“The de Mare sisters are talented! The second daughter excels in theology, and the eldest is composing!”

The nun in charge of hymns at the Great Cathedral showed a broad smile as she received the sheet music submitted by Isabella. Isabella, who was displeased with being compared to Ariadne, forced a smile, then made up her mind.

How great was the incident of the Apostles in Asereto, if she could be considered on par with it without lifting a finger, wasn’t this a winning business?

“It’s a score sheet. We will practice it separately, and when we all gather to practice, we will invite the composer once. Please come and see if what you imagined is being implemented well.”

Isabella, who sent a brilliant smile like a peony in May to the nun in charge, decided to show off properly by gathering her friends that day.

Her halfsister, who was nothing special, was receiving too much praise from the neighborhood. It was time to show who was the real queen of San Carlo’s peers.

As Isabella had made her debut last year, she was a dignified lady who could invite her debutante friends in her own name.

Another privilege of the debutante was that she could visit respectable places like the church, the royal palace, and a friend’s house on the same day without her mother’s company.

The Great Cathedral, where the first ensemble of the Missa Brevis composed by Isabella was to be held, was a perfect place to invite her debutante friends.

After watching the performance, moving to the nearby Archbishop’s residence with her friends to have afternoon tea, receiving praises for her beauty as usual, returning some compliments, and feeling satisfied, that was the kind of day it was.

Of course, Lucrezia, who would sulk at the drop of a hat, insisted on participating, saying that the mother couldn’t be missing on the historic day when her eldest daughter’s composition was performed for the first time.

Despite Isabella’s annoyance, Lucrezia, who had firmly promised to stay away and not interfere, ended up coming to Isabella’s social gathering.

Ariadne, who wanted to see her own music performed with her own eyes, also ended up going along, whining to follow her mother.

At the Great Cathedral, Isabella’s friends were gathering one after another. Julia, the young mistress of the Baldessarre duke, was the daughter of the most distinguished family, and Camellia of the Castillione baron, three years older, was the ‘friend’ chosen to perform various roles.

She had been the most beautiful lady in society before Isabella appeared, and the Baron of Castillione, who had a lot of income from the sheep business in addition to the money from the manor, had a promising suitor despite his relatively low status.

Camellia of low status was only welcomed by Isabella when she brought her fiancé, Count Contarini Ottavio, and his friends, unless it was a place where Isabella exhibited her ‘friends’, the beautiful young ladies, like a bouquet of flowers.

Today also, Ottavio and his friends had been invited through Camellia. Among them was Cesare de Como, the socialite receiving the most attention from the ladies of San Carlo, excluding Prince Alfonso.

People on the guest list were arriving one after another. Isabella, who had set up the flower decorations in the front row of the Great Cathedral and set up a snack table, was waiting leisurely for the people when she saw Camellia arriving first.

“Camellia! You arrived early.”

“No, Miss de Mare. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Ah, just call me comfortably. It’s my first composition, if I don’t invite our Camellia who is deeply knowledgeable about music, who else would I call?”

Isabella, who greeted Camellia warmly, sat down and started chatting about this and that. Isabella, who makes eye contact and focuses on the person she’s talking to, was so charming that she could fascinate even the same women.

In the meantime, Julia, the young mistress of the Baldessarre Duke, also arrived, and Ottavio, Camellia’s fiancé, and his friends arrived one after another. The front row invitation seats in the Great Cathedral began to get crowded.

“Ottavio, you’re always so entertaining as always.”

Isabella smirked at Camellia’s fiance. Camellia’s expression hardened instantly, but she dared not protest against Isabella.

It was clearly crossing the line to call someone else’s fiancé, whom you were not close to, by their first name, not ‘Contarini Young Lord’ or ‘Signor Ottavio’, but it was something Isabella did best, and while men said they didn’t know, they secretly enjoyed it.

“But, Count Cesare is late?”

Isabella, trying her best to hide her impatience, casually threw the question she was most curious about to Ottavio.

“Where have you seen Count Cesare appearing on time? He’s probably getting up leisurely and dressing up right now. He’s not a friend who won’t show up, so let’s proceed among us.”

As Isabella nodded with a smile, the musicians who had been positioning themselves behind the podium began to prepare with a loosening of their hands.