CH 45

T/N: Translation mistake. It was Alexandra’s entourage that yelled, “Do seriously think such a lie will pass?! There is no way an invitation to this party will be mailed to the daughter of a mere knight!”

The original Japanese text does not use speaker tags for every line of dialog. Understanding the character’s speech patterns is important and unfortunately, Alexandra’s entourage and her both use the same “noblewoman’s” intonations and sentence structure.

The girl smiled and spoke even though she just had grape juice poured over her head.

“Thank you for your consideration, Lady Alexandra,” Floto said. “But, I have an invitation to come here and I am sure that this is the right venue.”

Alexandra was taken aback by the girl saying that so calmly. Normally, at this age, no, even an adult would be shaken by such a thing and would not be able to recover immediately. Even more so than that, it is normal for children to get angry or start crying at such an offense.

Despite this, this girl was neither angry nor panicked, rather, even her damp figure didn’t spoil her dignity in any way.

“Do seriously think such a lie will pass?!” Adele snapped as she barged in. “There is no way an invitation to this party will be mailed to the daughter of a mere knight!”

Her cheeks were a little red after being hit by Alexandra, but she didn’t really strike her that hard, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Alexandra understands what Adele is saying. Certainly, only high-ranking nobles from viscountcies and above should be invited to this venue. Adele’s correct to say that someone who’s only the daughter of a knight’s family shouldn’t be here. All the other members of the entourage and those watching from afar agree with Adele, too.

However… Alexandra got to thinking. If she’s just a daughter of a knight, could she be so proud? Even the most insensitive person should know right away that this place is obviously for people of high status. In such a situation, she doesn’t think there could have ever been the daughter of a knight who can be so dignified.

The same goes for the invitations. Ordinarily, if you receive such outrage and condemnation, wouldn’t you think even just a tad that you might be wrong? Yet this girl never doubted herself. You could say that Floto is just an idiot, but Alexandra had to wonder where she found the conviction to say so while surrounded by so many people.

“Leave that matter for later!” Alexandra snapped. “Instead, let’s go to the waiting room and wipe you down first. You can change into one of my spare dresses…”

And with all those thoughts, Alexandra hurriedly shook her head and remembered what she had to do this instant. She shouldn’t be harassing this girl, but do something about her juice-stained dress, and if this girl is in the wrong venue, Alexandra should hurry her to the right party.

Alexandra grabbed her hand and dragged her to the waiting room, but Floto immediately let go. When Alexandra turned around, she had the same calm smile as before.

“I’ll be fine on my own,” Floto said. “Well then, I’ll head to the waiting room at once. Good day to you.”

Gracefully, gorgeously, the young girl bowed her head and walked out of the hall with firm steps, as if she didn’t care that she was wet with juice on her head and her dress, as well. Alexandra could only see her off in amazement.

Alexandra finally regains her composure and wanders around the villa looking for the girl who escaped her entourage and left the party hall. Of course, this is Alexandra’s first time ever being here, so she doesn’t know anything other than the rooms she was guided to. She wandered around blindly until she came to a place where there were barely any people.

This villa belongs to House Carruthers. If you get into a strange place and cause a scandal with them, the worst-case scenario is that your House will be destroyed.

Of course, Margrave Albert doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would crush a vassal’s house, but he’s someone Alexandra’s never met, and regardless of whether or not Lord Albert is willing to do it, he is still someone who had the power to do so and is terrifying regardless. Alexandra was anxious, but she was walking around in a hurry to find that girl.

“Hold up, you!” Alexandra said. “Even if it’s an emergency, you can’t just walk around on your own in a building owned by House Carruthers!”

“Huh? Is that so?” Floto said.

Through the door at the far end of a deserted hallway, Alexandra saw the girl come out with the old maid she had brought with her to the party. Alexandra hastily approached her and scolds her, but the girl looks puzzled and tilted her head in confusion.

She’s lovely.

No, no, that’s not right. That’s not it.

