Chapter 137: A Surprise Appearance
The letter carried an air of finality, as if it were meant to sever ties with Aracila once and for all. Relieved by its tone, Nora decided to attend the party.
Dressed in resplendent finery, she arrived at the venue, where the grand hall brimmed with countless young ladies and noblewomen. Beyond the devoted followers of the Grand Duchess of Keystone, it seemed many others had been invited as well. If all went well, Nora thought, she might turn everyone in this room against Aracila in one fell swoop. She swallowed hard, steeling herself for the role she was about to play.
“Thank you for coming, Lady White,” a voice called out.
Nora turned to see Lady Harriet approaching with a warm smile, her eyes scanning the crowd near the entrance. Nora quickly conjured a smile of her own and faced her.
“Oh, not at all, Lady Harriet. I’ve been wanting to get closer to you for some time now.”
“Really? Oh, I’m flattered!” Harriet covered her mouth with a delicate hand, letting out a peal of laughter before gently pulling Nora by the hand.
She led Nora to a cluster of people at the center of the hall—a select group, the most influential among the party’s attendees.
“Welcome, Lady White,” one of them greeted.
“Hello, everyone. It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Nora replied, her voice steady.
“You’ve come at just the right time. We’ve been dying to ask you so many things,” another chimed in.
The group welcomed her warmly, their faces alight with friendly smiles. Nora felt the tension in her shoulders ease. Their warm reception softened the guarded walls around her heart, and she began to relax.
After exchanging pleasantries and engaging in light conversation for a while, someone abruptly turned to Nora with a pointed question.
“Lady White, is it true you were the first to notice that thing between Lady Vandemir and His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Nora instinctively straightened her posture. Here it comes, she thought. Once someone opened the floodgates with a question like that, the gossip would flow freely, as it always did. Having fielded similar inquiries before, she steadied herself and responded with practiced ease.
“Yes, that’s right. I had a strong sense for some time that Lady Vandemir held someone else in her heart.”
Those hearing her testimony for the first time fixed her with intrigued gazes.
“Have you ever seen the two of them sneaking off together?” another asked.
“Of course. At Her Highness the Princess’s birthday celebration, I saw them alone together in a sitting room. And I wasn’t the only one—several others witnessed it too.”
“Oh my goodness!” Gasps and exclamations erupted around her.
Nora paused, mentally sifting through what to say next. But before she could continue, a sharp voice cut through the air from behind.
“Being alone together in a sitting room doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in an illicit relationship, does it?”
Nora turned to identify the speaker and frowned. Paula Hayden. A young lady known for her close friendship with Aracila since their academy days.
Why is Lady Hayden here? Nora wondered. Did she grow close to Harriet through Lady Vandemir?
Even if Aracila had cut ties, it was possible Paula hadn’t. After all, Paula was a prominent figure in high society, and maintaining such connections wouldn’t be unusual. Grown adults could keep friendships separate without issue—it wasn’t strange for relationships to shift and persist independently.
Sensing the group’s eyes on her, waiting for her reaction, Nora steadied her voice and countered Paula’s challenge.
“There were other sitting rooms with people in them. Why would they deliberately choose an empty one to be alone together? Unless, of course, they had private matters to discuss in secret.”
“Frederick and Aracila were working together on the Founding Festival. It could have been a professional matter—something important they needed to discuss privately,” Paula shot back.
“If it was truly about work, they could have stepped outside to talk. Why seek out a secluded spot during the Princess’s birthday celebration? I certainly wouldn’t be caught alone with a man in such a setting unless there was another motive.”
Nora’s words came out more sharply than she intended, her tone edged with aggression. Paula’s plausible retort had sparked a flicker of unease, triggering an instinctive need to defend herself.
Paula’s lips twitched into a faint, almost imperceptible smirk before she adopted an indignant expression, turned on her heel, and stormed off.
Nora let out a silent sigh of relief. It was far better that Paula had backed down than for the argument to drag on. Turning back to the group, she noted a brief, almost imperceptible pause before they resumed their chatter.
“Don’t mind Lady Hayden,” one of them said, patting Nora’s shoulder. “She’s only acting that way because she’s close to Lady Vandemir.”
“Exactly, Lady White. Now that the interrupter’s gone, let’s keep talking—just us.”
They spoke gently, as if worried Nora might feel discouraged. Though she was wary of their excessive kindness, she nodded, allowing the conversation to flow again as if nothing had happened.
“So, do you think the Vandemirs will divorce? Lady Vandemir’s scandal seems all but confirmed now,” someone ventured.
