The Harsh Reality

Annabelle could be found chatting with a few of her friends in the of the garden. She leisurely fanned herself with a lacy fan while laughing. She had a sophisticated aura about her, and standing next to her baby-faced friends, she looked a few years older than her actual age–sixteen or seventeen, maybe.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabelle spotted Kalina and shut her fan with a flick of her wrist. She glided over to where Kalina stood with a rigid expression, her cherry lips pursed.

All the girls there thought she was going to scold the newcomer for being late. Everyone, including the servants scattered around the area, held their breaths and anticipated an explosive confrontation. They knew Annabelle's temper best.

Contrary to their expectations, Annabelle bowed her head and lifted her skirt to curtsy. "Welcome, Lady Kalina. Thank you for coming today," she said.

Annabelle's voice was a bit forced. She wasn't used to bowing her head in front of others, especially a girl the same age as her. However, she knew her manners well.

"There's no need to be so formal. I should be thanking you, Lady Annabelle. I'm honored that you would invite me to your party."

Annabelle straightened her back and smiled, stroking the handle of her fan. "It's nothing. Actually, I wanted to talk to you in person, about..."

"About your engagement with the first prince?" Kalina lowered her voice to a whisper.

Annabelle expression turned bashful and her cheeks turned rosy. She was about to say something else when Lucille stepped out from behind Kalina. She had been standing nearby and heard what Kalina said.

"Sister, what do you mean by that?"

"Hm? Lucille?"

"Who is this?"

Three questions were asked at once. Lucille stared at Kalina with a blank expression, Kalina looked back, calm as ever, and Annabelle watched both of them in bewilderment.

Before either of the sisters could say anything more, Annabelle loudly tapped her fan on her palm and spoke again: "Who is this, Lady Kalina? Please explain."

Usually she wouldn't care if her friends brought a plus-one to her parties, but Lucille's outfit wasn't appropriate at all. The dress was so simple that most of Annabelle's nightgowns were fancier. Even though the gathering was a casual one, that didn't mean people could just show up wearing pajamas.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce her. Everyone, this is my younger sister." This time, Kalina didn't bother to mention Lucille's status. Repeatedly saying that had an illegitimate child in her household was irritating. Plus, she was sure that the ladies could figure it out themselves.

Lucille stepped forward and curtsied. "Greetings to Lady Annabelle. My name is Lucille."

Annabelle snapped open her fan and covered the lower half of her face. Only her narrowed eyes were visible. "Oh, really? Then, Lady Kalina, what is your sister wearing?" She refused to directly address Lucille.

Any lady from the Ephraim house should have access to enough money to buy any dress from any upscale boutique. It didn't make sense for Kalina to let her younger sister run around in...what she was currently wearing.

A group of girls had already made their way over and were standing behind Annabelle. Lucille unknowingly shrank back a little from her imposing aura.

"Lucille likes this style. Right? Isn't it refreshing and different from what we usually wear? I like it a lot, but I'm not sure if it would fit me if I tried it."

Lucille had already noticed the glares she was getting. Suddenly, she felt self-conscious. Before, she had dressed fancily to be admired, but what she got instead was contempt. This time, she had dressed simply to gain pity, and the ladies didn't like that either. Plus, if someone influential disliked you, everyone else would follow along.

"Sister looks good in anything," she said sweetly. Her words were honeyed, but a bitter taste lingered in her mouth.

This was the harsh reality of the social circles of high society.

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Lucille couldn't continue questioning Kalina about what she had said, as Annabelle immediately brought Kalina over to chat with her group of close friends. They were all daughters of influential households. There was a daughter of a merchant who controlled the tobacco industry, a daughter of an accomplished military household, and so forth.

Lucille went over with the other girls who weren't as close to Annabelle. Every so often, she would look over at where Kalina was.

The girls sipped fruity drinks while they sat on garden chairs. White flowers around them created a crisp, breezy atmosphere. Kalina stayed quiet as the others chatted about fashion trends.

"You know, embroidery on dresses has been all the rage lately."

"That's right! Yesterday, I went to my favorite boutique with my mother. All the latest arrivals have some kind of gold or silver thread on them. I wanted to buy one dress with this beautiful rose pattern, but my mother wouldn't let me. She said I'd already bought too many dresses this month. If I had known, I wouldn't have bought so many!"

"Which boutique was it? Were they expensive?"

"Well, it was a few hundred gold. It's not cheap. But they said the embroidery was handmade. Handmade! Embroidering a handkerchief is already a pain, but a dress! Can you imagine? "

"I really want one now, but that's a lot of gold...oh my, Kalina, is your dress embroidered?"

Annabelle and the others immediately turned their heads to Kalina, who was in the midle of reaching for a cookie.

"Haha, is it?" Kalina quickly retracted her hand and looked at her sleeves. They really were embroidered with a thin silver thread, effortlessly flowing through the soft fabric.

"Oh my goodness! Where did you get it? It's gorgeous!" The girl next to her exclaimed, reaching out to feel.

"My mother gave it to me as a gift." Kalina said sheepishly. "Is it really that popular? I didn't know." She never kept up with fashion trends and usually just wore whatever she found pretty.

"Haha, yeah..."

The table went quiet. Finally, after a bit of silence, Annabelle spoke up.

"Lady Kalina, pardon me for asking this, but why exactly did you break off the engagement with Prince Heinrich? I mean, Prince Heinrich is set to become the crown prince in a few years, if nothing goes wrong. From what I've seen, you're a perfect to be his companion. You're beautiful, modest, and graceful. Plus, as his companion, you'll be able to stand by his side during the crowning and receive countless honors. I just don't see why you would give that up."

Prince Heinrich was the most eligible bachelor in all of the Empire. Noble girls and commoner girls alike all dreamed of becoming his lifelong partner. For someone to voluntarily give up the title of his wife, there must have been a serious reason behind it.

Kalina leaned back and smiled wistfully. "Although Prince Heinrich is very handsome and very powerful, I have known for a long time that he has no interest towards me, at least romantically. I don't want my marriage to be loveless. I would rather give up the glory of being an empress to live a fulfilling life with someone who treasures me as much as I treasure them. Thus, the title of crown princess is meaningless to me if it means I will have to give up my happiness."

Her words caused the ladies to bite their lips and lower their eyes. Their fiancés were polite and kind to them, but now they weren't sure if it was simply out of courtesy or if they truly loved them. After they got married, would they also have mistresses, like their fathers?

Everyone seemed to be thinking about what Kalina had said, however, Annabelle seemed to firmly disagree. "Marriage is for the sake of our families. Unlike our brothers, cousins, and fathers who work to ensure the stability of their families, the only thing we as noble ladies can do is get married and support our husbands by maintaining a good reputation and appearance. A marriage with love should be desired, but not expected. Or am I wrong, Lady Kalina? What kind of marriage do you envision for yourself?"

"Lady Annabelle can choose to believe whatever you please. However, I want there should be more meaning to my life than simply living for someone else, regardless of how they treat me. If there will be no partner who sees me than more than a way to get more power, then I won't get married." Kalina stroked the rim of her teacup. "These are some things that I have realized after thinking about my engagement to the first prince. Be that as it may, I'm sure that all of your fiancés treasure you. Don't think too much of my words. Everyone's situations are different."

Annabelle, who was unsure of what Heinrich felt towards her, furrowed her brows. The atmosphere turned tense. Just a few minutes ago, they had been discussing fashion–but now, the topic had turned to their futures.

"I–" Annabelle started, but her second word would never make it out of her throat, because from across the garden, a yell rang from where Lucille had been chatting with a few ladies.