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chapter 81
Frankly speaking, it wasn’t even a lie.
Viscountess Heder had secretly extracted information from her father to make her trade successful, and Emilina had just wrapped it in plausible words.
The “teaching” that Serika mentioned was merely about her way with words.
Since she had paved the way, it wasn’t as if Heder couldn’t use it.
Of course, the target had simply shifted from her parents to their children.
That was why, when she reversed the cause-and-effect in her words, everyone looked on with interest.
Since this was a central gathering, the conversations here carried weight, meaning that acknowledging the facts was almost the same as officially validating them.
However, only Viscountess Heder seemed ready to fully deny the statement with her labored breathing.
Eventually, the atmosphere heated up, and Heder finally exploded.
Like a bonfire blazing to life, she jumped up.
“This is slander! I’ve never once received instruction from Lady Klein! On the contrary, she used it to—!”
“Viscountess Heder.”
But someone interrupted her with a cold voice.
It was the Marchioness Chase, who had been quietly following the conversation until now.
With a cold expression filled with disdain, she spoke to Heder.
“Your words are reckless. What kind of disrespect is that toward the Duchess? She is the lady of the Dietrio ducal house. Use her proper title.”
The Marchioness Chase spoke without softening her icy gaze.
She wasn’t the only one.
From all around, Heder received sharp, disapproving looks from other noblewomen.
Emilina sensed the rapidly cooling atmosphere and shook her head slightly.
Viscountess Heder’s entrance into the central social circle was essentially over.
For her position, it was as if a death sentence had been pronounced.
No matter what she did now, Heder would not be accepted in the central circle.
Even if the Viscount and Viscountess Heder were exceptions, it wasn’t simply a matter of Heder reacting to Emilina’s words.
It was common for people to clash over opposing political stances or personal grudges.
Since they were masters of concealed intentions and verbal duels, such exchanges were trivial gossip to them.
In fact, some found amusement in gossiping, while others tried to extract information from conflicts between people.
So conflicts were frequent, and deep grudges were not uncommon.
Yet even they had lines that could not be crossed.
No matter how much they disliked or resented someone, they could not ignore their social rank.
This was the difference between the general social circle and the central one.
These were a proud, elite group of central nobles, upper-class even in the capital.
Even if they despised someone personally, they could not disregard their rank.
They were literally nobles among nobles, carefully selected to enter the central circle.
Acknowledging this, “disrespect” in the form of ignoring rank was absolutely forbidden.
Lady Countess Razela had repeatedly warned Emilina of this.
Never, under any circumstances, should one ignore someone’s rank to belittle them.
Yet Viscountess Heder had casually violated that rule.
Of course, she was flustered, but Emilina observed her with a somewhat skeptical eye.
“How much did she refuse to acknowledge me to call me Lady Klein so naturally?”
Even in a moment of losing composure, if Heder had accepted Emilina as a superior even slightly, she would have corrected herself.
By now, Emilina and Kirzen’s marriage was widely known in Rioneph.
If Heder had been fully aware of this, such a mistake would never have occurred.
Yet as Heder continued speaking, she remained oblivious to her blunder.
Had the Marchioness Chase not interrupted, she might have gone on without realizing it.
The proof was her astonished expression when she finally noticed her slip.
The other ladies were even more displeased, showing their irritation.
Desperately, Heder tried to salvage her words.
“I- I apologize, Marchioness. The Duchess—”
“Hmm. Still haven’t grasped the situation, I see. I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, am I?”
Heder’s expression stiffened.
She clearly didn’t want to apologize to Emilina, clenching her teeth in defiance.
Yet, under the pressure of countless eyes, she reluctantly muttered her apology.
“I… beg your pardon, Duchess. Please forgive my rudeness.”
Hmmm. Emilina narrowed her eyes and observed Heder.
Honestly, the apology lacked sincerity, but singling her out here wouldn’t look good.
That didn’t mean Emilina forgave her.
She simply didn’t want to push Heder further on a stage someone else had set.
Still.
“After all you’ve done, I don’t need to show excessive leniency.”
Emilina thought so and spoke to Heder.
“I will accept your apology. But I hope you are more careful in the future. Repeating mistakes like this will ruin your image.”
Although Heder’s image had already plunged off a cliff.
Emilina concealed her thoughts, watching Heder’s reaction.
Of course, Heder wanted to glare at Emilina with indignation, but she bit her lip and reluctantly agreed, saying, “I’ll be careful.”
Emilina didn’t provoke her further.
In fact, she felt a little pity.
At the start of the gathering, Heder might have had hope, but now she was effectively isolated.
The other noblewomen, seated uncomfortably around her, avoided her gaze.
Seeing this, Emilina realized Heder would remain stuck in that state until the gathering ended.
“Well, I suppose it’s her own doing.”
Emilina thought so, completely turning her attention away from Heder.
Technically, she had no choice.
Countess Razela had tried to ease the tense atmosphere with her flexible conversation.
