Sorry 27

Chapter 27

    ***

    "Hmm, what kind of flavor is this? I'm disappointed in you, Baroness Zabina, for serving such a substandard tea."

    Countess Asdela said, setting her teacup down with a loud clatter. Euris didn’t like her very much, and the mood quickly turned sour.

    The Barony of Zabina was primarily engaged in trade, and their cargo ships had suffered great losses in storms. It was in a recent article.

    Euris didn't mind, but the other ladies seemed to feel differently.

    "From the aroma, I'm guessing this tea isn't a 'Severanto' grade. I can't believe you're serving this to your noble ladies."

    The term "Severanto" was used to describe anything more than the finest of teas. The other ladies nodded in agreement with Countess Asdela. The flavor was certainly weaker than the finer teas, but Euris didn't think it mattered much.

    ‘It's not as if they don't know about Baroness Zabina’s situation. They're so cold.’

    Baroness Zabina's face flushed red. She felt insulted by this, coupled with her family's difficult circumstances. But Euris knew, thanks to the articles that had graced the newsstands in her last life.

    Baroness Zabina's trading business was back on a solid footing, as the country's manufacturing industry had been revitalized and the amount of surplus production exported to foreign countries had    exploded. The current economic difficulties were only temporary.

    The Asdelas, on the other hand, were quickly falling apart. They were wealthy now, but Euris knew that from her previous life, when they had been involved with the Either family's business. She remembered her father's words back then.

    "I've noticed that the quality of the goods supplied by Countess Asdela is generally very poor. It's like building a castle on sand, and it makes me uneasy. I'm glad I stayed out of it. Even the few buildings the Asdelas had were blown up to cover their debts."

    Perhaps that was around the time she was preparing to marry, so that time was not far off, Euris thought, sipping her tea thoughtfully.

    "Come to think of it, I think Baroness Zabina's dresses have become quite modest as well, look at the quality of the fabric."

    Countess Asdela giggled, making a mean sound. Baroness Zabina's face was as red as it could be. Euris's mind stirred. Her mind automatically flashed back to her childhood.

    The sight of someone tormenting someone else for no reason still made her heart race.

    Even though it had been more than twenty years since she had seen them. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to be brave.

    "I just like the taste."

    The Marchioness of Eridov, who rarely spoke, opened her mouth, and everyone looked at her in surprise.

    In terms of family, Euris had the upper hand, but she was so timid and reserved that everyone thought she was easy.

    "What did you say, madam?"

    Countess Asdela asked, much more polite than she had been a moment ago, and it was at this point that Euris spoke up again, this time smartly.

    But her voice was trembling faintly.

    For a moment, she wondered if she'd provoked the woman's anger with her performance. But she strengthened her voice.

    "I said the tea tasted good."

    "Oh, this tea?"

    Euris nodded, looking at Countess Asdela, who looked genuinely surprised. Then everyone looked at each other, not sure whether to agree or disagree.

    "Isn't it?"

    Euris sipped her tea again and looked to the ladies next to her for agreement. The other lady, who made eye contact with her, smiled wryly and nodded.

    "Come to think of it, it does have a nice flavor."

    "What kind of tea is it?"

    The atmosphere quickly changed, as everyone could not ignore the power of Euris's family. Baroness Zabina was stunned to hear them ask what kind of tea it was, and she called for her maid to find    out the name of the tea.

    Countess Asdela's jaw dropped in disbelief at the turn of events. Baroness Zabina and Euris’s gazes met for a moment, both looking relieved and grateful.

    Euris's heart was pounding. Her old self wouldn't have even tried.

    'It was worth it, it's okay, look, no one's judging me, it's not like it was then.’

    Fearing that holding the teacup would reveal her trembling hands, Euris placed them in her lap under the table. Once the tremor had passed, she would pick up the teacup again.

    There was a moment of silence. The other lady, trying to change the subject, mentioned a name she had been trying to forget for some time.

    “I think master Kylan Hebron will now be the head of the Count’s family”

    The other ladies immediately chimed in, as if they had an interesting topic of conversation.

    "Yes. It must be hard for him, losing his father so suddenly."

    "Ah, indeed. Come to think of it, wasn't the Marchioness close to master Kylan Hebron?"

    "Yes. You two were famously close since childhood."

    "Weren't you two in the papers once?"

    At the last word, "newspaper," everyone looked at Euris. Everyone seemed to think that was a pretty big step over the line. It was referring to Kylan, Chaint, and Euris appearing side-by-side in that lowly newspaper about a year ago.

    It was Countess Asdela who had mentioned the word, and she had looked at Euris with a stern look. It showed that she was offended by what had just happened.

    The attention was immediately drawn to Euris. Her heart began to pound a little again, as it usually did when she was the focus of attention.

    But she'd been working on herself, going to all these gatherings. Trying not to look away, trying to answer questions intelligently.

    Her hands tightened as she realized that if she didn't, she might be looked at as an idiot and have hurtful words spoken to her, as she had in the past. Mulling over what to say in her head, Euris finally opened her mouth.

    "Yes, but after I got married, we stopped having a close relationship, so the last time I saw Kylan was at the Count of Hebron's funeral."

    Everyone nodded at that answer, but with a look of boredom on their faces. Euris relaxed her grip on her hands, glad to change the subject.

    "Who do you think Kylan Hebron will marry?"

    It was Countess Asdela again, and she sneaked a glance at Euris as she said it, her words hiding the fact that it was obvious that Euris was going to marry him.

    "Yes. He’s handsome, comes from a good family, and he has good manners. I don't know who it will be, but I envy them."

    Another lady chimed in with an ecstatic voice, and each of the women in the room began to recite their own list of unmarried beauties.

    They enjoyed the conversation, giggling now and then. Baroness Zabina had been sipping her tea in silence since earlier.

    ‘I'm tired.’

    Euris was glad for the distraction, at any rate. With the others' conversation out of earshot, she thought about Kylan.

    Soon he would be out of the country.

    'All I can do is wish him happiness behind his back,' she thought to herself, 'but is it deceitful, is it not deceitful, to wish him happiness when I know he will not be happy, when I have seen the last of him in my last life?’

    "Lady Either.”

    The tea party was over and everyone was leaving the mansion. Baroness zabina hastily called Euris to a halt as she was the last to leave. She smiled wryly at Euris, who turned around at her call.

    "Your help today ..... Thank you."

    "No, I was just returning the favor."

    Euris smiled at Baroness Zabina, who looked pained at the words. Her platinum hair shone beautifully against the setting sun.

    "I'll see you next time."

    Euris nodded at Baroness Zabina's words. Even as she rode away in her carriage, Baroness Zabina watched her  for a long time.

    ****

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