Chương 69: Chapter 68: Cordelia Greenward.

Veyne Manor was barren. Indri Manor looked like a strange museum. Greenward Manor was simply excessive. Unlike our Manors, this place resembled one of House Greenward's many greenhouses. The Manor itself was made of white marble, surrounded by two towering glass domes. Just about everywhere I looked, I saw gardens of blooming plants, many of which I had never seen before. My research had told me many of these plants were not even native to our Kingdom. The air itself was heavy. Humid.

It made my dark, high-collared dress feel instantly oppressive, the fabric clinging uncomfortably to my skin. In other words, this entire Manor was a testament to opulence.

"I am most pleased that you accepted my Daughter's invitation." Julian Greenward gave me the barest of bows as I stepped off the carriage. The man wore a high green coat, inlaid with the jewels he always wore. It was all emeralds today, the dark green contrasting against the lighter green of his coat.

"How could I decline an invitation from Cordelia?" I said politely.

"I do admit I am unaccustomed to gatherings like this. I hope to start rectifying that today." The man had sent a formal invitation, one I couldn't have refused any sooner than I could have spat in his face. He knew that as well as I, yet he made it sound like it was just a casual thing. Julian nodded, gestured towards one of his manservants. All of his staff wore green, too. It was a little…excessive.

"Please, do show her the way, Alfred. She is the last to arrive, but they should not have started yet." Alfred was a tall, dark-skinned man with a hooked nose and narrowed eyes. He glanced at me and scowled so faintly I might have just imagined it. Nonetheless, he nodded and turned. I followed behind him inside. Perhaps he did have some reason to look annoyed. I wasn't wearing an extravagant, sprawling dress, the kind I had worn to the ball. Instead, I wore a black high-collared tea dress. There were no frills.

No lace. No sweeping skirts. The only decorations were the silver and dark blue accents that ran down the sides of the outfit. If I'd had more time, perhaps this dress wouldn't have those either. This was an outfit meant to be a cross between a military uniform and a Lady's dress. Anias had done her job well. Greenward Manor was no less excessive on the inside. Just about everywhere I looked, I saw elaborate portraits, beautiful ornamentation, or exotic plant life. The whole place had a scent.

In my old life, I had read how old physical money had a certain 'scent' to it that some people quite liked. I imagined this was exactly that smell. There were far more guards here than there had been at Indri Manor. At least one seemed to be standing at attention at the end of every single hallway. It wasn't long at all before Alfred was stopping in front of one room in particular. Even from the outside, I could hear the sounds of laughter from within. Click. Click.

"... you absolutely must introduce me to the seamstress who designed that dress, Lady Cordelia…."

"... You are somehow even more beautiful now than when I saw you last…." There was probably no point in spying on something like that. I turned my hearing back down right as Alfred moved to knock on the door. He waited a breath, and then opened the door wider.

"My Lady." Alfred bowed.

"Your last guest has just arrived."

"Then do show her in. I have been dying to meet her." Alfred stepped aside, and I took his place. The room itself was more muted than the grand hallways I had taken to come here. It was a cozy room with a high ceiling, framed with a chandelier in the center of the room. The chandelier hung directly over a large circular table. Five women already sat there. Cordelia Greenward, naturally, stood out. She wore a billowing dark green gown made of layers of silk and lace.

The bodice was cut low enough to expose her collarbones and was encrusted with gold filigree that crawled up her sides like vines. Small, white lilies were woven into her skirt. Cordelia Greenward didn't have any of the absurd gemstones her father chose to wear directly. Her father was diminished by his need to show off his wealth. I found the same did not hold for his daughter. Cordelia stood, and as she did, her gown seemed to float around her.

"Lady Esra Veyne. I am so very delighted that you could make it." She gave me a small curtsy.

"I would not miss this, not when you wrote the letter yourself," I gave her a curtsy back, one less refined than hers. Curtsies were surprisingly difficult. All the other four Ladies rose and curtsied as well. I recognized everyone here. It might have been excessive. Their presence was at least one of the reasons why I couldn't have just refused. Two of the girls were Amelia Sunheart and Shara Greengrass. Two girls whose Houses were directly under House Greenward.

In other words, the two girls were almost certainly sycophants. They were probably the ones I had overheard earlier. The other two girls were Sarah Spearow and Junah Cross. These girls were under Count Vance and Count Sterling, respectively. They were from my faction, though I had never had the chance to see or meet them before. Their curtsies were lower than the others. More respectful.

