fluvia 93: Fluvia and … Other Relatives

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Chapter 93: Fluvia and … Other Relatives

“… My goodness, I never thought that Debut Season could be even more hectic.”

Mother places her hand delicately on her cheek as she sighs, then checks my appearance for the fifth time.

“I wonder if this hairstyle shows off Fluvia’s cuteness enough… Tyrabeth, why don’t you…”

“Fluvia’s cuteness shines no matter how she looks, I guarantee it, My Lady! Also, the time and place… ”

Beth has become a little more assertive these days, and she gently tries to dissuade Mother from having Tyrabeth changing my hairstyle again.

Not to mention, we’re already in public so it’s far too late for that… I glance over at Tyrabeth, but she’s doing a remarkably excellent job of keeping a poker face on – although she’s clenching her hands in her apron to suppress her agony.

I don’t know why, but Tyrabeth views our Earl’s Household as the most ‘cute’ and ‘adorable’ ideal family she knows, Mother and Father’s relationship as the most romantic thing she knows, and Brother and my relationship as ‘just too cuteeee!’.

It’s fine if she shows her crazy side when it’s just the two of us, but I get worried sometimes when we’re in public.

“Mother, it’s alright. I’m Mother’s daughter after all, so I have confidence in my appearance.”

“My-!”

Mother makes to hug me tightly, but stops for fear of messing up my dress and hair.

… I see you in the corner of my eye, Tyrabeth. Stop it, geez.

We’re at the higher nobles’ Debutant Gala, after all-!

Shortly before the children go off to have the Gala just among children, there’s a short party where the debutants’ Houses also attend to introduce their debuting children to one another.

We’re near the end of that portion now, though, so Mother is just fussing over me before Brother and I go off on our own.

Brother?

He’s still making the rounds with Father, being the next heir and all.

To soothe Mother’s fussing, Tyrabeth obediently undoes my hair and hair ornaments one more time.

I don’t particularly mind, but even if we’ve moved to a more secluded part of the venue, I still feel awkward having my hair done in public.

Well, it’s fine for now I guess…

“Oh my, isn’t it Estella?”

That voice… tsk.

Even Beth and Tyrabeth’s faces darkened for a moment as they recognized the owner of that voice.

It’s a woman fluttering a fan.

Her reputation is … not so good.

As for how, and who she is, if I weren’t an 8-year-old child who had to be respectful of my elders, I’d be saying something like,

‘Oh my, I see that Baron Trechot still dares to let you out of the house? Just who do you think you are, to address her without ‘Lady’ in front of it? Do you really think being the sister of Earl Dellarose exempts you from basic manners?’

That’s right, this woman is my aunt, Father’s elder sister, Lady Hubrissa.

How should I put it… she’s a shrew.

Because the Former Earl didn’t arrange a marriage and appoint her husband as the next Earl Dellarose, she harbors a deep grudge against Father.

Who is the first son.

The first son that is, by convention, the heir of the House.

I don’t understand her at all.

Furthermore she despises Mother, who is the Earl’s Lady, a position she deeply covets, and taunts her with blatant disrespect, using the fact that she’s Mother’s sister-in-law to get away with it.

Although her position doesn’t actually let her get away with it, it’s more that Mother is hesitant to tell Father, since she’s afraid of being the reason their sibling relationship getting worse, but … I’m not really sure there’s anything there in Father and Aunt Hubrissa’s relationship to really protect.

And this kind of toxic behavior should be thoroughly stamped out.

Thankfully although Grandfather, the former Earl, wasn’t necessarily a good leader, he was on top of things when it came to judging the characters of his children and was clear that he should take great care when arranging Aunt Hubrissa’s marriage.

He only married her to Baron Trechot, a Baron within the Dellarose Territory, which also infuriated her to no end, but her selfishness and lack of foresight didn’t allow the Earl to dare marry her into a family with decent status outside the Earldom, as he was fairly certain her behavior would only worsen the relations between Earldoms.

By the way, Father has one more sibling besides Aunt Hubrissa, a younger brother who’s mediocre in every way, even compared to Father.

Uncle Lourenis was bullied badly by Aunt Hubrissa and developed a strong distaste for conflicts between nobles, making him even more mediocre, but also making him uninterested in bolstering his status.

He happily accepted the title of a Baronet of Dellarose when Father became Earl, only slightly better than being an Honorary Baron, but after the Baron purge Father and Edgar enacted, he was forced to become a Baron to fill in the gaps left over, taking on the name of Baron Heinsel.

I hear he laments about being a Baron while working these days, but consistently mediocre work is extremely valuable compared to the schemes and corruption we purged, so I hope he gets used to it soon.

“Good afternoon, Lady Hubrissa. I didn’t think you would be here.”

Mother replies as cordially as she can.

“Am I not allowed to celebrate my nephew’s debut?”

Aunt Hubrissa said, acting offended.

No, technically you’re not allowed to be here.

Only the close relatives, like parents and siblings, and their entourage are should be here, since this isn’t the actual Debut.

None of Cornewalls are here, nor is Baron Heinsel.

