Chapter 37
#37
“Hello, Miss Kate.”
“Bianca! Thank you so much for coming!”
Kate’s face, beaming as she greeted me, seemed to spell out ‘welcome.’
“Oh my! Bianca, you look beautiful as always. I’ve never seen anyone pull off such a vibrant red so well in my life.”
As I had expected, the Countess of Cornwall started the conversation by complimenting my dress.
The flamboyant cocktail dress was eye-catching to the point where it was impossible to ignore. That was precisely why I had chosen it.
It was meant to remind them not to forget that I was here, that I was having tea with them.
“You look absolutely splendid today, Kate. You’ve perfectly captured the sweet, creamy atmosphere befitting the hostess of a tea party. I especially adore the yellow rose on your chest.”
As I offered a compliment to her in her subtle cream-colored dress, Kate’s smile grew even brighter.
“Panya.”
Calling out to Panya, who was following behind, she brought forward the large box she was carrying.
“It’s a small gift compared to the hospitality you’ve shown, Kate.”
“Oh my, what is this?”
At Kate’s words, Panya, as if she had been waiting for it, pushed the box a little closer to Kate.
“You can pull it from here.”
Having already opened the box once, Panya skillfully found the end of the ribbon and placed it in Kate’s hand.
“Oh my, how lovely!”
Kate exclaimed as she untied the ribbon and opened the box.
Inside the box were colorful, pretty cupcakes.
“Oh my, aren’t these the cupcakes from Angela Confectionery that are all the rage these days?”
“Yes, they are.”
“I heard you have to order them at least three days in advance to get them. Did you order and buy them yourself, Bianca?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my!”
It was just cupcakes, but Kate seemed touched by the fact that I had ‘personally’ made a reservation ‘in advance’ a few days ago for the ‘trendy’ cupcakes, just for today.
Of course, that was exactly what I intended.
There was no need to tell her that a box of cupcakes with the exact same composition as the one Kate received had already arrived at Panya’s house this morning, and her younger siblings had tasted them even sooner.
“Come on in. The others arrived a little while ago and are waiting.”
“Oh my, am I late?”
“Not at all! Everyone came early to wait for you, Bianca.”
It was a rather backwards way of putting it, but neither I nor Kate paid it any mind.
“Welcome, Bianca!”
“You look beautiful today.”
“Oh my, that dress! Is that the new release?”
And as I followed Kate to the place where the tea party was to be held, everyone was indeed waiting for me, as she had said, and they rushed to greet me.
“Please, have a seat.”
Kate offered me the seat next to her. It was a good spot to admire the beautifully blooming flowers in the garden through the large window.
As I sat down, I could feel the young ladies on either side of me subtly leaning closer.
I gave them a light smile and waited for the maid to pour the tea.
“They’re really blooming vibrantly.”
As I spoke to Kate, everyone looked out at the garden.
The Viscount's daughter sitting across from me, whose name I couldn't recall, had to twist her body almost completely backwards to look at them uncomfortably.
“Oh my, why is everyone looking outside? I was talking about the radiant and beautiful young ladies gathered here.”
I threw in a rather cheeky joke and quietly lifted the teacup the maid had poured for me.
“Oh my, Bianca!”
“Goodness! How can she make even jokes sound so pleasant?”
“You’re so witty, Bianca.”
No woman disliked being called beautiful.
The young ladies, having been told they were as radiant and beautiful as flowers, giggled, and the atmosphere became even more convivial.
The topic naturally shifted to compliments about each other and trendy dresses or skincare routines, and I listened to their stories with a smile.
To be honest, it was boring.
I preferred to set the trends, not follow them.
As for skincare, I was already using what worked for me, so unless it was a groundbreaking method, I declined.
I was smiling and chiming in appropriately, thanks to the social skills I had honed over the years, but in reality, I was bored.
The stories about the latest designers and the debate over whether one should brush their hair five hundred times before bed, or if that was too much and three hundred was more appropriate, were meaningless.
The same went for whether it was prettier to wear a ribbon or a flower in one's hair. You just had to choose what suited the outfit of the day.
‘What is Lara doing right now?’
Eventually, my mind started to wander.
‘I need to finish this quickly so I can go to the orphanage. When will this chatter end? At least two hours….’
“…that’s what I think. Don’t you agree, Bianca?”
Suddenly, my name reached my ears, and I snapped my attention back to the tea party.
Kate was asking for my agreement, but having not been listening at all, I had no idea what she had been talking about.
