IALFMFL CH 09

A few days later.

The rain that had been pouring down since morning had left even the carpet beneath my shoes feeling damp.

I picked up the letter neatly placed on the table in my room. The seal stamped onto the pristine, wrinkle-free envelope was an eagle with rough feathers.

“What’s this?”

Daisy, who was bringing me tea, answered my question.

“Oh, that letter arrived for you, my lady. It was sent by someone named Charon from the Entera family. Do you know her?”

“Charon Entera?”

The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite remember.

I immediately broke the seal and opened the envelope.

This was only the second time I had ever received a letter for personal reasons.

Coincidentally, the first letter I had received had arrived when I was around thirteen. It had been an invitation to enroll in the Imperial Academy, something every noble child was bound to receive.

Other than that, not a single letter addressed to Katrina Ezelot had ever arrived.

My personal social life had always been bleak, after all.

“To Lady Katrina Ezelot…”

I calmly read through the contents of the letter.

At the same time, I remembered that Charon Entera was the girl I had met when I followed Lockhard that day.

I had simply thought of her as a pretty illegitimate daughter, but Charon’s handwriting was just as elegant and smooth as Eden’s.

More importantly, there were no difficult words, and it was incredibly easy to read.

It wasn’t one of those boastful, pretentious letters nobles wrote by dragging in complicated words just to make themselves look impressive.

Hmm.

That was probably because she hadn’t received the usual etiquette and academic lessons.

“What does it say? This is the first time you’ve ever received a letter, my lady, so I’m nervous just thinking about it.”

After carefully reading all the way to the final period, I folded the letter.

I felt strangely as though I were dreaming.

“She invited me.”

“My goodness! Really? Is it a tea party at the Entera ducal estate? And she invited you?”

For some reason, Daisy looked even more dreamlike than I did.

No, she didn’t just look like she was dreaming.

She looked as though she were swimming around inside one.

“But did His Grace the Duke of Entera have a daughter…? I thought he only had two sons.”

“You’re right. Charon isn’t the Duchess’s biological child. And this letter isn’t an invitation to a tea party either. She invited only me.”

This was truly an opportunity sent from heaven.

Today marked three days since I had recovered the memories of my previous life.

At last, a stage had appeared where I could put all the social etiquette I had painstakingly polished over the years to use.

Even if that stage was nothing more than a small reception room!

To accomplish a great task, you have to climb the small steps one by one.

Starting with a one-on-one tea party with Charon, I would build a lively future for the new Katrina!

“Mhm, good. I’m glad I told her my name that day.”

“Won’t the Countess be angry?”

“Mother?”

“She has always been worried about your social life. No matter how much of a young lady from a ducal family she may be, if she’s an illegitimate child…”

Daisy’s clear face was filled with concern.

At her words, I imagined myself telling Mother, ‘I received an invitation from an illegitimate daughter.’

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t form a convincing picture of how that conversation would go.

After all, the very fact that someone had invited me somewhere was something that had never happened to me before.

“Well, she isn’t the kind of person who would get angry over something like this.”

Probably.

A small part of me believed that was true, but just in case, I thought I should ask for permission that morning.

If she opposed it until the very end…

Well, then I’d just have to sneak out.

What else could I do?

The first day of my Great Plan to Make a Female Friend had finally arrived.

It was the moment I had eagerly anticipated with a pounding heart after barely sleeping properly for two whole days.

From the moment I received the letter until today, when I was finally going to visit the Entera estate, I had replayed the image of sitting across from Charon and laughing happily together dozens of times in my head.

“Has Lockhard still not come home today?”

“The Second Young Master returned very late in the early hours of the morning. I heard he plans to rest properly today.”

That was exactly the answer I had been waiting for.

Considering that Lockhard had returned after four days, there was a high chance that Lord Panshion had also returned to Entera.

Good.

Then today’s goal was to become ordinary friends with Charon while also secretly getting a look at Lord Panshion, who should be at the Entera estate.

I didn’t need anything else.

I just had to confirm his face.

No, perhaps I should pay a little more attention and look at his physique too.

At this point, it was less about necessity and more about stubbornness.

Today, I absolutely had to see Lord Panshion!

The more I thought about it, the more fortunate I felt that I had followed Lockhard that day.

Even if Lockhard himself had been too busy with work to return to the castle for the past few days.

I was too nervous to spare any attention for how my hair had been curled or whether my dress suited me.

I simply headed toward Mother’s room exactly as Daisy had prepared me.

Then I confidently announced that I had to go meet Charon Entera of the Entera ducal family!

“So, Kate, are you saying you’re going to the Entera estate looking like that?”

Surprisingly, Mother’s response was far beyond anything I had expected.

I blinked several times before looking down at my dress in confusion.

Then I raised my arms and felt around my forehead and the top of my head.

“What’s wrong with it? Daisy said I looked as pretty as a fairy.”

“Has Daisy ever helped a noble lady with her social activities, or done anything of the sort? Her young lady is a sheltered flower with not a single friend. Did she really need to keep up with current fashion? The way you look now was fashionable seven years ago. These days, young ladies try to put as many ornaments on their heads as possible, while all you have is a butterfly-shaped sapphire and some gold decorations.”

It was a brutally painful critique.

But the bigger problem was that Mother wasn’t wrong about a single thing.

I’m sorry, Daisy.

I’m sorry you had to serve a young lady with no friends…

I really have a lot to make up for.

“Still… Well, it isn’t entirely terrible. You said this Charon Entera is an outsider?”

