Timid and Shy - Chapter 44

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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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44.

Sophia traveled modestly, as always—just a carriage, a driver, and a single attendant. Though she enjoyed the position of a prince’s betrothed, she knew she would have to relinquish it someday, so she conducted herself exactly as she had before.
Yet paradoxically, this very restraint earned her praise. Sophia accepted the compliments with a modest smile, letting them pass.
‘I can’t very well say I’m breaking the engagement soon, can I?’
The House of Wiscom remained as imposing as ever. Sophia gazed up at the Wiscom Estate and murmured to herself.
“If one could live like this, there would be no need for further ambition. That’s why Wiscom is a duke, and Ariel is not.”
Sophia waited in the Reception Room for the Duchess of Wiscom just as she had during her first visit to the house. She could feel the Duchess’s intention in this choice of venue.
‘She wants to remind me that I came begging to House Wiscom just months ago.’
Sophia waited as she had before. The shock of that first visit was gone, yet the Reception Room remained beautiful. Today, exotic orchids bloomed in a vase, displaying their vibrant hues.
‘Perhaps imported from Nethunia again? Hmm….’
But unlike that earlier time, Sophia felt no urgency. Whatever manner she adopted today, the relationship between Wiscom and Ariel would remain unchanged. So there was nothing to fear and nothing to hope for.
‘Whether the Duchess treats me well or poorly won’t sway me. And if I bow before her, those who support Ariel won’t abandon her. I have the freedom to choose how to respond based on how I’m treated—and that’s a luxury I didn’t always possess. When I had no choice at all. Being a prince’s betrothed is truly remarkable.’
The appointed hour of two o’clock had long since passed; it was nearly three. Sophia glanced at the clock in the Reception Room and smiled quietly to herself.
‘It seems Isabel has successfully secured Frederick. Such composure, such arrogance….’
When the clock struck exactly three, Sophia rose. A maidservant standing outside the door approached her with a message.
“The Duchess has suddenly been called away on an urgent matter. Might you wait a bit longer?”
As Sophia stepped toward the door, she spoke.
“I’ll visit another time. Tell the Duchess I have another engagement and must leave today.”
As Sophia moved forward, the maidservant blocked her path. Sophia recognized the girl—she had attended to her during her stay at the Wiscom Estate. When Sophia met her eyes, the maidservant spoke again.
“Could you not wait a little longer?”
“I know who you are.”
The maidservant looked up at Sophia, then quickly averted her gaze in alarm.
Sophia also remembered that this maidservant had looked down on her during her time at the Wiscom Estate. Knowing that Sophia was beholden to House Wiscom and couldn’t speak loudly, the girl had let slip comments tinged with insolence. She’d been lazy too.
Given such a history, there was a chance the maid was acting on her own impulse, so clarification was necessary.
“If you’ve stepped forward without your mistress’s instruction, I won’t overlook it. I don’t know what discipline prevails in this household, but one word from me about my displeasure, and Wiscom himself will dispose of you out of sheer annoyance. So choose carefully. If you acted this way because you resented seeing some unremarkable country nobody pretend to be important after becoming a prince’s betrothed, step aside. If the Duchess ordered you to do this, tell me again.”
The maidservant spoke in a trembling voice.
“……Please wait.”
As Sophia turned back toward the Reception Room, she spoke.
“Fine. Bring me more tea.”
“Yes, miss.”
Sophia waited, sipping her tea.
She thought it wouldn’t be bad to give Prince Robert the opportunity to enter the Wiscom household and meet everyone.
‘Prince Robert should give Wiscom a piece of his mind as well.’

