“Pfft! What do you think? That girl lived vulgarly on the money her mercenary brother brought in, but she keeps pretending to be a noble, so I decided to take this opportunity to make her realize she doesn’t fit into noble society.”
Camille, who found Lynnia—who kept showing her face at every party—an eyesore, had sent her an invitation with the firm intention of embarrassing her. At a tea party a few months ago, she had played along politely to probe Lynnia, but once she realized the girl was a clueless novice, she marked her as a sacrifice for today’s entertainment.
And today, Lynnia appeared exactly as expected, allowing everyone to enjoy the pleasure of ‘shared disgust.’
“But the influence of Count Krissus is significant…… will this be alright?”
“Count Krissus has no interest in his sister. She’s in that state and doesn’t even have a governess; that says it all. It seems he just threw some money at her ever since he started his mercenary work.”
“Uneducated lower-class people rising to wealth, muddying the waters of high society…….”
“Who could deny it? Just watch. She’ll suffer this humiliation and still continue to attend parties without fail.”
At Camille’s words, Angela shook her head.
Lynnia, panicked because no one would speak to her, was only sipping her tea, seemingly unaware of what she had done wrong. That must be why she kept attending the parties.
“Will she be a toy for us tomorrow and the day after as well?”
“Who knows. Once we chew her up today, the sweetness will be gone, so from tomorrow on she’ll probably just stay tucked away in a corner. But don’t worry. Tomorrow, tomorrow’s entertainment will appear.”
To them, Lynnia was nothing more than a disposable item.
Though, the moment she stepped into her carriage, Lynnia, who had done nothing but listen to the mockery and sarcasm clearly directed at her until she left for home that day, burst into tears.
* * *
Today was the party of Viscountess Emerson, the event Lynnia had been looking forward to so much.
However, Edel worried about Lynnia, who had left early that morning after bustling about with her preparations. To be honest, her appearance, styled with Marsha’s help, was nothing short of horrific.
‘If only I could have helped with her styling…….’
But Marsha would never relinquish that position, which occasionally allowed her to obtain nice things. And as a mere kitchen maid, Edel couldn’t exactly offer to help the lady of the house with her dress.
In the end, perhaps as expected, Lynnia returned home earlier than anticipated. And for the first time in a while, she threw a massive tantrum.
“Hey! Who put this here?”
The moment Lynnia shouted, throwing the fireplace poker that had always been in that spot, the mansion’s servants tensed up.
“It’s almost March, yet you still have the winter decorations up? What will others think if they see this? Take them down at once!”
“And what is this? There’s dust on the windowsill! Do you lot not work unless I nag you?”
“Marsha! When on earth are you going to hire a gardener? Flowers are already blooming in the gardens of other houses!”
She fumed, criticizing everything from the dust that was barely visible to the hiring process, which Marsha didn’t even have the authority to manage. Even Marsha, who usually tried to soothe and cajole Lynnia, looked at her with a weary face, as if she couldn’t take the noise anymore.
After hearing the scream, everyone could only gulp down their dry saliva.
Perhaps her throat hurt from shouting at the servants, as Lynnia had retreated into her room and begun smashing things. At the sounds of crashing, banging, and thudding coming from the second floor, the maids began to exchange glances. Someone would eventually have to enter that hell and clean up what Lynnia had destroyed.
“Haa, this is driving me crazy.”
“Tell me about it. Why is she like that again today?”
“Who knows? Probably embarrassed herself at the party again.”
“It’s not like it’s been one or two days; can’t she just get used to it by now? Why take her anger out on us innocent people?”
Listening to the maids’ disgruntled complaints, Edel felt her heart ache.
*’As if one could ever get used to that…’*