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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Garden Party (1)
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In the old days, people would pour tea into their saucers to cool it before drinking, but that custom had long since vanished. Now, drinking tea from a saucer would only make one a laughingstock.
Ariana, who had never learned such things nor had the opportunity to, believed Victoria's words implicitly.
At her very first garden party, a nervous Ariana poured tea into her saucer and drank it with loud slurps, making a spectacle of herself and enduring public humiliation before the assembled nobles.
The ladies and young ladies harshly criticized Ariana, the second ducal daughter, for her lack of manners, while Rachel feigned embarrassment and said,
"That child has a tendency to act as she pleases, claiming to be of the Eastern Duke's bloodline. No matter how many governesses we assign, she refuses to learn. It must be my own failing."
Beside her, Victoria, looking as if on the verge of tears, pleaded with Ariana.
"Sister, couldn't you have held back, just for today? Normally, I would tolerate anything. Please?"
Ariana was instantly branded as someone who flaunted her Eastern Duke lineage, acted arbitrarily, and mistreated her younger sister, yet she couldn't even offer a defense.
Unable to bear the cold, accusatory gazes directed at her, her face flushed crimson, and she burst into tears.
"She's already sixteen, yet she still cries and throws tantrums like this. I truly don't know how to teach her..."
"It's not Mother's fault. Ariana acts as she pleases, claiming to be the Princess of the Eastern Territory. If Ariana refuses to listen to Mother, what can Mother possibly do?"
Helena, too, seized the opportunity.
The three women swiftly painted Ariana as a tyrant of the Bronte Ducal household.
Alone in that place with no one on her side, Ariana could do nothing but weep.
‘How foolish I was. There's so much I can do, even without anyone on my side.’
After learning the proper etiquette for drinking hot tea from Victoria and leaving the room, Ariana's face was devoid of expression.
Ariana walked down the corridor and gazed at the large greenhouse visible in the distance through the window.
The servants were busy decorating the greenhouse where tomorrow's party would be held.
Helena and Victoria must be eagerly anticipating tomorrow's party.
A faint smile touched the corners of Ariana's lips.
‘I'm looking forward to it too. Tomorrow's party.’
***
On a particularly cold afternoon in February of Rattan 210.
Carriages carrying nobles gathered at the Bronte Ducal Estate in Weston City, West Territory.
Among them were several exceptionally ornate carriages, all belonging to nobles from the Imperial Capital of Camellia.
Isaac, watching the carriages arrive from a tree near the estate's main gate, remarked,
"Rachel is desperate to establish good connections for her daughters. It must have cost a pretty penny."
Cyrus observed the figures alighting from the carriages.
Some of them must have deep ties to the Western Duke. Perhaps they even played a hand in that past incident.
Isaac turned to Cyrus with playful eyes.
"If you were to appear at that party, everyone's expressions would be a sight to behold. What do you say? Any interest in attending?"
"You want me to do something so troublesome for your amusement?"
"It's good, isn't it? Sacrificing yourself for a friend. Women would faint dead away if they saw you. The Bronte's first ducal daughter might even collapse in a fit."
Isaac knew that Helena admired Cyrus to the extent of hanging his portrait in her room.
Cyrus replied coldly.
"I truly have no desire to see that."
"By the way, I saw maids, under the first ducal daughter's orders, carrying a lot of things towards the second ducal daughter's room. Aren't you going to check it out?"
Cyrus furrowed his brow.
"Why should I go there?"
"You want to help that child, don't you?"
"Me?"
Cyrus's eyes turned chillingly cold.
"Yes, you."
"The time may come when I can use her, but I have no intention of playing nursemaid."
"Ah-ha."
Isaac gave him a look of disbelief, but Cyrus ignored it.
While the two men observed the faces of the nobles, Ariana was being primped by the maids.
"Young Lady Helena told us to give this as a gift... to you."
The maids spoke brusquely, in a tone that was neither formal nor informal, and carelessly dropped the boxes containing the dresses and accessories they had brought into the cramped room.
They moved without asking for Ariana's permission.
They roughly combed Ariana's hair with the brush they had brought, changed her clothes, and applied her makeup.
Ariana stood still before the mirror, letting them do as they pleased.
Ariana watched with amusement as her reflection in the mirror gradually transformed.
Her voluminous sky-blue hair was braided into pigtails like a child's, and a darker shade of powder than her original fair skin made her complexion appear dark. Her eyebrows were drawn too thickly, her eyelids were painted red, and her cheeks were heavily rouged with pink powder.
When the makeup was finished, her face looked gaudy and unsophisticated, with makeup too heavy for her age.
The dress was a flashy yellow, something even a child wouldn't wear, completely covering her neck and arms. The petticoat underneath was so wide that she looked like a child trying too hard to be fashionable.
‘They're Helena's maids, but Victoria must have been the one who ordered this.’
Victoria was always like that.
She always kept a step back, using others to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. Even at her young age, she knew how to manipulate and control those around her.
