Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 67

Lady Harite’s tea party.

 

There was an awkward, and embarrassed silence.

 

“Still, I thought I was still close to the young ladies…”

 

Diana’s eyes flashed and she glanced over the faces of the women at the tea party.

 

“My family is in a bit of a tight spot, so I figured we could talk about it right here.”

“….”

“You should know that His Majesty hasn’t completely abandoned our family.”

 

Diana relaxed and picked up the cup of tea in front of her.

 

“It means we could be strong again someday.”
“My lady, I can’t believe you’d speak out like that. You’re being too harsh.”

 

When the Young Lady Harite beckoned, a maid quickly moved.

 

It seemed as if she was going to get another chair.

 

“The reason I didn’t invite Lady Avery was because I was afraid that my invitation would make your heart feel more conflicted, and the invitation would be burdensome. If I had known that the lady would think like this, I would have sent you an invitation.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

 

Diana tilted her head as if she were suspicious.

 

“Are you saying that it was for me?”

“Of course, how can I think about ignoring a ducal lady? We’ve been together for a long time.”

 

Diana shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Then I must’ve misunderstood Lady Harite.”

 

Diana finally turned away from Lady Harite.

 

Did that mean they’ll accept her now?

 

No matter how precarious Diana’s family was now, she was right.

 

She was the Duke of Avery’s darling, and the Emperor hadn’t completely overthrown the Duke. It meant that her family could rise again someday.

 

It meant that one day they could regain their old power.

 

So it was dangerous to turn Diana completely into an enemy.

 

Of course, they didn’t like Diana’s behavior so far, but that was no reason for them to dare take any action against her.

 

“We felt the same way, Lady Avery.”

“I didn’t expect the lady to have this misunderstanding.”

“That’s right. If I’d known the lady would suffer, I would have sent you an invitation.”

 

When Lady Harite changed her behavior, the other young ladies also added their words.

 

They opened their mouths to let her know they weren’t trying to make her their enemy, and Diana nodded silently as they finished speaking.

 

She was sure that Diana knew that their words were false.

 

At the royal ball, everyone had turned a blind eye to her and ignored her.

 

Perhaps if Diana had been a little intimidated, she would have been excluded from society, but she came out confidently.

 

It was also a smart choice to show up at a young lady’s tea party.

 

If the young ladies were on her side, the young lords could move without much worry.

 

“The young ladies’ consideration for me is so great. But you don’t need to be considerate of me in the future, so you can send invitations like before.”

 

Then Diana shrugged her shoulders.

 

Of course she was still angry at the young ladies, who would’ve been making fun of her behind her back, but Diana knew very well no good would come from bringing that up here.

 

It was time to get them on her side, not get revenge.

 

They were just enough on Diana’s side that in other people’s eyes she hadn’t been kicked out of the social world.

 

“Ahh, good, the tea leaves came from the Eastern Kingdom this time.”

 

A little bit.

 

In the uncomfortable atmosphere, Diana naturally changed the subject.

 

It was like she wasn’t going to take issue with the past where they didn’t send her invitations.

 

“Everyone knows that the tea leaves from the Eastern Kingdom have an excellent scent.”
“It has a deeper scent and more savory taste than the leaves of the Empire, but they’re hard to get.”

 

The young ladies hurriedly responded to Diana’s words, as if they liked the new topic.

 

“A lot of them came in this time.”

“Oh, these expensive things?”

“I’m having a tea party next week, would you all like to come and taste the tea?”

 

Diana raised the corners of her lips.

 

The young women nodded their heads at the natural invitation.

 

They had no reason to say they wouldn’t go.

 

“It’s a great honor to be invited.”

 

It seemed that they would be more involved with Diana than they thought, but there was no other choice.

 

The young ladies were forced to spit out words of anticipation for Diana’s party.

 

Lady Harite, the host of today’s tea party, sat at the end of the tea table after losing her seat, and her place as the main character, to Diana.

 

Diana raised her cup with satisfaction.

 

Then, Diana made eye contact with Rachel and slowly put down the tea cup in her hand.

 

“Are you going to be busy that day, Lady Oates?”

 

As Diana spoke those words, the women around them turned their heads towards Rachel.

 

“….”

 

Rachel noticed that Diana was now secretly rebuking her.

 

Maybe she was referring to the fact that she’d rejected her invitation.

 

Diana Avery.

