CH 21.6

Hilda felt bad for Lila as she shrugged her shoulders, feeling like she was being oddly sarcastic when she hadn’t even said anything, and she smiled, trying to erase the feeling.

It was then that Maria, who hadn’t said hello yet, offered a polite greeting.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Este. I am Maria P. Berman, wife to Count Berman.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you all, and tea and refreshments will be served shortly, so please take a seat.”

At Lila’s nod, the maids around her moved in unison. Following their lead, the young ladies took their seats.

Amy and Luna, seated next to Lila, stole glances at her face.

Hilda, seated across from Lila in the seat furthest from her, tried to control her expression of displeasure.

The farthest spot from the mistress of the mansion was a stone’s throw away. And since she sat opposite her, she could see her facial expressions.

Hilda was busy pushing the uncomfortable, sullen feeling she had been feeling into the corner of her mind.

Unaware of her inferiority complex, she was merely uncomfortable with it.

The maids, led by Jessie, brought in tea and refreshments. Dessert, served on china from the Duchy of Charlesworth, was a hard-to-find purple lemon tart and a cake topped with various fruits.

The blue china were placed on the white table, the purples and reds and fresh minty greens of the fruit mingling with the colours of the white table.

“Wow…”

Luna exclaimed from Lila’s side. Seeing her innocence, Lila asked gently.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, yes, I do, very much. Is this teacup from the Duchy of Charlesworth?”

“Yes, it is. I see you know it well.”

“My father is also interested in porcelain, so I learnt from his shoulder, but I’ve heard that porcelain from the Duchy of Charlesworth is hard to come by.”

That’s when Catherine spoke up in ecstasy.

“How could you have thought of all this, tea time in the garden in the first snowfall?”

“I’m delighted to hear that you liked it, Lady Hayan.”

Catherine’s cheeks flushed as she looked at Lila, who smiled brightly. She said shyly.

“Please call me Catherine, Duchess.”

Lila liked Catherine and Luna very much. Unlike Hilda and Maria, it was nice to be called ‘Duchess’, and she liked the look of pure admiration on their faces.

“Is that so?”

“Oh, please call me Luna too.”

Luna didn’t hold back this time; she was already smitten with Lila.

Maria was confused by Lila, who looked nothing like the girl Hilda had told her about. A sneaky glance at Hilda didn’t look good either, and she didn’t know what to make of it.

Even if they were actually close, when you’re family to family, there’s a certain hierarchy.

Even if they were the same countess, Hilda had an edge over her because of the ducal family.

Being a distant relative of Lucas’s mother, the late Duchess, Hilda was the number one bride in northern society.

Even if everyone dismissed Lucas and the men of the Montefeltra family as ugly, the power of the dukes could not be ignored.

And since she could not flatter the dukes openly, she had no choice but to stick the closest, Count Ezrada.

But…

‘She’s so beautiful.’

Hilda called her ugly, and Maria couldn’t understand why.

‘You can’t do this.’

Amy walked in, her head down, her eyes fixed on Maria’s, unable to do anything about the time she’d spent with Hilda.

“Are you uncomfortable, Lady Paes?”

“Yes?”

Amy was quiet as usual. She knew it was best to stay as inconspicuous as possible, but…

Her eyes kept drifting to Lila, unable to take her eyes off her uniquely beautiful features.

Amy, who had always thought the other ladies were pretty, almost lost her breath at the sight of Lila, who was overwhelmingly more beautiful than them.

Amy’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Lila’s overwhelmingly beautiful appearance.

She continued to stare, but when Maria turned the behaviour around and pointed it out, Amy panicked.

“So, sor, no, I’m sorry.”

Amy stood up and apologised profusely to Lila. Lila, who was happily chatting with Catherine and Luna, grabbed Amy’s hand.

Amy’s eyes widened in surprise as she met her cobalt eyes.

“It’s freshly brewed tea, it’ll burn you if you splash it.”

A halo seemed to fall over Lila, who was not offended by her abrupt behaviour, but worried.

Their arrival was precisely at tea time, but it was a late tea, and the sun was already setting.

It was winter, and the sun was setting quickly. The red glow of the setting sun began to stain the white table and Lila’s face, which looked even whiter, red.

Amy was so stunned and frozen that she forgot that her bangs had exposed her face.

Lila didn’t miss the opportunity to take a closer look. Amy was skinny and, like Jessie, acne-prone. It was worst on her forehead because she always covered it with bangs.

A low bridge of her nose blurred her features. Her sunken eyes looked gentle, but her downcast expression made her look sullen.

The thin lips didn’t have anything applied on them, so they looked dull.

“I’m in the cosmetics business, lady.”

“What?”

“I think I can help the lady.”

“What do you mean…”

Amy was surprised that Lila didn’t frown at all at her appearance.

People don’t openly despise her thanks to her being a daughter of a marquess family, but their eyes couldn’t. So she didn’t want to make eye contact with people even more.

