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Chapter 33
“Oh, ho, ho… T-this is so touching. I feel like I’m about to cry….”
Eldiz Vale said so.
“Indeed. It is touching. Today, once again, I realized how precious the people of the territory are. Even if we were to lose a great deal, if the people trust and follow their lordly family like this, one can always rise again somehow. I was deeply moved by the devotion of the people of Burwood.”
“I felt the same, Countess Ishfern.”
Nora Cassel, the lady of the Cassel family, a prestigious southern house, said as she gently placed her hand on Helena’s arm.
“With a new lady entering the House of Ishfern, such a delightful banquet is being held, and the faces of the people of the territory are full of smiles as well. Now we can set our minds at ease about Burwood.”
Having dealt with formidable noble ladies by the side of the Empress, Clarissa Arpend, Helena also knew well how to win over the hearts of elderly noblewomen like these.
Most elderly noblewomen had long grown weary of people who fawned over them, so they rather preferred those who were straightforward and bold.
Helena took Nora Cassel’s hand and blinked her eyes prettily.
“Madam Cassel, you must help me a lot. Please.”
“Oh my, hohoho!”
Nora Cassel laughed heartily.
“I shall do so, Countess Ishfern.”
Watching Helena laughing and chatting among the southern nobles, Selma Roderick thought to herself,
‘This is bad.’
Of course, the one truly in trouble was not Selma Roderick but Countess Bryce.
The hostess of the banquet, Countess Ishfern, was unexpectedly dressed very modestly.
She wore a soft light-green dress that suited her green eyes well, without a single piece of jewelry.
In her hair, lovingly braided like a new bride’s, was a single white rose.
When someone asked about the rose, Helena laughed softly and replied,
“It’s a gift the children of Burwood gave me.”
Once again, an invincible shield.
The attire of the guests, who had expected the Ishfern family’s banquet not to be very lavish, was likewise modest across the board.
Amidst them, Countess Bryce, dressed like an empress, stood out far too much.
Realizing belatedly that her outfit did not suit the occasion, Countess Bryce could not even bring herself to step into the center of the hall and was instead lingering at the edge, doing nothing but sipping cold water.
While diligently observing the situation inside the banquet hall, a certain young noble lady quietly approached Helena and greeted her.
“Countess Ishfern, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Helena welcomed her warmly.
“Miss Orland, thank you for coming today.”
After the customary greetings were exchanged, Miss Orland brought up the main point.
“I heard an interesting story related to today’s banquet. That it was held because of a certain countess…?”
Helena smiled inwardly in satisfaction.
This, too, was exactly as she had planned.
Her capable butler, Wesley, had explained that southern high society was divided into several groups, and among them, the rivalry between Countess Bryce and Florain Bonas was the most intense.
And Miss Orland was practically the right-hand woman of Florain Bonas.
This was a chance to deliver a cute little revenge to Countess Bryce.
After glancing around, Helena lowered her voice and whispered,
“Miss Orland, where did you hear such a story?”
“Where else? Everyone knows.”
“Oh dear. This is troublesome…”
As Helena put on a genuinely troubled expression and cast out the bait, Miss Orland immediately bit.
“Countess, perhaps I could help.”
Helena carefully spoke, putting on an anxious expression like an innocent girl hiding an enormous secret.
“Miss Orland, as you know, this is my first time in southern high society, so I don’t know anything. That’s why I can’t speak rashly.”
At her words, Miss Orland nodded vigorously and swore,
“I’ll never tell anyone!”
Listening to that oath, a hallmark of the loose-lipped, Helena laughed inwardly.
“Actually, I had no intention of holding a banquet until all the renovations of the castle were complete.”
“Oh my, of course. That’s what one would normally think.”
“But then a certain countess suddenly paid a visit, bringing along noble ladies of very high standing… I simply couldn’t send them away after disappointing them so greatly, so I hastily ended up holding a banquet like this.”
After letting out a deep sigh, Helena hurriedly changed her expression and smiled.
“But Miss Orland, please don’t worry. That countess surely had no bad intentions at all. She probably just cared too much about Burwood.”
