ITD

CHAPTER ll

"Lady Chalder! I absolutely must have one as well."

"Of course, Countess Devon. I'll have it sent to your residence."

Courtney's mother had somehow managed to join the crowd inspecting the pen. In just the brief moment she had looked away, Patricia had left her seat and added her name to the bottom of the long list.

"Mother!"

Courtney shot up from her seat and rushed to the neighboring table. Flustered, her voice came out louder than she intended.

Her raised tone, unbecoming of a refined lady, drew all eyes toward her. She didn't have time to take in the surroundings and hurriedly continued speaking.

"Mother, do we have any need for this pen?"

"Courtney, didn't you just see it? How marvelous it is to have writing disappear so cleanly. It'd be nice to have one, wouldn't it?"

Her mother's words were not worth listening to. Courtney turned to the pretty young girl holding the list and said firmly,

"Lady Chalder, I'm really sorry, but please remove my mother's name from the list."

"Courtney!"

Now even Patricia raised her voice. Lady Chalder frowned slightly, glancing back and forth between Patricia and Courtney.

Instead of simply erasing the name, the girl cheekily covered her lips with the magical rainbow quill and responded with a sly tone.

"But Lady Devon, I'm offering this pen at half the original price today to those attending the tea party. Are you sure you don't need it?"

"Yes! We really don't need it!"

At this, Patricia's face scrunched up in displeasure. Unlike Courtney, she was highly sensitive to how others perceived her. She would never, under any circumstances, publicly admit that they couldn't afford a mere pen.

But Courtney didn't care about that at all. From experience, she knew that if they didn't act now, they'd never be able to cancel the reservation later.

"I'm sorry, but we simply can't afford this. We won't be able to pay, so please remove her name from the list."

"Courtney! How could you be so rude? Lady Chalder, please go ahead and send it."

Patricia was visibly flustered and frantic, her face dripping with sweat.

By now, everyone's attention had shifted from the magic pen to the spectacle unfolding between Countess Devon, who insisted on buying the pen, and Lady Devon, who was desperately trying to stop her.

"Mother! We're on the verge of selling off our belongings, and you want a magic pen?!"

"W-What are you saying? People will misunderstand!"

"Misunderstand? Who doesn't already know that our family is on the brink of ruin? Buying things like this will only make people think we're unaware of our own situation and laugh at us!"

"You... You...!"

Courtney's outburst left Patricia's face bright red with embarrassment.

Stuck in the middle, Lady Chalder nervously rolled up the list, leaving Patricia Devon's name still right there.

Growing desperate, Courtney snatched the magic quill from the girl's hand and hastily erased her mother's name from the paper.

In her rush, she ended up erasing a few names above Patricia's as well. Lady Chalder's eyes widened in shock, and Courtney, just as startled, quickly handed the pen back.

"Apologies, Lady Chalder!"

Laughter rippled through the onlookers. Pfft- Haha...! Patricia's face turned crimson, and even Courtney, thick-skinned as she was, couldn't help but feel ashamed.

She bit her lower lip, trying to suppress her rising emotions. Better to endure a moment of embarrassment than to be hounded by creditors later. After all, the only reason she had begrudgingly attended this tea party was to keep an eye on her mother.

"I've heard that House Devon is really struggling these days."

"I also heard that the Count was swindled, didn't he?"

"Again? At this point, it seems more like charity."

"Exactly. Everyone knows he's the type who'd give away his last penny if you just asked pitifully enough."

As if meant for them to overhear, murmurs of gossip began circulating. Patricia abruptly turned and stormed out toward the edge of the garden. Courtney could only watch her go, unable to follow immediately.

She hadn't intended to embarrass her mother like this, but the situation at home had become far too dire to ignore any longer.

Courtney returned to the table to gather her mother's fan and her own purse.

It was true that her father had been swindled and that the family was on the verge of ruin. This wasn't anything new-it had been like this for as long as she could remember. There was no way to avoid hearing such things anymore, and she tried to comfort herself with that fact.

However, the next words she overheard only made her feel even more wretched.

"Still, regardless of their situation, about Lady Devon... Well, do you think she'll ever get married? Her demeanor is so unpleasant already."

"Not to mention, House Devon probably won't even be able to provide her dowry."

"True... I wouldn't want a daughter-in-law like that either."

It always ended like this. Whenever incidents like this happened, it was Courtney who bore the brunt of the criticism.

In high society, a lady who acted out to stop her mother's lavish spending was judged far more harshly than a noblewoman indulging in luxuries beyond her means.

"You know, I heard that Lady Devon caused a scene at the seamstress's last month..."

One of the women began whispering. Courtney didn't need to listen to know what the story was. It must have been about how she had fought with the seamstress while canceling her mother's dress order last month.

Keeping her head down, Courtney left the garden, pretending not to hear anything.