Melly realized that the stories she wanted to tell and the stories her friends wanted to hear were different.

She felt bitter, but told the stories her friends wanted to hear. And she tried to downplay the glamorous aspects of her life and emphasize the ordinary to avoid causing relative deprivation.

She wanted to show them that everyone’s life is more or less the same.

But…….

“Really? You go to parties that often?”

“…….”

Even though she said she only went about once every ten days, they were shocked.

And that was after downplaying it as much as possible.

Melly realized her friends were scrutinizing her clothes, accessories, and even the shape of her nails in detail.

Suddenly she felt like she was in a different kind of social circle.

“Come on, you guys!”

Annette scolded them once again.

“You’re suffocating her. Let’s order food first, then ask questions later.”

“Ah…… right. Yes. What should we eat?”

Her friends’ gazes shifted to the menu.

Melly felt she could finally breathe. She exchanged glances with Annette, expressing her gratitude.

“Excuse me.”

Annette raised her hand and called out, and someone who looked like the manager approached.

“We’ll have two servings each of this and this.”

“You mean the omelet and chicken stew. Certainly. Anything else……?”

“That’s all.”

“I apologize, but our restaurant requires orders for each person present.”

“Then give us a salad plate.”

“……Understood. Then how about drinks or beverages…….”

“We don’t need those either.”

For a moment, a displeased look flashed across the manager’s face.

He was unhappy that they ordered so little despite taking up a large, nice table. Melly knew Annette had only ordered a little considering her friends’ financial situations. She felt she should do something at this point.

“Just a moment.”

She stopped the manager who was about to turn away with a gruff attitude.

“Do you have a set menu?”

“Ah, yes. Of course we do.”

His attitude suddenly became very polite.

“Which set would you like?”

The manager asked, opening the first page of the menu. Melly scanned the types of sets while discreetly gauging her friends’ reactions.

She was worried they might misunderstand her intentions and feel hurt in their pride.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

“……Is that okay, Melly?”

“Well, it’s fine with us…….”

Relieved, Melly ordered the best set for each person. She also ordered a bottle of wine.

In the lively atmosphere she hadn’t experienced in a while, Melly felt a different kind of joy than when she was alone with Annette.

As they laughed and chatted, the food quickly ran out. Then they had more dishes brought out.

Ordering a few more bottles of wine was a given. After all, alcohol is essential for a pleasant atmosphere.

Everyone gradually got drunk. As they did, they started sharing their inner thoughts.

Most of it was about the hardships of daily life and child-rearing. Melly had nothing to say about either topic.

She made her presence transparent through silence. Just like how ladies in high society do when noblewomen discuss topics they’re not familiar with.

But whether then or now, Melly never succeeded in completely erasing her presence.

“By the way, Melly. Why don’t you have children?”

Cyril asked. She was still the type who couldn’t hold back her curiosity, just like in their school days.

Melly answered with an awkward smile.

“Just…… it happened that way.”

The topic of children always made her feel inferior. Even when wearing her best clothes and the most expensive jewelry.

Melly tried to change the subject, but Cyril brought it back to the original topic.

“Do you and your husband sleep in separate rooms?”

“…….”

When Melly hesitated to answer, Annette stepped in again.

“Which noble doesn’t sleep separately? With such large houses, of course they’d each have their own room.”

“I guess you’re right.”

All her friends nodded in understanding.

Melly remained quiet. She thought it would be better if they believed the reason she couldn’t get pregnant was because of separate rooms.

Rather than thinking it was because her body was weak.

“Hey, Cyril, how old is your son now?”

“My son? He’s four now.”

“Oh my, the terrible fours. He must not listen at all.”

“Don’t even mention it. I just want to throw him away sometimes. Hoho…….”

After that, Melly quietly listened, waiting for the heat of this conversation to subside as soon as possible.

But when the child talk died down, they moved on to husband talk.

“My husband is so immature. Sometimes I feel like I’m raising three children instead of two.”

“You think yours is bad? Mine is…… Ugh, it hurts just to talk about it. It’s so bad I even slapped his back once.”

When husband talk came up, Melly had even less to say.

Nagging or slapping their backs were things she couldn’t even imagine doing.

Melly suddenly started to see her friends differently. Despite their difficult and tight lives, they were on equal footing with their husbands. In some ways, they even seemed superior to their husbands. They all seemed full of confidence. As for herself…….

