CH 18

“But…you said that the engagement between me and His Highness the Grand Duke was a top secret.”

If this marriage was known to the outside world, the Emperor would aim for Lilian to break the alliance between Turin and the Crown Prince faction.

“But if you receive a gift like this…”

The late Grand Empress’ jewelry also meant that it’s a keepsake of the Grand Duke’s mother.

A jewelry where anyone could guess who her fiancee would be!

Cedric shook his head, dismissing Lilian’s concerns.

“You don’t have to worry. The parents of the young ladies attending the Sorority are all supporters of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

There’s no chance of words leaking out.

Rather, it’d be a sign that clearly told what position Lily would rise to in the future.

‘The future Grand Duchess…’

It seemed to be an object containing the stern intention of the Great Feudal Lord not to be rude to the lady, even by accident.

If she walked out with this, she would never be ignored like before.

‘But…’

Was this premonition that something bothersome was about to happen just an unreasonable anxiety?

***

Some time after that.

Finally, the day of Lilian’s sorority debut had arrived.

Usually, a married woman would become the sorority chaperone, presiding over the meetings and looking after the young girls.

To become a sorority chaperone, you had to be from that sorority, and had to have flawless knowledge as an aristocrat’s wife or as a noble lady.

It’s great honor to become a sorority chaperone. The current chaperone of the May Lily Sorority was the Marchioness of Lannister, the daughter-in-law of Grandmother.

Not only did the Marchioness readily accepted her mother-in-law’s recommendation, but also decided to hold the May Lily Sorority meeting at the Lannister family’s villa.

It was a consideration to welcome Lilian, who was attending the meeting for the first time, more modestly.

It’s now spring, the season when roses were in full bloom everywhere. Lilian held in her arms the bouquet of roses from Turin that she had brought as a gift.

“Teacher!”

“Welcome, Lady Lily.”

The Grandlady who closed the book and greeted Lilian frowned a little.

“My gosh, to lift that heavy thing yourself. Do you intend to embarras the servants?”

“The servants are holding the gifts for the Marchioness. I want to bring the flowers for you myself.”

“…”

Every single thing was special!

The grandmother tried to restrain the corners of her mouth from rising and accepted the bouquet.

“It’s very luxurious.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Double petals wrinkled into a large flower shape.

The Turin rose was famous for its splendid beauty as much as the peony, but more famous than that was its unique strong scent.

Perhaps because she just carried an armful of bouquet made of those expensive flowers, Lily was also full of the same scent.

‘Besides, that necklace…’

As soon as the wise grandmother saw the necklace around Lily’s neck, she understood the will of the Great Feudal Lord.

It seemed like her admirable pupil was terribly cute even for that outlandish grandfather.

‘Today, there’s going to be a major upheaval because of that necklace.’

***

The grandmother’s prediction wasn’t wrong.

Once they were ready to attend the Sorority, the girls began to get heated and raved about their dress and makeup.

Even if they didn’t want to do that, since the people gathered were of similar ages, they would compare each other’s clothes and jewelry.

So, naturally, everyone was familiar with the famous jewel.

It meant that most of the girls recognized the identity of the necklace hanging around Lilian’s neck.

“…thanks to your understanding in many ways, I was able to attend this precious meeting. I hope we get along well.”

When Lilian finished her greetings, the girls expressed their welcome in one voice.

While the formal self-introduction and current situation continued for a while, some discerning girls exchanged meaningful glances with each other.

One of them opened her mouth.

“But Lady Lily, you came out wearing a very beautiful necklace.”

At times like this, you shouldn’t be overly shy, proud, or delighted.

Lilian smiled calmly and replied, “I just received an undeserved gift for my debut.”

It was a careful choice of words to avoid useless jealousy.

“I see. I suits you very well.”

“It’s a precious gift. Congratulations.”

Thanks to this, the girls could hardly be offended.

“Can I touch it? Just a bit.”

Among them, a young girl in particular, who looked about ten years old, asked.