This time, too, if Ariana's attire became an issue, Victoria would likely retreat, claiming, 'It was Helena's maids who did it.' Of course, what they did to Ariana had never caused any trouble before.
After finishing the makeup, the maids picked up the accessories.
"I'll do it."
When Ariana, who had not spoken a single word until then, opened her mouth, the maids flinched.
Ariana gave the maids a cold look and repeated,
"I'll do it myself, so you may leave."
The maids were flustered. Although Ariana was the second ducal daughter, she had never used such a tone with the servants before.
The maids were offended by Ariana's sudden change in demeanor, as she had always been deferential even to the servants.
"Young Lady Victoria entrusted this task to us."
"I believe you are Young Lady Helena's maids."
At Ariana's pointed remark, the maids exchanged glances.
"Young Lady Helena and Young Lady Victoria gave us instructions together. There's no time, so please let us put this necklace on quickly..."
"How impudent. I told you I would do it myself. How many times must I repeat myself before you listen to your mistress?"
Ariana's calm voice froze the air.
Only then did the maids remember that Ariana was also a ducal daughter of the Bronte family.
Because everyone in the Bronte family abused Ariana, and Ariana herself never got angry even when treated that way, the servants had naturally disregarded her. Ariana was someone who could be treated like that.
But the Ariana before the maids' eyes now was different. Despite her unsophisticated hairstyle and childish dress, an inexplicable aura emanated from Ariana.
A dignity that neither Helena nor Victoria possessed, let alone Rachel, the Western Duke's daughter and the Duchess.
A poise Ariana had acquired through blood and tears in her previous life, in order to become a "useful" being.
The force of her presence made the maids instinctively bow their heads, unable to even swallow dryly.
Ariana stared at them coldly and said,
"Should I call someone to have you whipped before you listen to me?"
"Oh, no, not at all. But Young Lady, Young Lady Victoria told us to bring you right away..."
The maid's attitude changed, but Ariana's expression did not soften.
"Do you think I don't know the way to the garden?"
"That's not it..."
"I'll go by myself, so you may leave."
The maids exchanged glances and then exited Ariana's room.
Ariana knew they would be waiting in the corridor, but she did not rush.
Ariana checked her reflection in the mirror, gave a small laugh, and then took off the dress she was wearing. Although tacky, it was made of good fabric, so she rubbed it on her face to wipe off her makeup.
After changing into her original shabby maid's uniform, she checked the accessory box.
It was filled with expensive accessories, even if they were out of fashion. Helena and Victoria probably wouldn't even remember what accessories they had put in this box.
Ariana picked out a few of the most valuable-looking accessories and tucked them deep into her desk drawer.
Before leaving the room, Ariana checked her appearance in the mirror.
‘I must do this well. I must make sure that person clearly understands my current situation. This is the last thing I can do in this mansion.’
Ariana needed to make someone attending the party aware of her plight.
Duchess Juliana Robenta, a noble of the Empire.
The Robenta family was closely associated with the Eastern Duke and held considerable power in the Empire, so even Rachel could not treat Duchess Robenta carelessly.
Of course, there was no guarantee that if she learned of Ariana's situation, she would inform the Eastern Duke. Even if she did, there was no way the Eastern Duke would come to Ariana's rescue.
However, she might serve as a very small thread connecting the Eastern Territory to Ariana. At the very least, when Ariana stood before the Eastern Duke, he would not suspect that she had come under the Western Territory's instruction.
But this was merely a side objective; her true purpose was elsewhere.
‘Today, I will lay the groundwork for my escape from this mansion.’
To make Rachel realize that she could no longer keep Ariana hidden within the estate.
‘I must not be trapped in this mansion again and married off to that dreadful man, as I was before.’
This was a critical moment.
Her actions today would change the future. This might be the last time Ariana could use her knowledge of the future to act.
Therefore, she absolutely had to seize this opportunity.
As expected, the maids were waiting for Ariana in the corridor.
Their eyes widened when they saw Ariana emerge in her original appearance, nullifying an hour of painstaking primping.
"Oh, Young Lady... why are you...?"
Ariana ignored the maid's question and walked on.
The maids hurriedly followed behind Ariana.
"Young Lady, you cannot go out looking like this."
"I always look like this, so what's the problem?"
"Even so... many esteemed guests are here today. Going out like this will cause a great deal of trouble."
Ariana did not slow her pace.
One of the maids grabbed Ariana's arm.
"Young Lady!"
Ariana stopped and turned to face the maid. Her cold, blue eyes moved from the maid's face to the arm that held her.
"How dare you lay hands on my body?"
A chilling voice cut through the air.
Startled by the weighty dignity in that voice, the maid immediately released her hand.
Ariana gazed steadily at the maid and said,
"It would do you well to re-learn how to treat your mistress."
The maid's face contorted.
"And learn how to compose your expression in front of your mistress."
The maids no longer tried to stop Ariana, who had started walking again. They were both flustered and annoyed by Ariana's bold demeanor, so unlike her usual subservient self.
The maids watched Ariana's dignified retreating back and thought,
‘Hmph, let her go and suffer endless shame looking like that.’
