Chapter 28
It was inevitable.
A vast forest filled with monstrous beasts divided the southern and northern regions of the Cardia Empire, and even high society itself was completely split between the southern and northern social circles.
Perhaps because of that separation, southern women tended to ostracize women from the north.
Overcoming that prejudice became Meriel’s first task as the Duchess of Lucel.
Fortunately, Meriel possessed a powerful weapon: her status. She was making full use of it to build a friendship with Countess Bryce, the queen of southern society.
But Countess Ishpern…?
According to the ladies, Burwood was vast in size but poor in reality, with most of its territory overrun by monsters and rendered unusable.
And from what they had heard, Count Ishpern was indifferent to the management of both his lands and his castle, leaving the estate in a state close to ruin.
Now that they had arrived and seen the Ishpern castle with their own eyes, it looked even more disastrous than expected.
Selma Roderick, another famous figure of southern society, burst into laughter.
“If a mansion’s garden reflects the face of its mistress… then the new Countess Ishpern must be quite the beauty. I simply can’t keep myself from talking about it!”
“Ohohoho!”
“Hohohoho!”
Amid the cacophony of laughter, Meriel reluctantly forced herself to laugh along.
But her mouth tasted bitter.
If Linus hadn’t been a duke, I would’ve been treated like this too.
The thought made even a fake smile difficult to maintain.
As her expression stiffened, Countess Bryce addressed her with exaggerated concern.
“Oh dear, Duchess Lucel. You don’t look well.”
“…My apologies. I think the motion sickness is only catching up to me now.”
“The road here was dreadful, wasn’t it? Honestly, even the only road leading to the castle is in that condition.”
“So the duchess’s nausea is Countess Ishpern’s fault, then. We absolutely must hold her responsible.”
“Oh my, is that how it works? Hohohoho!”
Meriel forced another smile.
No one had yet come out to receive them, so the group remained seated in their carriages, waiting before the castle.
Countess Bryce tapped the carriage window sharply with the end of her fan. A young page appeared between the shutters.
She spoke sharply.
“Why is this taking so long? When exactly are we permitted to leave our carriage? Do they intend to exhaust the duchess further?”
The page looked troubled.
“The butler said he is preparing to receive the guests and will come shortly, milady.”
At his words, Selma Roderick gave an irritated laugh.
“Judging by the state of this castle, I can’t even imagine when those preparations will end.”
“Surely they don’t intend to turn away the Duchess of Lucel after she came all this way?”
“If Countess Ishpern did that, she’d never set foot in southern society again.”
“Oh my, how frightening!”
Once again, Meriel realized something.
If it had been anyone else, Countess Ishpern could have invented some excuse and refused to admit guests into the castle.
But she could never dare do that to a duchess.
The poor countess would have no choice but to receive guests in a castle utterly unprepared for them.
And in the end, these people would expose everything Countess Ishpern wished to hide.
Her humiliation would become their entertainment, spreading throughout southern society, leaving her unable to hold her head high for a long time.
And cruelly enough, the person wielding status as a weapon against Countess Ishpern would be Meriel herself.
This was a trap laid by seasoned socialites for newcomers from the north.
Meriel closed her eyes quietly.
How did I end up pushed onto this stage, forced into such a hateful role?
For Meriel, life had always been a series of stages. And she considered herself a rather excellent actress.
At her family home, the Marquisate of Estrella, she faithfully played the role of the clever daughter. Thanks to that, she became the mistress of one of the Empire’s six great ducal houses: House Lucel.
Now she played the role of the young but wise lady of House Lucel, and in southern society, the role of the noble duchess.
Her perfect life was steadily reaching completion.
Of course, every now and then events like this appeared—as if to test her qualifications.
Today, her assigned role seemed to be that of an enthusiastic accomplice in bullying.
Naturally, she had no intention of avoiding it. After all, when people join forces to push someone outside the circle, those within the circle become most tightly united.
Meriel slowly opened her eyes and spoke.
“…The preparations are taking quite a long time.”
There was tension in her voice, as though she had resolved herself to conflict.
Countess Bryce narrowed her eyes and smiled.
The people inside the circle had joined hands.
Tapping the carriage door again with her fan, Bryce called out loudly,
“Tell them they cannot keep the duchess waiting any longer!”
At that moment—
The carriage door swung open violently.
Like everyone else, Helena possessed a first memory. She had probably been five or six years old.
She was surrounded by noblewomen—likely relatives or acquaintances of the Winston County household.
But what mattered was not who they were.
It was what they whispered.
How could she abandon such a young daughter…
I heard she had an affair.
That’s what happens when you bring a mere dancer into the family.
They were speaking ill of Sandra right in front of Helena.
Helena no longer remembered exactly what she had thought back then, but she remembered the feeling vividly.
She had felt wronged and miserable. She wanted to leap up and run away.
But her pride was too strong to flee in tears.
She swallowed back the sob rising in her throat.
As though shutting off a faucet, she sealed away her tears and gently narrowed her eyes before they could fill.
Then she corrected the trembling shape of her mouth that threatened to cry—
And smiled.
At least in that moment, the smile proved very effective in silencing those women who had been insulting her mother before Sandra’s daughter.
That was when Helena realized:
If tears could become a weapon, then smiles could too.
And so Helena Winston smiled.
“It is an honor to meet the noble ladies of the south.”
As Helena spoke, she resembled a crimson rose blooming vibrantly beneath the harsh midsummer sun.
“But it seems there has been some misunderstanding. As you can plainly see, House Ishpern is not yet prepared to receive guests.”
The woman like a rose smiled like the sun itself.
Before that dazzling smile, Countess Bryce somehow seemed to shrink like a candle before daylight.
Now diminished, Bryce complained petulantly.
“You mean to drive away the duchess after she traveled all this distance, as though she were some unwelcome visitor? Aren’t you worried about the consequences of such behavior?”
At that moment, from within the castle gates came workers’ screams and the thunderous crash of something enormous collapsing, sounding almost as though the castle itself were crumbling.
It was actually a chandelier falling, but to the noblewomen—who did not know that—it sounded like the entire castle was collapsing.
And the commotion was enough to crush the determination of the ladies who had intended to force their way inside somehow.
After the noise subsided, Helena continued speaking calmly, completely unconcerned by the uproar within the castle.
“Of course, I understand that this is discourteous. But I truly wish to form sincere and friendly relationships with all of you.”
Helena Winston descended the stairs one step at a time, her vivid red dress fluttering behind her.
There was not the slightest sign that she feared the consequences, nor any embarrassment over the monstrous state of the castle.
She was utterly dignified.
Smiling brightly, Helena met the eyes of every woman present.
Yet none of them could properly withstand that intense gaze and radiant smile.
Some looked away out of discomfort. Others out of guilty conscience.
And so, at first sight, Meriel Lucel fell for her.
What an interesting woman.
Helena’s eyes met Meriel’s.
Meriel thought:
I considered myself quite a good actress, but you… you’re a true prima donna.
Still holding Meriel’s gaze, Helena said,
“I really don’t wish to receive people who may become dear friends while things are in such disarray.”
At her sides appeared the Ishpern household’s butler and young steward.
The butler spoke.
“There is a villa belonging to House Gliss about an hour away. We shall prepare it so that the duchess may rest there comfortably.”
The young steward added smartly,
“We have also prepared light refreshments for your journey. Please do not hesitate to accept them.”
And in that moment, Meriel realized that everything depended upon her next action.
Well then… what should I do?
