“I had no idea there was such a beautiful place in the castle, Your Grace.”
“I was very surprised at first, too. You can’t see a place like this alone.”

Adeline replied with a grin.
It was the day of the carefully prepared party. Herma’s words were still floating around in her head, but she could not spoil such an important event.
Adeline made up her mind and tried to focus on the party.

There was a lot of space in the northern castle that was reserved only for the grand duchess, and one of them was the hall where the party was being held.
The hall at the end of the east corridor of the castle was entirely made of glass, so the outside view could be seen clearly.
Although it felt like you were outdoors, you were actually inside, so the cold and bad weather could be avoided. In addition, it faced the castle’s interior garden, so the scenery that could be seen through the glass was very beautiful.
It was not an open space, so it attracted the attention of the nobles attending, and it was perfect to show the status of the grand duchess.
It was the best space for a party.

“It’s so amazing to have a picnic inside like this, Your Grace.”
“Exactly! But since we can see the exterior, it feels like we’re really having a picnic in the garden.”
“How did you come up with such a different party? You’re really amazing, Your Grace.”

The young ladies came to Adeline and laughed.
Adeline’s party today was nothing more than an indoor picnic. A formal evening party was too serious, and it wasn’t the right time to hold a tea party, so she had this idea.
It was a bit of a gamble, but fortunately, the women reacted well.

“Exactly. I’ve attended a lot of parties, but I’ve never had as much fun as today, Your Grace.”
“Ah, Countess Boyd.”

Countess Boyd, whose daughter Adeline and Melissa had saved before, approached her and spoke. Naturally, the young ladies left.
Countess Boyd was one of the central figures in the northern social circle, and there were many women attached to her. It was like there was some kind of crowd.
Even now, three or four ladies followed the countess in line. Adeline examined their faces one by one.

Because her daughter was saved thanks to Adeline, Countess Boyd admired her more than anyone. However, the social world was not that simple.
She had to look beyond the apparent smile to see what kind of relationship was involved and if there was some kind of fierce opposition.

“I heard you went through a lot in the capital.”
“Yes. There was a lot to do. I heard everyone in the North was genuinely worried. Thank you very much. I’m sure that support helped take care of things.”

Adeline expressed her gratitude when the north’s great support towards her was once again revealed.
It was like emphasizing once more how many people were friendly to Adeline and how her power could be applied.
Countess Boyd’s smile slightly changed when she realized why she was mentioning support. She looked at Adeline and thought that she wasn’t an ordinary person.

‘It has to change naturally. Even if the center of the social world is scattered, it shouldn’t be held by someone who is not the grand duchess.’

For more than two decades, the seat of the grand duchess had been vacant, and the center of the northern social scene had been scattered among some of the ladies.
Adeline was going to sort this out first. She had to pull it all together, and Adeline had to be the one holding that power.

“Ohoh, more importantly, Your Grace, I have someone I want to introduce you to.”
“Is that so?”

Countess Boyd quickly cleared up her feelings and smiled gracefully as she looked at another countess.

“Greetings, Your Grace. I am Countess Ruiz. My youngest child has been sick for a long time, so I haven’t been able to attend the parties. Please forgive me for only greeting you now, Your Grace.”
“What do you mean? It’s nothing to ask forgiveness for. Is your child feeling better? I heard it was scarlet fever.”

When Adeline first mentioned the information about Countess Ruiz, the young lady’s eyes widened. She seemed to have no idea that she knew. And the same was true of the other ladies around them.
Only Isabel and Melissa, who knew of Adeline’s efforts, felt proud as they held back their smiles.

“Thank you so much, it has healed completely. Thank you for caring, Your Grace.”

Countess Ruiz put a hand on her chest and politely bent her knees to express her gratitude.
Then, she called the children who were by her side to greet Adeline.

“This is Victoria and Henry. Hurry up and say hello to the Grand Duchess.”
“Greetings, Your Grace.”

A girl who looked like she was about ten years old and a boy who looked like he was about half her age greeted Adeline cutely.
Adeline smiled and greeted the children.

“Your children are all beautiful. They resemble their mother.”
“You flatter me, Your Grace.”
“But one child is missing. I know you’re the mother of three cute children.”

As Adeline looked for another child, Countess Ruiz’s expression crumpled slightly. It passed by in a fraction of a second when she put on her social mask again, but Adeline did not miss it.

“Ohoh, that child is a little slow so she must have fallen behind. Who does she resemble? Pamela, come quickly and say hello.”

Countess Ruiz called out her name, and a small girl approached.

“Greetings, Your Grace. I am Pamela of the Ruiz family.”

It was a greeting with perfect etiquette, not like a greeting from a child. Unlike the other two, however, Pamela’s dress was too shabby. Her hair wasn’t properly cared for, and she didn’t have any accessories.

‘There’s a lot of information to keep in mind again.’

