Emma, strictly speaking, was not a noble from a family with a title like Elly, and she was just a common maid who had never entered high society.

However, she was a maid trained to fill the void when Ertman’s mistress seat, which had been empty for so long, finally found its owner.

Usually, each family had a dedicated secretary or assistant to assist the lady of the house, and Emma was no different.

So, Emma could boast to anyone that she was not inferior to anyone when it came to the etiquette of high society or Ertman’s position.

And from her perspective, Odette’s concerns could be easily resolved.

“I don’t think any family would openly complain or express dissatisfaction with Ertman just because the lady doesn’t participate in social activities. It’s cautious for me to say this, but since Ertman is a long-established family, it’s unlikely.”

Odette quickly understood what Emma wanted to convey.

Of course, even if it were another family, they could easily avoid unwanted social activities to a certain extent, but Ertman had more specialized excuses in that regard.

Just saying that she doesn’t engage in social activities due to fear of the Emperor’s anger would make everyone nod in agreement.

“If you ever want to engage in social activities, it should be fine to do so in Ertman. Although there might be aspects in the capital’s high society directly related to the Emperor’s attention, in Ertman, you’ve been interacting discreetly with them for a long time.”

Odette was surprised by Emma’s explanation.

“I expected it, but they haven’t interacted at all from that side.”

“Yes. If there had been no interaction at all, relationships with the departed would have been quite awkward. But Lord Fuart has been on the battlefield all along… and the Duke isn’t much different, so there hasn’t been frequent interaction.”

“You know it very well, Emma.”

“I’m from a departed family.”

Emma nodded with a natural smile.

“So, even if the lady continues social activities only in Ertman, it shouldn’t be a big problem. If you’re really in trouble, how about using that method?”

Odette listened to Emma’s words and fell silent for a moment.

It was a silence of conflict.

Of course, Odette didn’t know the details of Ertman’s situation as well as Emma did, who had been an outsider all along. Still, she knew well enough that if she didn’t want to, she didn’t have to engage in social activities.

‘Emma doesn’t explicitly say it, but in a sense, I’m also equal to Ertman when it comes to seclusion.’

Odette, who was famous for not revealing herself to the outside world, maintained a similar stance even after marriage. People wouldn’t be surprised. In any case, she could stay in Ertman only without participating in social activities in the capital, and Emma was well aware of that.
Sometimes there are husbands who force their wives into social activities for the sake of the family’s reputation, but that was definitely not something that would ever happen.

“So, in the past, I would have definitely declined all the invitations…”

If that had happened, she wouldn’t be dealing with this dilemma.

Odette sighed lightly.

“Emma, select a few invitations from places that have had some interaction with Ertman and prioritize those. I’ll choose one of them to attend.”

“Are you really considering accepting the invitations, Your Highness?”

Elly handed the stack of invitations to Emma with a surprised expression.

“Isn’t sending invitations like this too obvious? I’m not very keen on this either.”

“If you receive an invitation, you should attend. It’s not a position where you can easily avoid it anymore.”

When the head of the family deals with external affairs, the lady of the house, responsible for overseeing the internal matters and interacting with the surroundings, takes care of the family’s reputation. So, whether she liked it or not, now that Odette was Ertman’s lady, she needed to take responsibility for his social activities.

Of course, as for Valter, he was the kind of person who would suggest having another drink rather than bothering with unnecessary social activities…

‘I want to be helpful to Valter too.’

If Odette had felt something new while staying in Ertman, it was that Valter was busier than she had thought.

It was beyond her understanding how he could have dedicated three full days to her immediately after their marriage. The fact that Russell almost cried and came to her begging for help within three days didn’t seem unreasonable at all.

If Odette were to visit Valter on such a topic, she would pretend to be not busy at all.

Valter, aren’t you tired? It seems like you barely slept today. Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?

This much is fine. It’s not that much of a burden… Recently, there’s been an increase in tasks to handle, and that’s the only reason. Please don’t worry too much.

Valter’s words were probably meant to reassure Odette, but to her, it sounded like this level of workload was part of his daily routine.

And that was directly linked to a sense of duty for Odette.