Chapter 8:
The Future Duchess’s Social Debut
“YOU PASS, Merellis.”
The days and months flew by, and I would begin attending the academy in less than a year. I had learned everything necessary for attending school, yet I still continued my lessons as usual.
But one day, Lady Aurelia announced that to me.
“What do you mean, Lady Aurelia?” I asked with confusion.
“I was talking about the results of your lessons, of course.” She laughed with amusement. I’d never seen her laugh like that before. “You’re the perfect lady now. You can go absolutely anywhere without fear of embarrassing yourself. You’ve worked so very hard to get to this point.” Her smile was warm and kind, and I felt myself smiling too.
“Thank you so much, Lady Aurelia.”
“There’s no need to thank me. You’re my future daughter, after all. Anyway, it’s because of all of your hard work. I really can’t emphasize enough just how much effort you’ve put into this.”
“It’s because I had your guidance, Lady Aurelia. And I had Louis’s support too.”
“You two certainly are close,” she giggled. “How are things going, with you preparing to go off to the academy?”
“I’m done, actually.”
“Are you! Well, in that case, we should start planning your debut into society.”
“My debut?” To be honest, my heart felt a little heavy. One must be between the ages of twelve and eighteen to make their social debut, and the exact age was up to each family’s discretion. Most people made their debut when they were fourteen or fifteen.
“If we start now, we can pull it off right before you enter school. I’ll go ahead and call the seamstress so we can start designing your dress.”
“What? Right now?”
It sounded like I would be preparing for the debut at the Armelia manor. Since my family was full of men, I was very grateful that I had Lady Aurelia’s guidance.
“Yes, that’s right.” She clapped her hands, and before I knew it, Alf had brought a woman into the room. “This is Madame Crejours. She’s the seamstress I use for all of my dresses.”
The woman bowed her head to us.
“Now, Madame. Will you take her measurements, please?” Madame Crejours came over and started measuring me. She worked quickly, and it took much less time than I expected.
“Lady Aurelia, do you have any requests for the dress?”
“Hmm… What color do you think would suit her best?”
“It’s difficult to say. She’s very pale, so I think she would look wonderful in any color. However, since it’s her debut, I think a pale color would bring out her youthfulness.” She took out several fabric samples and held them each up against my skin in turn.
“Goodness, they all look lovely. Do you have a favorite color, Merellis?” Lady Aurelia asked, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how to answer that. There were so many options in front of me that it was hard to decide.
“Madame, what’s that?” Suddenly a piece of fabric that she hadn’t tried on me caught my eye, and I pointed to it.
“Oh, that one hasn’t been dyed yet. I accidentally brought it.”
It was pure white. I ran my hands over the silky fabric. “I like this one.”
“This one?” Madame Crejours looked a bit confused, but she held it up to me.
“In that case, why don’t we have a thin strip of blue fabric across her waist? Yes, tied right here against the fabric…” Lady Aurelia suggested. Madame Crejours arranged the samples to try out the combination. “Oh, how lovely!”
Even Madame Crejours seemed convinced now. “In that case, Lady Aurelia, how about I embroider the hems with silver thread? And I can embellish it with diamonds.”
“That sounds wonderful. And with a white sash… Yes, just like that!”
Lady Aurelia and Madame Crejours continued to talk through this at length and designed my dress together.
“I’ll go ahead and start making it now. I’m looking forward to it!” Madame looked very pleased once it was decided and left with a smile on her face.
Meanwhile, I was so overwhelmed by the intense discussion between the two ladies that I felt a little exhausted. I took a seat—although with proper posture.
“I’m sorry, Merellis. It’s just…I’ve always wanted to pick out a dress with my daughter. I just got carried away,” she said with a sheepish chuckle.
“It’s all right. Thanks to your guidance, I won’t have to worry at all about my debut. Thank you so much.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. Now we just need to choose some accessories for you. We can do that once your dress is further along.”
“All right.”
“He he he. This is so fun! I can’t wait for my adorable daughter—and my hardworking pupil—to debut!” Her eyes softened with happiness as she smiled at me.
“I don’t deserve such praise, Lady Aurelia.” I felt a warmth in my heart because she really did treat me as if I were her own daughter. I thought of my mother. I’m sure if she were still alive, she would be just as happy about my debut as Lady Aurelia was. I was sure of it.
Lady Aurelia’s smile deepened, as if she were reading my mind.
✦ ✦ ✦
Once I returned home, I changed into my practice clothes and went to the training grounds to join the exercises. And, of course, I was giving guidance to Anna and Enarene, as promised.
Just as I was finished with Anna and Enarene, Abel appeared.
“Would you like to spar, Mer?” His warm, friendly smile didn’t show any trace of the sharp coldness that was common among those who wielded a sword. He seemed more like a good-natured older brother.
He was well liked by the men here and had apparently even built a good relationship with the twins, although I thought they didn’t have many occasions to interact.
“Of course.” I laughed internally, thinking that I couldn’t let his demeanor fool me—I truly had to be on my guard when I sparred with him. I knew that he was probably twice—no, maybe even three times—as powerful as he truly let on.
I stood across from him and readied my sword. He did the same without saying a word. His soft aura vanished, and his gaze grew sharp. Neither of us moved for a while; we just studied each other.
Suddenly, I heard the slight sound of his foot moving. My body sprang into action, and so did his. Our swords clashed together. This was so much fun that I felt myself smiling. Looking beyond our crossed swords, he had the same reaction on his face. I didn’t hold that position for long; instead, I withdrew, along with my sword. We studied each other once again, scanning for cracks in each other’s defenses.
It probably wasn’t very entertaining for anyone else to watch us fight. It wasn’t a flashy match, but we weren’t unevenly matched either. The moment he moved, I would counter, and he would do the same for me. We fought several matches like that, and in the final one, he withdrew because he saw he was at a disadvantage.
“That’s enough for today.” After several bouts, Kreuz came over and stopped us. “It’s time to go. Start cleaning up.”
Abel and I laughed, and we bowed to each other.
“Thank you, Mer.”
“Thank you, Abel.”
We both left the sparring ring and toweled ourselves off.
“How long will you be with the first regiment? You’re only here for a short time, right?”
“Oh, actually… My apprenticeship period ended a long time ago. I probably shouldn’t be coming here to train anymore, but…” He scratched his cheek as he grinned. “Everyone said that since I worked so hard to get better, I should keep training so I don’t lose my edge. Because I have my own duties to attend to, I can’t come too often, but I try to participate whenever I can. I’m honored they think so highly of me here,” he said with a laugh.
When I talked to him like this, he really did seem like a good-natured older brother. It was a far cry from how he was when we were sparring. I laughed to myself.
“Anyone can take part in these exercises, but it means a lot that they’ve recognized your talents. But isn’t it tough balancing this and your job? You must be so busy.”
“Not at all. Once I’m finished being stationed with one regiment, I’m fairly free until I receive my next assignment.”
“Oh, I see. The army seems quite different depending on what part you belong to.”
“Yes, that’s about right.”
I looked around and saw that everyone was getting ready to go home. Just a few people remained, and the air felt even cooler as the heat of battle wore off. I folded up the towel I used to wipe my sweat and turned my gaze toward Abel again.
“Well, let me know when you’re back, and we can train together some more.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll have to work even harder to make sure I can keep up with you.”
“There you go again, being humble. Well, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Of course. See you next time.”
I left Abel behind and went back to the mansion with Anna and Enarene.