Chapter: 22
‘Still, she managed to persuade the young duchess. Not bad.’
Thinking that, Seraphina’s eyes sparkled as she opened the letter.
And thenā
“W-What on earth is this supposed to mean?!”
Seraphina’s pretty face instantly twisted with outrage.
To my dear Seraphina,
Hello, Seraphina.
Have you been well?
Today’s the day the salon is being held, but I noticed your name wasn’t on the guest list.
What is this? Is she trying to provoke me?!
Seraphina’s eyes widened.
**To be honest, I was rather shocked.
I know how close you consider us to be.
So I naturally assumed that, if only for my sake, you would attend the salon…**
Seraphina felt her anger begin to boil.
But Laritte’s shameless letter wasn’t finished yet.
**There’s no way you couldn’t have obtained an invitation.
So I can’t help thinking that, in the end, you simply weren’t concerned about me enough.
If you had truly cared about me, wouldn’t you have found some way to come to the salon?**
What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?!
Grinding her teeth, Seraphina continued reading.
**Seraphina, all this time, I never doubted that we were true friends.
But after seeing your actions today, I have to admit that they’ve made me question our friendship in many ways.
I hope that next time you’ll show a little more sincerity.
Have a wonderful day.
āLaritte Anci**
That was how the letter endedāafter thoroughly turning Seraphina’s insides upside down.
“What the hell is this?!”
Crunch!
Unable to contain her fury, Seraphina crushed the letter in her hand.
The veins on the back of the hand gripping the crumpled paper bulged blue.
Gregory, startled by her reaction, called out,
“Sera?”
“What did it say?”
Baroness Bentner also looked at Seraphina with a bewildered expression.
Oh no.
Only then did Seraphina come back to her senses and hurriedly compose herself.
“Ah, well…”
The problem was that she had no idea what to say next.
Laritte mocked me in a letter?
…Me? Me, of all people, being mocked by someone like Laritte?
“What’s wrong, Sera?”
Gregory asked anxiously.
“It’s nothing…”
She couldn’t control her expression at all.
Covering part of her face with a delicate hand pressed against her forehead, Seraphina stood.
“I’m sorry. I suddenly feel a little short of breath… Would it be alright if I stepped outside for some fresh air?”
“I-If that’s the case, I’ll escortā”
“No. I’ll be fine on my own.”
With a bright smile, Seraphina declined Gregory’s offer.
She then hurried out of the drawing room.
The hallway was empty.
Now that there was no one around, she no longer needed to hide her emotions.
Her face twisted with rage.
Laritte… How dare you treat me like this?!
Creak…
The sound of grinding teeth escaped between her beautiful lips.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
Then her eyes narrowed with malice.
I won’t let you get away with this.
The salon ended in great success.
“This salon was wonderful, wasn’t it?”
“It really was. You can tell a lot of care went into organizing it.”
The guests were overwhelmingly pleased.
“Didn’t Her Grace perform wonderfully as the hostess?”
“Exactly. I never realized the young duchess could be so mature.”
Naturally, the young duchess’s reputation also improved considerably.
Perhaps that was why.
Throughout the salon, she wore a radiant smile.
A little laterā
“Thank you so much for all your hard work, Lady Anci.”
The young duchess greeted me with a cheerful smile.
“Not at all. Your Grace worked the hardest.”
“I hardly did anything. Lady Anci gave me advice about everything, and I simply followed it.”
After answering with her usual proud demeanor, she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
“So… it’s getting rather late now.”
“Hm?”
I looked at her in confusion.
What do you mean? Of course I’m going home.
The Anci family’s townhouse was in the capital, so it was an easy carriage ride away.
“Ah, I’ve already had my carriage prepared. I was just about to head home…”
“You’re going home?!”
The young duchess practically jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Why is going home such a surprise?
I stared at her with wide, bewildered eyes.
“Ahem.”
After clearing her throat a couple of times, she spoke with forced composure.
“L-Lady Anci… Isn’t it rather late?”
“Is it?”
I glanced out the window.
It had certainly grown dark outside, but it wasn’t nearly so late that I couldn’t return to the townhouse.
Seeing my puzzled expression, the young duchess declared firmly,
“So… stay the night.”
“…Pardon?”
Out of nowhere?
Her cheeks flushed bright red as she raised her voice.
“I-I heard that there’s something called… a pajama party!”
“…Pardon?”
“You sleep together in the same bedroom, eat snacks, share secrets… or something like that.”
After saying that, she casually turned her head away as though it were nothing.
But I had seen it.
The tips of her ears were burning bright red.
“They say friends always try it at least once.”
“A pajama party?”
“It’s true! I-It’s not that I wanted to do one or anything!”
Feeling self-conscious, she hastily added the explanation.
Then she cautiously watched my reaction.
“…So, are you really going back to your townhouse?”
I barely managed to suppress the laughter threatening to escape.
After she’d gone this far, there was no way I could refuse.
Your Grace… you’re just too adorable.
Was this what it felt like to leave behind a proud little cat at home?
“Of course not.”
I shook my head.
“I’d like to have a pajama party with you too, Your Grace.”
At once, her face brightened.
“Wonderful!”
Clearly excited, she began chattering away.
“What kind of snacks do you like, Lady Anci? What would you like to drink? Shall we play cards together? I have chess too!”
“As long as I’m spending time with you, I’ll enjoy anything.”
At my answer, the young duchess gazed quietly at me.
Then her lips moved ever so slightly.
“A-Actually…”
“Yes?”
“…wanted to.”
Her voice was so soft that I couldn’t make out what she’d said.
I looked at her in confusion.
“I… I also!”
Suddenly, she squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it out loudly.
“I wanted to have a pajama party with you too, Lady Anci!”
She quickly turned around and hurriedly urged me again.
“Anyway, I’ll go to the bedroom first! Hurry up, wash up, change your clothes, and come over. Understood?!”
With those wordsā
The young duchess dashed off toward the bedroom.
I stared after her retreating figure with a bewildered expression.
Your Grace…
If you run off like that, what am I supposed to do?
Fortunately, the young duchess soon came to her senses and sent a maid to fetch me.
After washing up and changing into soft, comfortable pajamas,
I was guided to the bedroom where she was waiting.
“Oh, you’re here.”
The young duchess greeted me in her usual composed manner.
The two of us spent the evening lazily lounging on the bed.
We played cards, played chess, ate snacks, and chatted idly.
Then, as if casually bringing it up, the young duchess asked,
“Come to think of it… you don’t have any feelings left for your… former fiancĆ© anymore, do you?”
The way she vaguely referred to him as your former fiancĆ© made it seem she couldn’t even remember Gregory’s name.
Well, that’s beside the point.
“Your Grace, that’s only natural.”
I answered seriously.
“If I still cared about him even a little, I never would have sent him the letter breaking off the engagement.”
Even if it was the young duchess, I absolutely couldn’t tolerate her trying to pair Gregory and me together.
Seeing my unusually firm attitude, the young duchess nodded with satisfaction.
“Hmm. Good.”
“It seems you’ve finally come to your senses.”
