Chapter 3: Time for Tea

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Time for Tea

 

AMY sighed.

“Tigger… Pray that somehow I’ll get through this in one piece. And please be here to comfort me when I get back.”

“Amy,” Isabelle chided. “The only way this will end is with you going to meet him in person. So let’s just go and get this over with.”

Since first meeting Alexander, Amy’s days had passed without further incident. Tigger had finally been welcomed into the Northland family home, and now the day had finally arrived where the engagement candidates were scheduled to meet the Third Prince.

Nothing commendable could be said about Amy’s unwillingness to go, despite receiving an invitation from the royal palace itself, nor the way Isabelle spoke about it so flippantly. The Northland family, however, had been completely backward in their attitudes toward this engagement from the very beginning. The servants were all aware of this, so they were totally unfazed by the current conversation.

Today would be the first time Amy entered the royal palace.

She knew how much of an honor it was to be allowed to do so before debuting in society. She could tell just from the outer walls that the elegant castle was almost certainly breathtaking and magnificent on the inside… She wondered how much more excited she would be if she were visiting for just a tour instead.

The real reason that sighs kept escaping Amy’s lips was because she was still worried about her game theory. Even if this world was not exactly the same as the otome game she used to play in her previous life, it was at the very least incredibly similar. There were living doppelgängers of characters from the game’s opening screen everywhere, from the portrait of the Third Prince to her older brother, Harold, and even Alexander, the son of the duchess who had given her Tigger.

Amy had had several opportunities to speak with Alexander after their initial encounter, and each meeting had only further fueled her suspicions.

The artist had been quite skilled at capturing the personalities of each character in the illustration. Under any other circumstances, Amy would simply be in awe of the artist’s talent.

She very reluctantly stopped petting Tigger’s carefully brushed, fluffy fur, and Tigger looked back with sad eyes and gave her a heartbreaking meow, making it hard for her to leave again.

She clung to him with one last hug and buried herself in his fluff, feeling totally comfortable, like she had been bundled up in the world’s best blanket. She had been so nervous the night before that she’d had a lot of trouble getting to sleep.

Against Tigger’s soft fur and warm body, Amy nearly drifted back to sleep before she was pulled away by Isabelle.

“Ah! Tigger! My blanket!” she mumbled.

“You’ll stand out if you’re late, you know,” Isabelle warned.

“Okay, I’m going. Let’s go. Right away.”

Amy reluctantly heaved herself off the bed. Nothing was more dreadful to Amy than the prospect of getting noticed…

🐾🐱🐾

THEY finally arrived at the inner garden of the royal palace, just barely on time. Amy and Isabelle must have been the last to arrive, as the gates were quietly shut behind them. As a dreadful feeling came over Amy at the rattling sound of the locks being fastened, she heard her mother’s carefree voice.

“Wow! Would you look at that? A fountain!”

“Huh? Oh, there is one…”

“Oh, Amy, you don’t have to be all doom and gloom! It’s a garden party. All you have to do is say a few words to the prince and then pass the baton to the next young lady. Look, we have beautiful flowers to enjoy, and we’ll be able to drink some delicious tea, too!”

“…Will there be cake?”

“Yep! And it’ll be full of cream!”

As Amy lifted her head, giving a smiling seal of approval for her mother’s plan, she saw that it was just as her mother had said—the flowers were gorgeous, in the fullness of bloom.

A thin stream of water flowed through the garden, gently winding like a natural brook, eventually connecting with a fountain surrounded by white stone.

The Northland family had a decent garden as well, and their land even included a forest. No part of their garden, however, was as exquisitely maintained as this one.

Amy was genuinely impressed and captivated. She had never really been interested in plants or gardens in her previous life, but in this world, there were so few other amusements to entertain herself with. She was developing an eye for natural beauty.

“It’s beautiful, don’t you think, Mom?”

“It’s a good thing we came, if for no other reason than to see this. We wouldn’t normally be allowed here.”

As they were guided through the garden at a leisurely pace by a maid, Amy was able to admire the park—the beautiful flowers, the verdure, and the soothing sounds of the fountain—with rapt attention.

Around ten other groups of parents and children had already arrived. Many of the assembled ladies were close in age to the thirteen-year-old prince, but several others, including Amy, were younger. Amy watched them at the tables arranged throughout the expansive garden as they enjoyed themselves drinking tea or appreciating the flowers.

The premise of the event was that the queen had invited several ladies over for tea. But—so the official story would go—the queen would suddenly become ill, so the Third Prince would appear in her stead to entertain the guests.

Other than the ladies who had been invited and their parents, the only other people in the garden were the royal maids and the knights on guard duty. Amy was a little relieved that the prince had not shown up yet.

Amy and Isabelle approached a table, chosen at her mother’s recommendation, which was close to the building but far enough away from the entrance that they could relax with a view of the entire garden.

As Amy sat down, her chair, with cabriole legs as delicate as handmade lace, made a creaking noise… But instead of feeling the urge to run away in embarrassment at the tangible reminder of her weight, she was filled with a sense of security.