“Probably. No husband would tolerate a wife’s infidelity. The other way around, maybe, but not this,” another replied with a knowing tone.
“Oh, Lady White,” someone else piped up, turning to her. “If the Vandemirs do divorce, what will you do? Are you thinking of approaching Sir Damian again?”
The unexpected question made Nora flinch, but she quickly shook her head.
“No.”
Her feelings for Damian had been laid bare and discarded that day in the garden. The sting of realizing he didn’t even remember her confession had snuffed out any lingering attachment.
Just as Nora was about to offer a saintly reply, insisting she could never pursue Damian out of respect for Lady Vandemir, a peculiar murmur interrupted her.
“Well, if he gets divorced, he won’t be a married man anymore, will he?”
The comment, laced with a strange undertone, made Nora turn toward the speaker with a startled expression. It was the Countess of Dryde.
“Pardon?” Nora asked, caught off guard.
“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself,” the Countess replied with a bright smile, but Nora felt a surge of discomfort and irritation. The Countess’s words were a pointed jab, mocking Nora’s past feelings for Damian and implying her interest stemmed only from his status as a married man.
Nora could guess why the Countess was acting this way. The Earl of Dryde was notorious in high society for his philandering ways. His mistresses changed multiple times a year, and his constant dalliances left the Countess under immense stress. It seemed the Countess still disapproved of Nora’s past affection for a married man.
Just let it go, Nora thought. She’s not someone I’ll have to deal with for long.
Rather than stir up conflict and risk dredging up old gossip, it was better to pretend she hadn’t heard. But the Countess of Dryde continued to needle her, occasionally interjecting with contrary remarks or barbed comments that grated on Nora’s nerves. Each time, Nora’s blood boiled, but she held her tongue.
As she struggled to keep her composure, a maid approached and whispered softly in her ear.
“Lady White, there’s someone who wishes to see you privately.”
“Me? Who?” Nora asked, bewildered. This party was hosted by Lady Harriet, with whom she had little prior connection, so there was no one she expected to meet separately.
The maid glanced around cautiously before lowering her voice further. “You’ll know when you get there. It’s a very special person, and I was told to bring you discreetly.”
A very special person? Nora’s mind raced, trying to deduce who it could be. Given that this was Lady Harriet’s party, held under the influence of the Grand Duchess of Keystone, someone deemed “special” in this context could only be…
The Grand Duchess herself?
Nora stole a glance at Lady Harriet, who gave a slight nod. To Nora, it felt like confirmation of her guess, urging her to go quickly—though she couldn’t be certain. Why would the Grand Duchess want to see her? Was it, like Harriet, to uncover Aracila’s true nature?
Curiosity piqued, Nora excused herself from the group and followed the maid to the designated sitting room. At the door, she smoothed her dress, knocked three times, and watched as the door creaked open. She stepped inside cautiously.
The room was dimly lit, the wall-mounted lamps casting a faint glow that lent an air of secrecy to the atmosphere. “Your Grace, the Grand Duchess…?” Nora called softly, venturing further inside.
The sitting room was shrouded in shadow, and a draped curtain obscured the interior, making it hard to discern anything clearly. What is this? Was it not the Grand Duchess who summoned me? Nora began to doubt whether anyone was even in the room.
Then, a faint rustle came from beyond the curtain. As Nora reached out to pull it aside, the door behind her clicked shut, and a familiar voice rang out.
“Did you know, Lady White?”
Nora froze.
“The Countess of Dryde has been scouring high society lately, desperate to find the woman her husband’s been sneaking around with.”
Heart pounding, Nora spun around. There, leaning against the door with a picture-perfect smile, was Aracila.
“Lady Vandemir? How are you here…?” Nora stammered.
“Oh, don’t be so surprised. I slipped in quietly,” Aracila said, raising a hand as if to calm her.
Nora stared, incredulous. “Have you lost your mind? Sneaking into someone else’s party? If you’re caught, it’ll be a disaster—”
“How sweet of you to worry about me, Lady White,” Aracila replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Nora bit her lower lip, hard. She knows exactly what she’s doing. The shame of her own actions—things she could hardly face Aracila over—kept her from meeting the other woman’s gaze. But she couldn’t let that show. Instead, she fixed her eyes on Aracila, studying her.
Despite the recent string of troubles, Aracila’s complexion was remarkably untroubled. A strange mix of relief and unease stirred in Nora. If Aracila was this composed, it meant Nora’s efforts hadn’t landed the blow she’d intended. That put her in a precarious position. It wasn’t what Marquis Hugo or her parents had wanted.
