Chapter 911: An Undeserving Lady
A month or so after the controversial coming-of-age ceremony where the Prince of the Kingdom had openly favored an unknown young lady, disregarding his younger sister and others, another event that sparked gossip had taken place.
The Prince was undergoing punishment during this period which he had received personally from the King for the disrespect he had displayed towards the Young Miss of the St. Claire family for which the Former Earl had taken immense offense.
Due to his absence, numerous ladies and young misses who had been unhappy with the sudden preferential treatment one particular lady had been receiving from the same Prince had all gotten together on a united front to stand against her.
Though they rallied on using Lady Glennise Brodie as their shield, it was obvious that they had ulterior motives concealed behind their every action.
Nevertheless, in the eyes of the public, it appeared as though the daughter of the Brodie family was the one on whose command the other young ladies were acting against this newcomer.
While Glennise was pleased with the outcome, she despised the fact that her name was being uttered in every gossip circulating their social circles thanks to these ladies.
Miss Yvonne and Princess Felicia who had also heard about these voraciously widespread gossiping tales were equally dissatisfied as they knew that Glennise wasn’t the one behind every case of bullying that was taking place to that young lady belonging to a certain Baron’s family.
.....
Though they would not deny that their friend disliked this new lady, they were also confident that she wasn’t ordering anyone to act on her behalf.
Many were using their friend as a shield to protect themselves from public scrutiny and their efforts seemed to be working as now, every time a new case of that young lady facing an unfortunate situation surfaced, fingers were immediately pointed at Glennise even if she had nothing to do with it.
One such incident had taken place the previous day, attracting the curiosity of many in their society.
On the one hand, it worked to expose one of the biggest flaws present within that lady but on the other hand, it also invoked their confusion.
Glennise had been keeping an eye on this lady so she knew exactly which of the noble ladies were targeting her.
She was well aware that the reason they were being rude to Lady Hilda at every event they met was their secret desire to shove her aside and catch the attention of the Crown Prince in her stead.
This had caused Glennise to be vigilant of these ladies who had the same thought as her.
However, when she had heard about the most recent episode of Lady Hilda being targeted, neither Glennise nor Princess Felicia and Yvonne had been able to decipher what the motives of the culprit could be.
To gain some insight that might alleviate their genuine curiosity, these three influential figures had invited the one at the center of the latest gossip to the Rose Palace the very next day.
Hence right now, they were seen seated together at this Pavilion where Miss Yvonne was the first one to break the silence regarding what had taken place previously.
Lady Melissa Jorbin, the eldest daughter of Marquess Jorbin, simply sipped her tea while the best friends had been interacting with each other a few moments ago.
Now that their attention had turned in her direction, she decided to state her piece.
“Lady Glennise, I have no intention of attracting the Prince’s eye.” She straightaway clarified the doubt that these young ladies might be having about her motives for what she had done just yesterday.
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When the little girl who was viewing this scene in her dream heard her words, she sighed as Melissa was just the same now as well.
She was straightforward and did not like speaking in circles which was something that Yvonne had always liked about her.
However, the little girl’s attention soon returned to the scene unfolding before her.
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Princess Felicia had an awkward smile on her face while Lady Glennise almost choked on the tea she had just consumed.
Only ‘Miss Yvonne’ had remained silent after hearing this answer coming from the lady who happened to be older by a few years.
Lady Melissa Jorbin was the same age as the Crown Prince so Glennise had been puzzled about what her reason for targeting Lady Hilda could be.
After all, in their society, girls were always younger than the men they were supposed to marry or had the intention of marrying.
Never were they of the same age which was what had thrown Glennise off when she heard about what Melissa Jorbin had done.
However, never had they expected that this young lady would announce in such a bland manner that she had no intention of getting closer to the Crown Prince when she had gone against Lady Hilda.
In fact, the thought of the Prince had never even crossed her mind.
“So what was your reason for shaming her?” It was Miss Yvonne who had inquired after her long silence.
Everyone had already heard about the tea party which Lady Melissa had organized at the Jorbin estate.
Things were going fine until the host of the event asked a certain young lady to show off her piano skills before the other guests.
Though they were bewildered at first that she was willing to direct their attention toward the daughter of a Baron, they soon supported her when they realized that they would get to watch an exciting show next.
Under Lady Melissa and the others’ encouragement, Lady Hilda, who was dragged forward to sit in front of the piano, had been motionless for a long while before running out of the room and the estate soon after.
This had caused the others to speculate why the one who had received such a great opportunity to display her talents had left the event midway, in such an ill-mannered way as well.
Only the host knew of the reason behind her bizarre actions and she did not hold back her thoughts in front of these young ladies of various families.
Thus soon after the tea party had ended, people everywhere had heard about the latest gossip that had caught everyone’s attention.
{The lady being favored by the Crown Prince doesn’t even know how to play the piano.}
All gossip around the Capital was concerning this lady who seemed to have failed at the most basic skill that was expected of every young lady in their Kingdom.
This gossip not only exposed that Lady Hilda wasn’t educated properly as a child but it also revealed that Lady Melissa seemed to dislike the newcomer and did not bother to hide it.
Hearing these two rumors, Glennise and her friends had invited the lady at the center of this gossip to the Palace to question her about her motives.
Now that Lady Melissa had announced that the Prince wasn’t taken into consideration when she had made this move, the three friends were curious what her true motives could have been.
In reply to the query aimed at her, Lady Melissa flattened her lips which expressed her unwillingness to answer.
“I can assure you that I have no feelings towards the Prince but at the same time, I cannot reveal my reasons for being rude to that lady.” She divulged her true intentions and the way she addressed the lady she had targeted spoke volumes about her dissatisfaction with the same.
The three friends were quick to catch the glint of disgust and disdain that had flashed across her eyes, piquing their interest further.
“Lady, your answer doesn’t soothe the curiosity within me.” Princess Felicia exclaimed with a jovial smile but the stern eyes she possessed at that very moment were sufficient to convey that she was anything but happy.
Lady Melissa could have ignored the question of both Yvonne and Glennise but there was no way that she could look the other way when a member of the Royal family was inquiring something of her.
Therefore, resigning to her fate, Melissa placed her cup down before sitting up straight.
“That Lady has offended me by her actions, Princess.” She uttered in a grave tone, her voice much lower than how she had been speaking until now.
“She doesn’t appreciate what she has and keeps seeking for what isn’t hers.” Lady Melissa continued without caring about the puzzled looks on their faces.
Glennise narrowed her eyes when she noticed the longing quite evident in the other woman’s expressions.
She was confident in her deductions as this expression was similar to the one she often made when she faced the Prince who now even refused to look her way.
Therefore, once again, she wondered if Lady Melissa had hidden feelings for the Prince.
However, recalling the swift rejection she had gained a few moments ago regarding the same matter, Glennise chose to set this doubt aside.
‘So who is she longing for?’ The Duke’s daughter and her friends had a new question that had popped into their minds.
“However, she neither deserves what she has nor what she is looking forward to.” Lady Melissa’s scornful words shook them out of their thoughts.
With this, the lady’s answer had come to a conclusion.
She had respected the Princess by explaining the reason behind her actions but at the same time, she never once explicitly revealed the one for whom she had done so.
Her actions had attracted the scrutiny of many nobles despite what their true opinions about Lady Hilda were.
However, it seemed that Lady Melissa cared neither about her reputation being tarnished nor about offending the Prince as she had acted against the lady in such an unrestrained manner.
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The images flashing in the little girl’s mind had now come to an end but this did not mean that her dream had come to an end as well.
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