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~Chapter 82~
Mari smiled brightly and began to speak.
“No, Lady Vienne. Since you don’t know my situation, it’s understandable you’d think that way. I’ve been through difficulties that you’ve probably never experienced.”
Vienne looked intrigued and quickly latched onto the words.
“What kind of difficulties? Poverty?”
“Oh my, my lady!”
“…I’ve been making a lot of slip-ups today. My apologies, Lady Mari.”
Though she said sorry, her face and eyes clearly showed her desire to belittle the other.
‘What a nasty way to speak!’
That’s it!
Riden was about to straighten her back and scold sharply when Mari suddenly grabbed her hand under the table.
“…?”
Mari hesitated for a moment, looking troubled, then spoke.
“Apologize? There’s no need. It’s true my barony is poor. I don’t get angry at the truth. And you didn’t mean it to insult me, right?”
Vienne looked away, pretending not to notice, and replied,
“That’s right.”
“Of course. Even though Lady Vienne looks like someone who might easily put others down, I believe you have a kinder heart than anyone.”
The blue-haired Vienne’s eyes went wide.
“What did you say?”
Mari’s smile deepened, her eyes narrowing warmly.
The sunshine of the world’s most beautiful heroine seemed to radiate in all directions.
“I’m often misunderstood too, so I understand well. But you should still keep your spirits up! Lady Vienne, fighting!”
“….”
“Oh dear, if I misspoke, I apologize. I’m not used to the capital’s way of speaking since I haven’t been here long.”
“Ha.”
“But after exchanging a few apologies, it feels like we’ve already become close, doesn’t it? If we only say good things, it takes forever to become friends. Don’t you agree?”
Vienne looked shocked and glanced around at the other young ladies for help.
But after being hit with Mari’s warm sunlight, none of them dared to speak, afraid they’d end up like Vienne.
One girl finally stepped up to help her friend.
“What kind of difficulty was it that you went through, Lady Mari? I’m curious.”
She clearly wanted to expose Mari’s lack of wealth for embarrassment.
Mari answered right away.
“Since the poor barony couldn’t afford many servants, I lived with just a few. But among those few, whenever we hired a male servant, some would dream of a forbidden romance with a noble lady. So, I only kept necessary maids. That meant I had to pull out my own chair. Inconvenient, but less bothersome than having every new servant fall for me.”
Riden froze slightly.
That was the nature of a novel’s heroine—so beautiful in looks and heart that everyone, man or woman, was charmed by her.
And anyone could see it—Mari was lovely and beautiful.
Her pink hair caught the sunlight at every curl as if the light refused to leave her.
Plus, being a “refreshing” heroine, she could mention her disadvantage with complete confidence.
‘…Did the original Mari respond like this too?’
Even if the others weren’t intentionally malicious, the atmosphere was growing cold, and Riden was starting to worry.
“Yes, it must have been difficult,” said Hayden, who had asked the question, looking ready to drop the topic.
But Mari was different.
“Lord Hayden…”
Mari’s blue eyes slowly scanned Hayden up and down.
“I don’t think you’ve ever gone through anything like that. Ah, how peaceful your life must have been! I’m jealous.”
‘Wow… Mari is incredibly strong.’
Riden had followed to make sure the heroine didn’t feel intimidated—but she wasn’t intimidated at all.
Even Riden felt herself crushed by Mari’s energy.
Just then, Rosalie, who had been quietly composed, brought up a new topic.
“Today’s purpose is both to welcome you and to give you some tips for your debutante ball and the ones to come. Shall we start?”
Finally, the original story’s episode seemed to be starting.
‘The welcome party.’
In the original, this had happened earlier.
After arriving in the capital with Riden, Mari was kicked out of the count’s estate when jealous Riden saw her talking happily with Ethan.
Left alone, Mari joined the ladies’ society, searching for a sponsor and chaperone to help her debut.
The welcome party was when the ladies’ society, worried that Mari might threaten their positions with her beauty, tried to pick on her over nothing—only for Mari to handle it gracefully.
‘I was worried about her… but it’s honestly not even worth worrying over.’
Rosalie, today’s host, clapped her hands together.
“Now, everyone.”
As she spoke, the young ladies showed a mix of nervousness and excitement about the upcoming debutante ball.
“The reason I’ve gathered you here today is because the social stage is much harder than you imagine.”
Rosalie set down her teacup elegantly.
“So, having attended the debutante ball a year before you, I’ll share my know-how.”
Rosalie White of the White Count’s family—looking every bit the perfect lady—wore a large diamond ring that sparkled in the sunlight.
Someone asked the first question.
“What do you think is most important at a ball, Lady Rosalie?”
Rosalie smiled.
“Good question. First, it’s your smile. Whether the person you want doesn’t write their name on your dance card, or someone you dislike asks you to dance, it’s most important to smile consistently. An anxious face lessens a lady’s charm.”
The young ladies nodded curiously.
Another asked, “And the second?”
Rosalie answered smoothly.
“It’s the art of conversation.”
“Art?”
“Yes. When you converse, you exchange questions, right? But you must never keep asking questions nonstop—especially if you like the man. If he asks two questions, you should only ask one. Asking more than him makes you look impatient, which reduces your charm.”
‘I want to go home.’
The first tip about keeping a poker face was fine, but the second was hard to listen to.
You needed to ask questions to know if someone was worth your time.
If interest disappeared just because you asked a little more, there wasn’t much interest to begin with.
But Riden kept her gentle expression, knowing her opinion meant nothing here.
In a way, it was good practice for keeping a poker face.
One girl exclaimed cheerfully, “Two of his questions, one of mine! The 2:1 strategy!”
Next to ask was Dorothy.
“Lady Rosalie, could you tell us what to watch for when dancing?”
Ever-prepared Dorothy held a notepad.
“You just called it the 2:1 strategy, right? Dancing is the same. 2:1.”
“Oh, I’m curious.”
“Dancing is an extension of conversation. So, when dancing, if the gentleman shows two active moves, we show one. Understand?”
Rosalie took a sip of tea.
At that moment, Adel, who had been quiet until now, seemed to gather her courage to speak.
