Do Your Best and Regret

Chapter 59

Ethella looked at the closed doorway. There was no way she could sense anything beyond the thick door, but somehow it felt like Conrad was constantly looking at her door.

"Miss, come quickly and eat."

Veronica called her from behind, but Ethella shook her head. She's sorry to the chef but she felt so sick that she couldn't finish even the light salad and soup. It's a story they both know, but neither of them can bring it up in a hurry.

How did she come to have such an awkward relationship with Conrad?

Her family, whom she loved the most was perfect. No, let's leave out 'perfect'. Ethella swallowed a bitter feeling and looked at the wall. The portrait hanging on the wall of her room, where neither her father nor her brothers could enter, was taken from the family portrait in the living room. Now she could see that her sister in that portrait wasn't smiling because she was nervous and awkward. And there's not much she can do for her right now.

Ethella looked at Veronica, letting out a light sigh of her own.

"Veronica, how far did I go?"

"It was even about how to hold a teacup... You already know all the social etiquette."

Veronica, the daughter of a vassal of the Madeleine duchy, was quite familiar with the social world, unlike Ethella. However, even though she did not show up in social circles, she was already able to master the manners that Veronica had learned. She said as Veronica hesitated.

"More than that, it seems that the Little Duke knows that you are entering the social world. Are you really going to attend the tea party officially from now on?"

Ethella chuckled and glanced at the desk. The letters piled up on the desk were all tea party invitations.

"Now that he knows, I should go more confidently. What I learned in class may be different in practice, so I'm going to attend a light tea party first."

Ethella still vividly remembers the day she met the Princess. Subtle conversations go back and forth between them. The atmosphere made her feel left out for a moment and the sound of laughter got on her nerves. And the words that poured out at her randomly. The Princess did that to Ethella too, but how would the Princess have behaved toward her sister, who was at her party?

Just thinking about it made her blood run cold, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"Veronica told me. The social world flows as the Queen controls it."

To be precise, Veronica said, 'The social world follows the taste of the lady who dominates the atmosphere'. However, what Ethella said was not wrong, and Veronica just listened. Ethella blinked her eyebrows slowly and raised her lips haughtily.

"And since my mother was a social Queen, the next position should naturally be mine. Everything from tea parties to banquets that will be held in the future."

It was a declaration as if she was destined to take over the position for granted. It had to be her who confronted the Princess who had insulted her older sister. It was a very arrogant thing to say for a girl who was a year away from being a debutante, but Veronica nodded as if she was fascinated.

"Now that I think about it, it's the imperial palace's summer banquet. Your Royal Highness will take the lead in preparing this time too, right?"

Ethella laughed lightly at Veronica's words. The host of the summer banquet two years ago was the Princess. As soon as she made her debut and successfully held her first summer banquet, the Princess immediately became the flower of the social world. The summer banquet, which was so elegant and extravagant as to satisfy even the most discerning noble ladies, was widely spread as social gossip that year.