My suffering continued even after I returned home.
“You worthless daughter!”
A powerful blow to my cheek sent me tumbling backward into the hard, stone wall. I’d returned to the Evantail estate a few days after departing from Count Lugre’s party. My father had turned red with rage the moment I showed him the count’s letter of rejection. I staggered as I slowly rose from the floor and hurriedly distanced myself from my apoplectic father.
“Why do you think I went to the trouble of sending you to such a faraway territory? I outrank the count, yet you couldn’t even win his son over. Do you have any idea how much money I’ve spent on you these past seventeen years?! You’re nothing but a parasite leeching off this house!”
As I massaged my swollen cheek, I noticed a red stain on my wrist. The taste of iron spread across my tongue, likely from a busted lip.
“You have my deepest apologies, father.”
I calmly retrieved my handkerchief and wiped my lips as I observed my bellowing father for any sign that he would again turn his wrath on me. No one in this house would cover for me; I had to protect myself. Even my mother, who was watching the scene from afar, had zero intention of helping her daughter.
My delusional father remained fully convinced that I could win the heart of a noble’s son, despite the fact that anyone who gave the matter even a little thought would realize it was impossible. Lady Bumpkin—that was the epithet my peers in high society used when gossiping about me.
I tottered toward my room to escape my father. Staying here was dangerous.
“Hey, I haven’t finished talking yet!”
My father’s shouting continued to thunder from beyond the door, but he was bound to calm down eventually. Further injuries to my face would be an issue for me as a noble lady. Given a little time, my father would weigh his two options—inflicting lasting scars on his daughter that would make her useless in the world of politics or letting go of his anger—and surely come back to his senses.
A political marriage should still be possible if we aren’t too selective with my partner.
As an aside, the maids and servants of this house weren’t on my side any more than my parents were. They voiced clear displeasure when they saw me running down the hallway.
“Lady Agnes is getting scolded again.”
“She probably did something to defy her parents, as usual. She’s the most useless member of her entire household. She’s voiced countless complaints about the House of Evantail’s traditions, so maybe it’s that again.”
For generations, the people serving the House of Evantail had faithfully abided by its principles. Ever since I was little, they had scolded me for being rebellious and given me all sorts of warnings because of my doubts about our house’s policies. At any rate, I was tired after returning from the count’s party, so I ignored the fussy servants, dusted off my hand-me-down dress, ran into my small room, and shut the door behind me.
“I’m truly exhausted. The count’s estate was so far away,” I said with a short sigh.
The world outside my window was already dyed dark, and I could hear the cries of owls somewhere in the distance. I strained to lift the hem of my weighty dress, then ran over to the sofa without a care for appearances and plopped myself down on it. However, I was still far from feeling relaxed.
After a short while, I heard a loud knocking on my door.
“Who is it this time?”
In lieu of a response, the door was violently flung open, and a boy in white tights and round glasses, with his hair styled like a mushroom cap, barged into my room. He was my younger brother, Paul Evantail, who was turning twelve this year. He was wearing a codpiece over his formfitting tights to cover his crotch, an outfit from our great-grandfather’s time; no noble boy would dress like that nowadays.
His crotch stands out so much, it’s embarrassing.
Back in the day, wearing a large codpiece had been considered masculine, so my father, among others, had large ones custom made.
With a wrinkled-up nose and disdain evident on his face, my brother spoke in a refined manner.
“I’ve heard everything from mother, elder sister. It would appear you have failed yet another marriage interview.”
“It wasn’t a marriage interview. It was a party to announce our engagement...or it should have been, at least.”
“It doesn’t matter either way. I would ask you to refrain from bringing any further disgrace to our household. Why can you not succeed at a single engagement after all this time?”
“It’s not that simple.”
It would take nothing short of a miracle for a member of the House of Evantail to get married to someone of a different family. Our parents were a completely different matter, since they had stayed within the extended family to find a spouse.
He’s still ignorant of the way this world works, but I’m sure Paul will come to understand once he gets a little older.
My brother was still young and had attended parties only alongside our parents. Since no one had ridiculed him to his face, he didn’t yet realize just how odd he was. He would make his debut into high society before long.
“Goodness gracious, I’m embarrassed to have you as my sister. Your looks are below average, you have no special talent to speak of, and you aren’t particularly skilled in magic either. And let’s not forget your interminable rebellious attitude toward father and mother. You’re the black sheep of our venerable household.”
“Yes, yes, whatever you say.”
The House of Evantail was called venerable thanks to the achievements of my great-grandfather, who had served as the right hand of the prime minister of the time. Back in his day, our house had been powerful and respected by many people as the model of the ideal noble family. However, when my grandfather succeeded his father, he had arrogantly misused his authority, which had brought scorn on our family and degraded us into provincial nobles who lived mostly off of managing our territory.