IBDF 04

Chapter 4

Just how lucky am I today?

‘I was wondering how I’d ever get a chance to meet Seymour, and now it turns out today’s the day we’re visiting Dowager Lady Hayworth.’

She had been worrying about how to approach the dowager lady, only to suddenly receive an invitation to tea!

Of course, this kind of thing wasn’t exactly rare.

Aristocrats loved showing off whenever they did something charitable.

And for the sake of appearances, orphanage children were often unexpectedly invited to tea parties.

‘But Dowager Lady Hayworth isn’t the type to show off.’

Yet somehow—against all expectations—they had really been invited to tea!

Thanks to that, a full-on celebration was happening inside Rowena’s mind.

‘Isn’t today basically the kind of day where everything goes right?’

Though admittedly, the faces of the other children invited to tea looked practically dead.

Still, as long as I’m happy, who cares!

Humming internally, Rowena calmly lifted her teacup.

Though in her head she was singing, dancing, and throwing a full-fledged party, her outward movements remained impeccably elegant.

Naturally.

‘A golden opportunity finally fell into my lap. I can’t ruin it now.’

Visits to patrons’ estates happened, at most, once every season.

Their visit to the Hayworth estate today was only because of the recent Harvest Festival celebration.

Which meant the next visit would likely be at the end of the year, around Christmas at the earliest.

‘But there’s no guarantee I’ll get a better chance next time.’

In other words, this might as well be her first and last opportunity.

That was why Rowena was being twice as careful as usual.

Fortunately, there was one thing in her favor: she was well-versed in tea etiquette, so as long as she avoided mistakes, she didn’t have much to worry about.

At Townsend Orphanage, whose main patrons—and adopters—were high-ranking nobles, children were constantly taught aristocratic manners.

And among them, Rowena had always ranked as one of the top students.

‘Once tea is over, I’ll get my chance to talk to her.’

Silently sipping hot tea, Rowena let her eyes wander.

She hadn’t attended many ladies’ tea gatherings, but the procedure was usually the same.

Especially for a garden tea party like this—after refreshments, the ladies would typically pair up with the children for a stroll.

‘That’s my chance.’

From what she could tell, though the atmosphere looked cheerful on the surface, the children were all stiff with tension.

Most were too scared to even glance at Dowager Lady Hayworth, keeping their eyes firmly glued to their plates instead.

‘So when it’s time for the walk, no one’s going to dare take Lady Hayworth’s arm.’

And that’s when I step in!

Hook arms with her—bam, game over!

‘Hehehe.’

Can things really go this smoothly?

As she hummed inwardly, Rowena’s twin braids swayed softly behind her.

‘Now all that’s left is figuring out how to win Lady Hayworth over.’

Rowena was no foolish child.

Even without memories of her past life, she understood one thing:

If you wanted to ask adults for something, you should only do it when they looked like they’d willingly open their wallets for you.

The problem was—she had no idea how to create that expression.

‘What should I do?’

Just as Rowena, deep in thought, stole another glance at Dowager Lady Hayworth—

“Ah-choo!”

A string of sneezes erupted from a nearby table.

All from the same person.

Martin, a nine-year-old boy.

“Oh dear.”

“My goodness…”

But the real problem wasn’t the sneezing.

The sudden fit caused Martin to spill tea all over himself.

His shirt was instantly soaked.

At least none of it had splashed onto the noblewoman seated beside him.

Still, that didn’t soften the orphanage teachers’ glare.

“H-ha ha… Oh dear, what a mess. My sincerest apologies, my lady. This child has terrible pollen allergies… What are you doing, Martin? Stand up and apologize immediately!”

The teacher practically yanked Martin to his feet by the scruff of his neck.

“Cough… I-I’m sorry…”

“Speak louder! Bow properly!”

The teacher kept pressing on Martin’s waist as if correcting his posture.

Every time, Martin flinched in pain.

She was pinching him mercilessly where no one could see.

Eventually, Martin burst into tears.

“S-sorry… hic… sob…”

“Oh honestly! What are you crying for? Stop crying this instant!”

But Dowager Lady Hayworth raised a hand.

“That’s enough. Leave him be. The child must already be frightened. It pains me to see him cry. Henry, take him somewhere to calm down.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“How generous you are, Dowager Lady. Truly, your heart is so broad… We really shouldn’t bring children with pollen allergies next time. He nearly ruined your tea party.”

As the butler Henry led Martin away, the teacher plastered on a sycophantic smile and continued fawning.

It was smooth flattery worthy of flowing water.

Jenny, seated beside Rowena, lightly tapped her.

Then, beneath the table, she traced a word into Rowena’s palm:

“Blegh.”

She even exchanged a knowing look.

Jenny clearly thought the teacher’s groveling was disgusting.

But Rowena’s attention was elsewhere.

On Dowager Lady Hayworth.

‘Lady Hayworth is usually strict about things like this.’

It wasn’t that she was cruel to children.

But she wasn’t normally the type to say something like “It pains me to see him cry.”

‘And yet she doesn’t seem to be in a good mood either.’

No—in fact…

The more the teacher flattered her—

“No matter if a child has allergies, shouldn’t they at least learn to control themselves? Sneezing and coughing anywhere without regard really is unpleasant to witness. We work so hard to educate the children not to show such unsightly behavior before someone as elegant as you, my lady.”

“Isn’t that rather harsh, considering the children can’t help it? I dislike hearing such things. That’s enough.”

…Her mood seemed to be getting worse?!

‘Come to think of it—when Martin coughed earlier…’

Nobody else seemed to notice, too distracted by everything else.

But Rowena, who had been watching Dowager Lady Hayworth the whole time, had seen something.

She’d been too startled to trust what she saw.

‘But if I’m right…’

This might be a secret only I noticed!

Realization struck, making Rowena’s eyes gleam with excitement.

Meanwhile, the tea party was nearing its end.

Thanks to Martin’s incident—and the increasingly obvious decline in Lady Hayworth’s mood—the atmosphere had grown awkward.

“H-hoho, I heard the spring garden at Hayworth Estate is beautiful. Since the children are here, why don’t we take a stroll together?”

“Oh, what a lovely idea.”

“And the numbers work perfectly—let’s pair up in twos.”

As the noblewomen chimed in, quick-witted children immediately rose from their seats and approached the ladies.

Which meant—

It was time for Rowena to act.

‘Now!’

Quickly standing, Rowena approached Dowager Lady Hayworth.

Then, lifting the edges of her dress, she curtsied flawlessly.

“Dowager Lady Hayworth, would you grant me the honor of learning refinement from you?”

A ripple of gasps spread around them.

“Gasp!”

“R-Rowena…”

Tiny whispers rose among the guests.

Children were never good at hiding emotions.

And tense children were especially transparent.

Freya Hayworth—Dowager Lady Hayworth—narrowed her seasoned eyes.

‘So this is the child who’s been glancing at me all this time.’

She had noticed the furtive looks long ago.

The girl probably thought she was being subtle, but no child could outwit someone of her age and experience.

‘I thought she was afraid of me.’

But coming up to me like this…

Was it actually the opposite?