"Right. I didn't even expect it."
"You, at your age."
Lady Perth gave Mrs. Lambert a hint while leading Esperanza toward where other won were gathered. This ti the age range was more diverse. Won around Esperanza's age were also visible.
Lady Perth, who had caught a girl trying to sneak away from the back row, suddenly put on a stern face.
"Camilla, I've told you repeatedly that yellow doesn't suit your daughter."
The lady who resembled the girl said in surprise:
"Oh my, I think it suits her well."
"That's because your eyes are crooked. Now, this is Miss Esperanza Hunter. Avondale brought her."
The eyes of several young ladies in the crowd sharpened. It seed he really did have followers of sorts. Well, his looks were excellent at least.
"She's his ward. She lived in Paolun and has no other connections, so she's under his care."
"Oh my, you lived in Paolun? How wonderful. Is Paolun very different from here?"
Esperanza, who knew no more about Paolun than they did, flinched for a mont.
"......The atmosphere is sowhat different, but places where people live are all similar. I think the food and weather are good."
"There are few places as cloudy and rainy all day as here. In that sense, Humphrey had a really good idea. A greenhouse party."
"Indeed. Miss Hunter, co this way and talk with us. Please tell us more about Paolun."
"Stories about the Count would be good too! If you're his ward, why didn't you co with the Count?"
Esperanza gestured toward Lady Perth with her eyes. The girls giggled. Soon the group split into several smaller ones, and Esperanza moved to sit with the cheerful girl who had been talking with her.
"Ah, could I get so introductions?"
"Oh my. Sorry. I'm really like this. High society, you see, is a place where you rarely see new people. I'm Lucinda Maxwell. This is Sylvia Humphrey."
Sylvia Humphrey. In this fifteen-year-old girl, Esperanza could see traces of the twenty-three-year-old Sylvia Humphrey she had known. Though it was a one-sided acquaintance, she was glad to see this girl here.
"I should be helping Mother originally, but I'm secretly taking refuge here."
Sylvia winked. Esperanza's mood improved. Sylvia's greedy father would try to sell her off when she grew older, but at least for now it was peaceful. And before he could sell her off, Esperanza would stop him.
"I'll keep it secret."
"I'll continue the introductions. This girl here is Gloria Suffolk. And this one, hey, Cordelia, are you alright?"
"......I have a bit of a headache. I'm fine. I'm Cordelia Mabelwood."
Mabelwood, found her.
??????°??☆????°??????
Eighteen-year-old Cordelia was a doll-like pretty young lady. She had the sowhat typical appearance of a blonde, blue-eyed beauty, but typical things receive support from that many more people.
Cordelia was the prettiest among the young ladies who had not yet reached marriageable age. Naturally, dozens of pairs of eyes followed her every word, and Gloria and Lucinda were skilled at naturally deflecting the machinations of the nastier ones among them.
How did she know this? Because in the very short ti Esperanza and the girls were conversing, n approaching while clearing their throats had already exceeded ten fingers.
"Cordelia is a bit tired right now."
"I was speaking to Lady Cordelia, not Miss Suffolk."
A shaless-faced man retorted like that. With a face that suggested they were jealous of Cordelia's popularity. Esperanza sighed. It was n's stale divisive tactics. Fortunately, these girls were wise enough not to fall for such things. Or perhaps they were used to it.
"Don't be rude to my friend. I won't dance with Mr. Geoffrey."
The man called Geoffrey huffing and leaving didn't end it. There were countless n trying to dance with Cordelia Mabelwood even once, trying sohow to court her and obtain both pretty Lady Cordelia and the vast Mabelwood territory.
"Lucinda, let's go dance."
Lucinda left to dance with a man who was her brother's friend, and Gloria also received a dance request. Sylvia had already been caught by Lady Humphrey and dragged away. Cordelia said with a faint smile:
"Esperanza, please accept the next dance request. You're sitting here because of
and haven't danced even once."
Esperanza had refused five n from her seat. Seeing this many dance requests coming even to a woman whose dowry was unknown and whose family background was unclear, perhaps even if he was eccentric, Cider Claiborne's guarantee was trustworthy.
'Do they think Lord Avondale will provide my dowry?'
When neither of them had any thoughts about dowries or marriage.
"I'd like to dance soon too."
Cordelia said this while smiling. Esperanza sighed deeply. Because of those damn n, she hadn't been able to ask a single thing about the Mabelwood incident.
