To be honest, I had never had much to do with Countess Rowan before that moment.
More precisely, we had met a few times at balls and official receptions and exchanged a couple of polite phrases, but our paths had never crossed more closely than that. I couldn't say that I knew her well.
Nevertheless, I had heard various rumors about the countess. In society, she was known as one of the most kind-hearted women in the Empire. It was said that she almost never refused to help — she participated in charity events and donated money to foundations, especially those that helped orphaned children.
For high society, where virtue was often just a pretty mask, this was almost surprising.
Of course, I was a bit skeptical about these stories — I'd heard too many times about "saintly ladies" who turned out to be just vain hypocrites. And yet... in my heart, I remembered glimpsing the countess at social gatherings: her soft voice and smile, which really seemed sincere to me.