***

Just then, Prince Robert arrived at the Wiscom Estate and found himself studying the mansion anew. There had been a time when coming here brought him joy.
Prince Robert remained in his carriage and sent a servant ahead to deliver a message to Sophia. Before the attendant could even relay the message, Philip came rushing out at the sight of Robert’s carriage.
Philip addressed Prince Robert with formal courtesy from outside the carriage.
“Since you’ve come all this way, won’t you at least have a cup of tea? Prince Robert.”
Robert replied to Philip with equal formality.
“I’ve come to fetch Sophia, so I’ll take that tea another time.”
Philip nodded and went inside, but instead of heading toward the Reception Room where Sophia waited, he made his way to Isabel’s chambers.
In Isabel’s receiving parlor, the Duchess held a teacup. Isabel sat beside her, slowly turning the pages of a book. Both women appeared perfectly at ease. Philip delivered his message.
“Prince Robert is here to fetch Sophia.”
The Duchess started momentarily, then smiled.
“How can we know if he’s come for Sophia’s sake or for some other purpose? We’ll need to find out.”
The Duchess checked her appearance once more, then spoke.
“Philip and Isabel, go to Prince Robert. Philip, read the atmosphere and tell him you’re fetching Sophia, then remove yourself. Isabel, go out to the Garden and speak with Prince Robert.”
Isabel frowned.
“Why? Do we really need to invite trouble?”
“I cannot believe Robert truly became engaged to Sophia. That a shrewd man like Prince Robert would betroth himself to a girl with nothing to her name—it strains credibility. I’m more inclined to think this engagement is a pretense, and he’s preparing to switch his favor to Gareis. Why don’t you probe gently? Congratulate him on his engagement. Tell him you wanted to clear up past misunderstandings and see him face to face.”
Isabel frowned but still rose and went to her bedchamber to refresh her appearance. Philip spoke up.
“Don’t take too long. You need to be in the Garden before Robert gets there.”
Isabel replied curtly.
“I know.”
The Duchess walked with deliberate grace toward Sophia.
Sophia gazed out the window. It was well past three o’clock, the appointed hour, and Prince Robert had not come for her. If he had arrived, he would most likely have been taken somewhere else within the ducal estate.
‘Thorough people, all of them.’
From the reception room window, Sophia watched workers hurrying out of the garden in a rush.
Watching the garden, Sophia smiled.
‘A chance encounter in the garden… If I were to write another novel, I’d call it “The Scheming Mother and Daughter.”‘
Sophia tried to survey the situation outside, but the reception room’s windows faced the wrong side of the garden. Being an interior room, she could only see the servants’ retreating backs as they left the garden.
Reluctant to leave her post at the window, she lingered there. Then the reception room door opened, and the Duchess of Wiscom entered. Sophia smiled and spoke.
“Duchess of Wiscom. How lovely to finally meet you. I’m afraid I have a prior appointment. Whatever shall we do? Perhaps we could reschedule and speak another time?”
“Is your appointment perhaps with Prince Robert?”
“Yes, Duchess.”
“Then we have plenty of time to talk. He’s currently in conversation with Philip.”
“Prince Robert isn’t looking for me?”
“Sophia! We haven’t even begun our conversation. Leave Robert with Philip for now and talk with me. There’s quite a bit of misunderstanding between House Wiscom and Ariel House, you see.”
“Is there?”
After sitting on the sofa, Sophia folded her hands demurely and regarded the duchess. The duchess glanced at the teacup Sophia had been drinking from, then called for a servant.
“Bring tea.”
Sophia looked at the teapot and another teacup beside her own. The Duchess of Wiscom pretended not to notice Sophia’s gaze and spoke.
“When I heard that you’d become betrothed to Prince Robert, I was quite surprised. We may have wronged you, but since you’ve managed to become engaged to the Prince, surely that’s fortunate for everyone, isn’t it?”
Sophia drank her tea without a word.
‘That’s why Father is always cursing that wretched House Wiscom.’
“This should be enough to clear up the misunderstandings between House Wiscom and Ariel House.”
The duchess cast a sidelong glance at Sophia, whose eyes were downcast, and spoke gently.
“Assuming you really are betrothed to Prince Robert, that is.”
The freshly brought tea and teacup were set on the table alongside Sophia’s original set. At a glance, Sophia’s teacup was clearly cheap.
‘This is rather much.’
Seeing that Sophia couldn’t take her eyes off the new teacup, the duchess smiled.
The duchess poured tea slowly and looked at Sophia. Sophia’s eyes remained fixed on the teacup.
The duchess spoke.