It’s not a hard-set rule, though, so it’s not like I don’t understand how Aunt Hubrissa is here.

I’m just annoyed she is.

“… Your niece is also debuting this season.”

I didn’t notice it at first, but Mother isn’t pleased that Aunt Hubrissa ignored me.

“Oh… yes. Of course.”

Aunt Hubrissa fanned herself lightly with a look of disinterest.

It seems that Aunt Hubrissa cherry-picks the rumors she hears as usual.

I’d think the rumors about me are fairly widespread and positive, but Aunt Hubrissa only cares about Fedor’s rumors.

As for why…

Aunt Hubrissa hid her mouth behind her fan as she says,

“But congratulations, Fedor has made it to his debut. However it’s never a certain thing for a child to become an adult. Haven’t you given it anymore thought? About taking George into your family? I’m sure he and Fedor would get along as if they were brothers. They’re cousins, after all.”

Mother struggles to keep her face neutral as Aunt Hubrissa brings this topic up again.

She keeps trying to get Father and Mother to adopt her son, George.

I don’t know how the previous versions of Father and Mother would have reacted to this before, but right now, neither of them are stupid enough to not understand what she wants to do.

Mother frowns delicately and says,

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to separate a child from his parents.”

“My George isn’t that young. And isn’t this the best for the Earldom? Of course Fedor is currently the heir, but it’s only natural for Houses to have two candidates. And, well, it’s not like he will be able to have another son from … you.”

Aunt Hubrissa allowed herself to gaze at Mother, scanning her body from top to bottom.

A woman’s joy is in having children; there’s no way that’s true for everyone.

But jeering at a woman who is unable to have children but wants them is a terrible thing to do, on par with making fun of the handicapped or mentally ill, or cramming salt into a victim’s open wounds.

However, this isn’t why Mother is unable to talk back at her.

Rather, for Mother it’s Aunt Hubrissa’s blatantly malicious intentions that makes her unable, rather unwilling, to speak.

It’s a ‘No matter what I say, she won’t change her attitude, so why bother,’ kind of a feeling.

However, not saying anything to refute her is also a problem…

It’s times like these where I feel the distance between 8 and 16 years of age.

As a child, I can’t just backtalk my elder, especially if there are blood ties between us.

And Aunt Hubrissa is the type to twist things around, gossiping at how bad the Dellarose House raises their children.

Even if most of the public won’t believe her, there are some people who want it to be the truth and will ‘believe’ her regardless.

As if understanding that we can’t really say much, Aunt Hubrissa smiles smugly, tilting her fan as she says,

“Won’t you think about it? You know it’s within the Earldom’s best interest. What if something happened to Little Fedor?”

Tch. I can’t let her off with that.

“Wh -”

“My, my, Lady Hubrissa, saying it like that, you wouldn’t be wishing for something to happen to Young Lord Fedor, would you?”

Edgar!

Thank god, I was about to snap.

Aunt Hubrissa looks annoyed as she turns to look at the person who came up behind her.

“Wh-who are you to put words in my mouth -”

“Haha, of course you wouldn’t be wishing for something like that. However, please do be careful since there are many people who enjoy ‘mishearing’ things.”

… … I know that he’s the type to reciprocate how the other person acts towards him, but I’ve never seen a catty Edgar before.

It’s a good thing he’s just 19 years old; I wouldn’t want to see an ojii-san acting like this.

“Well I never-!”

“As for the matter of the Dellarose Heir … I wasn’t aware that there was any doubts about it, but does Lady Hubrissa know something I don’t?”

Edgar smiles his mirthless smile as he tilts his head.

“Well-!”

Aunt Hubrissa just fans her face furiously as it turns a dark color.

“Of course, Baron Trechot is allowed to file a request for Young Lord Ordal to be adopted into the Earl’s House in the case where something happens, but the Earl is one to prioritize merits over bloodlines in important situations, so please don’t be too disappointed.”

Mother is managing to keep her face completely serious, but I can tell she’s really pleased with how Edgar is completely overwhelming Aunt Hubrissa.

However, it’s not too good to attract too much attention, so she steps in.

“Sir Edgar, is there something…?”

“Ah, forgive me, My Lady. Lord Earl has requested your presence to speak with the Duke and his Lady.”

“Of course. Fluvia dear, let’s …”

…You’re the one who told Tyrabeth to re-arrange my hair.

Mother’s brows furrow the slightest bit as she hesitates.

I understand, she doesn’t want to leave me here by myself, especially with Aunt Hubrissa right here.

“… Should I stay with the Young Lady?”

Edgar asked.

It’s not good to keep the Duke waiting.

“…Thank you, Sir Edgar. Then…”

As Mother prepares to leave to go to Father’s side, Aunt Hubrissa seems to have recovered somewhat, glaring at Sir Edgar.

“My goodness, interrupting when Ladies are speaking, my Brother is really lacking in common sense, choosing this kind of man to be Steward when Sir Bolther is still perfectly fit for service.”

…Um, excuse me?

Between you and the Duke, who is more important, would you like to go over there and tell them?

