Chapter 119 ….
And so, the party continued. Angelica spent her time greeting her cherished friends and those who had come to celebrate her.
Among them were also noble young ladies who were close to Angelica. They were girls around her age, whom she had often interacted with over the past few years.
Among them, Angelica felt particularly drawn to one girl.
“Luna!”
At Angelica’s call, Luna smiled brightly. Luna Einspen, the youngest daughter of the Einspen Count family, was the same age as Angelica.
A girl with brown hair and beautiful emerald eyes, her appearance was simple yet charming. Angelica found herself especially concerned about Luna.
“Rica!”
Luna greeted Angelica with a radiant smile. Angelica immediately hugged her tightly. The embrace was wholehearted, and Luna returned it with equal joy.
“Rica, congratulations.”
Luna spoke sincerely to Angelica. Hearing her voice, Angelica smiled.
“Hehe, thank you, Luna. I’m so happy you came today too!”
After the hug, Angelica took Luna’s hand. Luna smiled back warmly as she met Angelica’s gaze.
In fact, Angelica already knew Luna. In the original story, Luna had a minor role but appeared occasionally.
‘And even then, she wasn’t involved with the main characters—just depicted as a kind and gentle girl.’
Most of Luna’s appearances focused on her good deeds, like donating to disaster-stricken areas or caring attentively for her subjects.
‘Of course, that’s not why I grew so fond of Luna.’
The reason Angelica was particularly drawn to Luna was simple.
Angelica had long known that Celia had been trying to help her make friends her own age for the past few years.
So she never missed the gatherings Celia organized. Of course, even if the purpose was to meet peers, the first encounters were inevitably awkward.
Moreover, as Celia might have expected, there had been several incidents.
‘Mother probably anticipated it, but I’m sure she hoped I would endure.’
Angelica recalled those moments—the gatherings meant to help her get close to her peers. There, she had been subtly ignored.
Nobles’ families often interacted from childhood if they were close, so they already knew each other.
Among them was a girl who seemed to be the leader of the group, and she often looked down on Angelica.
Not exactly out of disdain, but more out of jealousy. She believed Angelica had merely been lucky to be adopted into the Lespel Grand Ducal family.
Of course, that girl was also a noble, the cherished daughter of a marquis family. But she could not accept that a girl of uncertain birth had been adopted into the empire’s most admired grand ducal family.
Moreover, Lespel already had two heirs at the time. No matter how capable Angelica might be, the girl was displeased.
So she mocked Angelica, subtly looking down on her for not having fully learned noble etiquette.
Angelica knew this, but she endured it—for the sake of not tarnishing the Lespel name.
She simply smiled and refrained from retorting.
In truth, she could have openly reminded them that she represented the Lespel family, and no one could have scolded her for it.
‘But I didn’t want to do that.’
So Angelica calmly deflected the girl’s words, relying on the limited repertoire of polite noble speech.
As Angelica gradually pushed back, the girl—leader of the group—grew flustered. She lost control and spilled tea on Angelica.
No one stepped forward to help. Everyone present sided with the marquis’s daughter.
Except for one.
Luna Einspen. She approached Angelica and wiped the spilled tea with her handkerchief.
Even before that incident, Luna had quietly helped Angelica when she got into trouble. If the marquis’s daughter overstepped, Luna would steer the conversation away or discreetly teach Angelica proper etiquette.
And while everyone else cowered under the marquis’s daughter’s gaze, Luna did not take their side. At first, of course, she had to be cautious as a child herself.
But over time, Luna alone cared for Angelica. When the tea incident happened, she stepped up to protect her, cleaning her clothes and even confronting the marquis’s daughter.
“Cowardly! No matter how much you dislike Lady Lespel, this treatment is unacceptable!”
Luna alone stood against the marquis’s daughter. From that moment on, Angelica’s heart belonged to Luna. She knew Luna’s sincere intentions and had never wished for her to be troubled because of her.
Yet Luna protected her anyway, even though it might have risked affecting her own family.
But Luna never showed it. She only worried about Angelica’s well-being. When they were alone, she comforted her, telling her not to be too disheartened.
Soon after, news came that the marquis’s family had fallen out with the Einspen family. Angelica knew it was all because of her. So she told Olivier the story.
Olivier, of course, listened willingly and invited the Einspen family, including Luna, to the Lespel Grand Ducal family residence.
The entire Lespel family dined with them. During that time, the Lespel couple and the Einspens became quite friendly.
Most importantly, Angelica and Luna grew closer. Their deepened friendship spread throughout society.
Thus, the marquis’s family had no choice but to come and apologize to Angelica personally.
Of course, Angelica graciously accepted their apology. In doing so, the Lespel family’s name—and Angelica herself—gained wide recognition in social circles.
That is, the adopted daughter of the Lespel Grand Ducal family was known for her magnanimity. And the Lespel family’s influence remained strong.
Recalling the past, Angelica looked at Luna and smiled brightly.
“Luna, aren’t you bored? Shall we take a walk?”
At Angelica’s suggestion, Luna laughed and nodded.
“Yes, let’s! Let’s bring Sabu and Seolho too.”
She spoke to the two animals staying close to Angelica. They had grown fond of Luna over time, so they followed the girls out of the banquet hall.
“The weather is really nice, Luna.”
“Yes, it feels like the sky is celebrating the day Rica arrived at Lespel too.”
Luna’s gentle, thoughtful words always warmed Angelica’s heart. Hand in hand, the two girls strolled through the garden.
Deep within the garden, filled with blooming flowers, they reached a bench and sat down.
“Oh, by the way, I heard that Lady Cedric got engaged recently!”
Luna spoke first, her voice bright with excitement, as if it were her own news. Angelica’s eyes widened.
“Really? Already? Lady Cedric is around our age!”
Hearing Angelica, Luna’s eyes softened.
“Yes, she’s about our age. But this happens often in society.”
“It seems more common than I thought. Engagements at our age…”
“Yes. Families who have interacted since childhood tend to have early engagements. Then, when they grow up, marriage comes naturally.”
Angelica slowly nodded at Luna’s explanation.
“I see….”
Then Luna leaned closer and asked with a teasing tone, a small smile on her lips.
“So, Rica… when will you and Lord Hellion get engaged?”