“Something a certain countess once did to me. There were many people around at the time, all using the same teacups—but mine was different. She did it deliberately to remind me that I was not like them. So tell me, how does it feel? Are you prepared to endure such things? The Imperial Family will be no better, likely far worse. The betrothal ball will be the same.”
The duchess spoke with a face and voice full of concern.
“You should return to Ariel. Ask for an annulment of the engagement right away. No matter how much Prince Robert promises to protect Ariel, how long can that possibly last? Ariel cannot manage the politics and nobility of the Capital. No one will be fooled by a fake betrothal. I don’t know what Prince Robert promised you, but the sooner you leave, the less damage you’ll suffer. I’m only giving you this advice because I’m your aunt, after all.”
When Sophia saw the duchess pretending to worry, she laughed. Sophia looked at her teacup and spoke.
“That’s what you call advice?”
The duchess set down her teacup silently. Watching the duchess’s composed demeanor, Sophia thought.
‘A few impertinent words clearly won’t be enough.’
Sophia lifted her own teacup and spoke.
“For you—no, for the Duchess—to repeat the humiliation you suffered and call it advice to me. Now I understand why the Duchess hasn’t established herself in high society. It’s because your standards are so low.”
Anger finally flashed across the duchess’s face. Sophia felt a secret satisfaction.
‘Now we’re just getting started.’
Sophia set down her own teacup with equal grace.
“I’m currently studying Imperial Court Etiquette intensively. Someone named Asher told me that the reason the Imperial Court developed such intricate and elaborate protocols is to ensure no one becomes an enemy. He said that if I unknowingly hurt someone’s feelings, however slight, they’ll harbor resentment and wait for an opportunity to repay it—at the moment when you least wish for it.”
The Duchess of Wiscom thought Sophia was boasting about learning Imperial Court Etiquette and let out a scoff.
‘That’s something the ducal house begins to learn from childhood. You, Sophia, could never understand such things.’
Sophia ignored the duchess’s scoff and continued.
“Those whom one meets at court and sees frequently become entangled in complex relationships, of course. Naturally, one must observe protocol with great care. But the Duchess was like an invader who suddenly attacked. Someone for whom careful treatment was unnecessary. Or rather, someone toward whom such care should never be extended.”
Sophia examined the Duchess of Wiscom’s face again. The duchess still wore an expression suggesting she found Sophia’s presumption amusing. Sophia spoke.
“I don’t know how that countess fares now, but she succeeded. She made the Duchess aware of her position and gave her an unattainable goal. The Duchess must have tried to become like them. You surely worked quite hard to gain their recognition.”
This time, the Duchess of Wiscom could not muster a scoff. Sophia smiled at the duchess’s hardened face and spoke.
“Of course you failed. It was impossible from the start. The more you tried, the more you only proved you were different from them. Heh, heh, heh. I have no interest in how you’ve been treated in high society. It would be amusing to hear about, I suppose. Even if Isabel marries Prince Frederick, things will be different, you might think. But no. Even then, the Duchess will be dismissed.”
Sophia looked at her teacup again and spoke.
“Of course, not so crudely. You’ll be excluded more subtly. That will continue for the rest of your life.”
The duchess forced a smile and spoke.
“What would you know, coming from some backwater village in Ariel? Do you think you’re different from me?”
“No. It will be the same for me. Aren’t I experiencing it right now? I’m no better off than the Duchess. But I won’t conduct myself as the Duchess does. Why would I waste my time and energy trying to keep up with them?”
Sophia spoke with conviction.
“If someone tries to dismiss me or insult me, I’ll use whatever I can—the Prince, the Emperor—to eliminate them. And if such people keep appearing, I’ll use everything at my disposal to deal with them. Then they’ll avoid me, but they won’t dismiss me.”
“If people avoid you, what’s the difference from being dismissed?”
“There is a difference. If the Duchess doesn’t understand that, then there’s no hope for you going forward.”
Receiving Sophia’s contempt, the duchess glared at her. Watching the Duchess of Wiscom’s anger, Sophia spoke with clear enjoyment.
“Does Isabel seem to avoid the Duchess? Or does she seem to dismiss her? I truly don’t see any difference.”
The Duchess of Wiscom set down her teacup with a harsh clatter, and tea sloshed across the rim. Sophia watched the spilled tea with quiet satisfaction.

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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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