LUW 41

Chapter 41 

On the balcony below the window, five or six young noblewomen were gathered together, chattering away.

Cecilia squinted and carefully observed their faces. They looked strangely familiar.

Judging by their dresses and the jewelry they wore, it was clear they belonged to powerful noble families.

The moment she recognized one of the young ladies, Cecilia quietly furrowed her brow.

After taking a sip of tea, Pierre asked leisurely,
“Do you recognize them?”

“…Lady Bastina.”

It was the woman who had spilled wine on her dress at the recent Zilgork border marquis’s party.

Wearing a bright pink dress, she was inspecting her nails with a bored expression.

All the people around her were also faces Cecilia had briefly seen at that party.

The ladies were engrossed in gossiping about the latest cosmetics and fashion trends.

Perhaps because it was an open-air balcony, their voices carried all the way up to the third floor.

Fortunately, the only people around were Pierre and Cecilia, and the only guests on the floor below seemed to be those ladies.

As Cecilia silently looked down at them, she murmured indifferently,
“Just an ordinary salon.”

“It is a salon.”

Pierre replied nonchalantly.

Cecilia tilted her head at him. After a brief moment of thought, she asked with a shocked expression,
“You’re not thinking of sending me down there, are you?”

“Of course not. It took you a month just to learn a single dance. You wouldn’t stand a chance down there.”

“Then what? Are you going down to explain things yourself?”

Clink.

Pierre set his teacup down onto the saucer with a visible scowl.

It clearly meant, Don’t say ridiculous things.

Cecilia nearly burst into laughter imagining Pierre awkwardly seated among those young ladies.

She lowered her head to hide the silly image, and Pierre let out a sigh and murmured,
“You look a bit better when you smile.”

“Sorry?”

As Cecilia quickly looked up, Pierre casually nodded toward the window.

“Nothing important. Just look.”

Following his gaze, Cecilia saw a woman in a teal dress stepping into the balcony space.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Something came up suddenly, and I had to deal with it.”

One of the noblewomen jumped up to greet her.

“Oh, it’s fine, Lady Laon. Are things alright? If you were busy, we could’ve met another time.”

“It’s fine. I needed a break too. Thank you all for coming.”

“Come on, we had to come! You reserved the most popular tea house in the capital just for this salon!”

“I’m glad you like it. How’s the tea?”

“It’s wonderful! Please, sit down, Lady Laon.”

The other noblewomen gathered around Laon and naturally guided her to the seat of honor.

Cecilia tilted her head.

‘Laon… That name sounds familiar.’

She stared intently at the woman’s face.

Fair skin like white jade, sharp features. Her neatly tied-up hair revealed a slender neck that looked barely a handful wide.

As Cecilia closely observed her, her eyes suddenly lit up.

She let out a small exclamation.

“Lady Laon!”

She was the very same noblewoman who had boldly recited the Zilgork marquis’s love letters and poetry at the ball.

When she turned to Pierre with a brightened face, he let out a soft chuckle.

“Correct. But keep your voice down.”

Cecilia quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Sorry.”

Looking back down, she saw Lady Laon calmly chatting with the others, wearing a gentle smile.

Lady Laon was noble in the best sense of the word.

Her restrained demeanor was elegant, and every word she spoke exuded refinement.

She didn’t seem arrogant or haughty despite her status. Instead, she led the conversation while subtly showing care for the other women.

‘She’s like the female version of Pierre.’

After a short exchange, Laon raised her teacup and said lightly,
“By the way, has anyone heard the recent interesting rumor going around?”

“Oh, that one?”

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard it.”

The noblewomen exchanged glances and giggled.

“They say it’s some unnamed lady, but we all know it’s about Cecilia Niberius, right?”

“I felt so embarrassed just watching her, honestly.”

Cecilia’s eyes narrowed. The women began gossiping like hyenas who had just caught prey.

“She walked in holding His Grace’s hand like she owned the place. It was ridiculous.”

“Exactly! Acting like she’s someone important with her chin up like that—it was unbearable.”

Their mocking exploded as if they’d been waiting for this moment. Cecilia let out a cold smile.

One of them mocking her had actually approached her friendly-like after the dance.

“Didn’t Lady Bastina say something to her?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, that’s right.”

Bastina flinched at the sudden mention of her name but quickly lowered her head and feigned meekness, eyes slightly reddened.

“Yes, I just offered a few kind words out of concern, as a fellow noble… but it seems she twisted my words and told His Grace something strange.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. I think His Grace misunderstood, which is really upsetting.”

“Hah. That’s unbelievable.”

Spurred on by Bastina, the noblewomen began their verbal assault in earnest.

“I’m disappointed in His Grace too. How could he fall for a snake like her and insult Lady Bastina?”

“What’s so attractive about Lady Niberius, anyway? I don’t see it.”

“Well, if you’re from an uneducated family, there’s really only one asset you can offer, right?”

“Oh my, Lady Bastina! That’s too much!”

Laughter erupted all around. Encouraged by their agreement, Bastina continued harshly.

“She even tried to seduce the border marquis, right? Obviously trying to milk him since her family’s broke. When he rejected her, she must’ve caused that incident out of spite. And now she’s probably changing faces and clinging to another man.”

Just as Cecilia’s expression turned grim—

Laon, who had been listening silently, spoke in a calm tone,
“Is that so?”

She took a sip of her tea and smiled.

“But I heard the marquis made the first move.”

Silence fell over the balcony.

Bastina blinked in confusion but quickly forced a smile to defuse the tension.

“Oh, you must say that because you don’t know what Lady Niberius is like. She totally came onto him with her pretty face. Then when she didn’t get what she wanted, she stirred up public opinion. That’s what untalented, low-status girls do—they pretend to be victims to gain sympathy.”

Laughter once again rippled through the group.

Laon set her teacup down on its saucer, then lifted her head squarely.

“Lady Bastina.”

But beneath her soft smile was a chilling sharpness.

Bastina flinched.

“Are you including me in that statement?”

“…What?”

Bastina stared at her, frozen.

Laon continued in a calm voice,
“As everyone here knows, I also once received unwanted attention from the border marquis.”

She smiled serenely as she added,
“At that time, I heard some amusing rumors too—things like I was the one flirting with him, or that I seduced him subtly. All very vulgar.”

“…”

“I couldn’t stand it, so I read the letters he sent me aloud at the ball.”

“Y-yes, that happened.”

Another noblewoman barely managed to agree.

“Lady Bastina, did you think that was just another untalented girl putting on a show to gain sympathy?”

The composed question flew at Bastina like a dagger.

Everyone held their breath and darted their eyes around.

Bastina turned bright red and stammered.

“N-no! Not at all, that’s not what I meant… Lady Laon, you’re nothing like Lady Niberius. It’s just… well, there was an article…”

Laon smiled sweetly—but it was no longer warm.

“Isn’t it strange? How would a third-rate newspaper know such private details about nobles? Only a handful of people would know the specifics.”

She picked her teacup back up.

“More than anything, the tactics are so crude. Exactly the same as what I experienced before. Frankly, I find it disgusting.”

Her firm words made the ladies glance nervously at each other.

The noisy atmosphere just moments ago had completely died down.

“…You’re right. Now that you mention it, the newspaper that published it has a pretty bad reputation.”

“We spoke too carelessly, without knowing the full story.”

“We’re sorry, Lady Laon. We didn’t mean to bring up such unpleasant memories…”

The gossip died down swiftly.

The mood had changed in an instant.

From the balcony above, Cecilia watched the scene unfold with wide, astonished eyes as she stared at Lady Laon.