"Zia... Sutton, right? Ah..."
Wanting to glance at Zia Sutton, she ended up dazzled by his sleek arm, and diverted her gaze as if burned: "Where's my room again? I want to go back and rest."
Zia Sutton's expression twisted slightly.
What's the deal, why does it suddenly feel like she can't even look at him? Does she think he's ugly, or what?
Thinking about this, Zia Sutton, somewhat annoyed, pointed casually: "Isn't it the room by the window? You just stayed there last night, and you've forgotten it by this morning?"
The Sutton family courtyard is large, so it might be that she's unfamiliar; Zia Sutton didn't think too much about it.
Thea Shaw immediately headed inside without sparing him another look.
She's acting strange!
In the Women's Respect Country, a man's body is a forbidden zone; even the clothes' collars must fully cover the neck, and only one's wife can see his other parts.
Not only is a man's body important, but if a woman forcibly tries to see a man's body without his consent, that's also considered a criminal act.
Having adhered to the rules for thirty years, some norms have become ingrained, and they can't change quickly.
Thea Shaw must come to grips with it.
Otherwise, if the streets outside are full of men who, in the Women's Respect Country, could be drowned in pig cages, how is she supposed to live?
The villa is large, but there aren't many servants; Thea Shaw had casually asked a question earlier, and now seems to have a memory of it, as she follows the path to her room.
Entering the room and seeing the bedroom, she let out a sigh of relief.
Having just returned to the Sutton family, she didn't bring much with her.
Previously in the countryside, which was really just a typical town, her life wasn't bad—just ordinary living.
Her foster parents treated her well, but they weren't Aurora Sutton's parents; she was abandoned outside as a child and picked up by her foster parents.
Her foster parents have a daughter, her sister, who's already been working for years without returning home, and her relationship with Thea Shaw is just so-so.
This time, her foster parents hoped she would have a better life, so they sent her back to the Sutton family but kept in contact.
Just as she was about to flop onto the sofa to ponder her life, Zia Sutton came knocking on the door: "Thea Shaw, don't think about anything else now. We're all going to the Ford Family's banquet tonight; mom and dad have ordered a dress for you, come downstairs to try it on."
The Sutton family parents have a clear stance: bringing her to such an important Ford Family banquet is to publicly acknowledge Thea Shaw's identity.
Zia Sutton knocked a few times before Thea Shaw slowly opened the door, forcing herself to only look at Zia's face: "What Ford Family banquet?"
Zia Sutton, arms crossed, glanced at her sideways: "The Ford Family heir, Landon Ford, this is no ordinary banquet. Just follow me, don't wander off."
The Ford Family is the number one family in Aethelgard, with their heir Landon Ford being a well-known figure there. It's fair to say he's someone who Zia Sutton's generation must look up to.
However, opinions about Landon Ford are mixed; he acts with decisive efficiency but has a notoriously bad temper, capable of flipping his attitude on a dime, something that even second-generation heirs like Zia Sutton feared to socialize with. Some people even privately call Landon Ford a lunatic.
Of course, to Thea Shaw, she hadn't even heard of such a person.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded: "Alright."
In occasions this significant, she couldn't afford to be willful. Her attendance was also the Sutton family's intention to publicly acknowledge her. She was, after all, the Sutton family's daughter, and there was no need to avoid it.
She didn't feel much about Aurora Sutton, and couldn't even remember the person's face.
But what's supposed to be hers has no reason not to be accepted.