CH 16

Side glances are usually considered to be rude, but it was just her way of secretly checking Beatrice’s expression. Emily, who was walking behind her, tapped her on the back as her glance persisted.

Beatrice looked indifferent to her as she continued walking ahead, and that made Floria feel uneasy.

Pursing her lips slightly, she took a silent sigh. Why does she appear so blank?

“Do you have a favorite flower?”

“I don’t have enough knowledge about flowers to have a favorite.”

“Then, may I teach you a few things? I like to garden so I know more than most people.”

“…All right.”

Floria presented some ideas to her, and as Beatrice answered, the conversation progressed.

As soon as entering the greenhouse, one could already feel the warmth it harbored, and so, Floria removed her coat and handed it to Emily.

The spring flowers were bright and vivid, complementing the yellow tulips. And yet, the borders were naturally messy and loose as if they had been grown directly in the greenhouse. Floria liked it better that way.

Glass greenhouses are expensive to build and difficult to maintain. Only a few families in the capital could afford them. Those were the imperial family, dukes, and one of the marquises.

It would be easier to build it small, but with the nobles having the constant need to show off what they had, they simply could not make it that way and enjoy it.

“Those are trumpet daffodils, aren’t they?”

Instead of the feast of bright red flowers that Floria had last seen, the greenhouse was filled with soothing colors that complemented her shiny blonde hair well. Beatrice, on the other hand, paid special attention to her gestures and expressions. She then took a seat and ordered her temporary maid, Laura, to fetch them some tea.

Floria had been staring at the flowers for quite a while, but hearing Beatrice’s voice made her realize something she had forgotten. She glanced at Emily, who then placed the box she was carrying on the table.

“It’s floral tea that’s popular in my family’s estate. I brought a selection of them, including the one I loved the other day.”

Beatrice gazed upon the box and then called out to Laura, who approached the box with familiarity.

“Bring this tea out. Can I drink it right now since you gave it to me?”

“Sure! Emily, help me with the tea.”

“Yes, miss.”

“Come to think of it, Lady Amber, let’s say my brother didn’t ask to be your partner, who would you want to bring? I don’t think the Duchess will make a fuss about it, so I’m not concerned. Although just in case, may I know if you found someone else interesting?”

Floria asked as Emily and Laura took out the tea from the box and brought it to the prepped table in the greenhouse.

“Oh, I forgot to mention that in my letter. Duke Marquez will be my partner.”

“Duke Marquez? Are you talking about Duke Kahneman Marquez?”

Beatrice nodded, and Floria blinked in surprise.

“Oh my, why him?”

“I’m aware of the rumors concerning Duke Marquez. The Duchess seems upset because it’s been a while since he last kept in touch, perhaps that’s why she is trying to bring our families together again.”

Floria knows that the Duchess would not be upset by such a thing, and that Duke Marquez would not fall for such a ruse.

She presumed that some type of agreement was made, although it didn’t seem like it to Beatrice. She merely smiled and said, “That’s good.”

Apparently, the Duchess had intentionally kept it from her lovely youngest child, so revealing it would be pointless. She didn’t want to spite her nor did she want to ruin this quiet young lady’s mood who was shy even with other people.

“I’m not sure about his interests, but I believe he must be at least a teeny bit interested in you if he made the request?”

“I don’t know.”

Beatrice responded coldly, aware that Floria was over-interpreting it for herself. Floria, on the other hand, saw her reluctance as a lack of confidence.

She had witnessed Kahneman Marquez come and go from the Amber estate as a child. I couldn’t imagine him approaching a woman with genuine interest…

That’s why she couldn’t say she’s completely convinced that it was just because of a mere interest. However, it was bemusing to watch Beatrice simply taking things as they were.

Perhaps if it had been any other young lady, she would’ve bragged about it the moment she became Kahneman Marquez’s partner, secretly hoping that he would have a heart, whether they were true or not.

“But wouldn’t you be able to build a connection with him if you attended the party together?”

“I’m not very talkative.”

I feel like I’ve seen this kind of situation before somewhere…

Floria felt a bit of deja vu. This reminded her of her own attitude whenever she had to deal with her brother, Garrett. Indifferent and unenthusiastic.