Did ‘outsider’ mean illegitimate child?

I hesitated before nodding.

“Yes.”

“Then there’s no need for you to pile on every expensive thing you own just to go there. If she isn’t being treated well, then your current appearance might actually be better. Fine. Don’t try to change anything and make things worse. Just go as you are. When you return, we’ll have your dresses and jewelry fitted first.”

Mother had given me permission.

Rather than feeling like I could jump for joy, I was simply bewildered.

She had been speaking as though I would be ignored even if I went, and then suddenly changed her mind and told me to go.

I wasn’t sure whether it was really okay to go.

But if I didn’t go, when would another opportunity come?

I stood up politely and bowed.

“Then, I’ll be back.”

“I don’t expect you to be particularly graceful. Just behave as you are now. And don’t cause another incident and come home.”

As soon as I closed the door, I left the castle with light, graceful steps.

I wanted to fly there, but I couldn’t run recklessly in case I ruined my hair or dress.

Daisy watched me all the way until I climbed into the carriage, clasping both her hands together.

She looked as though tears would start falling at the slightest touch.

“My goodness, our young lady is actually going out to meet a friend… Am I dreaming right now?”

“Enough. Go inside already. You’re making me incredibly embarrassed.”

But Daisy, who had endured nearly seven years by my side, was the number-one champion of selectively seeing and hearing only what she wanted.

There was no way my complaints had actually reached her ears.

“I’ll bake some warm scones for when you return. Ah, no… Wait! You’ll probably eat lots of delicious desserts there, so don’t even look at something like scones! I’ll let them get cold, so don’t even think about eating them when you come back!”

Anyone listening would have thought I was leaving for another country to study.

I irritably pounded my fist against the wall of the carriage.

If I kept listening to Daisy’s nonsense, my old temper was going to come back out.

“Please, just make the carriage leave!”

The Entera ducal family, together with the Ezelot family, was one of the families responsible for overseeing the eastern part of the Empire.

As befitted a family with such a long history, they had a conservative atmosphere.

Unlike most noble families, where the eldest child became the heir regardless of gender, only the eldest son of the Entera family could become its head.

But that wasn’t the only distinctive feature of the Entera ducal family.

As I passed through the Entera estate, I discovered another fact.

The Entera castle was so grand and old-fashioned that it could rival the Imperial Palace itself.

“I’m terribly sorry, Lady Ezelot. Lady Charon hasn’t finished preparing yet.”

I realized something else just now.

There was definitely something wrong with either the Entera ducal family or Charon.

“She still hasn’t finished preparing?”

I lifted my chin, making my displeasure obvious.

I had deliberately arrived neither too early nor too late, yet all my efforts to urge the coachman along for the sake of perfect timing had gone to waste.

“Yes. I have no excuse. I’m truly sorry.”

The real question was why she was late.

Just as Nazar had done, I narrowed my eyes and looked over the maid who had bowed her head.

I couldn’t tell whether Charon was simply taking her time or whether someone in the household was mistreating her.

Somehow, I had a feeling it was the latter rather than the former.

“Well… It can’t be helped. Where should I wait?”

“I’ll escort you to the reception room immediately.”

I shook my head at her answer.

The weather was beautiful, so there seemed to be no reason to waste time indoors.

“I’d like to see the garden in front of the castle. Is that all right?”

The scent of chrysanthemums I had noticed while walking here was still lingering around my nose.

Usually, gardens were designed to be at their best in summer or spring, but just like Ezelot, this place seemed to have its strongest fragrance in autumn.

Fortunately, the maid didn’t refuse my request.

Leaving the refreshments that were gradually being prepared behind, I stepped into the simple chrysanthemum garden.

After experiencing firsthand the rich fragrance I had only smelled through tea, I felt slightly dizzy.

Step.

That was when I heard someone’s footsteps not far away.

At first, I thought it was a maid, but the footsteps were unhurried and heavy.

Whoever it was clearly didn’t sound like one of the castle servants.

Since I had heard them, the other person must have noticed my presence as well.

Thinking that, I wandered near the edge of the garden.

Before long, someone appeared where I was standing.

And it was a man I had never expected to see.

“…Baby’s breath?”

At his words, I was startled and instinctively looked down at my chest.

It was an automatic reaction, as though I were searching for the baby’s breath flowers that had been arranged in a vase.

Of course, since I had come out empty-handed, there was no way I could actually be holding anything.

My hands and chest were completely bare.

“We met at the Imperial Palace. Who are you?”

The man’s voice was lower and darker than Nazar’s, almost as though it were crawling through an underground passage in the depths of the night.

I stared blankly into the man’s mature violet eyes.

He was standing only four steps away, close enough that I could clearly see even the small black mole beneath his eye.

“I am…”

Only then did I realize.

This man was Panshion Entera.

Lord Panshion was standing right in front of me!

My heart began pounding violently, like a child caught secretly stealing something.

Even though I had seen his face only a few days ago, he looked strangely unfamiliar, as though I were meeting him for the first time.

A face made up of soft, neat lines.

Skin that was neither too pale nor too dark.

Long, stern eyes and a solid physique.

Now that I looked at him, there was more than one way he resembled Charon.

His violet eyes, like violets themselves, and even the soft scent of autumn sunlight surrounding him.

Their appearances were somewhat different, but the atmosphere they gave off was remarkably similar.

So there really was a reason noblewomen adored him.

Panshion was the very embodiment of a true knight—someone Lockhard couldn’t even begin to compare with.

“I’m the… the Lady Charon Entera’s…”