41. Tea Party

41. Tea Party

Ella von Silverrain was wandering through the academy with a vacant look in her eyes. Her mouth was agape, and she couldn’t focus on what was in front of her as she walked.

“Where are you looking while you’re walking?!”

“Ah, s-sorry.”

Ella, who had been walking aimlessly, almost bumped into someone. As she bowed her head and apologized, the other person huffed and disappeared quickly, but she remained with her head bowed, unable to move her feet.

She didn’t know why she was acting like this herself. Ever since that day when something seemed to have gone wrong with her memory, her condition had been like this.

It felt as if a part of her chest was empty. It felt like something needed to be filled in the hollow void, but Ella couldn’t even grasp what that something was.

Perhaps she had been subjected to some kind of mental magic without her knowledge. Ella had even gone to the infirmary for a check-up, but no matter how many times she went, she only received the answer that there was no problem with her at all.

Then why was she acting like this? Why couldn’t she regain her senses properly?

She was a noble daughter of a humble Baron, but she had the talent to take swordsmanship classes. At least, she had a more trained body than ordinary people. Naturally, her gait wasn’t this shaky and unsteady.

With a few exceptions, she always walked with confidence. But now, she couldn’t do that at all.

“Why am I like this….”

Yesterday, even her friends, who saw her state, expressed genuine concern. Especially her closest friend.

-Ella, are you okay? Are you sick?

-No… I’m fine, probably.

Her friend, who worriedly placed a hand on her forehead, asking if she had a fever. Then, she herself flinched and stepped back.

Recalling the memory of that moment, Ella tilted her head.

“… Why did I do that?”

Ella twirled her blue hair and pondered.

She and her friend had a good relationship. Since their territories were adjacent, they had grown up playing together often since childhood.

Therefore, it was a common occurrence for one of them to worry about the other when they were sick and place a hand on their forehead. It wasn’t something to step back from.

However, Ella hesitated, and it seemed she unintentionally avoided her. Ella hastily apologized, but even after that, her body would involuntarily flinch whenever her friend approached. Her face would turn bright red.

Ella didn’t know the reason. Based on the few facts she had observed, she could infer that the fragment of emotion was ‘shyness,’ but she couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason for such a feeling.

What was even more noteworthy was that she felt no particular emotion when looking at men. That inexplicable shyness only occurred when she met women. Therefore, it was truly troublesome for her.

If her face turned red every time she saw a man, she could laugh and say she had a penchant for men, but why specifically women? For what reason?

This way, wouldn’t it look like she was lusting after women? Yes, like that white wolf homosexual-

‘Ugh….’

There it was again. As soon as she thought of that woman’s face, her heart pounded. Her face turned undeniably crimson.

-I’m glad- you’re- here-

It felt like an unknown voice was echoing in her head. A garbled, hard-to-understand sound. Yet, it was a sound she somehow wanted to keep hearing….

“What am I thinking….”

She’s not like that homosexual, Ella thought, shaking her head and trying to clear her mind of stray thoughts.

However, Ella’s eyes could still clearly see the face of the Grand Duchess of the North.

Her tall stature, her flowing white hair. Her blue eyes that seemed to hold the sky, and her beautiful appearance that made one’s face flush. Contrasting with her expressionless face were her perked wolf ears and swaying tail.

It was as if she were seeing the real person right in front of her.

“Hello?”

“Hieek!”

It was the real person.

Ella startled and moved away. Perhaps due to the surprise, or for some other reason, her heart pounded fiercely.

“M-Miss Skadi?!”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Wh-wh-why are you here…!”

“I just saw you walking by and decided to say hello. Ah, Priscilla, this is my friend Ella.”

Skadi lifted Priscilla, who was tightly hugging her tail, and brought her in front of Ella.

“Do you remember? This is the person who helped you when you were undergoing ‘special training to become friends with my sister’ before.”

“Ah….”

Priscilla pondered for a moment and then said.

“Shall I give you a kiss?”

“Ah, no!”

Ella waved her hands in refusal. She couldn’t understand what kind of twisted logic led to such a statement.