"Please, do have a seat, Lady Veyne. Alfred, I will call for you if I need anything more." Cordelia said sweetly, gesturing towards the table. I moved towards the only empty seat. As it happened, it was a seat on Cordelia's left. On the table itself was perhaps the single most beautiful tea set I had ever seen. Alongside it were six cups, surrounding tiered silver trays overflowing with pastries. I recognized them immediately, of course. I went and took my seat, even as the others seated themselves.

There were just two problems. The sun hit my face immediately. My seat was directly facing the window, and so the sun's glare struck me straight on. I winced briefly and saw Cordelia staring at me from the corner of her eye. Challenge. The second problem was the seat itself. All the other Ladies' seats had cushions to provide support. Mine was far thinner, until it might as well not have been there at all. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. This was deliberate, then. How petty.

Yet… how clever. Click. Click. I didn't turn my sight down; I wanted to see everything that happened here. Instead, I simply turned the discomfort down until the glaring sun didn't matter at all. Until my back didn't feel like it was being wedged against hardwood. I opened my eyes fully, staring directly into the blinding light without so much as blinking. This wouldn't be great for my eyesight, but that was a problem for another day. I smiled sweetly at Lady Cordelia, whose own smile didn't falter for a second.

"I do admit it is my first time joining an event such as this," I said.

"Please, do continue whatever conversation you all were having." It was Amelia Sunheart who giggled. She saw my gaze and seemed to shake her head.

"My apologies, it is just odd to see you refer to this as an event, Lady Veyne. This is just a chance for all of us to talk, without our Noble Families breathing down our necks."

"Oh?" I smiled.

"Then please, carry on."

"We were just talking about you, as it happens." Shara Greengrass said.

"The attack on the auction was a tragedy. To think that something like that could happen within Aelheim's own walls! Just thinking about it has kept me up since it happened."

"Not to mention what happened with Duke Indri," Amelia added with a shudder of her own.

"My father says the city is safe, but I do have eyes of my own." Cordelia never said a word. She simply smiled, as if this were an organic conversation happening for no particular reason at all. Across the table, Sarah Spearow and Junah Cross both stared at their laps, their shoulders tense.

"They were both harrowing experiences," I said.

"It is good that House Veyne is made of stern stuff, or perhaps I would have these night terrors as well. House Veyne was ever about picking itself up in a crisis." The two girls looked at each other for a fraction of a second. Both Sarah Spearow and Junah Cross seemed to sit a little straighter in their seats.

"But it must be difficult even so," Cordelia said. She leaned forward and put one hand on her chin. She looked…forlorn, almost.

"It must be so difficult managing a House with no parents to guide you. Misfortune seems to march in your wake." She paused, seemed to realize what she'd said.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to offend. I was thinking out loud." Sure you didn't. It was rather clear what she was doing. She was trying to get a rise out of me and perhaps trying to make me lash out in anger. Scream, yell, or even say something that a Lady wouldn't say. Then, the rumor that the 'Veyne Ghost' was an unhinged, rabid dog would spread from one District to the next. It did annoy me, but it did not truly anger me.

I almost found myself amused; after everything I had gone through, this kind of petty provocation felt downright cute.

"Indeed, it is difficult," I said with a small nod.

"It is, however, good to remember that we all have our misfortunes to deal with. House Greenward's recent issues with procuring more Nightsoil must certainly have kept your Lord Father up many a night." Cordelia twitched. It was a clumsier blow than the ones she had attempted, but it had the footing of truth. Duke Greenward had gone rather far out of his way to meet me in that bookshop, after all.

"It was a trying time." Cordelia Greenward finally said.

"Rather fortunate that the matter was resolved soon after." Her fingers tightened faintly around her porcelain saucer. I only noticed because I had been looking for it. Resolved because of me, of course. Though I doubted that was something Cordelia knew. Life would have been so much simpler if I could trot out the Quartermaster's seals again and blackmail or condemn Greenward with them. Alas, I couldn't.

Not only had I recently denounced the accusations, but any investigation into that would lead back to Indri Manor. To Violet. That was a matter that was to forever stay buried, for both of our sakes.

"It is a dangerous world out there. Which is why it is so vital we find strong protectors for our Houses." Cordelia gestured towards the tea.

"Shall we?" She reached forward, elegantly poured a glass, and moved it over to me. Cordelia moved with perfect grace. When she stirred my sugar for me, the spoon didn't so much as make a sound. Given what I'd survived at Indri Manor, it was hard not to wonder if it was spiked with something, but that would have been rather silly with this many witnesses. I took the cup from her. The tea tasted overly sweet, as far away from my preference as possible, though surely this was a coincidence.