Almost deceived by this girl’s innocent appearance, Alexandra shakes her head and lets out a sigh. She thought she was wiping down in the guest’s waiting room, but she wasn’t there. If Margrave Carruthers finds her, Alexandra doesn’t know what kind of scolding she will receive.

“‘Is that so?’ is not the right reaction!” Alexandra yelled. “May I? This building was built a long time ago by House Carruthers when they were waging the Third Northern Expansion War…”

Alexandra spoke to the girl who didn’t understand the importance of the situation.

“Are you listening? If I may? At that time, my family, House Lingerburg was…”

“Haa…” Floto went.

Even though Alexandra was trying to explain, Floto only gave her a careless reply. Alexandra remembered that she was trying to get Floto to replace her dress and hurry over to the other party, but she was shocked to see the dress.

“And, ah! You! If I look closely, the stain on your dress is gone, isn’t it?” Alexandra said. “How in the hell did you do that?”

“Ah…, umm, you see…, Isabella, the head maid, helped me remove the stain,” I said.

Isabella is probably the old maid in the back. And yet in such a short time, it’s completely dry with nary a stain despite the limitations of her age.

“I thought it would definitely stain… what kind of method did you use?” Alexandra asked.

“That is……” Isabella started.

It’s nice to say you should take good care of your things, but for House Lingerburg who doesn’t have the money to buy or have new things made, stain removal and washing methods that don’t damage the fabric are important tools. If this old maid teaches her the secret of stain removal, an almost miraculous process it seems, Alexandra may be able to secure dresses that she can wear for years to come.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Tha-That’s Lord Albert! My name is Alexandra von Lingerburg,” Alexandra said.

And in the middle of all this, Alexandra’s most feared situation has come to pass. Of all things, Margrave Albert von Carruthers had caught them intruding in his villa. After Alexandra hastily greeted him, she was nervous and stiff.

“I haven’t heard you plan to use the back room today, Sir Caan?” Albert said.

“I apologize,” Floto replied. “There was a small emergency… and we had to use the private room. Forgive me for reporting after the fact, Lord Carruthers.”

“Hmm… I see… if it’s an emergency, it’s unavoidable, but if something happens, I’d like you to contact me first,” Albert said.

“My apologies,” Floto said. “I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Lord Albert looked at Alexandra, her heart leaped so fast she feared it would rip out of her chest.

“You’re so friendly with Margrave Carruthers…? And you’re called Sir Caan? Sir is for the one who holds the knightly title, isn’t it…?” Alexandra said.

Only adult nobles are called “Sir.” Children of lower-ranking aristocrats are not called “Lords” or “Ladies”. Then that means…

“I am Floto von Caan, a knight of the Royal Guard Division,” Floto said. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Alexandra.”

Floto greeted Alexandra with a knight’s bow, with her hand on her chest. That’s not how a noble daughter greets others, but how an adult knight does.

“… A knight,” Alexandra said. “You’re a knight, not the daughter of one?”

Alexandra wobbled on her feet. As a County, House Lingerburg is superior to the Knight of Caan. However, that was comparing Lingerburg’s Head of the House and Caan’s Head of the Family, and even if you were the daughter of a count, you were without a title and cannot disrespect someone who does. The laws of this country also stipulated and guaranteed the status and benefits of its knights.

And if you know that, many questions will be answered. Alexandra, who memorized all the Houses of the Margraviate of Carruthers, has never heard of the Caan family. Yet she was casually exchanging words with Margrave Albert.

This Caan family is not a vassal of House Carruthers, but another independent noble family. Even Alexandra wouldn’t be able to memorize all of the noble families in the entire Kingdom of Ploiss. That’s how she can explain her being ignorant of this knighthood.

And even if there is a difference in rank between nobles who hold titles, they must respect each other’s statuses and show courtesies to each other. Of course, such a thing is all for public appearances, and in reality, the difference in peerage often appears as a difference in attitude, but even so, if you follow the laws of the kingdom, you have to behave accordingly.

