# 81 - 81
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Oh my God, all this for me?!
“That's right, my daughter! I have prepared everything for you!”
When Opray spoke with a bright smile, Sophia threw herself into her arms.
"Kyaa! Thank you, mom!"
Sophia Fraser.
She opened the gift boxes stacked in the room one by one, and let out cries of joy.
They were great gifts.
Seven dresses from the latest season, and shawls woven as delicate as cobwebs.
Bright, colorful jewelry and hats decorated with large feathers.
And that wasn't all?
Shiny satin shoes, a sky blue fan with a white ivory handle, lace trimmed with organza, and even large silk ribbons with pearls in the middle.
They were all, without exception, extremely luxurious gifts lined up in a row.
Just opening them and inspecting them one by one was enough to please the eye and fill the heart to overflowing.
“Mom! You prepared a lot of gifts because I returned to the main castle after a long time, didn’t you?”
“That's part of it, and there's also reason to celebrate.”
"Huh? Something worth celebrating?"
O'Bray paused for a moment and spoke with an embarrassed smile.
“Let's talk about that later during our official dinner with His Highness the Grand Duke.”
Sophia quickly became preoccupied with the gifts and simply ignored the matter.
“Fine!”
Thank God.
Opray swallowed a deep breath of relief.
She had not yet told Sophia the fact that she would become the “potential crown princess.”
The reason was simple.
No doubt she will revolt and say she doesn't want that.
Sofia simultaneously had pride in being from the Fraser family and an inferiority complex about not being from the same family, in addition to having very high ambitions.
At least the Marquise's wife.
At most, she aspired to become the wife of a duke, something O'Pray, as her mother, knew well.
Although the position of Crown Princess was far superior to those positions, the fact that Crown Prince Ferdinand could remain merely a “boy” indefinitely was a serious flaw that could jeopardize even that power.
Of course, even children from high-status families with “defects” usually succeeded in marriage.
But how can this be considered a valid marriage?
It will be no different from families of low status and no money selling their children for wealth and power.
Viscount Lilius did not mutter the phrase “what a shame” in vain.
Since Sofia was the married party, she was obviously going to make a bigger fuss by saying she didn't want to.
So she prepared all these reasonable gifts with money she borrowed from Tullia to ease Sophia's heart for the time being.
In fact, even after that the situation was so tight that Opry had to get rid of almost all of her cherished dresses.
For now, no, because her son and husband had ended up that way anyway, O'Pray gritted her teeth inwardly, resolving to never participate in any outside social events for at least three years.
She was always treated well as the Viscountess who wielded the real power of the Frasier wherever she went to social parties.
The hosts always took great care of her, asking her about various things, providing comfort, and taking a great interest in reading her mood.
The fact that she couldn't enjoy that luxurious and comfortable atmosphere where she felt like the queen of the place for a while made Tullia look even more terrible.
It was all because of that girl.
"the mom?"
“Oh, yeah. Go ahead and try it.”
After Sofia excitedly put on a new dress, the mother and daughter went outside.
The goal was to attend a formal dinner among immediate family members before the dinner party.
At that very moment.
'Huh?'
Suddenly, O'Prey's face turned pale.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
“Sophia, go to the official dining hall first.”
"Huh? Yes. Okay."
Despite her confusion, Sophia followed Opry's maid and stepped forward first.
But that only lasted for a moment.
Soon, Sophia stopped walking.
Oh, my God!
It was because she saw a face she had been hoping to see.
“It's Leon, my big brother!”
“Miss Sofia, you should hurry to the formal dining hall.”
“Shut up! I just want to greet Leon and ask him to be my escort!”
“But...”
The O'Prey maid couldn't bring herself to say how bad things were between Viscount Lilius' family and the other party.
She could only bow her head helplessly.
Sophia stepped forward in a good mood.
At the academy, the popularity of the twins Leon Fraser and Lycian has reached its peak.
That was normal.
Distinguished position.
Sculptural appearance.
And excellent skills that never missed first and second places.
If Lycian had an elegant and gentle charm, Leon had a wilder sensibility.
Moreover, unlike Lycian, who stuttered, Leon Fraser was “flawlessly” perfect.
Although it was unfortunate that he was the second son, given their close relationship, wouldn't he easily obtain a decent title later on?
That was what Sophia was thinking.
This was also what most of the academy's students thought.
Sofia was also envied by female students because she was close to the twins.
“You know? The older brothers are secretly kind-hearted, so when you ask them to dance at academy parties, they always dance with you.”
Hearing Sophia's boastful words, the Opry maid quickly matched her mood.
“Since Miss Sofia is their only younger sister in the academy, it is only natural that they will treat you well.”
Sophia laughed triumphantly.
“Sure. I’m the only granddaughter of the Fraser family to attend the academy together.”
But contrary to her confident voice, the twins weren't actually very friendly towards Sofia.
Even at banquets, they would dance with her only after extreme insistence, otherwise she would hardly receive curt greetings.
Even when she deliberately tried to act close to the twins where the other students could see them, the twins barely responded to her greeting and quickly left.
But it would certainly be acceptable to ask for an accompaniment at today's formal dinner party!
It was at that moment that Sophia hurriedly adjusted her clothes and hair and opened her mouth.
“Leon, big brother… eh?”
Her steps faltered.
“What? What is Big Brother looking at and smiling about?”
Leon Fraser rarely smiled in public.
Lycian was often smiling, and Leon was often with an expressionless face that matched his large build and dark black hair.
But why is he smiling like that?
What does he look at and smile about?
."Who is this? Don't tell me it's Tulia Fraser?"
“Yes... that's right. Miss Sophia.”
Sophia did not yet know that Tullia had taken control of the internal affairs of the house, nor that Tullia's position in the Grand Duchy had completely changed.
For Sophia, who only remembered Tolia Fraser's previous position, the scene before her eyes was completely incomprehensible.
“What’s wrong with her? She even laughs with Brother Lycian?”
Lycian and Tullia were laughing at a joke they had shared, and Leon Fraser was sneaking up on them with a goofy smile.
Sophia frowned in annoyance.
"Their relationship was definitely the worst, so what is this? What happened in the meantime? And Tulia, what's with this dress you're wearing?"
The dress Tulia was wearing was just as beautiful as the dress Sophia was wearing.
“Mother must have given her a gift too?”
Tulia has always chosen vulgar and superficially glamorous dresses, perhaps because of her vulgar nature.
She only had a few of them, so she wore them in rotation.
While Sophia was frozen in place, the maid asked cautiously.
“Miss Sophia? To Young Master Leon Fraser...”
“Forget it!”
Sofia gritted her teeth softly and turned around.
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