Windsor stood up from his seat and looked down at her with a straight posture. With his feet together and hands behind his back, he looked like a naval officer.

“Good work, Miss Somerset. I hope your other lessons are like this as well.”

“Of course, Lord Preston.”

“However, even if it’s a Nortier lesson, I’d like to cover a variety of topics. When Benjamin talks to the people of the Nortier Kingdom in the future, economic topics are more likely to come up than ships. Spending the entire hour talking about ships seemed quite inefficient.”

“!”

At that moment, Jacqueline realized that he had understood the entire content of the lesson. Her eyes widened in surprise, then she immediately smiled brightly, as if she had completely forgotten what had just happened.

“You’re right, Lord Preston.”

Windsor stared at her smiling without any ulterior motive. As if that was the end of his business, he was about to leave the room when he paused.

His gaze flickered to the wall behind him. Suddenly, the front of his eyebrow wrinkled.

“We should get Benjamin an art teacher.”

As his uncle expressed disappointment in his drawing skills, the child finally wore a gloomy expression. Jacqueline hurried to defend Benjamin.

“Compared to my drawing, Benjamin actually draws quite well for his age.”

“You mean the pudding lump with eyes, nose, and mouth, and the dog with five legs? We should find a skilled painter before he becomes a laughinghouse at boarding school. I’m not sure if the future Marquis Preston will ever need to draw himself, but isn’t it better to be prepared in advance?”

“Uh, well…”

Jacqueline couldn’t open her mouth hastily and just rolled her eyes. The answer that it’s not a dog but a horse, and it’s not five legs but one is a tail, just swirled around in her mouth.

Benjamin, who had been looking down, slightly raised his head. The child tilted his head as he stared at the drawing.

“I’m glad it was helpful, Lord Preston.”

Jacqueline said with an awkward smile. Windsor left the room without another word.

Only then did she slowly turn to look at Benjamin. As their eyes met, Jacqueline’s shoulders drooped.

“I’m sorry, Benjamin. I couldn’t bring myself to confess to Lord Preston that it was my drawing.”

“…It’s alright, Miss Somerset.”

Benjamin nodded maturely as if he understood everything. However, Jacqueline couldn’t escape her self-loathing.

She waved her hand carelessly and left the room saying, “See you later.” Jacqueline crossed the corridor with a trudging gait, not at all lady-like.

There were many people at the boarding school who didn’t understand her artistic world. Both friends and teachers burst into laughter when they saw her drawings.

Jacqueline thought of herself as an ill-fated genius. How many genius painters born ahead of their time had ended their lives in misfortune because of people who couldn’t recognize their talent?

So when Fauvism emerged, she thought her time had finally come. But it seemed she had to wait a little longer for her talent to be recognized.

Dejected footsteps dotted behind Jacqueline’s back.

Clank.

Betty, who put down the silver tray, said, “I’ve prepared the tea.”

Jacqueline put tea leaves in the strainer and poured warm water to brew the tea. After waiting for a moment, the bitter scent of tea rose.

“Thank you, Betty.”

“You’re welcome, Miss Somerset.”

Betty replied with her usual stiff attitude and withdrew. Even though she was completely alone now, Jacqueline didn’t collapse her upright posture.

She poured tea into a cup decorated with flowers and closed her eyes to enjoy the aroma of the black tea. This time, she took a sip of tea. The bitter tea slowly went down her throat.

“Haa.”

Finally, a held-back sigh burst out.

“Oh?”

At that moment, she noticed two pieces of paper placed on the sofa opposite her. She also saw glasses placed next to them. Jacqueline reached out lightly and grabbed the glasses and papers.

While leisurely scanning the papers while drinking tea, William, who was looking around, entered the living room.

“Where did I put this… Ah, Miss Somerset. You were here. Did the lesson end well?”

“Of course, William. Lord Preston was very satisfied.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

She waved the papers in her hand. William, his eyes slightly widened, nodded and approached.

With his string-attached glasses and silver mustache, he was the typical image of a butler.

“I must have left them here. As I get older, I keep forgetting things. It’s time for me to retire. I wanted to see young Master Benjamin ascend to the position of Marquis, but I guess that’s just an old man’s greed.”

“From what I can see, you seem plenty capable of staying until then.”

William laughed at her words with a “Ho ho,” as if he really hoped so.

“Are you holding a party at the mansion? Is this a list of attendees?”

Jacqueline asked casually as she handed over the list of noble names. Next to each noble’s name was marked ‘attending’ or ‘not attending’.

William nodded with a somewhat reluctant expression.

“Yes. It’s a party to celebrate young Master Benjamin’s birthday. Until last year, we stayed in the territory, so it’s been several years since we prepared a proper party. As you know, the current Marquis doesn’t particularly like parties.”

The last words were barely audible, but William cleared his throat with a “Ahem,” as if he had said something unnecessary.

