The Marquise finally made her presentation in the Grand Ballroom with a brief speech thanking her honorable guests for attending her party. The celebration, as she explained with elegant modesty, was intended to be discreet: merely a form of entertainment for the few noble vassals who still maintained ties with the Marquisate. Every time she paused to continue speaking, applause echoed among the hall's columns.
However, Delilah was unable to hear them.
While the hostess delivered her speech, Delilah walked through the immense territory that made up the Zehren mansion. During the last few hours, she had traversed endless corridors, silent staircases, and rooms whose opulence seemed to compete with one another. By that time, she had already discovered that the place had more than a hundred rooms, in addition to spaces like the library, the main lounge, the kitchen, the study hall, and even several private bathrooms distributed among the upper floors.
She had spent quite some time exploring the place, but Andrea did not seem to have any interest in heading to the Grand Ballroom. He walked calmly through the corridors, observing the surroundings with a serene curiosity, as if the party gathering all the nobility held no importance for him.
He only stopped paying attention to the mansion's architecture when one of the kitchen maids appeared in the hallway connecting the stairs to the corridor where they were walking.
The young woman held a black envelope in her hands.
At first glance, it didn't seem like something important to Delilah, but the servant did not dare to approach too closely while Andrea Bathory accompanied the young lady. She remained at a prudent distance, holding the envelope with both hands, clearly showing the noble seal of Baron Astraea. Her intention was evident: to deliver the message and withdraw immediately without raising her head.
Delilah had almost completely forgotten her adoptive family. She was barely aware that the party might have attracted them, as if their presence were a persistent shadow, a curse she could not free herself from simply by pretending it didn't exist. Her days were now peaceful. Too peaceful to miss the House of Astraea.
She approached the maid with little interest and took the envelope naturally.
—Thank you.
Her voice was kind, sufficient to grant the servant the implicit permission she expected to withdraw. The young woman bowed quickly and disappeared into the shadows of the hallway without uttering a single word.
When silence fell between them again, Delilah observed the envelope for a few seconds. She held it between her fingers with some hesitation before opening it. Perhaps it was something urgent... but, at the same time, nothing seemed more important than attending to a Bathory.
Andrea, however, let her know immediately that she could take care of it without worry.
In reality, the reason he had attended that party was precisely related to the arrival of that envelope.
The young woman who normally reacted calmly to misfortunes did not expect that a simple letter—written with the Baroness's proud and rigid calligraphy—could interrupt her thoughts so abruptly.
Meanwhile, in the Grand Ballroom, the Marquise descended from the main platform and elegantly approached the place where Count Salieri was having a pleasant conversation with the Duke of Billeter's granddaughter. The atmosphere between them was cordial, despite persistent rumors that the Count and Cain maintained a deplorable relationship.
Although Cain's younger brother had been named the official heir, the Count continued to show an evident closeness with his eldest son. As Raguel had insinuated some time ago, the fact that the disinherited son was accompanying such an influential figure as Eilith had considerably improved the Count's attitude toward him.
The Marquise was discreet in asking permission to take Cain away for a moment. The request was accepted without issue. Cain apologized briefly to those present and left the conversation before walking toward one of the second-level balconies, where the other candidates were already gathered.
Delilah, for her part, took quite a while to change her posture. A message so short should have been read in a matter of seconds, but it was taking her much longer than expected. Her eyes remained fixed on the few written lines while the silence of the hallway grew increasingly heavy.
Finally, she let out a faint sigh. Then she closed the envelope again with care, as if she wanted to be rid of it.
There were things she had already anticipated. Perhaps that was why her face showed no surprise.
At that same moment, the five candidates listened to an unexpected announcement from the lips of the red-haired Marquise.
The personal affairs of each chosen one did not normally affect the others. However, when one of the children of the nobility was declared illegitimate, the situation inevitably became lamentable. Grand parties were always interesting stages for such revelations: perfect places to create opportunities or destroy reputations.
Only a naive person would believe those gatherings existed simply for fun.
—The Barons Astraea have erased Delilah's name from their family registry.
Raguel had barely offered a seat to Lucrecia when silence dominated the balcony's atmosphere.
The Barons Astraea had shown no interest in apologizing for their absence, as the Viscounts Reines had. They didn't even send gifts or formal excuses. Removing Delilah from their family registry meant something all too clear to anyone familiar with noble rules.
No relationship existed between her and that house anymore. Therefore, refusing the Marquise's invitation constituted no offense.
—For a noble of the House of Astraea, she has quite a scandalous and shameless personality.
Andrea knew the contents of the envelope, even though Delilah had not said a single word. The only one who still didn't know... was she herself.
Black envelopes had a single purpose. And Andrea had not guessed it.
—I am not an illegitimate daughter as everyone says —Delilah finally said calmly. She lowered her gaze slightly before continuing—. The Barons took me in when I was a child.
Her voice showed no resentment.
—The Baroness is not wrong to get rid of me. I truly am useless to her.
Andrea frowned slightly.
—How could someone favored by the House of Bathory be useless?
A faint flash of bewilderment appeared in Delilah's dark eyes. Andrea did not intend to confuse her, but neither did he speak out of mere imprudence.
—The Baroness is saying something very clear —he continued with a firmer tone—. She is publicly telling Lathasha that she was wrong to choose you.
His expression became a bit more serious.
—As if the Marquise lacked the judgment to make her own decisions.
Extending the possibility of obtaining a noble title to a commoner was something many would consider absurd. If Delilah had any value as a member of the House of Astraea, now, officially, she was nobody.
A perfect surprise for those who despised the Baroness's bastard children.
No family. No training. No influence.
According to noble bureaucracy, she should no longer remain in the mansion. And Delilah understood it perfectly. That was the future that awaited her. But Andrea was not going to let her stay trapped in that thought.
—You were not chosen by the Marquise.
His words made Delilah look up.
—You were chosen by the House of Bathory.
The weight of that statement was too great for someone already overwhelmed. From the beginning, things had been moving according to the will of people with power she could barely imagine.
The meeting with Andrea during Neil's party had seemed like a pleasant coincidence. But today's... had been planned from the start.
Trying to oppose something like that—or even fully comprehend it—made no sense.
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