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~Chapter 14~
The salon hosted by the Claudius Duchy was a deeply historic art event.
Although it wasn’t an official competition, exhibiting works at the salon meant that the Duchy was keeping an eye on the artist’s potential.
In fact, the Claudius family had supported several artists by sponsoring them.
Noblemen also frequently attended as spectators.
For artists, this was a significant advantage.
The more they caught the eye of the nobility, the more it would help with their future artistic endeavors.
If they were lucky, even if they didn’t receive the Duchy’s patronage, they could still find new sponsors.
Many famous artists who had been nurtured by this salon had made quite a name for themselves…
‘If that’s the case, the preparations for the salon should be keeping them incredibly busy right now, shouldn’t it?’
Could I really visit now?
Or was this an unspoken invitation to help with the salon preparations?
As I stood there, confused, I heard someone calling me.
“Miss?”
Amy cautiously called out to me.
Suddenly snapped out of my thoughts, I turned around.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?”
In an instant, I felt an ominous feeling running down my spine.
‘This… feels off.’
Amy had a clearly troubled expression, one I knew all too well.
For instance, it reminded me of when Gregory and Seraphina showed up at the townhouse without any notice.
Amy spoke up.
“Lady Lopez has come to visit.”
As expected.
I scrunched my face in frustration.
‘Why does she keep bothering me?!’
But Amy wasn’t finished speaking yet.
“And… Lady Bentner accompanied her.”
“What?!”
I recoiled in disgust.
Because, Lady Bentner was…
‘Gregory’s aunt!’
After a short while, I couldn’t hide my indifferent expression and went down to the parlor.
“Aunt, thank you so much for accompanying me.”
Seraphina was speaking warmly to the stern-looking middle-aged lady who was sitting next to her.
They looked so familiar with each other that anyone would mistake them for mother and daughter.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had the courage to come here alone.”
“It’s not that. I didn’t know that La Rit would be so rude to Gregory.”
The middle-aged lady smiled generously at Seraphina.
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to correct such rudeness right away.”
“Aunt…”
“So, I should actually be thanking you.”
…
Seriously, do I really have to listen to this nonsense this fresh morning?
By the way, the reason why Seraphina calls Gregory’s aunt “Aunt” is because of an absurd conversation they had before:
“If she’s my aunt, then she’s your aunt too!”
“Really? Is it okay if I call her Aunt?”
“Go ahead. I’m happy to have such a beautiful niece.”
After this ridiculous collaboration, the title was decided.
“By the way, the Bentner Baroness… had tried to act like a stepmother to me, even though I wasn’t even married yet.”
‘But… why is Seraphina’s real intention so transparent?’
I squinted my eyes and looked at Seraphina.
“I kept rejecting Seraphina’s visits, so she must have brought someone who would be hard for me to refuse on her side.”
At that moment, Seraphina turned around and smiled victoriously when our eyes met.
‘No matter what you try, others are all on my side.’
…It was almost as if she were saying that.
“La Rit!”
Seraphina greeted me with an act of being pleased.
“Good morning! Aunt said it’s been a while since she saw your face, so I brought her along with me. And…”
“Seraphina.”
I interrupted Seraphina’s chatter coldly and said, “You came without even giving me any notice. How many times has it been? Isn’t this really rude?”
“What?”
Seraphina widened her eyes in shock, and her shoulders slumped as she looked down, her eyelashes fluttering.
She looked so fragile that anyone unaware of the situation would think I was bullying her.
“Are you giving Seraphina a hard time?”
At the same time, the Bentner Baroness suddenly interrupted the conversation.
“I heard that you dared to send a breakup letter to our Gregory?”
Through her wrinkled eyes, fierce light gleamed.
“And, you even embarrassed him publicly in front of others?”
“Well, to be precise, it was the princess who embarrassed me,” I thought to myself. But I couldn’t say that to her, and it was amusing to see her come here and try to trap me like a mouse.
“Could it be that you’re acting so arrogantly because you’ve become close to the princess?”
The Baroness shook her head and said, in a voice as if talking to a clueless child, “Men hate women who act stiffly like you. There’s a reason why Gregory doesn’t like you.”
“A woman should be soft, sweet, and charming like Seraphina. Don’t you think so?”
But I wasn’t in the mood to listen to her nonsense anymore.
“In that case, you should just marry Gregory to Seraphina.”
“…Did you just say that?”
The Baroness’s face stiffened.
Meanwhile, Seraphina flinched and seemed to tense up.
“La, La Rit, you really…”
Tears fell down her pretty cheeks as she pleaded with me.
“Gregory and I are just good friends. You know that, right?”
Seraphina’s voice trembled as she spoke, as if she had heard something she could not believe.
“How could you slander our friendship like this…”
“I used to fall for that expression before. I might have apologized to Seraphina, saying I was too harsh.”
But not anymore.
“No matter how close you two are, Gregory took care of you much more than he ever did for me, his ex-fiancée.”
“We were just childhood friends…”
“I was also your childhood friend.”
I asked, shrugging my shoulders.
“But you both used me as a mere pawn in your relationship and never respected me. Isn’t that right?”
‘I suddenly remembered the princess.’
The princess, who was of the highest status in the empire, showed respect even to a low-ranking noble like me.
“Pouring tea for someone isn’t such a big deal. Why are you suddenly belittling yourself?”
I recalled that piercing comment from the princess.
‘I won’t let Seraphina and Gregory disrespect me anymore.’
But then…
“Hey, La Rit!”
The Baroness yelled at me with a loud voice.
“Hasn’t Seraphina saved your life? How could you be so ungrateful and unappreciative?”
What? This was the same familiar pattern.
At first, they tried to guilt-trip me by using the people around me.
And Seraphina…
“It’s okay, Aunt.”
“Seraphina.”
“La Rit is just upset and said that out of anger. She doesn’t mean it.”
“You’re such a good child…”
The Baroness couldn’t hide her sympathetic expression.
Seraphina wiped away her tears and gazed at me with sad eyes.
“But La Rit, I really hope you think carefully.”
“About what?”
“Honestly… don’t you think the princess will treat you sincerely?”
Seraphina continued softly.
“I’m saying this for your sake. No matter how harsh you are with me, I still care about you so much…”
“Aha, so…”
I sighed and asked Seraphina in return.
“You’re the only one who truly cares about me?”