It must be that Grand Duchess’s fault. Because she hangs out with that foolish Grand Duchess, even the second daughter of the Marquis has gone crazy. She herself is also a victim.

Ella glared at Skadi-in her mind, of course-and regarded her with suspicion. However, the more she did so, the more she seemed to fall for that beautiful face. Especially when she heard her soft voice, her consciousness kept wavering….

“Hot!”

Ella shook her head. That Grand Duchess was somehow dangerous. Her heart kept pounding fiercely.

As Ella took deep breaths and tried to compose herself, Skadi said to her.

“Ah, it’s good timing. Ella, do you happen to have time?”

“T-time…? I do have time….”

It was Saturday today. She had canceled her appointment with a friend due to an unknown mental ailment, so she had plenty of time. But why was she asking that?

Ella looked at her companion with a face full of questions. Skadi, with her still expressionless face, replied to Ella.

“Then come with me somewhere.”

Saying that, Skadi strode towards Ella. Ella let out a gasp, “Hieet,” at her face suddenly coming so close.

Her heart pounded as if it would burst, and she could feel her face turning red without even looking. Her blue eyes looking down at her, her breath rustling in her ears-

Every time she looked at her, an unknown voice kept echoing in her mind. A voice that disturbed her thoughts and made her dizzy.

“Hieek.”

Her body felt weak. She felt like she would collapse at any moment. Ella, barely standing on wobbly legs, realized that Skadi had suddenly lifted her, flipping her field of vision.

The posture of supporting a person’s knees and back and lifting them forward.

It was the posture commonly called ‘bridal carry.’

“??!!?!”

It was a posture that seemed to be shared only between lovers, and at the same time, it was a posture filled with romance that countless noble ladies of the Empire dreamed of experiencing.

Ella herself had once wished for a handsome lover to carry her in this way, and now, she was experiencing it. From another woman, and moreover, not a lover.

Ella hastily reached out, but Skadi had already started running faster.

“Let’s go.”

“W-wait!”

Thud-!

Skadi ran through the academy, carrying Ella in her arms and Priscilla on her back.

——

The guests invited to Priscilla’s tea party couldn’t hide their discomfort. Setting aside Priscilla, who was arriving late for some reason, the people sitting in front of them were the ones eating handfuls of snacks.

“Mmm! This is delicious! Edel, can you find out where this cookie was bought?”

“I will ask Miss Priscilla later.”

Claire Lovennt, the Third Princess of the Empire. The royal family’s brat, known for her unruly behavior and childlike appearance. It was she who was currently freezing the entire tea party.

The noble ladies exchanged glances. They all looked quite flustered.

The Marquis of Louer had recently experienced a major event. The second daughter had fallen into the Grand Duchess’s hands and become a sex toy, and the eldest daughter had also lost a sparring match, so their reputations were not much different.

Even more recently, for some unknown reason, the head of the family had even changed. Although everyone was keeping quiet about it, it was an open secret that the prestige of the Marquis of Louer had plummeted.

The noble ladies who attended this event all harbored a condescending attitude towards the Marquis’s family, knowingly or unknowingly. That is, until the princess suddenly appeared at the tea party.

‘… Is this a political performance? A sign that the Marquis family is still strong?’

The Third Princess’s claim to the throne was practically nonexistent, but even so, the name ‘Princess’ was not to be trifled with. Sending her to the tea party was likely a means of asserting dominance.

The host, herself, deliberately arrived late to show her composure, and the princess would suppress the complaints of the ladies who had wasted their time.

Isn’t that a rather clever plan? I heard she became the Grand Duchess’s plaything, but this was unexpected political acumen.

The princess, who had been eating cookies, looked at the ladies and said.

“Aren’t you guys drinking? Why are you all so stiff?”

“… No. We were just about to try it.”

The noble ladies spent their time smelling the tea. This icy atmosphere was broken only after an intense, unknown cold permeated the entire tea party venue.

Air so cold that their bodies shivered.

“What is this…?”

They turned their heads in surprise. And there stood….

“Hello?”

The owner of the chilling rumors that swept through the academy.

It was the Grand Duchess of the North, Skadi von Lyra.