Chapter 61: 60

60.Chapter 5.

When Ercella, Vicente, and Adora arrived, the banquet hall was already full of people dancing and chatting in pairs against the gentle melody in the background.

“I think the Coming-of-Age party has already started, Madam.”

“I guess so.”

As Adora spoke, Ercella looked at Vicente. Vicente held out his arm.

“Thank you.” Putting her hand on Vicente’s arm, Ercella stepped on the ivory tiles. Adora followed her. Countless pairs of eyes were focused on the three of them. People kept looking at each other, whispering to their ears.

Since it was just the start of the party, no one approached them. Originally, she would refrain from approaching people until the atmosphere was ripe— unless there was a special acquaintance.

No one wanted to leave an impression of hurrying about greeting others. Ercella, too, minded her manners and would greet her acquaintances with her eyes when she spotted them.

‘Do I go greet Duchess Garten?’

Ercella first agonized over it. Their relationship was a bit vague for her to go approach the Duchess first. Vicente and Olivia were only verbally engaged and not officially, so it may not be rude to not seek her immediately after arrival.

Ercella thought of a scenario in which Duchess Garten and Olivia approached Vicente and her. They were the organizers of the banquet, so they could naturally approach Ercella on the pretext of entertaining the guests. Only if she does…

‘That’s impossible.’

Ercella could assert this point. Duchess Garten valued honor and was a prideful woman. She wouldn’t like it if Ercella and Vicente approached her right away.

So, what to do in this case? If Bernhardt and Garten had friendly relations, it would not seem strange to approach them immediately.

However, Bernhardt had never had any special relationship with Garten, and the situation was complicated because of her Visaride background. Ercella thought of Caron. Does Caron know about this?

‘He most likely does…’

He knows everything. Ercella managed to let out a sigh. She knew how Caron would have reacted if he knew. As a result, her long-cherished desire for mediation between Harsen and Caron had shattered.

‘Why is it so bad?’

Although they never directly revealed that they are not on good terms, Ercella, who has been watching the two, knew that their relationship was not as amicable.

On the surface, Harsen would smile and change the subject, while Caron would utter a barrel of meaningful words, nothing she could understand.

Ercella was unhappy with it, but she quickly accepted it. Some people get along well with others, while others don’t. Like Duchess Garten and herself.

Ercella thought it was really inevitable since their temperaments didn’t match, then remembered what Harsen had said in the morning,

that Duke Garten would be late because of his audience with the King. She was a little taken aback. It was his only daughter’s Coming-of-Age party. The King would surely understand that.

But if he still insisted on meeting with the King, isn’t Duke Garten an incredible man in a way? Ercella found it astounding, but realized she was no different from him, and quietly erased the thought from her mind.

Ercella returned to her previous thoughts. If they greet Olivia and the Duchess now, Ercella and Vicente would have to spend considerable time with them.

In that case, her original purpose of introducing Vicente to many people would not be fulfilled. Ercella decided to put off greeting the main character of the Coming-of-Age party until later since it was inevitable. In truth, although she did not want to see the Duchess first, Ercella concluded that this was a very reasonable decision.

After much consideration, she decided to prioritize introducing Vicente to people. Ercella looked up at Vicente, “Is there anyone in particular you want to get to know?”

Vicente hesitated for a while. In fact, he had never wondered about the nobles he had never seen before. He was the only one who had such a golden opportunity as a recluse just sitting in his room.

That one time, he had no clear reason why he was curious about Marquis Visaride. It’s just that his father never talked about him, and that he’s the blood of his mother, so…

“Vicente?”

Vicente’s face stiffened and he shook his head, “No one.”

Since Vicente didn’t give a name, Ercella became troubled. With her arms folded, she began tapping her fan on her chin, full of worry.

‘Then who should I introduce first?’

Ercella recalled one by one the people who could attend the Coming-of-Age party. The heads of influential families were excluded because they were said to be in the palace. Vicente did not need to make an impression on his vassals, so they were also excluded.

It was not a bad idea to introduce him to Bernhardt or Visaride’s relatives, but they weren’t a priority.

‘What about popular people, people Vicente can admire?’

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.

‘Friends!’

Friends of the same age. Yes, that sounds good. Ercella was satisfied, listing the young lords of Vicente’s age in her mind.

“Long time no see, Your Grace.”

A calm and dignified voice interrupted her thoughts. Ercella turned to it.

“Indeed, Countess Mayance.”

A middle-aged woman with brown hair rolled into a chignon greeted Ercella with a fair attitude.

“You came together with the Young Lord,” Countess Mayance smiled elegantly and looked at Vicente. She had heard of their mother-child relationship. However, she did not betray a look of surprise in front of Ercella.

