Favored by the Family That Will Become the Strongest! - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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It should have been an ordinary tea party like any other.
There should have been gaudy teacups, mediocre tea, and Bianca displaying etiquette that was anything but refined…….
But Bianca’s manner—once awkward and hesitant, always watching for others’ reactions—had grown subtly composed.
Moreover, her attire was flawless, beyond reproach even beside the other young ladies present.
It was the perfect bearing Diana had crafted through a week of intensive training, though Esina hadn’t the faintest notion of it.
Daniel opened his mouth with a bright smile, turning toward Bianca.
“You look even more beautiful today.”
Unlike her usual self, Bianca kept her distance from him as she replied.
“Thank you, Daniel.”
Daniel’s expression hardened at her tone. One of the young ladies glanced toward Esina before speaking.
“Lady Bianca, you seem different somehow.”
“Do I really?”
Bianca pressed down the corners of her mouth, fighting back a smile.
‘Diana is truly remarkable.’
Diana had volunteered to prepare this tea party, orchestrating every detail so meticulously that even the most fastidious nobility couldn’t find fault.
Moreover, what Diana had told her made her heart soar.
“I hear that Balkan will be attending today’s gathering.”
“My brother’s coming to see me?”
“Yes. I was told that since your health has improved considerably, you may no longer become ill when meeting with Balkan.”
And then Diana had handed her a letter that Balkan had written.
[Bianca, so there are fools spreading nonsense about you? Just wait. I’ll make a spectacular entrance at the tea party.]
It was perfectly in Balkan’s carefree style. The letter lifted her spirits even higher.
Around Bianca, the young ladies’ conversation continued.
“The fragrance and warmth of the black tea are lovely. It’s the same blend I tasted on my trip to the Capital. The blending has real depth to it, doesn’t it?”
“The table setting is different from usual too.”
“Your aesthetic sense is quite refined, Lady Bianca.”
Their words were favorable—a far cry from their usual tone. Now all that was needed was Balkan’s arrival to make everything perfect. Bianca bit her lip, barely suppressing her delight.
Meanwhile, Esina’s mood plummeted with each passing moment. The tea party was unfolding in a way she hadn’t foreseen. Without realizing it, she fixed Diana with a keen, piercing gaze.
‘There’s no way Bianca has such refined taste.’
The only thing that had changed was the person standing behind Bianca.
‘She must be that Rothwell Duke’s daughter.’
Though they were meeting for the first time, there was something about her that grated on Esina’s nerves. Probably because she was just a trivial non-awakened person.
At that moment, Esina had a task from the Rothwell Duke himself to accomplish: to show this non-awakened person, cast out from her family, just how wretched her circumstances truly were. In that task, she was confident as none other.
Esina turned to Diana and began to speak slowly.
“By the way, who is that person standing behind Lady Bianca?”
Diana’s gaze shifted toward her. Bianca opened her mouth with pride evident in her face.
“She is my maid.”
“Your maid? If she’s attending a tea party with you, she must be a lady’s maid. Is she also of noble birth, like your previous attendant?”
At that question, Bianca’s mouth fell closed.
It was Diana who answered Esina’s words.
“I am a commoner.”
“Ah, a commoner…….”
In that moment, a strange smile played at the corners of Esina’s lips.
“Is she perhaps an Awakened from a commoner background?”
“No, that is not the case.”
The moment that answer came, Esina’s expression hardened. Her words grew clipped.
“Then how is she here? And displacing your former, far superior maid at that?”
Just as Diana was about to answer, Esina shook her head curtly.
“No, don’t bother answering.”
Then, as though she couldn’t help herself, she shook her head and grasped Bianca’s hand with easy familiarity.
“Lady Bianca, why didn’t you say so sooner? I’ve heard the rumors. That you were lonely because no other young ladies would associate with you.”
“What?”
“But no matter how lonely you were, associating yourself with a commoner of no standing at all—that’s too much.”
“…….”
Bianca’s expression grew progressively rigid. Diana observed that hardening carefully.
“Why don’t you send her away at once and befriend me instead? Surely that would be better for you, Lady Bianca.”
Esina pressed on without pause.
“The House of Edelton Marquis has produced supreme-tier Awakened for generations. My younger brother Gerard is favored to achieve the highest grade in this Tier Measurement. Though I myself am only mid-tier, I am an Awakened.”
Her eyes swept across Bianca with mockery.
“There’s a saying among nobles, isn’t there? If you keep company with non-awakened persons, you remain non-awakened yourself. That’s why the nobility distance themselves from commoners. Who knows? If you spend time with us, you might even awaken an Ability.”
“…….”
“You’ve always wanted to be my friend, haven’t you? Send away that second-rate maid, and I’ll be your friend, Bianca.”
And hearing those words, Diana couldn’t help but admire internally.
‘This is no joke—she’s vicious.’
But she was still crude compared to Romie.
Perhaps because she heard such talk so often from the Rothwell Duke House, Esina’s mockery failed to wound her.
She had anticipated they would provoke her to some degree. After all, there was her earlier treatment of Daniel to consider.
‘But this reaction is unexpected.’
Daniel had clearly wanted to use Bianca as a tool for his engagement.
One thing would be to snipe at her subtly, but this—open hostility displayed so brazenly.
Diana quickly grasped the reason.
Her uncle must have intervened. He would have realized that she had truly come here following Balkan.
‘What did he order? To wound me so I’d willingly return to the family?’
It was exactly the sort of thing Baltazar would do. He excelled at standing back while using others as instruments to bend circumstances to his will.
Diana was unbothered, but she was worried about Bianca. And as expected, Bianca’s brow furrowed as she answered.
“I’m non-awakened too. Are you saying this to me?”
“Oh, that wasn’t my intention at all. If it sounded that way…… I suppose wounded pride is inevitable.”
“Wounded pride? Have you finished?”
Bianca’s voice rose, indignation flashing across her face. Esina covered her mouth, shaking her head as though genuinely distressed.
“Really, there’s nothing to be done about innate station. Such uncouth speech.”
Daniel too joined in with Esina’s remarks.
“Lady Bianca, no matter what, you shouldn’t behave this way. If you are noble-born, you should act the part.”
“D-Daniel.”
“The fact that we show you respect despite your being non-awakened is entirely because of your station, is it not?”
“…….”
“Behavior like this simply won’t do.”
Bianca clenched her fists. He was never on her side after all.
“So you really think of your maid as a friend?”
“Lady Bianca, I didn’t think you were like that. I’m disappointed.”
She could hear other voices snickering as well. Heat crept into Bianca’s ears, flushing her face.
And so it became, once again, the same familiar landscape of a tea party. Here, she was utterly alone.
She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists.
Watching the scene unfold, Diana took a step forward.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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