‘What about me?’

After briefly reflecting on herself, Melly quietly stood up from her seat.

“Where are you going?”

Annette asked. Her friends also stopped their conversation and looked at her.

“Just to the restroom for a moment.”

Melly said with a bright smile.

But she didn’t go to the restroom and instead went outside the restaurant. She thought the outside air would be better for calming her bitter feelings than the stuffy restroom air.

Melly walked once around the building’s exterior.

She thought it was fortunate that all her friends were drunk. When drunk, people tend to focus on their own words rather than listening to others.

If not for that, questions would have poured out at her.

‘How about you? Do you fight sometimes too?’

Fight…….

Melly tried to imagine herself fighting with Edric. She simply couldn’t picture it.

To Melly, he was someone to respect, look up to, fear, be wary of, or crave affection from, not someone to have marital fights with.

And until now, Melly had never once thought that was strange.

But today, listening to her friends’ chatter, Melly thought for the first time.

That their lives might be normal lives and typical marital relationships. Her relationship with Edric was not ordinary.

Something was wrong. Clearly.

As she turned the corner, a gust of hot air blew down from above. It came from an open window in the building, and judging by the clattering of dishes, it seemed to be the kitchen’s back door.

She must have already walked a full circle.

‘I should head back now.’

Melly put aside her thoughts and quickened her pace.

By now, they should have exhausted most of the talk about children and husbands. As long as it wasn’t those two topics, there was no conversation she couldn’t join.

Just one more corner and she’d be at the entrance.

Melly walked even faster, worried her friends might be waiting.

But suddenly, a drawling voice from beyond the window made Melly stop in her tracks.

“I’m jealous, Annette. You’ve hit the jackpot, huh?”

“What jackpot? She doesn’t have any real power.”

It was Cyril and Annette’s voices. Melly didn’t know who they were talking about.

She pressed herself against the wall and listened intently to the conversation beyond the window.

“She’s not really loved by her husband, and she’s not well-received in social circles either.”

“No way, that can’t be true.”

“I heard it directly from her.”

“What? Then she’s just an empty shell? That’s a shame. I was going to ask her to look into a job for my husband.”

Cyril said in a disappointed tone. Soon after, April’s sarcastic voice was heard as well.

“But she must have money. Look at how she orders those expensive dishes without hesitation.”

“If she didn’t even have money, what kind of duchess would she be?”

Melly gradually understood the reality of the conversation. But to immediately believe it was too much, given how kind her friends had seemed to her.

‘No. There must be some misunderstanding.’

Melly denied it until the very end. But reality made her realize in a cruel way.

“Anyway, everyone’s nice to me. Who knows? Maybe thanks to me, our next gathering will be at the Pelton Hotel restaurant?”

“True, did you see how Annette ordered food earlier? She was so clever. She made our soft-hearted sugar mama open her wallet.”

Melly felt her vision blur.

The past month or so flashed through her mind.

During that time, Annette had been so warm and kind. To the point where she had shared some of her family matters that she couldn’t tell anyone else and had been struggling with alone.

Was that warmth of being patted and hugged tightly really a lie? How…… how could a lie seem so real?

Melly couldn’t understand at all. But as a little time passed, she began to understand bit by bit.

Since their school days, Annette had always been quick to assess situations. That’s why even in situations where everyone else would get scolded, she alone would get away with it.

What Annette had shown her was surely sincere. She had simply used that quick judgment to take advantage of the opportunity.

An opportunity where many things could happen without her having to open her wallet.

Thinking it was just pocket change to her anyway…… without feeling any guilt.

Tears finally rolled down her cheeks.

Melly searched for a handkerchief. But her bag was inside.

Melly wiped her eyes with her sleeve cuff. A black mark stained her sage-green blouse. It seemed her eye makeup had smeared. She needed to stop crying to prevent it from getting worse.

Melly stopped by the restroom on her way back.

Fortunately, the state of her face wasn’t too bad. Only her mascara had smeared slightly. Melly wiped under her eyes with tissues until no more ink came off. Then she returned to the table.

“Melly, why did you take so long? We were worried.”

Annette said with a smile. Then the other friends looked at Melly with concern on their faces.

At that ridiculous sight, Melly felt nausea rising in her throat.

She barely calmed her chest and managed to smile.

“You were worried about me? Why?”

“…….”

“Were you afraid your sugar mama would leave without paying?”