With a smile, Leah did not immediately reply. Instead, putting her spoon down, she picked up a plate and, seemingly surprised, asked, "Clara, did you receive this gift of honor yourself?"
"...Yes, I did. Why?"
"Which chapter?"
An uncomfortable silence fell.
Clara blinked. "Sorry?"
"The Veterans' Relief Chapter," Leah repeated calmly. "Which branch did you donate to?"
Clara hesitated only briefly. "The Eastern Chapter."
"There are three Eastern branches," Leah said. "Volkov Central, Kirov Rehabilitation, and the Border Recovery Wing. Where did you donate?"
Clara furrowed her brows. She did not expect Leah to make such a lame attempt to change the subject.
Luna Laurent, though, didn't hide her sneer. "What would you even understand? I wish my Clara could be as idle as to nitpick at others' gifts. She just returned after studying abroad a few days ago, and I have to see her run around for the Traditional Hunt in someone's place."
Leah just smiled knowingly at Clara before placing the plate back.
"This is a marvelous piece of ceramic. It makes for an amazing gift even without a heartwarming backstory. Right now this is just... embarrassing."
Clara's smile froze. Luna Laurent scoffed. "What? If you want to praise Clara, you can just say so, but criticizing someone's sacrifice just because you are jealous is just nasty!"
Silver Luna's expression turned cold as she looked at Leah. "What do you know? Stop making a fool out of yourself and do what you were doing."
"Auntie…"
Hearing those words, Clara could barely hide her grateful smile. Leah couldn't have known, and even if she did, who would believe her?
As expected, all the ladies cast blameful looks at Leah. Luna Camile said, "Clara has made a great example for the youth. You should learn from her, don't you think?"
"Sabotaging others' sacrifices is… dishonorable."
"The Royal House of Varkos must be more generous than we believe, since you are a princess..."
"Please, I'm sure she meant well." Clara looked crestfallen, as if feeling bad for the backlash Leah was facing. "Lee is my friend. She must have been mistaken."
"Mistaken?" Luna Laurent's voice was shrill. "How could she say such a thing, even if she is mistaken? What if we weren't here and she defamed you?"
Leah let out a scoffing laugh, shaking her head. "Luna Laurent, I didn't want to expose the Mooncrest Pack, but… where did you say you donated? Volkov Central, Kirov Rehabilitation, or the Border Recovery Wing?"
Luna Laurent snickered, crossing her arms. "I thought the Wolfborn Pack took two years to put some manners in you, but as they say, you can't unlearn nature."
The ladies got quiet. Yes, the girl was a street-rat not long ago, but right now she was Princess Varkos, above them in the hierarchy.
Looking at each other, they felt the atmosphere had become awkward. The words were so terrible that everyone looked at Leah, waiting for her to lash out.
Leah's eyes dropped before she looked up at Luna Laurent with a smirk. "That is true, you can't change nature. If an apple is soiled, it must be the tree that is rotten. As they say, an apple doesn't fall far from the tree. After all, stealing just to look fancy is a deplorable crime."
Hearing that, Luna Laurent gaped.
In her last life, after she was cast out of the elite, Leah had hung out with Damon's nanny and heard a lot of stories.
Luna Laurent came from a humble background, but her love story with Alpha Mooncrest was so romanticized that people forgot it was an affair. She was accused of stealing luxury clothes from her best friend, Alpha Mooncrest's original fiancée.
Luna Laurent growled, "What are you trying to say?!"
"This is a beautiful ceramic set, but this isn't from the Eastern Veterans' Relief Chapter, specifically not a gift for a donation."
Clara furrowed her brows, looking wronged. "Leah... I know that I should have been more conscious of how you feel since Auntie likes me more, but please don't slander the Mooncrest Pack."
"You know well if it's slander." Leah smiled deeply.
Clara fidgeted, seeing the disdain in her eyes.
Leah held back the urge to tear Clara apart and said calmly, "Since the gifts from the Veterans' Relief Center were as revered as heirlooms, the last director was upset to see the counterfeits that were sold on the black market, so they have a special way to write the serial number under the pieces that may seem random to others."
When she had lost her first friend, Hugo, a stray dog, the director had told her how he remembered his wife by these serial numbers.
The numbers in the serial number always added up to 45, the age the director's wife died, and the random letters were always from her name, M-A-B-E-L G-R-A-C-E.'
The serial number here was 4528M1D715, so there was no doubt it was 100% fake.
In her last life, she recognized the counterfeit too, but didn't dare say anything.
"And you know how they write the serial numbers? Ridiculous!" Luna Laurent scoffed.
"It isn't hard to check if I'm being ridiculous." Leah shrugged.
Picking up a plate to see the random serial number, Luna Laurent immediately rolled her eyes. "I didn't know they taught how to decipher confidential codes at orphanages these days. If I had, I wouldn't have just sent my Clara to another country to study."
Ignoring her sneer, Leah called, "Agnes."
The servant immediately responded, "Here, Your Highness."
"Could you call Prince Varkos over for us?" Then she looked at Silver Luna. "If I'm slandering Mooncrest Pack, I'll kneel down and apologize. My husband was in charge of the Veterans' Relief Center. We can ask him if I'm bluffing or not."
Luna Laurent scoffed. "You are taking this too far! You think my Clara would tell such a disgusting lie?"
"There are three Eastern branches: Volkov Central, Kirov Rehabilitation, and the Border Recovery Wing. I spent my childhood volunteering in Veterans' Relief Centers." Leah took a bite out of a croissant. "...I wouldn't know if she lied, but this is definitely a counterfeit."
Her orphanage was poor, so they had to 'volunteer' to cover their necessities.
Her time there was delightful, as the veterans loved the children who came to spend time with them. They would play with them, tell them stories, and even teach them interesting things.
It was due to their kindness that in young Leah's mind, everyone was good by nature.
Alarmed, Clara quickly hid her shock. Usually, even if Leah was right, she could hardly get a word out. How could someone change so much overnight?!
"Mother," Clara, looking hurt, began closing the case. "If Lee doesn't like it, who am I to impose? I didn't realize I was overstepping. I just thought things would still be the same… but if Lee doesn't like it, then I'll take it back."
Leah swatted her hand, snatching the case to her side.
"No."