Floria realized she made another mistake. If a woman is obviously uncomfortable and uninterested, she should not talk further about it.

But then she began questioning herself. Still, if she was this beautiful, wouldn’t that prompt some type of connection?

When she glanced at Beatrice again, she mentally shook her head. Let us not hope for the impossible.

At that moment, Beatrice spoke.

“Have you decided on a partner yet, Lady Billander?”

“Oh, I haven’t chosen yet, but I’m thinking about going with Count Talia’s son since we’re already acquainted.”

“Have you already made a promise?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then, aren’t you going with the Duke?”

“You mean Duke Amber? Calex? Oh, no.”

“You two have been friends for a long time, right?”

“Yes, but…”

Beatrice stared at Floria as she dragged on her words. 

She had already witnessed Calex and Floria’s marriage several times. Although they went through minor struggles with each other, the two usually end up getting married. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that their story was unfolding right in front of her eyes.

There was silence between them until Emily and Laura finally served the floral tea.

Beatrice was still looking at her when Floria lowered her gaze thoughtfully, probably thinking of something to say.

A thought suddenly came into Beatrice’s mind. Come to think of it, what struggles did they have in common during my past lives?

“There were a lot of rumors spreading about me being a candidate for the Duke’s fiancee, right? But the two of us are really just friends. Arriving with him as partners would just worsen the rumors.”

“Aha.”

So this was it. They did not struggle with marital problems. The Countess Billander isn’t the best match for the Duke, but she isn’t the worst either. Both of them are attractive, too.

So, what’s the problem here? It’s their attitude towards this. And that’s not a problem with Floria only, Calex, too, lived with the words that they were ‘just friends’. Of course, it’s difficult to be aware of their feelings for each other at first, but it later became one of the things that he himself regretted.

Beatrice pondered, calmly lifting her teacup before taking a few sips of the warm tea.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“I don’t mean that I don’t want to. I’ll think about it.”

She said she’d think about it, her heart lightened immediately. Determination was evident on her face. Remembering the times she had to watch Calex fall in love with Floria in her past lives made Beatrice shiver.

She thought they might be similar to her, but they turned out to be completely different, which was unpleasant. It wouldn’t be very nice to witness their cheesy romance once again for a long time, so it might not be so bad to hope that the two of them would get married soon.

“I think the two of you are a good match.”

Floria was usually the type to do good in her previous lives, but she once had gone insanely bad. And of course, Beatrice was the cause of it.

Time had already passed and it became something that cannot be undone. And since it’s yet to happen in this life, there’s no need to feel guilty. Even so, the woman in front of her suited a genuine smile.

She recalled the look of insanity Floria had from her past lives, and it seemed so out of character that she almost found it amusing.

The corners of Floria’s mouth softly lifted up in response to her praise. She copied her smile more precisely. 

It was in Beatrice’s best interest, and Floria, that it stays like this.

“Oh right, wouldn’t they set off fireworks at the palace on the last day of the debutante ball?”

“That’s right. The princess will attend this year, so the fireworks will be more spectacular than ever.”

“I want to see those fireworks from the Count’s estate.”

The last day of the debutante ball, hosted by the palace, is when the most people attend. All the noble young ladies who have finished their debut, along with their partners and families, gather together.

The palace guards and servants would struggle to manage the crowd, even nobles would find it difficult, so it would be nice to come back early and enjoy the fireworks in peace.

Although Duke Amber’s estate

was much larger, the Count’s estate was located a little closer to the palace. It was because they needed a wider area to build the Duke’s mansion, and there was no such land near the palace.

He could just buy all the land he wanted and destroy all the buildings on those properties, but Duke Amber was not that heartless.

“Very well.”

“Shall we bring some wine?”

Besides that, the windows of the Count’s mansion faced towards the palace. Floria felt happy at the thought of enjoying the fireworks while sipping some wine.

At the debutante ball, it is common for nobles to stay until the end to socialize, but with someone like Duke Amber, there’s no need to do so. It is also common for friends to leave early and spend time together outside the palace.