episode_0058

Episode 58

A flower garden was spread out on a table covered with a colorful tablecloth.

Colorful snacks and cakes, from meltingly sweet to bitter. It is a sight that delights not only the taste and aroma but also the eyes.

The same goes for tea. The tea brewed by professional maids was not inferior to the overwhelming presence of sweets, and was another main character at the tea party, revealing its subtlety and sophistication.

But now I wasn’t concentrating on eating and drinking.

“Is this your first time greeting me like this? It is truly an honor to meet you, Princess Sera! It is called Tina of Laurencia.”

Among the other nobles who participated in the tea party, she was the one that particularly caught my eye.

Tina Laurencia. A young woman from the Laurentia family.

Of course I know the name. I also remembered seeing his face.

He’s about the same age as me. He has the appearance of an aristocrat from the highest family. Her dark brown hair, braided into two braids, went well with her blue eyes.

It must have been quite intentional to have me meet someone from the Laurentia family at this time.

There is a possibility that this position is Tina Laurencia’s intention. It may be his intention to mix in with the numerous other nobles and observe me as a target.

I said, covering my inner thoughts with a bright smile.

“Nice to meet you, Tina. This is my first time talking directly like this. Please take care of me too.”

“Hehe, today’s meeting was arranged at Tina’s suggestion, Sarah. As soon as I heard that the princess was living lonely life here, I asked if we could all go visit her… Hehe.”

Carmel is also wearing a smiling mask. Showing the appearance of a queen full of charity and leisure.

As expected, this tea party was led by Tina Laurencia. But why did none other than Carmel reveal it to me?

Tina Laurencia, who was singled out, was uncharacteristic of a noble lady and waved her arms in the air.

“Wow, wow, queen! Well, you won’t say that…! Oh, no, princess…! It’s not that I pity the princess, I just want to see her at least once!”

Tina Laurencia said that in a voice that was clearly embarrassed and brought the teacup to her mouth. The hand holding the teacup was shaking quite a bit.

It doesn’t seem like he was embarrassed because his purpose of searching for me was discovered. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that it is camouflage.

“Thank you, Tina. It was great to have the opportunity to talk to many people for the first time in a while.”

“Did you say that? If so, that’s a relief. I, too, am very happy to be able to meet Princess Sera. Actually, I’ve always wanted to talk to the princess.”

“With me? Why?”

Tina Laurencia opened her mouth and immediately closed it. It was as if he was hesitating whether he could really talk about this.

“That’s right… The princess is the biggest idol among us girls! In addition to his appearance as if he had just come down from heaven, he also has the ability to directly participate in state affairs…! You are the person I want to emulate the most!”

It feels like stars are twinkling in your eyes. The arrogance of the highest aristocrat that appeared at first glance is barely visible. He looks like a fan who sees an idol in front of him.

If we take this attitude at face value, Tina Laurencia seems to have a genuine interest in me… but is that really the case?

It seems to me that this extravagant tea party is not just for friendship.

This timing is when some intrigue is flowing between the Carmel and Laurentian families. It is by no means something that can be overlooked by saying it is elaborate.

So Tina Laurencia, who is looking at me with red cheeks and nervous eyes, must have an ulterior motive in her girlish demeanor.

As evidence, Carmel was secretly keeping a close eye on me while agreeing with what the other nobles said. As if they were trying to see how I come out.

If that’s the case, we can’t show any more gaps.

“Oh, I’m not that great of a person. Even now, I’m being punished by His Majesty the King’s order and locked up in my mother’s room… Now that I’m talking about it, I’m very embarrassed, ahaha…”

“That’s true. I heard that Sarah has a lot of weak points when we spend time together? Sometimes I get needlessly greedy.”

At this point, Carmel lightly scratches me. It looks like I’m having a lot of fun trying to figure out the purpose of this tea party.

“Oh my, isn’t that what your mother would say? Last night, you were so drunk that you even went to sleep without your underwear on.”

My counterattack cracks Carmel’s smiling mask. However, Carmel soon adjusted her expression and raised her voice.

“Hohoho, Serra too, what a joke… Hohohoho!”

“Huhuhuhu.”

Carmel quickly glossed over the topic with exaggerated laughter. So why are you fighting a fight you’re so sure you’ll lose, Carmel?

As I was sipping my tea with a small sense of victory, Tina Laurencia spoke to me again in a shy voice.

“Hey, hey, Princess Sera…”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind… Would you like to visit my family when your pension is released later this year? Of course, I will make preparations befitting the status of a princess. It’s much grander than this simple tea party… Ah? No, no no! By no means does this mean that the royal tea party is simple! Ah, so…”

Hmm, was this the purpose?

I don’t know what you’re trying to do by inviting me, but it’s difficult to plot against the royal family of the palace. Those who bring them to their home ground, which boasts the largest territory in the kingdom, will have many more options to choose from.

If so, Tina Laurencia’s seemingly innocent attitude can also be explained. There is a possibility that Tina Laurencia is just being used to invite me. Probably by someone in the family who knows she admires me.

But it is also true that it is too flimsy to be a conspiracy. It is a very clumsy plot to be the beginning of a conspiracy involving Carmel and the country’s highest nobles.

I guess this is just one of many plans. If the foolish princess accepts it, it’s fine, otherwise it’s okay.

