“Quick, summon a magician. Let’s see what’s recorded on it.”
In the central social circle, it was common to mix various types of magic into concealment magic and present them as gifts to strangers. Therefore, most people would receive the gifted items, professionally appraise them, and then use them.
Erin had done the same. She intentionally sent the pendant as an excuse for her younger sister. She thought it wouldn’t require a separate appraisal since it wasn’t an item meant to be kept but rather returned.
Above all, Erin had a simple reason for doing this.
‘It’s probably all just baseless rumors. Can it be true that she’s really close to the High Priest?’
The High Priest wasn’t the only one who could give the blessing, an ordinary priest could as well. So she thought that Siara would find a suitable priest, request a blessing, and return the pendant. If she knew about the High Priest, she would also know about other priests.
It was a trivial curiosity that led to this incident. She thought that if she was lucky, she might discover a weakness, but she hadn’t caused any trouble yet.
But could it be true? Did the High Priest really grant the blessing and bring the pendant back?
‘That’s impossible. Maybe she used transformation magic to change her appearance?’
Erin chewed on her lips anxiously. As her lips dried out from anxiety, the magician arrived. He lifted the concealment magic on the pendant and showed Erin the recorded video. It contained the figures of Siara and Adandito.
The video stored in the pendant was nothing special. Siara requested a blessing, and the High Priest willingly blessed the pendant.
Although she had thought that the High Priest and the Administrator had a bad relationship, it turned out that their relationship was surprisingly good. But other than that, there was nothing else.
Luckily, the Administrator had not touched the pendant. Erin asked the magician with an anxious expression,
“Wouldn’t the High Priest recognize the magic on the pendant?”
“Of course, he would recognize it. Perhaps he judged that there was no significant problem and returned it.”
“And the Administrator?”
“He probably recognized it as well. I’m guessing Siara is acquainted with the two, but not in a deep way.”
“Well, that’s a relief…”
Somehow, she felt uneasy.
While Erin was lost in thought, the maid came running with a bright smile.
“Miss!”
“What’s all the commotion about?”
“Look at this! The ladies of Izbe have invited you!”
“Oh my…”
Erin’s pupils sparkled as she received the invitation. It was no wonder that only those who were recognized for their beauty by the Izbe ladies could receive an invitation to their parties.
In other words, receiving the invitation meant being acknowledged for one’s beauty by the renowned Izbe ladies. That’s why debutantes in society wanted to be invited to their parties, regardless of gender. The mere fact of being invited could secure a favorable position in society.
“Oh, how unexpected for me to catch the attention of the Izbe ladies.”
Erin held the letter tightly as if it were a precious treasure. Her heart raced. The maid, who had seen her since childhood, also had a proud smile in her eyes.
“I told you that you shine brighter than anyone else, didn’t I?”
“I know that. But I didn’t expect to be invited to their party…”
“Who would be invited to the party if not the lady?”
“Do you think it’s an easy task?”
Erin retorted sharply, causing the maid to let out a sigh.
“Never mind. Go and prepare for the party.”
“Yes, of course, Madam! So that you shine more brightly than the ladies…”
“Make sure I stand out more than the noble ladies.”
“Yes, certainly!”
The maid hurriedly left the room. Erin quietly watched her retreating figure and pursed her lips.
“What does she think she knows?”
Anyway, now was not the time to worry about such trivial matters. Erin gestured to the magician holding the pendant while humming a tune.
“Spread the word far and wide that I have received an invitation.”
“Yes.”
The magician immediately disappeared. Erin happily touched her hair with a satisfied expression. Since her debut in society, only good things had been happening to her. She could easily brush off any suspicious incidents that occurred along the way.
* * *
In front of me were two invitations. One was from Erin, and the other was from the Izbe ladies.
Without even opening Erin’s invitation, I threw it into the fireplace. The letter turned to ashes in an instant.
‘I guess she think I didn’t know.’
But even if she didn’t know, I had no intention of casually mingling with her after finding out. I turned my gaze away from the burnt letter and tore open the one sent by the ladies.
Inside, it congratulated me on becoming a noble and invited me to their party.
‘They’re paying three gold coins per healing, so, of course, I’m going.’
Now that I had truly become a noble, I could make profits from calendula’s ointment plus Hyregia’s VIP membership. There were plenty of ways to make money, but it was still fun to make money.