That was how she was invited to this party even though the Caan family is just a knighthood. Because she’s not the daughter of a knight, but the knight herself, could you call her a guest of Margrave Albert’s?

Despite that, Alexandra was quite rude to Knight Caan. When Alexandra returned to the party afterward, she was so upset and worried that she didn’t remember much about it.

It’s been a while since her social debut ended, but there was no one who came to visit Alexandra, and no one for Alexandra to visit. This was very unfortunate.

The children who debuted this year visit other’s homes and are visited by others, befriending other noble children, and building relationships of power and factions with each other. At the party venue, it was only for first impressions, and it is now the time to actually learn about their Houses and build a hierarchical relationship.

Despite this, Alexandra never received a letter from anyone and never received a positive reply to the letters she sent. After hearing about the current situation of House Lingerburg when they went home, all those who had been so proud to be with Alexandra at the party venue no longer wanted to be with her.

It’s like usual. She knows that. There is no time to deal with a declining count’s daughter who parades their high status but lacks the substance to back it up. Everyone is desperately trying to secure a better social standing now.

Alexandra should have known that… just a little bit, even just a little bit after now, she’ll be back to her usual self again. Alexandra tells herself that and puts her face down on her bed.

As she did, the image of a girl who behaved gracefully even if she had juice dumped over her came to mind.

Alexandra couldn’t help but start writing to her.

After exchanging letters several times, Alexandra was convinced. The girl who called herself Floto was clearly highly educated. Alexandra prides herself on her ability to write letters that are as befitting a high-ranking noble as any other. No, she did pride herself. And yet, the replies Floto sent were written far better than her own. These are not something that can be written by a daughter of a knight with poor educational opportunities.

Just looking at the letters with such a beautiful cadence makes Alexandra imagine the lovely scenery, it makes her feel very happy How wonderful it would be for Alexandra to be able to visit such a person at her house. With that in mind, she arrived before the forest on the northern outskirts of Carruzan.

She was surprised that a farm had been developed north of the town, but what surprised her, even more, was the old maid standing in front of the woods. The maid says that Floto’s house is just up ahead. Alexandra can see nothing but a forest ahead. She doesn’t know if they’re going to put her in a dangerous forest.

… She said she’d go. She’ll go into the forest…

Then came a shabby shack in the woods. She stopped the carriage outside the forest and the coachman urged Alexandra to leave, but Alexandra was going to visit Floto’s house after she had already come this far. She tells the complaining coachman to wait outside and enters the shack alone.

And when she saw Floto greet her, she thought: “Floto is not just a mere knight.” The clothes she wears are too good. You could see that she did not suddenly have it tailored and that she was used to wearing it. The sofa Floto invited her on is not even comparable to the furniture handed down inside House Lingerburg, but it is of such high quality that it is hard to believe that a knight can prepare it.

The tables, the desk, the furnishings, all of which are so expensive that you wouldn’t expect them to be in a shack in the woods. And when she thought about it, Alexandra thought it was a hut in the woods, but the building itself is new and it was not some ramshackle shed. It’s just that the construction and scale are about the same as a shack, but the quality is different from that of a normal shack.

To the untrained eye, it looks like a poor noble girl living in a hut deep in the forest, but if you think about it reasonably, the house, furnishings, and furniture are all new and far from worn out. It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since Floto has been living here for a building this new.

Above all, there will be no bedrooms here. Given the size of the hut and the size of this room, there isn’t much space left. She can’t imagine Floto sleeping here.

She doesn’t know. It’s full of mysteries. Why are you building a new hut in a hurry in such a place? Where did you get the money to prepare furniture and furnishings of such unreasonable quality for a hut as fancy as this? It’s not something that can be imitated by a knight.

But that doesn’t matter. Rather than that, Alexandra focused on how much fun it was to sit face to face with Floto and just talk. The delicious tea served was accompanied by sweet treats that Alexandra had never seen before. Alexandra’s return was much later than planned because she was so distracted by the treats and spending time with Floto.