episode_0566

The tea party, which seemed like it could collapse at any moment, continued on after that.

“Wow, Sister Pernell! This cake is so delicious!”

“I wonder what kind of cream you used. Does Unnie Pernell know by any chance?”

“… Ahem, well. This soft yet sticky texture feels like cream cheese mixed in. Judging by the flavor, I think it’s mascarpone… .”

-Glance.

“… It could be possible, but I can’t deny the possibility that it could be ricotta or pecorino.”

After making a mistake once, Pernel started to show a defensive attitude. It was as if he was putting down several fishing hooks so that he could recover from his mistakes.

I just wanted to test my manners against other girls, but for some reason, it ended up being me testing her manners instead.

On the other hand, Elicia… seems to have been enjoying the tea party as usual for a while now.

“Elicia, you have cream on your lips.”

“Oh my, I’m, I’m sorry…! Stop acting so awkwardly… .”

“It’s okay, Rowid Youngae. I also like the cakes our chef makes. When I’m alone, sometimes I don’t even realize that I have cream on the corner of my mouth.”

The youngest daughter is enjoying the tea party innocently, while Marien is taking care of her younger sister, Elysia, while seriously observing the atmosphere.

In the end, the one who was the most nervous was not me or any of the other girls, but Pernel.

For a young lady, she is wearing an overly flashy dress and even a fan. And judging by her words and actions, it seems like she has been showing off in front of other young ladies.

Well, the families around here are all pretty much the same except for the Blackwoods. It’s understandable that Pernel, who is of high rank and the only daughter, would show off in front of the other ladies.

‘I guess we have no choice but to adjust to some extent here.’

In the first place, I wasn’t trying to compete with these young ladies, I was just practicing my manners while making friends with the young ladies of the surrounding noble families.

In particular, it wouldn’t be bad to become close with her, who would be the successor to the Briel family line. Unlike the other two girls, it seemed like she would probably continue to live in this area even after getting married.

“By the way, Brielle Youngae said she went to Luminor Academy, right?”

“That’s right… !I, I don’t have much skill, but I enrolled because I thought it would be a chance to learn… !”

“Although I am a member of the Magic Department, I entered school later than Young-ae Brielle, so Young-ae Brielle is my senior.”

“… That’s right, that’s right… ! You, you don’t have to feel so burdened… ! T-Two of us have already graduated from the academy, and I, I don’t really want to force Rosewood Youngae to be my junior… !”

I think it’s not me who feels the burden, but you.

He said in words that he didn’t want to burden me, but judging by his tone, it was almost like he was asking for a favor.

The moment I start treating her like a senior here, she’ll start talking nonsense again out of pressure.

Since talking to her any further would have felt like pressuring her, I turned my gaze away and changed the subject to Elysia.

-Muck, muck.

“Um, umm… .”

“Are you eligible for cookie registration, Rowid Youngae?”

“… Aaah, I’m, I’m sorry… !”

“… … Yes?”

“You’re so delicious… . I, I thought I ate a little too much… .”

… Do you really think I’m being sarcastic about eating too much?

No, it might actually be a natural reaction. If Lizzy’s testimony is correct, noble ladies often think about taking advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses, so if it was another duchess’ daughter, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to have questioned her thoroughly.

They might even go a step further and say things like, “If I knew you’d like it so much, I would’ve prepared double the quantity,” or “I’ll ask our server to package it for you so you can eat it when you get home.”

I could embarrass Marien by asking her, “Are you naturally that shy?” as she has been avoiding conversation with me for a while now.

There was a reason Melissa told these girls to have their first tea party. Looking at them like this, they all seemed like negative examples of what not to do at a tea party.

It was the moment when I realized through a tea party with three people that it wasn’t good to be too naive, too observant, or too boastful.

‘It turns out it wasn’t an empty promise that there wouldn’t be any problems if you just learned this much.’

Anyway, there will be mostly girls like this in the Eastern Territory. The knowledge I have learned so far was enough to deal with girls like this.