Esperanza wasn't particularly good with words. She honestly wasn't sure how to bring up Mabelwood without arousing suspicion or being rude. She should have borrowed Cider Claiborne's snake-like tongue.
But this was Esperanza's job. She couldn't just rely on him.
Just as she thought this, a group of n approached. They ca noisily, in other words quite rudely, and pushed one hesitating man forward in front of Esperanza. The man's face was bright red.
"Say it quickly!"
"Right, what if the lady runs away while you're hesitating?"
Gazes gathered this way. Ah, unpleasant.
"Miss Hunter? I'm Jeremy Lowell. Would you dance with ...... could you give
your dance card."
Esperanza sighed loudly for all to see. She should have just gone over there and eaten sothing. They wouldn't drag away a lady who was eating to ask her to dance.
"Lady Cordelia, won't you co with ? That friend has been just staring since earlier. Please save that friend."
Cordelia hesitated, then smiled toward Esperanza and took that man's hand. Eventually Esperanza also rose from her seat.
"No one's reserved."
She placed her hand on the hand of the man who had turned red to his fingertips. From afar, Cider, who was being held by male peers who might be friends, saw this and asked with lip movents:
'Do you know how to dance?'
'Mind your own business.'
Esperanza, slightly irritated, retorted.
How perfectly they had tid it—as soon as Esperanza stood up, the dance music began. They hurriedly joined the formation.
"I'm sorry, Miss Hunter. My friends are so enthusiastic."
"Thanks to them, I beca a spectacle."
"I'm truly ashad."
Jeremy Lowell was quite sensible compared to his rude friends. But when he got into the group, he would lose his current sound reason and beco one with the crowd. Anyway, he wasn't soone pleasant to converse with even now.
While Esperanza was having pointless conversation with him, listening to his boring life and his vast territory stories, she suddenly brightened.
"I heard Mabelwood territory is like that too."
Lowell, who had attracted his partner's interest for the first ti, answered with an excited face.
"Yes. That's right. Since it's nearby."
"Ah, you're close to Mabelwood."
"Yes. By steam carriage, it's a territory that takes about two hours to reach."
"I heard there was an unfortunate incident in Mabelwood—is Mr. Lowell's territory alright?"
Jeremy Lowell imdiately stiffened. Only after a long while did he barely manage to speak.
"You're the first person I've seen speak so directly about that matter."
"Is it sothing that should be hidden?"
"No, strictly speaking, it's not the Mabelwood family's fault either. It's probably just coincidence, but it's an ominous matter, so people in this area tend to hush it up."
Though it was a small-scale incident, people suddenly evaporating was a real threat, especially in such a sparsely populated area. If it had happened in a city, it would likely have been treated as a heinous cri or terrible disaster.
Even in an age with ships crossing oceans through magical engineering and airships circling the world in a week, for those living close to forests, stories of night beasts and fierce spirits felt more imdiate. It wouldn't be strange if so weird rumors were already attached to it. Things like 'cursed territory.'
"Didn't you hear from Lady Cordelia?"
"Cordelia and I t for the first ti today."
The dance music was reaching its climax. Esperanza saw Cordelia at the opposite end of the formation pushing and pulling with her male partner.
"I see. Anyway, it's not a good topic of conversation. Probably no one would answer even if you asked."
"Mr. Lowell too?"
Lowell said with his face turning bright red:
"I, I could tell you, but since it's Mabelwood's story, I don't know it well."
From what she briefly heard, it seed unlikely this fellow would provide more information than Kendrick. Esperanza thought that co to think of it, Kendrick apparently didn't co to this ball, and finished the last turn.
"Miss Hunter, aren't you thirsty? I'll bring so champagne."
Thinking to sohow keep Esperanza there, Jeremy Lowell hurriedly went to get champagne.
'They'd do anything to keep Cordelia trapped on the dance floor.'
The Hunter's excellent hearing made her hear things she didn't want to hear. The n had calculated to take Lucinda and Gloria away respectively, but with Esperanza attached, there was one more person. So there would be no one to refuse on her behalf. This man seed to have personal interest in Esperanza, but even if he hadn't, soone would have co at that ti.
Through the gap in the greenhouse door, the hem of a pink dress disappeared. Esperanza's excellent eyesight saw the embroidery at the hem of the dress that was barely visible at the edge. Small flower patterns vividly embroidered with purple thread.
"Cordelia?"
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