Chapter 45
Lady Vanessa, looking genuinely surprised that I had pointed to her, tapped her chest with her index finger.
“Me?”
“Yes. This is your celebration banquet, after all. I figured you’d know best who you want to announce your engagement to, and who you don’t.”
“Oh, right! It’s my party—I can’t have anyone I don’t want to see invited!”
Without hesitation, Lady Vanessa grabbed a fountain pen… only to pause, tilting her head thoughtfully before asking the madam for help.
“But Mother, I’ve been bedridden for so long. I don’t really know the names of our retainers. Could you give me the roster?”
At her innocent request, the madam leaned her head back and sighed deeply. With a small wave, she instructed a maid to bring the roster over and handed it to Vanessa.
“Wow, there are so many. Mother, I only know the names Fenian, Volani, Kale, and Ceren. Can you explain who the others are?”
“…Do you really need me to explain them all?”
“Of course! How can I decide whether to invite them or not if I don’t even know who they are?”
With a weary expression, the madam nodded and began going down the list one name at a time, offering brief explanations for each.
I sat beside them, listening intently.
It was all useless information to someone like me who would eventually leave this place, but I listened carefully on purpose—just so it would bother the madam.
‘Look at me, a commoner! Daring to memorize the names of the duke’s retainers as if I belong here!’
I hoped she’d decide to kick out this cheeky girl once and for all.
So irritating. Truly unbearable.
The madam let out a long sigh and turned her gaze away from Airie, who was listening intently with sparkling eyes.
“That’s enough explanations for now. Now, I’ll give you a small test—”
“Let’s take a short break first, Mother. My hand’s tired from all the writing.”
Vanessa cut her off with a light sigh, tapping her slender wrist.
The madam completely forgot what she was about to say and quickly nodded.
“Yes, yes. Don’t push yourself too har—”
But then, the madam’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
“You… You… What is this?!”
“What do you mean? It’s the guest list I worked hard to write.”
“I mean the handwriting! What is this mess?!”
Indeed, the saying “blood doesn’t lie” proved true again. Just like Veronica, who couldn’t draw to save her life, Vanessa’s handwriting was shockingly illegible.
The madam froze, staring at the incomprehensible paper.
But Vanessa, unfazed, defended herself confidently.
“I spent my whole life in bed. The only time I ever wrote was when I was a child learning letters. How could you expect me to write in elegant cursive?”
“…That’s… fair enough, but still…”
“Even I think it’s kind of terrible now that I see it. I can’t leave it like this. Airie, could you help me out?”
“Me? How can I help?”
“You write it down while I dictate the names.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to!”
As Airie carefully wrote each name Vanessa recited, the madam sipped her tea to calm her fraying nerves.
‘She may have learned table manners, but she hasn’t had penmanship lessons—I thought I could use that against her…’
Indeed, Airie’s handwriting wasn’t ornate or graceful.
But it was neat and tidy. The strokes were consistent, and the ink didn’t blot. Compared to Vanessa’s atrocious scrawl, it was impeccable.
“Hm… Both of you need to practice your penmanship…”
“You’re right. Seeing Airie’s writing really highlights how bad mine is. Let’s learn together, Airie.”
“Sure. I’d love that.”
“Me too! Let’s get Veronica to join us!”
The three of them were unbelievably close.
Although Airie was technically the outsider, the madam felt like she was the one being excluded from their warm little group.
‘That fox has managed to win over not just Elkios, but my daughters too…’
Even if she wanted to exert dominance, she couldn’t, because her daughters were already siding with Airie. It was exhausting.
At this point, even the madam had to admit the obvious—Vanessa and Veronica were subtly but clearly on Airie’s side, blocking all her chances to criticize her.
‘I have no allies in this mansion.’
Her eyes welled up. She missed her late husband and eldest son terribly in that moment.
If they were still alive, they would have backed her up.
Even if her eldest son had married before he died, her daughter-in-law would have taken her side.
‘Why is it that everyone in this family becomes so fixated on just one person and never changes their mind?’
Her eldest son had died unmarried well into his thirties because he couldn’t forget his fiancée, who had died in an accident. He grieved himself into sickness and passed away young.
‘If it’s not her, I’ll never marry.’ Elkios had said the same thing, and clearly, he meant it.
The madam glanced over at Airie diligently writing names and suddenly felt a surge of resentment.
‘Why does it have to be a commoner? Even a baron’s daughter would’ve been fine—I wouldn’t be opposing it this much!’
When she had offered to introduce some proper noblewomen, Elkios had thrown a fit, only to bring home a commoner?
No matter how she looked at it, it felt like he had chosen a commoner just to get under her skin.
So, regardless of any gratitude she might have felt, the madam simply couldn’t see Airie in a positive light.
“Madam, we’ve finished the guest list.”
“…Alright, let me take a look.”
The handwriting was clean, the size consistent—it was easy to read. After scanning it quickly, the madam nodded approvingly.
“Since we’re inviting all the retainers, we’ll need to open the Queen Rose Hall. The budget should look something like this.”
She handed Airie a pre-written proposal.
“Take this to Elkios for approval.”
Normally, this wouldn’t require the duke’s input—the duchess could handle it.
But even if Airie proudly wore the Lazuli Key around her neck, she wasn’t the official duchess.
She likely didn’t even know how much it cost to host a banquet at the ducal estate.
And so, the madam decided to have a little fun—by doubling the budget.
‘That penny-pinching brat will never approve this. He’ll make her revise it and send her right back to me.’
But the madam had no intention of lowering the budget. She planned to stubbornly refuse any revisions and force Airie to run in circles.
‘Let’s see how long your precious fiancée lasts. Try wasting money for once—hm?’
Just as she was relishing her imagined victory over Elkios, Airie calmly added another zero to the end of the total budget line.
Then, she removed her necklace, twisted the key at the end to transform it into a seal, and stamped the paper with a thunk.
“You… You! What are you doing? How dare you change that without permission?!”
“The duke already warned me, actually. He said you’d probably want to keep the event modest for budget reasons.”
“What?!”
“But this is a celebration for Vanessa—she’s healthy again, and we’re announcing our engagement.”
After glancing at Vanessa, Airie turned to the madam with a radiant smile.
“He told me to say: Your son isn’t so useless—he can afford to spend a lot for his one and only sister. So go all out. Make it grand and glorious.”
“Y-You…!”
The madam felt like she was about to explode.
‘When I said I was short on money for my wardrobe, he didn’t even flinch, and now this…!’
And so, before everyone’s eyes, the madam fainted. Again.
