A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

’To a certain extent, she really wanted nothing to do with Martin Quinn! The man was too wild! Too wicked!’

"We’re here. Still not getting out of the car? What, waiting for me to give you a special invitation? Don’t tell me you’re intimidated by the Chapman family’s villa?" Seraphina had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t even felt the car stop!

"I’m just a little surprised by the venue for your get-together, that’s all." Seraphina Sterling offered a faint smile and exited the car with perfect composure. Glancing at the luxury cars parked all around, she knew she’d guessed correctly. Faye Sterling had really set her up! It was clear this wasn’t some casual party to celebrate the start of summer vacation, but a far more important banquet.

"What’s there to be surprised about? Today is the birthday of the Chapman family’s Little Princess, Fiona Chapman. We’re just using the opportunity to get together!" Faye Sterling’s smile was radiant, her face lit up with the signature grin of a high-society socialite.

"Miss Sterling has arrived. Our Miss has been asking about you!"

"Fiona really has some pull, managing to invite our own Miss Sterling!"

"That’s right! The birthday girl certainly has a lot of clout to get Miss Sterling here so early!"

...

Evidently, Faye Sterling was a well-known figure in this circle. Furthermore, her status as a member of the Sterling Family afforded her an extraordinary position. At the very least, everyone who had arrived so far was fawning over her and showering her with compliments.

Seraphina Sterling followed quietly behind her, just as she had promised at the start: to be quiet, not initiate conversation, and keep to herself. ’Watching these people do everything in their power to flatter Faye,’ she thought, ’so this is what high society is like. Nothing but kissing up and kicking down.’

Faye Sterling, for her part, was thoroughly enjoying this treatment. She was the great Miss Sterling, after all. And while the Sterling Family’s status in Aethelgard couldn’t compare to the four great magnate families, there were few other clans who could match them.

"Faye, you’re moving up in the world, bringing a servant with you wherever you go! You really are the great Miss Sterling; we just can’t compare!" Fiona Chapman was dressed in a pristine white princess gown, the exact same color as Seraphina Sterling’s dress. The only difference was that Fiona’s gown was covered in countless glittering rhinestones that shimmered with a dazzling light.

In comparison, Seraphina’s dress was far more ordinary. It was simple, hanging naturally to her knees in an understated fashion. Yet, once you laid eyes on her, it was impossible to look away.

As time went on, an idea began to form in people’s minds: Fiona Chapman’s gown seemed overly ostentatious, even garish, despite all its expensive rhinestones. Compared to Seraphina’s dress, it somehow came across as cheap, like a counterfeit, utterly lacking in grace. Of course, no one said this out loud. They were, after all, guests of the Chapman Family, a newly ascendant and powerful family in Aethelgard that was not to be underestimated.

Before coming over, their families had all instructed them: even if you don’t befriend the Chapmans, you absolutely must not offend them!

Clearly, Fiona Chapman had noticed this shift in atmosphere herself, which was what prompted her question. She just wanted to see Seraphina humiliated.

A single look was all it took for Faye Sterling to understand Fiona’s intent. "What nonsense are you talking about? I could never afford a servant like her! Come, let me introduce everyone. This is Seraphina Sterling, my uncle’s daughter! My older sister, you could say! It’s just that she’s been living with her grandmother in the countryside and only recently returned. All of you must take good *care* of my sister. Make sure you don’t bully her!"

Faye Sterling put a pointed emphasis on the word "care," and anyone with a brain could understand her true meaning. Hearing the part about her "grandmother’s house in the countryside" only added to it. They immediately understood that Seraphina’s mother must have come from a common background. ’Aren’t people from the countryside the lowest of the low?’ Even though she was a Sterling, she had always lived in the country. When the guests mentally compared Seraphina Sterling and Faye Sterling, it was easy to conclude which of the two was more important.