Now back to being a stiff butler, he added in a businesslike voice.

“The party is only two weeks away, but there are still many people who haven’t informed us whether they’ll attend. I’ll have to contact them again. Well then, rest well, Miss Somerset.”

“Take care, William. Ah, by the way.”

William, who was about to leave, turned back at her words.

“Are these glasses yours too?”

“No. They’re the Marquis’s glasses. Come to think of it, the Marquis was looking at the list earlier. If you give them to me, I’ll…”

“It’s alright. I’ll take them to him. I just finished my tea. But.”

Jacqueline lifted the glasses up to her eyes. She closed one eye and looked at William through the glass. His figure was clearly visible without any distortion.

“There’s no prescription.”

“Yes. The Marquis has quite good eyesight. Those are just for show.”

For show?

Jacqueline raised her eyebrows as she looked at the silver-framed glasses.

“He’s already perfect, how can he be even more stylish?”

“Hahaha.”

William burst into laughter. He looked as if he had heard an amusing joke. But Jacqueline was serious.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

William, with a light smile, left the living room.

“A party…”

Jacqueline cast a calm gaze out the window. It was a word she hadn’t heard in a very long time.

Although she was now ruined, she was still a Count’s daughter, and before entering boarding school, she had attended several parties with her parents.

During the holidays, parties were sometimes held for her at the Somerset family mansion.

On the day of the party, she would choose her favorite dress, and the maids would flock to style her hair. They did their best to make Jacqueline the star of the party.

Of course, the best efforts didn’t always lead to the best results.

Sometimes they would burn her hair while trying to curl it with a hot iron, or apply too much makeup and make her look ridiculous.

Still, it was fun. Jacqueline unconsciously pulled up the corners of her mouth at the memory that came to mind after a long time.

“A birthday party for Benjamin? What kind of gift should I give?”

She wondered what gift a ‘penniless lady’ could give to a young master who had everything.

The lazy afternoon sun adequately warmed Jacqueline’s pale cheeks. She recalled the familiar family names written on the list.

Many of her classmates from boarding school, or ladies from families she had met at parties, were scheduled to attend.

“It’s been three years? How should I face them?”

A sigh-like murmur scattered between Jacqueline’s teeth. These were people she hadn’t met since leaving high society.

Some of them had sent letters, but Jacqueline hadn’t replied to any of them. It was overwhelming enough just to overcome the hardships in front of her.

Now there was a distance between them and Jacqueline. They were still successful ladies, while she was a ‘penniless lady’ who had to earn her own money.

She couldn’t receive the service of maids like them, nor did she have the luxury to attend parties every day. There was a line drawn between them and Jacqueline. It wasn’t visible, but it was a clear boundary.

“It will definitely be awkward.”

Jacqueline, who had been staring blankly out the window, stood up. Worrying wouldn’t solve anything anyway.

“I should take the glasses to Lord Preston, and ask Benjamin to go for a walk together. He’s probably reading alone again.”

It was when Jacqueline was crossing the hall to go to the central staircase. Three or four servants came in carrying huge bunches of flowers.

As she slightly stepped aside to avoid getting in their way, Mrs. Ritz gave them instructions. Noticing Jacqueline’s presence belatedly, she nodded in greeting.

Then she quickly turned her head and instructed the servants.

“Leave the flowers Max is holding in the hall, and move the rest to the banquet hall. I need to check with my own eyes how to arrange them.”

It seemed she was trying to arrange the flowers for the banquet hall in advance. Mrs. Ritz’s meticulous personality shone even more at times like this.

“You’re working hard.”

Jacqueline, who had given a light greeting, climbed the stairs. The spiral staircase connected to the hall would make the protagonist’s appearance even more splendid.

As she was imagining Benjamin walking down the red stairs dignifiedly.

Pause.

The expression disappeared from Jacqueline’s face. Her pupils took on a dubious light. Her gaze, which had been moving slowly, turned towards Mrs. Ritz’s fingertips.

“We need to decorate without being too gaudy. In a way that highlights the dignity of the Preston family.”

“Yes, Mrs. Ritz.”

The maids who had rushed over began to unfold and arrange the flowers wrapped in large paper. Mrs. Ritz, who belatedly noticed Jacqueline’s gaze, turned her head.

Their eyes met. Mrs. Ritz raised her eyebrow slightly with a puzzled expression.

“Do you need something, Miss Somerset?”

Her voice was stiff. There was a strong will not to tolerate even small mistakes from the maids in anticipation of the grand party.

Jacqueline’s eyes moved to the flowers spread on the floor. Blue cornflowers stood out among the pink roses.

“Are you going to decorate the hall with those flowers?”

“Yes, but.”

Mrs. Ritz’s voice became even more rigid, and wrinkles appeared between her brows.

“Then it would be better to prepare different flowers.”