“Oh my… Countess Ishfern, you’re truly broad-minded.”
Miss Orland chattered as if merely thinking about it irritated her.
“Why should she worry about someone else’s territory? It’s like there are two ducal houses in the South. The way she struts around as if she’s leasing out her own territory to other families is really hard to watch—”
Helena blinked her eyes as if she didn’t quite understand.
Seeing that expression, Miss Orland laughed softly and changed her words.
“—or so many people say. Hohoho, of course, not me.”
“Hohoho, Miss Orland, you’re truly amusing.”
“Ohohohong, I am a bit like that. Countess, don’t worry. Most of the people who came here today are good people, so no one will think badly of a lady who’s been married for barely a month just because the castle renovations aren’t finished yet.”
Helena lightly pressed her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
“Hearing you say that really puts my mind at ease. You’re right, Miss Orland. I’m so happy to be able to meet such delightful and kind people.”
“I feel the same, Countess.”
Standing close beside Helena and laughing softly, Miss Orland said,
“Oh, by the way, I have something to discuss with Madam Bonas.”
As befit the hostess of the banquet, Helena smiled kindly and saw Miss Orland off.
“Miss Orland, please enjoy your conversation with Madam Bonas!”
Please spread that gossip about a certain countess—namely, Countess Bryce—far and wide.
Thinking that inwardly, Helena sent Miss Orland a warm smile.
‘Well, I don’t have any personal grudge against Countess Bryce.’
Dragging along someone of high status as a shield and causing a scene was a rather cute provocation, if anything.
Helena didn’t harbor any lingering resentment toward Countess Bryce over it.
In fact, when such trivial disputes arose, the best course was to let them slide vaguely, like diluting water with wine or wine with water.
High society might look like a battlefield where people tear at each other, but in the end, it was still just high society.
A world where the friend who swore eternal friendship today could become one’s greatest enemy tomorrow—and conversely, today’s enemy could become tomorrow’s friend.
In such a world, it was better to let emotions flow away rather than cling to them.
‘She doesn’t seem particularly smart, either.’
Helena looked across from her at Meriel Lucel, who was slowly admiring the chandelier.
Meriel Lucel, with her small frame and shy smile, was a beauty who gave off a delicate, wildflower-like impression. She looked innocent as well.
‘Using such a fragile woman as a shield.’
Countess Bryce really seemed to know only one thing and not two.
She had entered Ishfern Castle using the Duchess of Lucel as a shield, and then tried to use the duchess’s dignity as a weapon to throw today’s banquet into chaos.
It was truly a foolish thing to do.
Putting forward such a soft and innocent-looking duchess was not the kind of thing one could scheme with.
‘If she was going to use a shield anyway, she should’ve brought something suitably sharp that could double as a weapon. What was she thinking, charging in with something like a paper shield?’
Now Helena even felt sorry for the Duchess of Lucel, who was needlessly suffering in the middle of all this.
She took two glasses of champagne and walked over to her.
“Duchess Lucel, it’s an honor to see you again.”
Meriel Lucel blinked her clear blue eyes at her and then smiled with utmost gentleness.
“The honor is mine. I’m glad to see you again, Countess Ishfern.”
As Meriel accepted a champagne glass, she said,
“You went through hardship you didn’t need to, because of me.”
“How could that possibly be the duchess’s fault? Please don’t worry. For me as well, it was a pleasant time to gather hearts together with the people of Burwood.”
“Thank you for saying that. But I will certainly repay this debt.”
Watching Meriel smile brightly, as if she had no intention of leaving behind any resentment, Helena realized something.
‘She looked innocent, but she’s not truly a naïve or childish duchess.’
One could tell just by her attire. When she had entered, she had been wearing a pure white fur adorned with jewels, yet at some point she had removed it and was now dressed in a neat velvet gown.
Of course, it was still a luxury item, but it blended naturally with the simply dressed guests in the banquet hall, without any sense of incongruity.
‘Well, there’s no harm in forming a connection.’
Helena replied with a gentle smile of her own.
“A debt from the duchess—how overwhelming, and yet something to look forward to.
