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~Chapter 83~
“But… what if no one wants to talk or dance with me? What if no gentleman asks to write his name on my dance card?”
Sadly, it was a common enough question.
While some young ladies got all the attention, the less noticeable ones were pushed aside by noble gentlemen.
Women who couldn’t find partners at a dance and just stood alone by the wall were even called wallflowers.
That’s why you have a chaperone.
If the chaperone was well-connected, she could encourage many gentlemen to greet the young lady she was guiding.
Rosalie’s lips briefly curved in a different kind of smile than before.
“Oh my, Lady Adel. That hardly ever happens. Why worry about something that would never happen to an ordinary young lady?”
Dorothy agreed.
“That’s right, Lady Adel. You sound far too lacking in confidence. That only happens to… well, the very least popular young ladies.”
“Yes, that’s true…”
“Not that anyone here is like that…”
Rosalie glanced subtly at Adel.
“But if you do become a wallflower and show your desperation, that’s the end. If a gentleman you like doesn’t come to you, you must make him approach you. If you ask him first, it’s over.”
Riden endured the tiring conversation, remembering Adel’s role in the original story.
Adel had been a wallflower, hiding her beauty under messy hair and a shy expression, unable to say a single word to the man she liked.
‘So it was because she listened to useless advice like this…’
Adel would sit in a corner, her pretty eyes full of worry.
‘Poor thing… but don’t worry!’
Riden silently cheered her on.
Mari would notice her good points, help her change her style, and support her.
In the end, Adel would get engaged to the man she wanted.
By now, Mari must have figured out the mood of this place.
Riden sipped her tea and glanced sideways at Mari.
Mari was looking at Rosalie with an amused expression.
Mari spoke with a soft smile.
“Lady Adel.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll help you. Let’s go around together.”
“With you, Lady Mari?”
“Yes. If you stay beside me, you’ll never be a wallflower. I’ll make sure of it.”
Mari’s beauty and confident tone were obvious to everyone.
Riden noticed Vienne and Hayden’s faces darken.
If Adel, the one they considered the weakest in Rosalie’s group, gained another friend, they might be treated as the weakest instead.
Adel’s face, however, lit up.
“Oh! But wouldn’t I be a burden to you if we stayed together?”
“Eh? No way. Absolutely not.”
This time Riden firmly denied it.
Adel’s face relaxed with relief.
Rosalie, cut off by Mari, stayed quiet with an unreadable expression, until Vienne spoke.
“Lady Mari, you’re debuting this year. Unlike Lady Rosalie, you have no experience. How could you possibly help Lady Adel? Isn’t that too arrogant?”
“Arrogant?”
Mari’s lips curved as if she had been waiting for this.
“Do you really have to have experience to know well? Even without experience, I know important things you don’t. For example…”
Silence fell over the group.
Mari said brightly:
“In conversation—Lady Rosalie’s advice about not asking too many questions is very good. But there’s something even more important. Do you know what it is?”
The room went quiet again.
Mari turned to Rosalie.
“Do you know, Lady Rosalie?”
All eyes turned to the leader of the group.
Rosalie gave a slight mocking smile before replying.
“Do I really have to say it? The fact that I already have a beloved fiancé proves my skill in conversation.”
Sparks seemed to fly between them.
Mari smirked and replied:
“Ah, that’s true. Then you don’t need to know. But the other young ladies should.”
She clapped her hands.
“Since no one seems to know, I’ll tell you.”
Rosalie looked irritated but kept quiet.
Mari spoke.
“It’s simple—don’t say things they don’t want to hear. It’s not just about how often you ask questions, but what you ask or avoid asking that matters.”
“For example?”
Vienne, suddenly curious, spoke before Mari had even finished.
“For example, even with the 2:1 strategy, if you ask something like, ‘How much will the second son of the count’s family inherit instead of a title?’—even if you don’t ask it directly but hint at it—it’s still the same.”
Her words weren’t wrong, so the ladies listened quietly.
Hayden frowned.
“Isn’t that a natural question to ask?”
“But even if you hint at it, he’ll know. Then, while dancing happily, he’ll think, ‘She’s not interested in me, just in judging my worth.’ Do you think he’ll ask her to dance again?”
“….”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t check such things—just that you should choose the right time. First, make him feel comfortable, free from the pressure of being judged.”
The way they looked at Mari changed—like they were looking at a true expert.
“If I share these tips with Lady Adel, it might help her a little. And since I’ll have plenty of gentlemen wanting to dance with me, I can introduce some to her too.”
“Thank you, Lady Mari. Just hearing that makes me feel less worried,” Adel said.
Mari’s eyes told her to just trust her.
“Hmm…”
“….”
“Isn’t it more reliable to meet a gentleman through a chaperone than through a friend’s introduction?”
Rosalie struck back.
“Lady Mari, which lady will be your chaperone? I’m curious.”
Ah… Mari didn’t have one yet.
That was why she’d come today—to expand her connections and find one.
But she stayed calm and answered.
“At first, I thought of asking a lady I know. But then I realized… I’m sure to be very popular. Do I even need a chaperone?”
“So you couldn’t get one.”
“I chose not to.”
Their eyes clashed like sparks.
“I heard you’re staying at the McCreary Count’s estate because you have no one else. Who was the lady you planned to ask?”
“There are several.”
“So who exactly…”
In the original story, Mari would already have a sponsor by now.
But in this timeline, she had none.
‘But she doesn’t need one now—I’m giving her everything she needs for her debutante. Besides, her partner is already set.’
Riden was about to speak for Mari when Mari bit her lip lightly, then smiled and said:
“Duchess Samantha Kenwolf.”
‘What?’
Riden’s eyes went wide in shock.