“But you know,” Aracila continued, her voice cutting through Nora’s thoughts, “today, I think you’re the one who should be worried.”
“What do you mean?” Nora asked, frowning.
Aracila gestured toward the curtain. “Beyond that curtain, the Earl of Dryde is passed out drunk. He was fooling around with another woman behind his wife’s back, and that’s how he ended up like this.”
Nora blinked, her expression shifting to one of confusion. What did that have to do with her? Aracila let out a soft chuckle.
“Think about it. If word gets out that you were alone in an empty sitting room with the drunken Earl of Dryde… people might mistake you for the woman he was with.”
“What? That’s absurd!” Nora cried, her face paling as she bristled with indignation.
Aracila’s smile vanished, replaced by a cold, impassive stare. “Absurd? I’ve been through it myself. A seven-year friendship ruined by a scandal just like that.”
“…!”
“You schemed with your parents to spread those vile rumors, and now you have the gall to say that to me? Isn’t that a bit shameless?”
Nora’s lips parted, but no words came out. The sins of her past had come back to haunt her, a blade now pressed against her own throat. Aracila’s piercing gaze bore into her as Nora stood frozen, her face drained of color. With a slow, deliberate motion, Aracila swept her hair back.
“What a pity,” she said. “You barely managed to clear your name from that scandal about chasing a married man, and now it’s about to flare up again. Why would you put yourself in a room alone with another woman’s husband?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Nora snapped. “It’s not just me and the Earl of Dryde here—you’re here too, Lady Vandemir!”
“Oh, but no one else knows I’m here, do they?” Aracila replied, her voice smooth as silk. “I told you, I slipped in quietly.”
So, as far as anyone’s concerned, I’m not even here. Aracila’s lips curled into a sly, twisted smile as she added the unspoken implication.
In truth, she hadn’t exactly sneaked in—Lady Harriet had helped arrange her presence—but that was a detail Nora didn’t need to know. More importantly, those in the know were all on Aracila’s side, and none would come to Nora’s aid.
“Oh, how tragic,” Aracila continued, her tone dripping with mock sympathy. “When I think about how much this night might ruin your future, Lady White, I doubt I’ll sleep a wink out of pity.”
“Are you… threatening me?” Nora’s voice trembled with a mix of fear and defiance.
“Threatening? No, I’m just concerned,” Aracila replied, her smile bright and disarming.
Nora’s body quivered faintly. She wasn’t naive—she understood Aracila’s intent: to trap her in a scandal with the Earl of Dryde, mirroring the one Nora had helped ignite. Her mind raced back to the moments leading up to this. The maid’s secretive summons, her abrupt departure from the group—how must that have looked to the others? Even those who thought nothing of it at the time might later hear rumors of her and the Earl in a clandestine meeting and think, Oh, so that’s why she left so suddenly.
Of course, she could deny it, protest her innocence. But her past was her undoing. If I get tangled in another scandal like this, true or not, everyone will see me as that kind of woman. A woman who chases after married men.
Hadn’t she said it herself during her spat with Paula? If there’s nothing between them, why would they be alone in a sitting room at a party?
Lady Hayden, Lady Harriet… they’re all Aracila’s allies. They invited me here on purpose, provoked me, set me up.
The realization hit hard. The more she thought about it, the less room she had to wriggle out of this trap involving the Earl of Dryde.
Aracila gazed at Nora’s crestfallen expression, her face heavy with despair, before speaking again. “Why did you do it? Do you still have feelings for Damian? Or do you just hate me that much?”
“…”
“Was that really worth ruining someone else’s life—and your own?”
Nora hung her head, unable to muster a response. But Aracila pressed on, undeterred. “Look at yourself, Lady White. You can’t even meet my eyes. You’re acting like a guilty criminal.”
“…”
“I wanted you to sincerely repent,” Aracila said, her voice steady but laced with disappointment. “I hoped you’d start fresh, live a new life. If you had, I would’ve left you alone. I might not have cheered for your future, but I wouldn’t have interfered with it either.”
But Nora had betrayed that hope first. It wasn’t quite a sense of betrayal that Aracila felt, but rather a mix of pity and frustration. “You always manage to disappoint people, don’t you?”
“Don’t talk to me like that!” Nora burst out, her voice cracking with emotion. Tears streamed down her face. “Do you think I wanted this? I wanted to start over, too! I wanted a new life, but I had no choice…!”
“No choice? Is that your only excuse?” Aracila’s response was icy, cutting through Nora’s sobs with merciless precision.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
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