The Duchess of Kiston invited Arasila to her art gathering.

Iris, upon hearing this news, rejoiced and praised her younger sister.

“Oh my, Ari. Well done! You’ve succeeded in catching Her Grace the Duchess’s eye at once!”

Since the Duchess’s art gathering was attended by various people from middle-aged ladies to young noblewomen, it was no small fortune to be able to build connections there.

Contrary to her worries about potentially causing trouble, Arasila had returned with excellent results.

If she played her cards right, she could expand her influence in society in a short time, surpassing Nora.

Iris, who had been enthusiastically praising her sister for doing so well on her own, took a sip of tea as if her throat had become dry.

Suddenly, Arasila noticed her elder sister’s face with light makeup and her neat outdoor attire.

“Did you go out somewhere?”

“…Huh?”

Unlike Arasila, who asked the question casually, Iris showed a somewhat surprised reaction.

In fact, today she had just returned from her second meeting with Eric Roberts.

As before, the time spent with him was smooth and comfortable. However, she still didn’t feel any romantic emotions, nor did she have any desire to marry him.

Iris, who hadn’t yet told Arasila about meeting a man through their mother’s introduction, made up an excuse.

“Oh, um… I just went out to meet a friend briefly.”

Arasila’s eyes narrowed at the strangely awkward response. Suddenly remembering that her sister’s expression had been subtly dark last time, she asked,

“Sister, there’s nothing wrong, is there?”

“What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong at all.”

“Really? If you have any worries, just tell me right away. I’ll help you.”

Iris smiled faintly at the dependable words, as if touched.

But for her, who had lived burdened by her sense of responsibility as an elder sister, there was nothing more difficult than relying on her younger sister.

Absentmindedly rubbing the pattern on the teacup with her thumb, Iris asked an unexpected question.

“By the way, Ari, are you happy being married?”

“Why so suddenly?”

Arasila tilted her head in confusion, but seeing Iris’s serious face, she became serious too.

‘Am I happy in my married life with Demian, she asks.’

Since it wasn’t a real marriage, honestly, she wasn’t sure. But it seemed to have become more bearable since their relationship improved somewhat.

‘I suppose it’s not bad since I’ve learned some things.’

Unexpectedly, she learned that living in the same space with someone else wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, and that she shouldn’t judge people based on preconceived notions.

Thinking about various things, while not particularly happy, she wasn’t particularly unhappy either, so Arasila gave a moderate answer.

“Demian and I have similar lifestyles, and we respect each other, so it’s good that there’s nothing uncomfortable.”

“I see…”

Iris nodded with a face that seemed somehow deep in thought. Arasila looked at her sister as if finding her strange.

“Sister, are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

“Of course, naturally.”

Iris waved her hand, returning to a smiling face. Still, Arasila felt a bit uneasy.

Knowing well that her sister was the type to endure and swallow things on her own, she was worried.

“If anything’s wrong, make sure to tell me. Okay?”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Iris replied playfully and smiled brightly as if there had never been a shadow on her face.

The Duchess of Kiston’s art gathering was held every Tuesday.

The venue was, of course, the grand mansion where the Duchess stayed in the capital. Given to her by her father during her time as an imperial princess, it was located in the heart of the capital, with a majestic and classical exterior.

In the greenhouse garden of the mansion where all the members of the gathering had assembled, the Duchess introduced Arasila to everyone.

“Let me introduce you all. This is Lady Vandermir, who has newly joined our gathering.”

“Hello, I’m Arasila Vandermir.”

The Duchess placed her hand on Arasila’s shoulder in a friendly manner as she greeted politely.

“Though she’s young, we get along very well, so I wanted to introduce her to you all. You don’t know how pure and wise she is. I hope you all become good friends with her.”

Then the Duchess seated Arasila right next to herself. Following the overt introduction, this was an action to empower Arasila.

By this point, no one failed to grasp her intention. The Duchess was saying that Arasila was someone she cherished, so they shouldn’t even think of showing any hostility and should welcome her warmly.

Thanks to this, from the first day, Arasila was able to mingle with people without much effort. Everyone approached her favorably, as the Duchess had openly shown affection for her.

After sitting in a circle and chatting together, the group split midway.

More precisely, the Duchess had arranged a separate place for Arasila to build friendships with young noble ladies and ladies-in-waiting.

A subtle silence flowed among the noble ladies who had moved to the opposite side of the greenhouse garden.

No one here was unaware of Arasila. Before marriage, she was famous as an eccentric sorceress who declared she would remain single, and after marriage, she was known as a noblewoman about whom strange rumors periodically spread.

Because of this, many people basically viewed Arasila negatively through colored lenses, but there were also opposite cases.

The people here now were like that.

They held curiosity rather than prejudice towards Arasila. She had shown a different path from ordinary young ladies when unmarried, and now she was showing a different path from ordinary noblewomen, which was interesting.

Perhaps there were even envious gazes mixed in.

On the surface, Arasila was beautiful and capable, and she seemed to be a free person who did what she wanted.

They had wanted to talk with her for a while, but since Arasila rarely appeared in social circles, there had been no opportunity.

Now that she had joined as a new member of the gathering, it was more than welcome. Most of them had no connection to Nora’s circle, so there was even less to hold them back.

However, Arasila seen up close had an inexplicable sense of pressure, making it difficult to easily strike up a conversation, which was why the silence was prolonged.

