“It’s no different than sending garbage.”

The servant elaborately explained why that was a discourtesy. Ostensibly, it was a lesson in manners, but inwardly, it was a plea of ‘Please, don’t make me go back to the De Como’s house with these flowers.’

To have the flowers one sent rejected was a public humiliation for a gentleman, and Count De Como was notoriously shorttempered, his servants were known to be rough, and when they could not retaliate against their master, people tended to take out their frustrations on the servants.

Considering even the practical issues that the servant couldn’t openly voice, Ariadne thought for a moment about how to handle the items, but she held her ground.

“Okay, then just return the dress. The dress can go directly to the Collezioni dressing room, so it will be less of a burden on you, right? Leave the roses outside.”

“Not in your room, Miss?”

“Yes, just put them somewhere out of my sight.”

For Ariadne, there was something more important to attend to today. She didn’t have the leisure to worry about the gifts sent by Cesare.

“Is the carriage ready?”

“Yes, Miss. Shall I tell the coachman that you are coming down now?”

“Alright.”

Today was the day of the tea party for the young ladies invited by Julia De Valdesar. She was as nervous as the day she had gone to the San Ercole Cathedral to greet the Apostolic Delegate from Acireto. Ariadne discreetly wiped the sweat that had collected in the palm of her hands on her dress.

“It’s an honor to have you visit the Valdesar Ducal House, Young Lady De Mare.”

A domestic servant of the ducal house bowed respectfully in greeting. Ariadne received the greeting with a smile she had endeavored to make look graceful.

“Please come in, Young Lady De Mare. Signora Julia is waiting for you in the reception room.”

Today, Ariadne’s title was not ‘Little Miss De Mare’. That was because Isabella hadn’t received an invitation, and thus, there was only one Miss De Mare.

Ariadne was dressed in a modest, light green dress for going out, with a net hair cover studded with tiny green topaz stones the size of a baby’s fingernail adorning her head.

It was a tidy look, carefully chosen to ensure that the only representative of the De Mare family would not be regarded as unsophisticated wherever she went.

As Ariadne, dressed in the green dress, entered the reception room of the Valdesar family, all eyes of the girls who had gathered beforehand were immediately drawn to her.

Some looked at her with friendliness, others with curiosity, and some with a scrutinizing gaze that traveled from head to toe.

As if to shield her from these looks, today’s hostess, Julia De Valdesar, abruptly stood up from her seat and approached Ariadne.

“Miss De Mare!”

Julia took Ariadne’s hand.

“I’m glad you could come. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Ariadne responded with a bright smile to Julia’s friendly greeting.

“Thank you for the invitation.”

“Lady de Mare, there are some unfamiliar faces here, aren’t there? Let me introduce them to you.”

At today’s tea party of Julia de Valdesar, four or five young ladies had gathered.

There were relatively unfamiliar faces like Lady Rinaldi with her righteous brown hair, Lady Delatore, whose territory is consolidated in the north of Etruscan, and Lady Elba, whose father is a renowned lawyer.

“No, Signora Julia.”

Ariadne responded brightly to Julia’s courtesy with a smile.

“Signora Cornelia…”

First, Ariadne looked at Lady Rinaldi and requested a handshake.

“And Signora Gabriele, I remember meeting you at the debutante ball.”

The second person to greet was Lady Delatore Gabriele. Both young ladies were proud that Ariadne, who was recently the talk of San Carlo, remembered their names after just one encounter.

As she had truly never met Lady Elba before, she exchanged full names with Julia’s help. There was also a surprisingly familiar face among them. It was Camellia de Castellione.

“I’m pleased to meet you again, Lady de Mare.”

Camellia was technically Isabella’s friend, but she was sociable and had a wide range of connections, and she was always invited to other girls’ parties because she was good at following the rumors.

Julia seemed to have no intention of cutting off everyone just because they were friends with Isabella, even though she had a falling out with her.

Ariadne suppressed a sense of disappointment. Of course, it was reasonable. I was invited here for the first time today.

“Pleasure to meet you, Lady Castellione.”

Ariadne greeted Camellia with a smiling face, showing no sign of displeasure. The social circle of the girls was just beginning.

In a gathering of teenage girls, the topic of boys was indispensable.

“I heard Gabriele has received a marriage proposal!”

Lady Delatore said with a smile and a bow.

“It’s not a marriage proposal, just a suggestion. We’ll have to wait and see if it works out.”

“But the gentleman is the eldest son of the Montefeltro Marquis, isn’t he?”

The Montefeltro Marquis family was a very old and distinguished family and former nobility with a large territory in central Etruscan.

In Etruscan, where male primogeniture was the principle, marrying the eldest son of the Montefeltro Marquis meant becoming the Marchioness of Montefeltro, provided there were no issues.

“Gabriele’s family, the Delatore Count, is also a great noble family in the north, so it would be a blessed union between the old noble families.”

Julia, who had the sharpest political acumen among the girls, excluding Ariadne, pointed out the likelihood of the marriage being successful. If the rank and interests of the families aligned, marriage proposals usually led to smooth marriages.

“I’m so envious.”

Lady Elba, Felicite, showed innocent envy towards Gabriele.

Her father, who had not much to inherit, was more akin to a court noble than a feudal lord, as he had risen to the capital with his talent and made a name for himself. Naturally, she harbored a longing for the old nobility.

It was a dream of most daughters of new nobility to marry into an old noble family with a large territory and become the hostess standing at the top of the existing power order. But Gabriele Delatore gave a bitter smile.

“Well. It might be a kind of happiness to rule a robust territory, but does that alone ensure lasting happiness?”

Pietro, the eldest son of Marquis Montefeltro, was a widower. He was already in his 30s and had a first son who was barely ten and a still young second daughter.

Pietro de Montefeltro, known for his serious and thoughtful nature, was a perfect husband, but it was a bit unreasonable to say that he was the happiness that teenage girls dream of.

As Julia de Valdesar, she fully agreed. Does a man have to have a high status? Can’t we just get along well with a handsome and genuine partner?

But she soon sighed and told a story that caught both herself and Gabriele.

“Love is nothing more than fleeting joy.”

It was an uncharacteristically mature statement thrown out in a neat tone befitting of a teenager. But, Julia, about to continue her story, found herself at a loss for words.

Her mother often spoke of the tranquility of everyday life and the happiness blossoming from a lively household, instead of the fever of passionate love, but such calm stories did not resonate with Julia, who was still at an age where her blood boiled with youth.

Fortunately, Felicite spoke in her stead.

“But when you become the Duchess and enter the San Carlo ball, it’ll feel real, right? Everyone will only look at you. How nice, Gabriele!”

“I know, right. I’m so jealous of your smooth journey.”

This time, the deep sigh came from Camellia.

“What’s the matter, Camellia? You have your fiancé, Signor Ottavio, what’s there to worry about?”

“Well…”