Adeline thought quietly, seeing the situation reveal how things were going within the family.

***

“It was a really fun party, Your Grace. I can’t tell you how honored I am to be invited like this.”
“I’m more grateful that you have come.”
“I hope to once again see the Grand Duchess’ beauty from up close.”

Adeline smiled softly and let the baroness go.
After a successful picnic party, it was time to say goodbye one by one and leave.
It wasn’t a very long party, but Adeline was able to gather a lot of information and successfully demonstrate her strong position. She had gained a lot.

“It was such an honor, Your Grace. Seeing you in person, I think you are even more noble.”

Countess Ruiz approached her to say goodbye. The three children were standing next to her.

After watching them during the party and hearing Isabel whisper about it, it seemed that only her second daughter was being discriminated against.
She was already desperate to find a good marriage partner for her oldest daughter, who was the prettiest, and she pampered the youngest son because he had a weak body. Thanks to this, the nature of the two children was not good or reputable.

It was the same now. While Countess Ruiz was saying goodbye, the youngest pulled on the skirt of Pamela’s dress and continued to be mean.
However, the countess did not stop him at all when she saw this.

“I told you to stop! Ahh!”
“Oh my!”

Eventually, things broke out. Pamela slapped her tormenting brother’s hand, and the youngest, angered by this fact, pushed Pamela violently.
After being pushed, Pamela fell over in front of Adeline, destroying the ruby sash at the end of Adeline’s dress.

“Oh my! How could such a wretched little girl…”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

The moment the astonished Countess Ruiz raised her hand to slap the child in the face, Adeline urgently lowered herself and hugged the child, protecting her.

“I ap-pologize, Your Grace. I, I…”
“It’s alright. Are you hurt? I’m worried you got a bruise.”

Pamela shook her head slightly. However, her clear eyes could not move away from Adeline’s dress.

“The jewel… Because of me…”

Only one side was ripped, making the dress look ridiculous. Moreover, it was the grand duchess’ dress, not someone else’s. The child was carrying all the worries of the world with a face that looked like it was about to burst into tears.
Adeline, who was staring at Pamela, casually removed the ruby sash on the opposite side.
There were exclamations of surprise coming from everywhere as Adeline removed the ornaments from her dress.

“Jewels like this are nothing. It’s more important that you don’t get hurt. So be careful in the future. If you get hurt, it’s your loss only. You don’t want to get hurt.”
“…”
“Actually, thank you. Since I put on the dress, I didn’t like the decorations on the hem. It looked too much. Thanks to Pamela, I’ve changed into a dress that I like more.”

Adeline smiled and made eye contact with the child. Thick tears fell from Pamela’s eyes.
Adeline wiped the child’s tears with a gentle movement.
The child, who was wearing a shabby cotton dress and standing still in the corner, avoiding people’s eyes, was constantly on her mind. It was clear how much distress she was experiencing amid her family’s discrimination.
So, she kept looking at the child, and she was worried.

“Countess Ruiz.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“I got a better dress thanks to Pamela, so I thought I would give her a gift.”
“… It’s an honor, Your Grace.”
“If only one of the siblings gets a gift, the other children will be upset, so I’ll take care of Victoria and Henry as well.”

If only the child who was persecuted received the gift, they would torment her even more. And just as expected, it wasn’t until she heard that she was going to give gifts to the two children that the countess’ face brightened.

“In return, they should say thank you to Pamela. They are receiving a gift thanks to her.”

Both pouted, but nodded understandingly.
Adeline clicked her tongue inwardly, seeing how spoiled they were, and soon turned her head to face Pamela.

“I want to give you a pretty dress. Is it alright?”

Pamela nodded, wiping away the tears with her soft hands. Adeline smiled and told Isabel to prepare the gifts.

“Oh my! Pamela! How rude!”

As she was about to let the child go, Pamela hugged Adeline. As Countess Ruiz tried to scold the child in surprise, Adeline stopped her with a glance.
Even though she seemed mature for her age, she was still a child. The young child, who was about eight years old, had her heart full of the affection she was receiving for the first time.

“I will become a wonderful lady and present a dress to Your Grace when that time comes. I promise.”

It was a big commitment. Adeline laughed loudly, hugged the child, and held out her pinky finger.

“I look forward to it. Grow up to be a wonderful lady.”

Two fingers of different sizes were tightly entangled and released.
Adeline slowly got up. But when she returned to her original height, all the ladies and young ladies around her were clutching their dresses and giving polite greetings.
Surprised, Adeline immediately turned around.

“Ah…”

Kael was there. When did he get there? He was standing by the door, staring at Adeline with eyes filled with love.

The moment she met Kael’s gaze, her concern over whether she had acted excessively or not disappeared at once.
Adeline realized once again that she had done the right thing. Kael’s eyes were proof of that.

–