Layla couldn’t speak at the sudden focus of attention.
At that moment Vivian’s hardened face came into her view. Layla couldn’t forget that this tea party was hosted by one of the most powerful women in southern society. She wouldn’t be the one to ruin this.
While Hailey and Scarlett were distracted by the unexpected development, Layla quickly took note of the situation. She didn’t understand why Amanda would knock away the teacup, but Layla quickly improvised a new plan.
She was going to bury the Windsor sisters here. Amelia had dared to mock her. The humiliation she received today was too much for her to back down now, just after she had added the salt as a trick.
At the sound of the teacup shattering the party had turned dead silent, but now murmuring voices began to fill the air. Everyone’s attention was turned to Vivian, who was approaching them to see what had happened.
She arrived right behind Amanda and was about to ask what was going on when–
“…Heugg.”
Suddenly Layla dissolved into tears.
Hailey and Scarlett looked the most embarrassed to see her cry. Vivian’s face was set as she to look at Amanda, Amelia, Hailey and Scarlett gathered at the table. It was no small issue that Layla, a noblewoman, was crying at her gathering.
“What is going on here?”
Layla was the first to answer with a choked voice.
“Lady Smith spilled a cup by mistake, and I only asked Windsors to drink tea together as an apology…heugg.”
Layla’s eyes were wet with tears as she covered her mouth with both hands. Vivian rushed a handkerchief to Layla in an attempt to soothe her.
“Oh, dry your tears, young lady.”
“Then Lady Windsor knocked the cup to the floor and it broke…I was–I was so embarrassed and hurt…”
Layla accepted the handkerchief offered by Vivian and wiped her tears away. Then she pretended to hold back her sobs and spoke again.
“Lady Windsor, have I done something wrong?”
She clutched the handkerchief to her heart. The curious crowd turned to Amanda and Amelia. Vivian glowered at Amanda, looking colder than before.
“Lady Windsor, is this true?”
Hailey’s and Scarlett’s expressions of worry turned to relief as the situation turned into an advantageous direction. Only Amelia’s face was anxious at the sudden change in mood.
“Um, sister….”
At Amelia’s shaky voice, Amanda held her sister’s small hand. Then Amanda looked straight at Hailey, Scarlett, and Layla in front of her.
The reason why she didn’t remember this incident immediately was because she was still relatively young here. In the future where she experienced hardship after her family was killed, the memory of being tricked into drinking salty tea was laughably trivial. When Amanda worked as a mercenary, she was always at risk of poisoning and even nearly died to it at one point. To drink this cup of salty tea was nothing to Amanda. If she had drank this alone, she would have laughed over it. But…
But not with Amelia. She could never forgive Layla tricking her beloved sister into drinking it. If she could wield her sword here, Amanda would have defeated them with her strength without a single hesitation.
Then she would cut off at least one arm just to teach them a lesson.
However, this was high society, and Amanda’s sword fighting skills were not of help. In this situation she felt more comfortable with strategizing and competing fairly with her skills.
Once again, Amanda became disillusioned with society, but that didn’t mean she would be as vulnerable as before. She knew all too well that people’s words could be more frightening than knives. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If Layla would use her tears to play this game, Amanda would deal with her the same way.
“What Lady Brown says is not true, Madame.”
At Amanda’s calm answer Vivian opened her mouth curiously, but Layla cut in before she could say a word.
“Not true? So I’m a liar?”
“It is true that we were going to have tea together, but it was not tea we were given.”
Vivian, who was listening to the two women, could not help but cut in.
“What in heaven’s name does that mean? Not tea?”
Layla’s face hardened in an instant. So it was true that Amanda noticed her plan from the time they spilled the teacups. But how did she know? She could not understand how Amanda knew the tea was salted without drinking it. No matter how hard Layla thought about it, she couldn’t understand how she was caught.
‘She suspected that something was wrong, so she stopped her sister from drinking it.’
She wanted Amanda to be embarrassed in front of everyone before she could prove her claim. However, if Amanda already figured out her plan, Layla was ready with another solution.
‘This is the only way…yes.’
As people began to listen to Amanda speak, Layla took a step back with a resentful look on her face. The evidence was in the teapot containing the salty tea. If Layla pretended to mistakenly spill the teapot on the floor, Amanda would not be able to reveal the truth not matter how much she protested.
People loved gossip. Once bad rumors about the Windsors would spread, it would be difficult to stop, regardless whether it was true or not. Such was the game in high society, and Layla had the confidence to play smarter than anyone else.
Furthermore, people’s hearts were weak at the sight of a crying woman. Layla was the first shed tears, and she knew she was still received more sympathetic attention than Amanda.
Layla took a step forward with a determined face, then pretended to trip and fall into the table. And unlike Scarlett’s awkward attempt, Layla grabbed at the tablecloth with natural ease.
The teapot on the table shook and was on the verge of tipping over onto the ground.
Dululu–
Taag!
In a gust in wind, a chair skidded across the ground and the backrest blocked the teapot from plunging to the ground. The teapot balanced and stopped at the edge of the table.
Layla’s eyes widened at the dramatic stunt. Her gaze slowly moved in the direction where the chair flew from.
There stood Amanda with an impassive face. Those far away did not see what had happened, but Amelia, Vivian, and Hailey and Scarlett saw it clearly with their own eyes. With the reflexes of a feline, Amanda had grabbed the chair next to her and thrust it towards Layla. Amanda couldn’t possibly have that kind of agility without professional training.
But that was not the only surprise. Before anyone could say a word, Layla raised her hand and simply knocked the precariously balanced teapot over. Just before it made contact with the ground, Amanda flew like a flash of lightning and her hand shot out to snatch the teapot in the air.
“I–I…!”
Layla was unable to speak, trembling with rage. Amanda calmly poured a cup from the teapot filled with the salty tea, her motions as graceful as water.
“This is from the pot that was given to me and my sister. If there is nothing in it, would you like to drink it yourself?”