The young ladies of a certain status live far away from the Blackwood estate, so I don’t have a chance to meet them unless I invite them. On the other hand, the young ladies of a high status who I am close with are so close that there is no need to be formal.

It was a moment when I suddenly felt confident that I could become Ethan’s wife.

“… This, this strawberry…! Judging by its sweetness and freshness, it must be a specialty of Blackwood Estate…!”

“Yes, Brielle Youngae. As I heard, you have a good eye for detail. ”

“That’s right… ! If you don’t have a good eye for detail, your archery skills will suffer… !”

… Even the young lady who had been kicking her legs throughout the tea party left in a good mood at the end, so I guess this is enough.

⁎⁎⁎

Another month has passed since the day of the practical tea party, which ended awkwardly but without any major incidents.

The seasons changed in the blink of an eye, and the weather became so cold that it couldn’t even be called spring.

-Clank, clank.

“… It’s hot, Ethan.”

“… Yeah, release.”

Sunlight streaming into Ethan and my bedroom, and the temperature rising quite a bit.

This summer seemed unusually hotter than usual. It was so hot that even the fan I turned on before going to bed couldn’t cool me down.

Fortunately, in this world, there were no ghost stories about dying if you turned on the wind magic tool. In a world without air conditioning, if I hadn’t been able to turn it on when I went to sleep, I would have suffered from insomnia for days.

As soon as I woke up, I was greeted by a sweaty blanket and pajamas. In fact, I wanted to throw away the blanket and go to sleep, but I couldn’t because I was told that it was against the etiquette of a nobleman.

If it were Korea, I would have thrown away the blanket and everything and slept wearing only underwear. No, before that, Korea has air conditioning.

“I’m sweating so much that I want to wash my hands. Would you like to come in with me?”

“… Yeah. I feel so uneasy, I don’t think I can stand it.”

Even though he hadn’t done any strenuous physical exercise in the middle of the night, Ethan accepted the suggestion to go into the bathroom with her without much resistance. It’s really hot this summer.

If we’re like this, how hard must it be for Agnes and the others who are fighting in the Demon Realm right now? But it’s in the north, so it might be a little cooler than here.

Even though it was a mansion, I couldn’t walk down the hallway in my sweaty clothes, so I took out a new pair of clothes from the closet and changed into them. This alone made me feel a little better.

“Come to think of it, I don’t think those girls come these days. Are you sick of tea parties?”

“It’s not that I’m tired of it, I just did it for general knowledge practice from the beginning.… Well, somehow we ended up getting closer than I thought.”

After the tea party where he invited Elysia, Marienne, and Pernel, he invited the girls of the surrounding fiefdoms several times. Most of them were the daughters of barons or writers.

… And from the second tea party where I invited other noble ladies, I realized that becoming close to noble ladies was not for me.

“We are very good at making green tea, Rosewood Youngae.”

“Huh? This isn’t green tea, it’s black tea, isn’t it, Elang Youngae?”

“… Oh, I see. I thought it was green tea because it had a slightly bitter taste. You can make this bitter taste with black tea too. You’re really amazing, Lady Rosewood. ”

“That’s right. I don’t think I could make a bitter taste out of such good tea leaves even if I tried.”

“As expected of the Duke’s Young Lady… Ahem, the young lady who will become the Duke’s wife has a different level of culture.”

…Fucking bitches. We really need to break the whole pot or something.

After having a few tea parties with those girls, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the girls I had first met were truly fairies among fairies.

It made me realize once again that there was a reason Melissa recommended inviting them to the first tea party.

So, I don’t know about the other noble ladies, but I often meet Elysia, Marienne, and Pernel. Most of the time, I invite them to Blackwood Manor.

“It’s too hot today, I feel bad about inviting you. In this kind of weather, I’m going to get tired of talking.”

“That’s true. They say the summers in Blackwood Estate aren’t that cool, but this year is particularly hot.”

“… That’s right.”

… But if I can somehow get through this summer, it’s time for the wedding.

When I was attending the academy, it seemed like every summer vacation there was at least one annoying event, but this summer, I just hoped that it would pass without any problems.