Despite the rather rude request, Lilian accepted it with a smile. The girl who had the courage to touch the necklace was genuinely impressed.

At the cute sight, smiles spread across the lips of the girls belonging to the older sister axis. One of them opened her mouth.

“Solaria, you should properly thank Lady Lilian.”

“Oh, yes! Thank you for allowing me to touch such a precious item. I am Solaria Lannister.”

“You are the second daughter of Lannister.”

Under the circumstances, the girl who gave her attention seemed to be her sister.

“I’ve heard a lot about both of you from teacher.”

“I also heard a lot of stories from Grandmother. Then, can you be my friend?”

“Solaria!”

Her older sister, Illasia, was taken aback by her younger sister’s honest and direct tone, but thanks to her, the atmosphere was relieved.

“Being honest and cute is Lady Solaria’s strong point.”

“Anyway, Lady Lily, I’m envious of being taught by Mrs. Lannister.”

The atmosphere started to become cordial. To the extent that no one noticed that there’s one person who didn’t jump on the bandwagon.

“…Lady Marianne?”

After a while, the girl next to Marianne barely noticed.

“Are you ill somewhere?”

“…no, I’m fine.”

While answering with a sharp attack, Marianne looked at Lilian with a tenacious gaze.

Marianne, just fourteen, had sweet blond hair and charming green eyes.

It wasn’t just her looks that made her great. She was Mariane, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Blanchett, and also the niece of the Great Feudal Lord Hemenlinna.

This young girl, who was pretty and grew up in the protection of powerful people, had never been out of public attention since she was born.

But it wasn’t like that today.

At the center of today’s gathering was not Marianne, but a girl named Lilian. She seemed busy just answering the flood of questions.

Marianne, who always led the atmosphere during gatherings, had her feelings of displeasure overwhelm her curiosity about Lilian.

‘Besides, that necklace…’

Marianne always boasted of the prestige of the Great Feudal Lord of Hemenlinna, but in fact, the Great Feudal Lord didn’t like Marianne very much.

Knowing that Marianne was always looking with envy at the jewelry that the late Grand Empress had worn as a girl, the Great Feudal Lord didn’t give her a single drop.

Jealousy began to bubble up. Besides, the girls she was close with who were quick to notice her mood, instead of comforting her, were busy showing interest in Lily, which made her even angrier.

“Isn’t that a pretty necklace, Lady Marianne?”

So when the girl sitting next to her misinterpreted Marianne’s tenacious gaze and said so, she couldn’t stand it.

“It is, but Lady Sophia.”

Marianne said in a sharp tone.

“That’s a keepsake from His Highness’ mother. I think it’s a bit rash not to decline a gift like that.”

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Lilian’s gaze fell on Marianne for the first time.

‘Ah.’

Looking at the blazing green eyes. Lilian finally remembered.

‘That child must be Lady Marianne…’

Originally, she was someone she’d meet after becoming the Grand Duchess.

‘It was like this back then, but it’s still quite hostile.’

Seeing Lilian’s delay in responding as she recalled her memories, the girls thought that she must have been taken aback by her sharp words.

“I think Lady Marianne misunderstood.”

Illasia, who felt sorry for Lilian, stepped forward.

“Besides, if you call the person who received the gift rash, what will be the position of the Great Feudal Lord of Hemenlinna, who gave the gift?”

The words of Illasia, the daughter of the sorority chaperone and a grown-up among her peers, had that much weight in her words.

The frozen girls said “yes” and followed suit.

At this point, given the atmosphere, Marianne had to apologize for saying too much. But the proud girl kept her silence.

Illasia and the other girls gave up and began to clear the atmosphere.

“I heard that Lady Lily is going to treat us to a strange treat today?”

It was customary for girls debuting in sororities to give small gifts to existing members.

In addition to the usual gifts of flowers and trinkets, Lilian had planned one more treat.

Lilian nodded her head and jumped on the bandwagon for a change of topic.

“It’s embarassing, but I’m interested in the custom of the Eastern tea ceremony.”