“Yes, of course I like it. I will definitely visit once the princess’s affairs accumulated during her imprisonment are sorted out.”

For now, this might be best. While not refusing the invitation, I take the initiative in visiting.

However, despite that ambiguous acceptance, Tina Laurencia’s face brightened as if a light bulb switch had been turned on.

“Yes! Thank you so much, Princess Sera! It’s an absolute honor!”

“The Laurentian family’s hospitality… I’m jealous of that, Sarah. When that time comes, can I come along?”

“Yes? Oh, of course, queen. It would be a great honor for our Laurentian family if these two precious people visit together.”

Not very good. The reason Carmel intervenes here is clear. It may be that they want to intervene in what happens when they visit the Laurentia family, but they also want to share the initiative in the visit.

No matter how much I try to put it off, if Carmel urges me based on a promise, it will be difficult to put it off forever. It is impossible to arbitrarily break the joint promise made to Carmel, the queen and mother.

But there is no good reason for me to reject Carmel here. Should I have refused explicitly? I don’t even know if I got hit this time.

Well, but there is plenty of time to prepare.

The pension period still remains, and you may be able to gain some additional time under the pretext of sorting out accumulated work. In the meantime, all we have to do is dig into the intentions of the Laurentian family and Carmel.

I said smiling at Tina Laurencia and Carmel.

“To Laurencia with my mother… Hehe, I’m really looking forward to it too.”

* * *

After the noisy tea party, it was already late evening.

I spoke to Carmel who returned to the room.

“It was quite a fun tea party during the day. But I heard it was impromptu… What kind of wind is blowing, Mother?”

“You already said that during the day, right? As we were talking, Tina said she wanted to meet you. It all happened by chance.”

By the way, Tina… we seem to be pretty close, don’t you think?

“That’s a really interesting story. While my mother was contacting the Laurencia family below the surface, Tina Laurencia happened to mention that she wanted to meet me. If it were a story in a novel, no one would think it was foreshadowing.”

“I’m sorry, but I really am. The same goes for Tina’s invitation. If it had been planned in advance, do you think I would have taken such a blatant approach?”

Hmm, that’s certainly true. It’s not Carmel’s way to make such a fuss. Well, I can’t believe it right away.

“So is this a story about Laurentia’s runaway?”

“Well? Maybe Tina is really just following you. It was like that usually, but today she was almost like a girl in love.”

“Hmm…”

Certainly, the friendly attitude Tina Laurencia showed me was hardly fake. If he was disguised, it would be said that he possesses quite excellent acting skills.

But at that moment, I was thinking something completely different.

“Do you always spend your time surrounded by other women like that?”

It felt like Carmel and the noble women who participated in the tea party were quite close. It seemed like he had already been in a similar position several times in places I didn’t know about.

Of course, even there, Carmel was always wearing a mask of pretense. Even his social attitude is completely fabricated. I am probably the only one who knows Carmel’s true appearance beneath that mask.

But that didn’t matter right now. When I imagine Carmel smiling, even if it’s fake, in a place I don’t know, mixed with other women, dark emotions flow out from a deep hole in my heart.

“ha? What are you talking about?”

I know the truth. The queen’s role includes that part. But just because I know it doesn’t mean I don’t hate it.

Before I knew it, the overflowing black emotions were sharpening my voice.

“You looked quite happy. Calling people names easily… Are you always making them laugh in front of other women like that? I always…”

I bit my lip and stopped talking. I couldn’t bear to say anything after that. ‘No matter who I’m with, I only think about my mother.’

Because that’s my real weakness. I felt like my soul would be hurt if Carmel even laughed at me.

“Did you drink alcohol?”

After hearing my words, which were too reckless to be considered a provocation, Carmel just frowned in astonishment. Carmel seemed to be thinking about something while frowning like that.

I too had all kinds of thoughts fighting in my head. In addition to the dark emotions that caused this division, self-loathing, a way to somehow resolve this situation, and the embarrassment of revealing my raw emotions.

Meanwhile, Carmel called my name in a firm voice.

“Sera Lustier.”

I didn’t answer. Even in the process of choosing an answer, the fight continued.

“You said you were going to rape me?”

“…Yes?”

I raised my head at the unexpected words. Carmel continued speaking with a faint blush on her face, still frowning.

“In fact, you have already defiled my body with your hands several times. Do you think I would have allowed that group to do something like that?”

Carmel’s words linger in my ears. With Carmel’s voice flowing through my head, the turbulence of distracting thoughts inside me was maintained in a temporary state of truce.

Is this… Carmel trying to comfort me? no way…

“Carmel…?”

Like a lie, the intense emotions subside. Carmel stopped what she was saying when she saw me, whose expression had returned to her usual expression, and sat down on the sofa in annoyance, her face still frowning.

“Anyway…what are you doing…”

Carmel himself seemed confused by what he had just said. I was also surprised.

“I will tell you…! But I have no intention of doing it again! This time, I will repay you for everything that happened to me… so prepare yourself!”

I can feel that he is trying to sound as vicious as possible. The problem is that it doesn’t sound like that at all.

“Ah… Yes, I will…”

For some reason, my heart pounding doesn’t stop. As I looked at Carmel rolling her eyes for no reason, I swore to my heartbeat.

This time too, I will definitely inflict the greatest humiliation on Carmel.