Chapter 32
Lady Heather quickly averted her gaze, overcome by a sudden shiver.
The other young ladies chattered excitedly.
“Oh my goodness. Is that true?”
“No wonder the Baron would cut ties.”
“I heard the Klein family was in financial straits, but I never thought they’d behave so shamelessly…”
“Well, now we know why they were so brazen.”
“That’s certainly not a trait worth inheriting.”
Listening to their gossip, Emilina let out a dry laugh.
It felt like the sound of dogs barking somewhere nearby.
Who was really the shameless one here?
Her father’s fault? Trying not to be prejudiced?
If they truly weren’t looking at her through tinted lenses, there was no way such words would have come out of their mouths.
In truth, she had been the one biting her tongue, keeping such thoughts to herself.
What Viscount Heather had done was his own matter, not something Lady Heather should be held accountable for. Emilina had always thought so.
But now Lady Heather, without knowing the full story, had spoken carelessly and dragged it out here.
As Lady Heather herself had said, this was an affair between adults. Yet she had brought it up for the sole purpose of degrading Emilina in public.
Emilina glanced around with a bitter smile.
The young ladies, clustered around Lady Heather, were united in criticizing her.
She didn’t mind them bringing up scandals.
Her reputation had already sunk so low that such things hardly mattered.
But falsely accusing her father was another matter.
Lady Heather had crossed a line that Emilina could not ignore.
Of course, it might have been wiser to save her energy, ignore them, and leave.
‘But let her taste a little shame first.’
She would at least give one blow before walking away.
After all, every person gathered here came from families much like her own—nameless, lower-ranking nobility.
If they were backed by great houses, that would be different, but there was no need to be overly courteous here.
“Lady Heather. You said my father tried to steal the Eastern Continent trade, didn’t you?”
“Regrettably, yes. You may want to deny it, but it’s true.”
“Denial only works when there are people willing to believe you.”
“…Your tone is rather rude.”
Lady Heather put on a look of displeasure. Emilina didn’t care.
“What kind of goods were brought in? If it was a business my father supposedly coveted, they must be extraordinary.”
“They’re nothing much. Mostly Eastern luxuries.”
“Nothing much? The Heather Trading Company became famous because of them, didn’t it? I’ve heard that even the central nobles are already swept up in the trend.”
“And what exactly are you implying?”
Lady Heather’s voice sharpened, irritated at the subtle belittling of her family’s company.
Emilina simply shrugged.
“I’d just like to see them myself. Ah, come to think of it—aren’t the dress and jewelry you’re wearing today Eastern imports?”
They were so unremarkable she had nearly forgotten.
Emilina’s words, slyly prodding, made Lady Heather frown for an instant. Then she forced a thin smile.
“That’s right. This dress is made from imported fabric from the East. It’s quite high quality—something the Lady of Klein would likely find difficult to acquire.”
Lady Heather lowered her long lashes with feigned elegance.
“Earrings may be out of your reach, but perhaps a small hair ornament could be managed. I could even put in a word with our company if you like.”
She said it as though bestowing a favor, making the other young ladies laugh with delight.
Emilina, too, smiled as she replied.
“That would be lovely. But tell me, Lady Heather—why are you so reluctant to talk about the fabric itself? The other ladies asked earlier, but you gave no answer.”
“That’s because…”
Lady Heather faltered, looking slightly flustered.
“We all know the fabric is imported from the East. But that’s not what they’re curious about, is it? They want to know exactly what kind of textile it is.”
The same went for the jewelry.
Earlier in the gathering, the young ladies had showered Lady Heather with compliments, repeatedly asking about her attire.
But Lady Heather had dodged their questions, keeping her answers vague.
That was when Emilina realized.
“Oh… could it be you don’t actually know? I assumed you would, since it’s your family’s company supplying these goods.”
At her words, Lady Heather’s face stiffened.
She forced herself to stay composed.