‘I should show this to Madame Lulu.’
Humming a tune, I got up from my seat.
* * *
The curtain rose on the Izbe ladies’ grand party. Those who came with invitations fluttered like butterflies as they entered the venue. They were all elegant and refined.
The concept of this party was “autumn.”
Maple leaves scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with the fragrance of beautiful flowers and fruits. But the concept was not important. The expressions of those who met their peers from their heyday, people of the same age as them, were full of excitement.
Just like a butterfly finding a flower, conversations naturally flowed. When the atmosphere was at its peak, Siara also entered the party venue.
At that moment, Siara thought,
‘Wow, how much is all of this?’
The party venue was filled with people dressed as extravagantly as the dresses specially made by Madame Lulu. Siara observed them with a sense of wonder and then moved on.
Coincidentally, as soon as she arrived at the party venue, the hostesses, the Izbe ladies, revealed themselves. They came down the stairs gracefully, recognizing Siara.
“Nice to meet you, Lady Siara.”
“Siara, it’s been a while.”
In response, Siara greeted them with the same elegance and smiled.
“I’m honored to be invited.”
The first person that the Izbe ladies entertained was Siara and because they were at the center of attention, the ladies were genuinely favorable toward her.
Those watching them secretly placed bets in their favor.
‘They’re being nice to her now, but they’ll stab her in the back later. Or maybe they genuinely like her.’
Public opinion soon leaned toward the latter.
The ladies escorted Siara around as if she were their own, introducing her to those they were already acquainted with. Siara was also familiar with their behavior as if she had been doing it all along.
Those who were observing them whispered to each other, recalling how the Izbe nobility had blocked Siara’s gossip. They secretly wondered if the ladies were truly fond of Siara.
Those who were far away from the Izbe ladies murmured to themselves.
“Who is this Siara? What’s her real identity?”
“She’s hanging around with the ladies. She’s lucky. She can easily make her debut in society.”
Others nodded in agreement. Society was indeed a battlefield. But since the established seniors paved the way like that, Siara’s debut in society was bound to go smoothly.
Those who had just made their debut looked at Siara with a mix of jealousy and admiration. Among them was Erin.
‘She even has connections with the Izbe ladies?’
Erin secretly gritted her teeth.
Siara was undoubtedly beautiful and surprisingly elegant for someone who had just learned etiquette overnight. But even so, she was nothing more than a commoner or a low-born.
Yet she managed to capture the affections of the noblewomen. Erin’s competitive spirit ignited.
‘What does she have that I don’t?’
Erin also wanted to attract the attention of the noblewomen. So she quietly revealed herself in front of Siara, who was accompanied by the ladies.
“Nice to see you again! I didn’t know you would also be invited to this party.”
Erin smiled innocently, expressing genuine delight. Siara also smiled and responded without showing any particular reaction.
“I didn’t know we would meet here either.”
Now it was the two noble ladies’ turn to react. Since everyone had been secretly observing Siara, everyone in the venue was watching them.
However, Ashely and Riott stared at Erin without much response. Their gazes seemed to say, ‘Who is she?’.
Erin became flustered and unknowingly took a step back. Passing by Siara, Riott muttered under her breath.
“Who invited that person? Sister, your taste has deteriorated.”
Upon hearing this, Ashley scoffed,
“As if I would invite her. I’m not interested in a freckled face.”
“Sister, are you blaming me? I swear I never invited someone like that. I’ve never seen her face before.”
Everyone’s gaze turned towards Erin as they openly discussed the matter in front of the person in question. Some even openly enjoyed Erin’s discomfort. Feeling her cheeks burning, Erin hastily left her spot as if fleeing. Witnessing this, Siara let out a deep sigh.
“Ladies, there’s no need to go to such lengths for me.”
To which Ashley sharply replied,
“I’m doing it because I want to.”
Riott also chimed in, interrupting,
“We’re far from done, Siara. Look at the venom in her eyes. If left alone, she’ll surely do something to retaliate.”
The noblewomen, drawing from years of experience in social circles, read the emotions in Erin’s eyes. It was the feeling of inferiority that one who considered themselves beneath their feet had their head above them.
Riott burst into laughter.
“After enjoying the luxuries of meeting and feasting with noble families, they become insatiable.”
Siara laughed as if she never expected to hear such words from Riott.