Doubtless, it was some exceedingly expensive blend I did not have the taste for. I set the cup back down on the saucer. Cordelia went to pour the tea for the other girls. Only then did Amelia speak up again.

"Lady Cordelia, you must be so excited." She said, in a low, excited voice.

"To be betrothed to someone as dashing and charming as Alexander Bulwark! My, the whole city was abuzz with the news when your Lord Father announced it. I have seen the pictures and-" She stopped, not because someone else stopped her, but because her imagination did.

"Indeed, what girl could ask for more?" Cordelia Greenward smiled. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She glanced not at me, but at Sarah and Junah, who had been quiet since this had all begun.

"But come now, everyone knows of my own betrothal. I would like to hear about the rest of you. I am sure there is no shortage of suitors out there vying for your hands in marriage."

"My father wishes for me to wed the son of a Baron from the East." Sarah Spearow said slowly.

"I am told he is a gentleman." Sarah's father was a Viscount. A Viscount in Aelheim was little better than a Baron from a more prestigious part of the Kingdom.

"My father," Junah said reluctantly, "Is proposing that I marry the heir of the Sword and Staff trade guild." From her tone, it was rather clear what she thought of that particular arrangement. As I remember, Junah's family were Barons. The lowest rung on Aelheim's noble ladder, and only just nobles at all. Quite a few amongst the Nobility here considered them no better than commoners. Her marriage into a wealthy merchant family was likely the best she could have hoped for, given the circumstances.

"That does sound rather lovely," Amelia said with a very large, very sweet smile.

"My betrothal to Count Addington's heir Edward should be announced any day now." She paused.

"Oh, but he is a Lord from the South." She smiled. A betrothal to a Count, and one not from the Western Province.

"I have no end of suitors." Sharah sighed dramatically.

"These days, half the reason the Farstep Circles glow is because of one suitor or another. My father is looking for a marriage in the North. We do have other ties there. I do wish he would just decide." Another marriage outside of Aelheim, then. The two didn't have any condescension in their tones at all. They didn't need to. The difference was clear. Everyone's eyes slowly turned to me. It should have been rather easy, but I had the momentary urge to squirm before I squashed it underneath a mental boot.

"And what of you, Lady Veyne?" Cordelia asked sweetly.

"Surely, the heir to House Veyne would have suitors lining up in droves. Do tell, I have been curious about it for so very long." Cordelia paused, seeming to hesitate.

"My apologies. I had forgotten about the rumors." Even the two girls who should have been on my side leaned forward at this. Perhaps the entire conversation so far had been angled to arrive at this specific juncture all along. In many parts of the Kingdom, quite a few girls my age were either married or betrothed already. The ages were pushed a little for Aelheim, but only just. Cordelia herself was something of an exception, but in her case, it hardly mattered.

Not when her betrothal was to one of the most powerful Houses in the entire Kingdom. It was rather clear that my father had gone out of his way to shelter me. Or perhaps… neglect me. It was an odd mix of both that I had only just started to chip away at. I hadn't even made a formal debut, which was simply odd. After my debut, there had been proposals of marriage aplenty. I had read a few of them, and then been so furious that I had some of them cast into an open flame.

That was before Anias told me I was supposed to formally reject them first. Doubtless, more letters were coming in even now, ones Anias had decided to shield from my gaze.

"Alas, I have no intention of marriage," I said finally. It wasn't like I could say anything else. I couldn't exactly pretend I had a secret lover, or that I was waiting for the right proposal. Not with the rumors about me, at any rate. Besides, saying something like that would simply annoy me too much. The air might as well have been sucked out of the room at my words. All five girls were staring at me. Even Cordelia looked surprised, the mask she had permanently worn finally slipping.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"My father was rather accommodating," I said absently, raising the cup to my lips. I drank a small sip, and only then did I speak again.

"I am sure many of you have heard the rumors about me. Only a few of them aren't true." I took another sip, this time slower than the first. Nobody here seemed inclined to speak. Cordelia leaned in. I did wonder what she expected me to say next. Doubtless something damaging, I suspect. The silence in the room was absolute, save for the delicate, high-pitched clink as I set my cup back onto its saucer. Defiance. The sword whispered.

"I simply think of myself as more than breeding stock." Five sets of choking sounds filled the room.