 

The time with her wasn’t very pleasant.

 

While Diana wasn’t as cold or harsh to her as she used to be.

 

Nevertheless, it was still uncomfortable.

 

She didn’t want to spend time with her at all.

 

But there must be a reason why the other ladies were trying to stay in Diana’s good graces, and not look bad in her eyes.

 

If that one thing could cause damage to Mike and the Duke of Oates.

 

She could endure her time with Diana over and over again.

 

“Are you inviting me too?”

“Oh, of course. You’re a ducal lady who isn’t used to society yet, I have to take care of you even more.”

 

At Rachel’s question, Diana nodded slowly.

 

Diana’s words at a subtle sting.

 

They were words that distinguished her from those who’d been deeply involved in society since they were young.

 

Rachel looked at Diana for a moment, and smiled slightly.

 

“I can’t give you a definite answer yet since I haven’t checked my schedule yet, but I really want to participate if I have time.”

“…You must be very busy.”

“Yes, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my brother lately.”

“I see.”

 

Diana looked at Rachel as if she hadn’t expected her to delay giving a definitive answer.

 

“Then check and reply to me, Lady Oates.”

 

Diana finished talking, and brought the teacup to her mouth.

 

“Oh, it smells good, but it doesn’t taste good.”

 

Then, with a frown, she put her teacup down.

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t drink this.”

 

Diana took out a handkerchief, and tapped the corner of her mouth.

 

“The tea doesn’t suit me.”

 

At Diana’s words, some of the young women put down the cups in their hands.

 

She was Diana, who only handled the best.

 

To say that the tea didn’t suit her meant that it was inferior, so the young ladies followed Diana’s words as if they were worried they’d be suspected of being low-class.

 

“Well, I have something else to do, so I’ll get up now.”

 

Diana rose from her seat, and shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Then I’ll see you next week at the Avery mansion.”

 

Diana got up and left the table of her own accord, just as she had done when she arrived.

 

Thus, Lady Harite’s tea party cooled down.

 

***

 

Clip Clop, Clip Clop

 

“Rachel, did you enjoy the tea party?”

 

As asked, Mike waited for Rachel until the tea party ended, and asked how the party went on their way home to the Oates’ mansion.

 

Rachel shrugged at Mike’s question.

 

“Lady Avery was there.”

“Diana? Did Lady Harite invite her?”

“No, Lady Harite seemed embarrassed too.”

 

Mike laughed awkwardly at Rachel’s words.

 

“You must’ve been uncomfortable too.”
“Lady Avery is having a tea party next week. All the girls who participated in Lady Harite’s tea party decided to attend.”

“Really?”

 

Rachel wiggled her fingers for a moment.

 

Actually, she didn’t want to go to Lady Avery’s tea party.

 

She felt like she would suddenly turn around and yell at her. She was worried that Diana would wait for her to make a mistake, then scold her.

 

Rachel felt like she was going to be a laughingstock again.

 

She thought it wasn’t a big deal, she thought that she could put up with it.

 

Still, she didn’t want to go.

 

Even so, if Mike wanted her to go, she would.

 

“Should I go too?”
“Why? Didn’t you accept Lady Avery’s invitation?”
“No, I said I would think about it, then reply.”
“Why? Don’t you want to go to Lady Avery’s tea party?”

 

Mike tilted his head slightly.

 

He fixed his gaze on Rachel’s face, and saw her hesitation.

 

“…That’s not it.”
“Don’t go if you don’t want to. Do as you please, Rachel.”

 

At that, Rachel looked up at Mike.

 

Mike talked as if it was nothing, and that thinking about it more would be pointless.

 

“Can I do that?”

“Sure, it doesn’t matter.”

 

Now all she had to do was nod, but Rachel somehow couldn’t.

 

She couldn’t just nod her head because she was afraid Mike would regret his choice later.

 

“Lady Avery said that His Majesty didn’t completely destroy her family. She said that they would regain their old reputation again.”

“Lady Avery said that?”

 

Rachel nodded her head.

 

“But if I don’t attend the tea party without a good reason, won’t that cause problems? I’m afraid that it’ll damage my brother and the Duke.”

“Are you worried about that?”

 

Rachel nodded again.

 

Even though she wanted Mike to say she didn’t have to go, she hated the idea that her choice might harm him.

 

Rachel wasn’t sure what she wanted anyway, so she left the choice up to Mike again.

 

***