“Ah….”
But I couldn’t say that I hadn’t been listening and didn’t know what she had been talking about, so please tell me again.
That would be rude.
“While I don’t agree with everything, I mostly agree with what you said, Kate.”
I answered with a natural smile.
The moment I said I didn’t agree with everything, a hint of disappointment flashed across Kate’s face, but as soon as I said I mostly agreed, her face lit up with a triumphant smile again.
“I knew it! I knew you’d think so too, Bianca.”
Kate smiled and looked at the other young ladies, who nodded along with her, smiling as well.
I didn’t know what it was, but they seemed to have already agreed with what Kate had said.
The young ladies gathered around the table all wore radiant smiles.
I had no idea that there was something wrong with those smiles.
Not at this time, anyway.
***
“Ah….”
That was what I said the moment I arrived at the orphanage and got out of the carriage.
Inside the carriage, cupcakes and cookies that I had personally ordered from the confectionery were piled high.
In fact, the Cornwall tea party was just a bonus. The reason I had ordered from the confectionery in advance was because I wanted the children to eat delicious, high-quality pastries.
According to the original plan, I was supposed to get out of the carriage and be greeted by Lara’s hug, and then show her the surprise gift.
And then I was going to call the children together and put cupcakes and cookies in each of their hands.
Of course, the children would be overjoyed and show me bright smiles, and I, in turn, would be compensated for the difficult time I had at the tea party by seeing those smiles.
“Peter, run!”
“Nicole! Peter is chasing after you!”
“Eek! I’m going to get caught!”
“Ah, be quiet! Maria is ‘it’ now!”
“Hey, you just gave it away! Maria noticed!”
Even when I got out of the carriage, no one paid attention to me. No, it seemed like they didn’t even know I had arrived.
Under the blue sky, the children, sitting in a circle on the lawn on one side of the yard, were laughing and giggling as if they were having a great time, playing some kind of game.
And among the children who looked so happy, there were also two adults.
Maria and Ricardo.
Maria giggled and circled around the children, placing something she was holding behind Lara. Then the children nearby burst into laughter.
Lara looked at the laughing children and giggled along. I couldn’t understand what was making Lara laugh, or why the children were laughing.
Maria, who had circled around once, suddenly grabbed Lara and lifted her up, spinning her around in place. At first, Lara was startled, but soon she burst into laughter.
She seemed to be having a lot of fun. Lara and Maria both.
And Ricardo, who was clapping along with the children from across the way, was also smiling gently.
I, who couldn’t understand what was going on, was the only one who couldn’t smile.
“Oh my, Bianca!”
Maria was the first to notice me.
She had been spinning Lara around so vigorously that the child’s legs were stretched out in the air due to centrifugal force, but then she made eye contact with me.
“Ah! Young lady!”
Maria put Lara down on the ground, and only then did Lara notice me as well.
“Wow! It’s the Young lady~.”
The child was a little dizzy and staggered, but she managed to run towards me. Seeing Lara, who always hugged my skirt, a smile finally bloomed on my face.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes!”
“Are you studying hard?”
“Um……. Well…….”
This time, I didn’t get the same energetic answer as before.
“Studying is too hard.”
Lara’s slightly dejected voice followed.
“Studying is always a little hard. But you’ll be able to do it if you work hard.”
“Playing is fun, though.”
Lara muttered, pouting her slightly protruding lips.
“Hello, Bianca.”
Maria, who seemed to have been running around with the children a moment ago, approached me with a few beads of sweat on her forehead.
“Hello, Maria.”
“What brings you here?”
I suddenly felt a little displeased by Maria’s voice, as if she were the owner of this place and I were a stranger asking for business.
“What brings you here, Maria? This is one of the places I sponsor.”
“Yes, I know. I heard that the last charity ball was to support this place, and I became curious. So I came to visit and became friends with the children.”
I couldn’t find any malice in Maria’s brightly smiling face. Rather, her face was full of pure goodwill.
“You’re really amazing, Bianca. I heard that nobles usually just donate money and hardly ever visit, but you really do visit often.”
Her sparkling eyes were filled with nothing but respect, awe, and admiration for me. I knew it too.
But I couldn’t understand why Maria’s words and gaze made me feel bad.
As Maria was talking, I felt a lingering gaze over her shoulder, and when I glanced in that direction, I saw Ricardo looking at me.
For a moment, I started to get confused.
Was Ricardo looking at Maria, or at me?
