Chapter 76

"Presenting Her Majesty, the Empress!"

The orchestra, which had been playing softly, slowed its tempo as the Empress made her entrance. Having finished greeting the noble ladies making their debut today, the Empress stepped forward to formally open the party. Her elegant voice settled over the hall.

"I congratulate all of you gathered here today on your debut. Seeing so many who will go on to grace noble society truly warms my heart."

Every eye in the room turned to the Empress. I, too, standing among the crowd beside the Grand Duke, looked up at her and whispered.

"So it's really starting now."

I'd cleared the great hurdle of being presented to the Empress, but the party itself was only just beginning.

How well I carried myself through today's debutante would decide everything from invitations to the after-parties that followed, to, in the long run, the reputation attached to both…