Completely unaware of the inner thoughts of others, Arasila was lost in her own thoughts.

‘I’ve studied hard again for today.’

She had thoroughly learned about recently popular hats and dresses, trendy hobbies, and hot gossip topics with Iris’s help to have smooth conversations with her peers.

In the past, she would have just stared blankly if someone brought up related topics, but now she was ready to pour out words at the slightest prompt.

Anyone just needed to speak to her. Just speak to her.

She was even thinking of leading the conversation herself if it didn’t work out, but fortunately, a noble young lady cautiously opened her mouth.

“Um, Lady Vandermir.”

“Yes.”

“By any chance… where did you buy that hat?”

Arasila reflexively touched her hat. While narrow-brimmed hats were trendy in social circles these days, the one she wore today had a wide brim.

She had chosen it to match the atmosphere of the art gathering rather than following the trend.

“I think I bought it at Tara’s Clothing Shop.”

After diligently answering the young lady’s question, she was about to say, ‘These days, narrow-brimmed hats are popular, aren’t they?’

But an unexpected response came back, causing her to fail.

“Do they still sell it? I want to buy one too.”

Arasila, who was about to rattle off information about narrow-brimmed hats like an encyclopedia, closed her mouth tightly and then opened it again.

“Well, I bought it a few years ago, so they might not sell it anymore.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s a shame…”

The young lady retreated with a genuinely disappointed look. Arasila tried once again to initiate a conversation about the latest trends.

“Speaking of which, recently ribbon-shaped accessories…”

“May I ask where you purchased your dress as well?”

A noblewoman asked abruptly, as if not wanting to miss this opportunity. Arasila glanced down at her dress and answered.

“This is also from Tara’s Clothing Shop. I’m a regular there, so I usually buy a lot from that place.”

“Ah, so Lady Vandermir is a regular at Tara’s Clothing Shop! I should remember that.”

Afterwards, Arasila continued to receive a barrage of questions without even having a chance to bring up what she had learned in advance.

People asked about not only the things she was wearing but also about her relationship with Demian, to the extent that wasn’t rude.

“I’m curious how you received a proposal from Lord Vandermir.”

“I was the one who suggested marriage first. After that, Demian became more proactive.”

“What aspect of the lord made you fall for him?”

“His face and the fact that he sees me for who I am.”

“How were both of you at your first meeting?”

“We were honest and straightforward enough to bare our hearts to each other without reservation.”

Everyone giggled with sparkling eyes, like students listening to their teacher’s first love story.

Arasila’s refreshing attitude of seemingly tossing out words casually while answering all questions without omission doubled their enjoyment.

Then, one young lady sighed and said,

“I envy that your husband is honest with his expressions of affection. I’m worried because I’m not sure if my fiancé really loves me. We’ve known each other since childhood, so he seems to take my existence for granted.”

She was Lady Harriet, who was the center among the young ladies in this gathering. Other noblewomen and young ladies offered words of comfort to her.

Saying things like it would change after marriage, that a man’s haven could only be his home and wife, or that she should quickly end the engagement.

Arasila, who had been quietly listening to their words, couldn’t hold back and added her own comment.

“Instead of that, change your fiancé into a man who loves you, Lady Harriet. There are so many men in the world, why cling to just one person?”

There was a stir around at this radical advice.

Everyone seemed flustered, as it was the first time someone had voiced aloud what they had only thought inside.

“But I don’t want to break up with Lord Shark. If I try a little harder, won’t he cherish me more?”

“Regardless of gender, when forming human relationships, if you act like you can’t live without the other person, they quickly get tired of it.”

“That, that’s…”

Lady Harriet’s face rapidly became gloomy. She asked with wavering eyes.

“Then what should I do…”

“Show that you can live well without Lord Shark. If you take a submissive stance, Shark will increasingly disregard you and not realize your preciousness.”

“What if Shark leaves me…”

“Then you break up and find a new fiancé. It’s not like your life ends because of that. It’s much better than getting married, suffering, and then divorcing because you can’t bear it.”

While breakups were not uncommon in noble society, they remained a much greater blemish on women than men.

Lady Harriet knew this well and had been anxious and worried about it, but hearing Arasila speak like this strangely reassured her.

It felt like courage she never had was welling up.

“…I think you’re right, my lady. I’ll try that.”

Arasila nodded at Lady Harriet’s resolute words. As someone who had promised to divorce in a few years, she simply couldn’t understand why they found breaking an engagement so difficult.

On the way home after the gathering ended.

Among the crowd waiting for carriages, Arasila approached the young lady who had first spoken to her. It was the one who had asked where she bought her hat.

“Young lady, take this.”

“Pardon?”

Arasila took off her hat and gently placed it on the other’s head.

The young lady looked at her with surprised eyes.

“Why are you giving me this hat…”

“The more I think about it, I don’t think Tara’s Clothing Shop sells this hat anymore. If you don’t mind, please accept mine. I’ve worn it cleanly, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“But, but it suits you so well, my lady, I’m not sure if I should accept it…”

The young lady hesitated, touching the hat. Then Arasila gently tapped the brim of the hat and smiled brightly.

“It suits you very well too.”

“Ah…”

“Well then, see you at the next gathering.”

The young lady, with her cheeks faintly flushed, nodded vigorously.

When her carriage arrived, Arasila boarded it but instead of heading home, she directed it towards the bustling district.

She had a place to go.