She figured that if she covered her eyes with her bangs, they wouldn’t bother to make eye contact with her either, and that’s how it’s always been.

As a bonus, she wanted to cover her pimple-covered forehead; any woman would want to look a little prettier.

But the Duchess showed no such signs. She made no effort to hide it, nor was she quick to judge.

There was no interest or curiosity. She was simply asking for her opinion. Amy’s heart began to thump in her chest.

What in the world was a beautiful woman like her doing in the cosmetics business?

“It’s not that big, I’m just really into make-up and, well, I don’t know if you’d know, but it’s probably the talk of the capital.”

Catherine was intrigued by her rambling explanation.

“What kind of rumours were circulating in the capital? The north is busy preparing for winter, so the rumour hasn’t spread yet. If it’s something bad, I can help you with that.”

Catherine was already smitten with Lila. It wasn’t just her good looks, but the way she never paid any attention to Hilda.

Hilda, who was always the centre of attention, was currently speechless.

The sight was indeed indignant. Catherine’s response caught Luna’s attention.

“I’d like to help, too, if there’s anything I can do.”

Amy was still frozen, her hand held by Lila. Lila tugged her hand away and sat her down in a chair.

She continued.

“It’s nothing special, but the rumors about me are true. You may have heard from Lady Ezratha… My appearance before was very different from now. There are rumors about that.”

Hilda’s eyes lit up at Lila’s words, and she spoke as if she had been waiting for them.

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been meaning to ask you. Since you’re so interested in make-up, are you hiding your original face with make-up?”

At Hilda’s question, Maria finished her calculations.

“Well, then the rumours from before were true, and after seeing you today, I thought someone had deliberately started a vicious rumour.”

Catherine looked offended by their remarks, and Luna felt uncomfortable. Amy looked worriedly at Lila, who was still holding her hand tightly.

Lila let out a small laugh. It was nice to see her. Hilda still looked the same.

In the capital, her appearance had changed, and so had everyone’s attitude.

It was an abomination, and it made her uncomfortable and irritated.

Turning around now doesn’t make the past go away, does it?

If so, she’d rather have them treat her the same as they did before. Then maybe she could get a little revenge on them, too.

“Well, it’s a little different.”

“What’s different? Lady, I’m not sure how you’ll take this, but… I’ve heard that we should accept what we’re born with. Just as we naturally accept that we’re born nobility. So we should carry ourselves with dignity and grace, according to our position. I hope you don’t belittle your own appearance too much. I liked Lady Este’s original face, too.”

Hilda felt something pierce through the tightness that had been building up inside her since yesterday. Lila burst out laughing at her, who didn’t even know the name of her own emotions.

“That’s very true, but I have to disagree.”

Hilda’s eyes widened in surprise at Lila’s assertiveness. Before she could say anything else, Lila spoke coldly.

“It’s fine to live with what you’re born with, but wouldn’t that make life too boring, or would it make you slothful or… Isn’t it nice to contribute something to the betterment of one’s family, or one’s estate, instead of just sitting around because you’re a noble? I don’t think it’s nice to take your rights for granted just because you’re a noble.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Lila interjected coldly as Hilda cut her off.

“What you meant was to live according to one’s place. What do you think is Ezrada’s place here?”

“…”

Hilda couldn’t answer. She understood Lila’s point immediately.

Seeing her stony face, Lila stared back expressionlessly. Her pitiful face didn’t look pitiful at all.

“It’s funny how you say don’t disrespect your own face. If you truly cared about the other person, you wouldn’t make that choice of language. If it were me.”

Hilda flushed with shame at Lila’s regal demeanour, as if she were a child who had been naughty.

The shame was worse than the humiliation. Without knowing why, she shuddered.

She had always been in that position. She’d always been in that position: pointing out people’s stupidity and inadequacies.

Even if it was the same position, it wasn’t the same position. Depending on the subtlety of the situation, the position would change. She didn’t want to accept the change.

After a few moments of conversation, her vision went completely dark.

Hilda, who had been staring resentfully at the moon so abruptly that neither of them could see the other’s expression, broke off with a shudder. Eager to get out of the room, she made a familiar quip.

“I don’t know how you expect me to drink tea in the dark.”

Hilda hadn’t even touched the teacup. She was so funny that Lila snorted at her lightly. I will give you a firm warning this time.

The darkness was only brief, and before Hilda could finish her sentence, the table was bathed in light.

The crystal lanterns that had been prepared in advance switched on simultaneously.

“Oh my…”

Luna let out an exclamation. The lanterns in the garden trees and the vases on the table scattered light like lanterns.

Normally, the garden would have been illuminated, but for dramatic effect, the garden lights had been turned off.

Only the table was illuminated, creating an illusory blur of snowflakes falling around it.

“My dear Duchess, I think I shall never forget it. I have never had teatime like this before.”

Catherine murmured in a mesmerised daze, marvelling at the Duchess’ ability to organise a teatime like this in winter.