“Lady Klein. Do you have any idea how many products the Heather Company deals in? It’s impossible to remember them all.”
“So, you admit you don’t know.”
“…I simply forgot, since there were many items imported this season.”
After a slight pause, Lady Heather finally managed that reply, her jaw tightening.
“Ah, so it just slipped your mind. Then, do you remember now?”
Lady Heather said nothing.
Emilina tilted her lips into a crooked smile.
“That’s strange. I heard you even played a role in securing the Eastern trade deal. Hard to believe you’d forget something like that so easily…”
She let her words trail off, her tone openly mocking.
The implication was clear:
If you really helped with such an important business, how could you possibly forget? Do you have the memory of a goldfish?
The cracks in Lady Heather’s composure deepened.
“Is that really important right now?”
“Then are you saying it isn’t?”
“Are you just trying to toy with me?”
“Of course not. I only pointed out that you couldn’t answer.”
Lady Heather scowled at Emilina’s bluntness.
“Your rudeness is beyond measure. You ought to learn proper noble decorum, Lady Klein.”
It seemed she was too upset now to keep up her refined facade.
Emilina let out a short laugh.
As if I have anything left to learn here.
Thanks to Katie’s zeal for education, she had endured endless lessons in etiquette.
Naturally, she’d also been taught the refined language of high society.
But that was something to use selectively—depending on who you were dealing with.
“Then why don’t you preserve your dignity by explaining the Eastern goods?”
“I have no obligation to tell you.”
Lady Heather ground her teeth.
That confirmed it—her appeal to “noble decorum” had only been a tactic to derail the conversation.
Nice try, but no.
“Perhaps not an obligation, but are you sure you want to keep quiet? Your honor might suffer for it.”
“And why would that be?”
“Because it would prove you lied about helping with the trade deal. If you keep your mouth shut, people will start to doubt you.”
And indeed, the surrounding ladies were already wavering at Emilina’s words.
Had Lady Heather not boasted to them before?
If she truly had helped with such a major business venture, claiming she’d “forgotten” made no sense.
It would’ve been better to flaunt her knowledge, to crush Lady Klein with pride.
But her evasiveness only gave rise to suspicion.
“Why not just say it, then?”
In the end, unable to bear the growing murmurs, Lady Heather fell for Emilina’s provocation.
Emilina tipped her chin.
“Go on then. Tell us.”
But Lady Heather couldn’t speak.
Why? Because the story of her involvement was nothing but a fabrication her father had concocted to give his daughter prestige.
To make it seem as though he had a clever and capable child.
And Emilina thought her truly foolish.
If they were going to invent a lie, at least get the details straight.
To pass off falsehood as truth, one had to prepare thoroughly.
But Lady Heather hadn’t.
She bragged proudly, yet knew nothing.
It was so foolish it was almost pitiful.
Of course, perhaps no one else had ever pressed the matter so persistently as Emilina was now.
Most would have let it slide with laughter and chatter.
But that was only because they didn’t know the deeper circumstances.
As someone directly involved, Emilina had no intention of letting it slide.
After all, whose idea do you think the Eastern trade business was in the first place?
That’s right. The Eastern trade venture had been Emilina’s idea, suggested to her father, Mactron, when she was just a child.
The very goods Heather’s company now imported were things Emilina had researched herself.
It was a guess based on a narrative cliché:
That somewhere out there, across the distant sea, there must exist a land that used exotic, Oriental-style items.
As expected, that place was the Eastern Continent.
So she had devised the plan and told her father.
She had trusted he would handle the rest competently.
But that had been a grave mistake.
Her father was not skilled at managing business.
And Emilina, with no experience herself, couldn’t offer him proper guidance.
Especially not in a massive undertaking like international trade, which required substantial capital reserves to handle risks.
The Klein barony, of course, had no such wealth.
Even so, her father had tried.
He borrowed money. He bought ships.
And he failed.