Even the Marchioness Chase joined in without further comment.
The topic shifted… naturally to the East Continent trade.
Noblewomen familiar with the continent asked for details, while young ladies inquired about trending accessories.
As the conversation flowed, many approached Emilina out of curiosity, using the East Continent topic as an excuse to speak with her.
However, they avoided mentioning the Heder trading company.
It was as if there was an unspoken agreement to ignore it.
Though the Heder company led the East Continent trade, no one paid attention to Heder herself.
With no one approaching her, Heder hunched her shoulders and stared blankly at the table.
Emilina thought, “So this is what it’s like to be frowned upon by central nobles.”
She gauged their intentions.
While they ignored Heder partially out of disdain for Emilina, they were also calculating that soon, the Dietrio ducal house would take over East Continent trade.
Of course, she couldn’t fault that reasoning.
Emilina planned to reassess the East Continent trade after this gathering.
She didn’t know how long it would take, but seeing them change their attitude immediately, she was impressed.
“The Heder company still controls the actual power…”
True. They had nothing to lose.
Even if Heder company thrived with East Continent goods, it was only that.
Their viscountcy could provide East Continent goods anytime if they wished.
Any strike against central nobles by Heder would result in market exclusion, so they couldn’t resist.
In conclusion, Heder was thoroughly in a subordinate position in this sphere.
Conversely, if Emilina took control of the East Continent trade, the game would change drastically.
With power and successful business in hand, even they couldn’t ignore her.
Though Emilina wasn’t particularly fond of a status-based society, the distinction between having power or not was striking.
The fact that she might be regarded favorably simply because she could gain influence over them stirred a strange emotion.
Still, there was no need to antagonize them unnecessarily.
While Emilina entertained conversation occasionally, a noblewoman suddenly clapped her hands as if recalling something.
“Oh! Speaking of which, there are rumors that the East Continent delegation will attend this year’s hunting festival.”
“Yes, I’ve heard the same. They’ll be visiting soon, I believe.”
“Since the festival coincides with their visit, they’ll likely come together.”
Hearing the news, noblewomen and young ladies involved in family businesses on the continent lit up.
Those who had just heard it began calculating opportunities.
Meeting the delegation could open doors to trade and relations.
Emilina, too, realized this.
“Wow, I didn’t expect this.”
Originally, the East Continent wasn’t even mentioned in the source material, so this was quite intriguing.
She didn’t know why they came all the way to Rioneph, but it was no longer impossible.
“Hmm. Did I just open that possibility?”
A true butterfly effect.
Had she not envisioned the East Continent trade, there would have been no reason to interact with them—at least not for several more years.
When she planned the trade, most people here weren’t even aware of another continent.
Of course, scholars and continent enthusiasts knew, but they were rare.
Anyway, this delegation might be a perfect opportunity to wrest control of the East Continent trade from Heder company.
Emilina decided to use this new information in her planning.
Honestly, she had no expectations for this garden party, but perhaps she could revise that slightly.
It was a central gathering, after all—the quality of information exchanged was incomparable to regular social meetings.
But that was the limit.
Emilina still couldn’t say she enjoyed the party, especially considering the schemes of Viscountess Chase, which nearly ruined it.
The atmosphere kept moving in directions she didn’t want.
If anything, the gathering made her want to distance herself even further from Serika.
She took solace in the single valuable piece of information she had gained.
Then the noblewoman who mentioned the East Continent delegation added another tidbit.
“But that’s not all. I’ve heard their visit is related to Lady Trovina.”
“Lady Trovina…?”
“The countess from the southern region.”
“Yes… but isn’t that odd? How could they be connected?”
“I’m not sure either. But some interaction must have occurred for this rumor to circulate.”
The first noblewoman shrugged.
Hearing this, one young lady, lost in thought, slowly spoke.
“I think I know. I met Lady Trovina once before.”
“Oh, that’s good news.”
“Not exactly. I’ve only heard news since then, so I’m not certain it’s accurate.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll judge for ourselves.”
“Very well.”
The young lady who spoke about Trovina relaxed slightly and continued.
“Lady Trovina has always been interested in East Continent culture, but her parents strongly opposed her studying abroad. So she couldn’t go.”
“Hmmm. That doesn’t explain the delegation rumors…”
Nearby noblewomen murmured in confusion.
Another young lady noticed something odd and asked.
“Wait, when you say you knew, does that mean your understanding has changed?”
“Yes, exactly.”
She smiled faintly.
“Recently, my father informed me of her news. She defied opposition and went to the East Continent.”
“Oh my…”
Upon hearing of Lady Trovina, everyone sighed solemnly.
Although no one stated it outright, it was implied she had run away.
The young lady who had heard the news had refrained from explicitly mentioning it, trusting that others would understand.
Thus, the atmosphere grew somber.
Among them, only Emilina pondered seriously.
“If it’s Lady Trovina, then it can only be Chloe?!”
Emilina felt absurd upon receiving this sudden news about the heroine.