Even Mother seems to have had it with Aunt Hubrissa’s bullshit.

“… I believe my Lord Earl’s decisions are quite sound, especially when it comes to decisions regarding our people and our land. It might be true that there are many things we won’t see without Sir Bolther in charge, but I think those sights are things we might be better off not seeing. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Mother politely nodded her head once towards Aunt Hubrissa before walking towards Father and Brother, her back a little straighter than usual.

“Well, well-!”

There’s no way Aunt Hubrissa didn’t understand what Mother was saying, and she’s so upset she can’t say anything other than ‘Well-!’

Seeing Mother calmly walk through the crowd, causing many people to make way for her and admire her in passing, Aunt Hubrissa can’t help but seethe in jealousy.

And what will a jealous, malicious old lady do but redirect her malice to a ‘weaker’ target?

“Well -! What a caring mother, to leave her daughter right before the party, but you shouldn’t blame her since Fedor is the heir. Pretty people are always like that, after all, caring more about appearances than what’s truly worthwhile. Ah, a woman as beautiful as Estella… I wonder if she’s dissatisfied with Brother, being how he is … it makes me think that there’s a reason for choosing a young Steward even if he’s incomp – inexperienced.”

… Pick a different target – is what I want to say, but although I expected this, I don’t think I can be blamed for being angry when she says such nasty things about the people I care about.

If I were truly a young child this could probably be pretty traumatic, but instead I’m just disgusted.

I’m so irritated I barely even notice that Tyrabeth’s pinning of my hair has become slightly rough as her hands trembled with rage.

I’m amazed that Aunt Hubrissa thinks she can say these things in public without caring for any of the consequences.

Is it because she’s too focused on bullying me? Or is it because she thinks my maid and I just children?

But Edgar is here too, and he’s the Steward of an Earl, so I have no idea how her rotten mind works.

As expected, Edgar is looking at Aunt Hubrissa like she’s trash, but he erased it immediately before saying,

“Lady Hubrissa, perhaps you should reconsider your conduct.”

He’s completely disgusted that a grown woman would pick on an 8-year-old girl, inside age not-withstanding, but Aunt Hubrissa’s lips curl upwards as she thinks she’s caught onto something Edgar is actually concerned about.

“Oh? Am I wrong? To become a Steward at such a young age, you must have done quite a few things to ensure your position. I’m just hoping you haven’t been spending most of your time with the Lady of the House? A close relationship can be quite troublesome, after all.”

Aunt Hubrissa raises her voice, trying to attract the attention of the people around us.

This woman really is the worst.

With this sort of question, Edgar will sound suspicious no matter how he replies, just because it’s that kind of topic and just because she brought it up.

True, the rumors will probably fizzle out within the night, but just seeing her attempt to dirty our House’s reputation makes me unhappy.

So instead of Edgar, I reply.

“I don’t think I understand what you mean very well, Aunt Hubrissa. Shouldn’t it be a good thing that my family and I get along well with Sir Edgar? But if you’re asking who Sir Edgar spends the most time with, well, he’s always in the study with Father.”

Well, actually, Edgar’s time is probably pretty evenly divided up between Father and me, but… he’s still technically something like a secretary to Father, so it’s inevitable that he spends a lot of time at his side.

That’s the only reason he’s here for this event, after all.

I look up at Aunt Hubrissa, blinking innocently, and then continue.

“Even when he must confirm things with Mother, Sir Edgar always sends for Miss Beth or Head Maid Roselie, right?”

“It’s the most basic of basics to learn in the Steward’s Academy, after all.”

Edgar says extremely matter-of-factly.

“Then I don’t really understand. Isn’t it weird for you to say something like that, Aunt Hubrissa? It feels kind of unnatural… Am I misunderstanding something again, Sir Edgar?”

“Hmm, that’s not really something I could say. Perhaps you should ask Lady Hubrissa herself? I’m afraid I’d be accused of putting words in her mouth, after all.”

… Perhaps me teaming up with Edgar is too strong.

Aunt Hubrissa is so angry she’s unable to say anything, especially with the people around us watching.

Explain what ‘infidelity’ and ‘adultery’ are to an 8-year-old in front of all these people at such a formal event?

Like hell anyone could do that.

Aunt Hubrissa glares at the surrounding people, making them avert their eyes awkwardly, but isn’t her anger misplaced?

She’s the one who intentionally drew their attention, after all.

Unable to say even one word, Aunt Hubrissa turns on her heels and stomps away.

Whisper whisper …

When the whispers died down and curious onlookers eventually got distracted with something else, I can’t help but smirk a little, making a very un-child-like face.

“…My Lady, do behave yourself.”

Edgar, you say that, but your shoulders are also shaking as you’re trying not to laugh.

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<a/n: … Oh hey. I didn’t think we’d get any of these altercations yet since Fluvia’s too young, but if haters gon’ hate and all…

I’ve been thinking about writing a story with a stronger romantic line, but why is it turning more into a family bonds + showbiz genre the more I plan it? Am I just allergic to writing love stories?
_(:τ」∠)_