“Yes. This is Vicente. Vicente, this is Countess Mayance.”

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“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Vicente Bernhardt.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Young Lord. My name is Eliza Mayance. It certainly would have been a pleasure if His Excellency and my husband were here as well. Shame.”

“Likewise, Milady,” Ercella readily agreed, and turned to Adora, “This is my lady-in-waiting, Adora. Zardeas’ Young Lady.”

When she smoothly turned the conversation to her, Adora was at a loss for a moment, but she did not reveal it and curtsied, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Mayance. I’m Adora Zardea.”

The Countess smiled gently at Adora, “Good to see you, dear. I met Countess Zardea at a tea party the other day. She told me about her daughter and was pretty humble in her description. I had no idea the Young Lady was such a lovely girl.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Madam. My mother is stingy with her compliments.”

“Oh my, to such a beautiful daughter? I’ll have to let the Countess know.”

Small greetings were exchanged in a warm atmosphere. Suddenly, Ercella noticed that the Countess was glancing at Vicente.

‘What is it?’

Ercella wondered because it didn’t seem like a simple curiosity. Her question was easily answered by the Countess.

“I heard about the Young Lord’s marriage to Lady Garten.”

Her eyes widened. It wasn’t a secret, but it wasn’t officially announced. Has word spread already?

‘Was it the Gartens?’

Thinking it was nothing strange, Ercella replied, “It’s just an engagement.”

An engagement likely leads to marriage, but she drove a nail into it¹. Engagements often break, as well, so who knows.

“I see.”

Ercella tilted her head. The Countess, though mild in speech, seemed to have a bad look on her face. Ercella tried talking to her, “Yes, we plan to hold the engagement after his Coming-of-Age ceremony.”

“Congratulations. But it’s such a shame, especially after seeing the Young Lord in person.”

Oh, so that was it. Ercella finally understood the source of the shadow on the Countess’ face.

‘Anyhow, you need to look after your precious son. Rumor has it that he’s sought after not only in Garten, but also in Pantetz, Mayance, and Lapaine.’

In retrospect, Countess Zardea said this during Mrs. Lydia’s tea party. She paid no heed to it at that time, but seeing Countess Mayance’s expression now, Ercella realized that she must’ve struggled quite a bit to form a relationship with Bernhardt.

Mayance was such a good family that the previous Count Mayance had served as minister, but now they had nothing significant to their name.

At best, they were neutral, but to put it bluntly, inferior because they struggled to ally with other families. So Countess Mayance tried her best to connect to Bernhardt through marriage, but Harsen did not seem to even consider it.

‘Is it their brief history?’

For it is true that Garten is a family of long-standing history. Of course, in Ercella’s eyes, who wanted Vicente to have a love marriage, neither Gartens nor Mayances were favored.

“His Excellency must have taken a liking to Lady Garten.”

Her voice was filled with regret. How could Harsen take a liking to Olivia and engage Vicente with her? He must’ve had some sort of understanding with Garten.

“I know. He’s not that kind of person usually, but he must have approved of her a lot to rush things like this. I was also surprised to hear it.”

Ercella soothed the Countess by saying that the engagement was solely Harsen’s decision, not the family’s. The Countess nodded in understanding.

“Yes, I should make a decision soon, lest my daughter passes the age of marriage.”

In Grania, the age of marriage was between 18 and 22, and the ceremony usually took place between the ages of 20 and 22. Of course, high-ranking nobles would marry even sooner.

Ercella was dumbfounded by the hint that she had devoted her life to Vicente as her daughter passed her marriageable age. The Countess knew it was not her fault, but if she brought it up…

‘Does she want me to introduce her to someone?’

She seemed to want her to introduce someone to her, even if it was her close relative. Ercella recalled which of the relatives close to Visaride had eligible bachelors.

But she stopped immediately. It was unclear whether Caron wanted Mayances, besides, she couldn’t afford to be the middleman pushing for a marriage of two people. And you never know. Maybe they have someone they wish to marry? I’ll be separating them from their lover… I don’t feel like doing that.

“I’m sure the Countess’s Young Lady will meet a better man. Please don’t worry too much about it.”

The Countess laughed with a sigh, as she knew it was a polite refusal.

“Thank you for saying so. Once again, congratulations on your engagement, Young Lord.”

“Thank you,” replied Vicente unobtrusively. The Countess also curtsied and lowered her head gracefully like a swan.

“May the two families bear a beautiful fruit.”

With those words, Countess Mayance disappeared into the crowd.

At least no Oli***

Vicente be gettin’ so many proposals T_T I’m jealous!

Footnotes

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