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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: A Scathing Letter and a Sleepover
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‘Still, to think she convinced the Duchess. Not bad.’
With that thought, Serapina's eyes sparkled as she opened the letter.
At that very moment.
‘Wh-what in the world is this?!’
Serapina's lovely face crumpled in an instant.
[To my dear Serapina,
Hello, Serapina.
Have you been well?
The salon is being held today, and I noticed your name wasn't on the guest list.]
This was just… was she trying to mock me?!
Serapina's eyes widened.
[To be honest, I was a little shocked.
I know how fondly you think of me.
So I naturally assumed you would attend the salon, if only for my sake….]
Serapina felt a rage boiling inside her.
But Lalitt's sly letter wasn't over yet.
[There's no way you couldn't get an invitation, so I can only conclude that you care for me that little.
If you truly cared for me, wouldn't you have found a way to come to the salon?]
What kind of nonsense is this!
Serapina gritted her teeth and read the next lines.
[Serapina, until now, I never once doubted that we were true friends.
But seeing your actions today, I must admit I'm having many doubts about our friendship.
I hope you will show a more sincere side next time.
Well then, have a pleasant day.
—Lalitt Ansi]
And so the letter concluded, having thoroughly turned Serapina's stomach inside out.
‘What is this?!’
*Crumple!*
Unable to contain her anger, Serapina crumpled the letter.
Blue veins popped out on the back of the hand that clutched the crumpled paper.
A startled Gregory called out to Serapina.
“Sera?”
“What does it say?”
Baroness Bentner also looked at Serapina, bewildered.
*Oh, no.*
Snapping back to her senses, Serapina hastily composed her expression.
“Ah, it's…”
The problem, however, was that she had nothing to say after that.
*Lalitt mocked me in a letter?*
*...Me, being mocked by the likes of Lalitt?*
“What is it, Sera?”
Gregory pressed on, his face filled with concern.
“No…”
She couldn't control her expression at all.
Serapina covered her face with a slender hand, touching her forehead as she stood up.
“I'm sorry, I suddenly feel a bit stifled… May I get some fresh air?”
“Th-then, I shall escort you…”
“No, I'll be fine on my own.”
Serapina declined Gregory's offer with a bright smile.
Then, she hurried out of the living room.
The empty hallway.
With no need to maintain her composure any longer, Serapina let her face contort with rage.
‘Lalitt, how dare you treat me like this?!’
*Grit.*
The sound of grinding teeth escaped from between her lovely lips.
Serapina, who had been trying to calm herself with a deep breath, soon found her eyes glinting ominously.
‘I won't let you get away with this.’
* * *
The salon concluded with great success.
“This salon was quite wonderful, wasn't it?”
“I agree. It seems a lot of care was put into it.”
In any case, it was highly praised among the guests who attended,
“And the Duchess played her part as hostess splendidly, didn't she?”
“Indeed. I never knew the Duchess could be so mature.”
and naturally, the Duchess's reputation seemed to have risen a little.
Perhaps that was why.
The Duchess wore a radiant smile throughout the entire salon.
A moment later.
“You worked very hard, Lady Ansi.”
The Duchess greeted me with a bright face.
“Not at all, Your Grace. You worked the hardest.”
“What work did I do? I just followed all the advice you gave me, Lady Ansi.”
The Duchess, replying coyly, glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
“So, it's getting late… what are you going to do?”
Huh?
I was a little bewildered.
*What do you mean, what am I going to do? I'm going home, of course.*
The Viscounty of Ansi's townhouse was in the capital, so it was close enough to return by carriage.
“Ah, I already have a carriage waiting. I was planning to return home…”
“You're going home?!”
Upon hearing my answer, the Duchess leaped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
*Wait, what's wrong with going home?*
I stared at the Duchess with the wide eyes of a startled rabbit.
“Ahem.”
At the same time, the Duchess cleared her throat a couple of times and spoke coyly.
“Um, Lady Ansi. Isn't it too late?”
“Is it?”
I peeked out the window.
Although it was getting dark outside, it wasn't so late that I couldn't get back to the townhouse.
To my confusion, the Duchess declared firmly.
“So, you should stay the night.”
“Pardon?”
So suddenly?
The Duchess's cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she raised her voice.
“Th-that…! I've heard of something called a pajama party!”
“Pardon?”
“It's where you sleep in the same room, eat snacks, share secrets, and… that sort of thing, I've heard.”
Having brought it up, the Duchess turned her head away, feigning indifference.
But I saw it.
The tips of her ears were bright red!
“It's something all friends do.”
“A pajama party?”
“It's true. I-It's not that I want to have one or anything!”
The Duchess, feeling flustered, added sternly.
Then she stealthily watched for my reaction.
“…So, are you really going back to the townhouse?”
I tried my best to suppress the laugh that was about to burst out.
With the Duchess going this far, there was no way I could refuse.
*Your Grace, you're just too cute.*
Is this what it feels like to leave a prim little cat at home?
“Of course not.”
I shook my head.
“I'd love to have a pajama party with you, Your Grace.”
At that, the Duchess's face lit up.
“Excellent!”
The excited Duchess chattered on.
“What kind of snacks do you like, Lady Ansi? What drinks should I have them bring? Do you want to play cards with me? I have a chess set, too!”
“Anything is fine, as long as I'm with you, Your Grace.”
At my reply, the Duchess stared at me intently.
Then her lips moved slightly.
“A-Actually.”
“Yes?”
“…wanted to.”
But her voice was so small, I couldn't make out what she was saying…
I looked at the Duchess with a bewildered expression.
“I, I too!”
Then the Duchess squeezed her eyes shut and suddenly raised her voice.
“I wanted to have a pajama party with you, Lady Ansi!”
The Duchess spun around and urged me on again.
“Well, I'll go to the bedroom first! Hurry up and wash, change your clothes, and come. Understood?!”
With those final words,
the Duchess scurried off toward the bedroom.
I watched her retreating back with a stunned look on my face.
*My goodness, Your Grace.*
*What am I supposed to do if you just run off like that?*
Fortunately, the Duchess soon came to her senses and sent a maid for me.
After washing up and changing into a fresh, soft set of pajamas.
I was guided to the bedroom where the Duchess was waiting.
“Ah, you're here.”
The Duchess greeted me coyly.
And so we spent a leisurely evening lounging on the bed.
We played cards, played chess, ate snacks, and were in the middle of some light chatter,
when the Duchess casually broached a topic.
“By the way, Lady Ansi, are you completely uninterested in your… former fiancé now?”
Seeing how she stumbled over the words "former fiancé,"
it seemed the Duchess couldn't even properly recall Gregory's name…
Well, that aside.
“Your Grace, you ask the obvious.”
I said with a straight face.
“If I had even a shred of interest left in him, I wouldn't have sent the annulment papers.”
Even if it was the Duchess, I couldn't stand her linking me with Gregory.
At my uncharacteristically firm attitude, the Duchess nodded in satisfaction.
“Hmph, good. You've finally come to your senses.”