Since the day she had set her mind to it, she had steadily gained weight and was now an undeniably chubby girl.

Amy was not unhealthy, but to the young aristocratic ladies, who believed that one’s outward appearance was the most important thing in life and that a fragile, rail-thin frame was fashionable, her body shape was unthinkable.

The knight and maid who had shown Amy around had widened their eyes in surprise when they first saw her, but as members of the royal staff, they were, of course, professionals. After that brief moment, they quietly returned to their work as if nothing had happened. As a show of respect for their wonderful poker faces, she smiled from ear to ear and thanked them for their discretion.

Amy looked around, and as she expected, every other lady attending the party was slender. Their dresses were even designed to show off their figures, with many of them wearing princess line dresses to expressly accentuate their small waistlines. Amy’s dress was in the empire line style, where the dress loosely cinched under her bust and then softly extended down to her ankles.

Although her waist was hidden, anyone could imagine her body shape from her collarbone, so insulated it barely even poked out; her chubby upper arms, visible under transparent lace sleeves; and her squishy, pinchable cheeks. Because of this, when the ladies all over the garden saw Amy for the first time, their gazes had passed over her, looking relieved.

Between the ladies vying for the position of princess consort, shooting sparks from their eyes at each other, and the palpable tension of their parents trying to keep them in check, it was clear that Amy was not seen as a legitimate rival at all.

“No one’s paying any attention to me.”

Isabelle laughed. “Aren’t you relieved?”

“Yeah!”

There’s no way I’d get chosen in this group!

Confident now, Amy gave a small fist pump of success under the table. With the assurance she got from being so completely ignored, she was able to leisurely enjoy her tea. She’d resolved to make the best of the day, after all. She would appreciate the elegant scenery from the back of the garden, feel the refreshing breeze flow through her hair, and have her fill of aromatic teas and fruit tarts jam-packed with cream.

“This is so yummy!” she squealed.

“You’re so cute when you eat,” Isabelle said with a laugh.

Little did the mother and daughter duo from the Northland family know that, giggling and reveling in each other’s company, they were standing out for a completely different reason… The two of them, carefree and careless, were totally unaware.

A short while passed. They had just finished drinking their first cup of tea when it was officially reported to the party that the queen was unable to come out due to a sudden illness.

As soon as a royal clerk announced that the Third Prince, His Royal Highness Edward Leo Luducia, would be arriving in her stead, the atmosphere in the garden became even more electrified.

Amy was astonished at the sudden shift in mood, like a dozen lions were awaiting the appearance of a lamb with bated breath.

“It’s a little scary… I can’t wait to go home and pet Tigger,” Amy complained wistfully.

“Just a few hours left, dear. Hang in there.”

As they whispered to each other, loud cheers erupted in the distance. It seemed the Third Prince had made his entrance.

Everyone rushed to the area at once and formed an impenetrable wall of screaming girls, but Amy didn’t move from her seat.

She stayed put partly because they had been told he would address everyone at least once, so in an effort to avoid a chaotic crowd, the ladies didn’t need to come up and introduce themselves to him. But also, Amy wasn’t sure getting in the middle of a crowd was a good idea.

But still…she wondered if he’d look like that otome game character in real life, like his portrait did.

She outright refused to become his fiancée, but she was still curious… She had come this far, after all. She straightened her back just a fraction and glanced his way.

She couldn’t make out his face so far away and behind all those people, but she could tell he had inherited the king’s tall stature. His dark blond hair peeked through a gap in the crowd of ladies surrounding him, and it briefly flashed, catching the sunlight.

“Wow, what a pretty color!”

“Isn’t it? It’s nearly the same hair color the former king’s younger brother had.”

“Blue on its back and yellow on its sides… Is it a red-flanked bluetail?”

“What?”

It had not been the prince that caught Amy’s eye after all—it was a little bird that had perched on the branch of a nearby tree.

The maid from the royal palace, who had been standing at attention nearby, jerked forward ever so slightly in surprise, but this, too, went unnoticed. Amy’s eyes shone as she watched the bird.

“Yes, I believe it is,” said Isabelle, turning her attention from the prince to the little bird.

“They’re usually so wary, they hardly ever come out in front of people…”

“It probably feels safe because weasels can’t get in here.”

In their previous life, red-flanked bluetails were known as the bluebirds of happiness and could be spotted even in Tokyo. Amy never did get the chance to see one then. She didn’t know if it was the same bird in this world, but the bright blue feathers were still beautiful.

She stared at the little bird, trying to commit every single detail of it to her memory so she could try to draw it when she got home.

“…Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all.”

A beautiful garden, delicious tea, and a rare little bird made for a pretty good day, Amy thought.

Feeling like the tea party was already over, she listened to the faint sound of wings flapping, watched the blue bird fly off into the sky, and let out a contented sigh.

“Is something on your mind?”

…Huh?

She had been absentmindedly watching the bird leaving when the voice suddenly shook her out of her reverie. Sitting slightly diagonal from her, Isabelle froze in surprise, teacup suspended halfway to her mouth.

Although a terrible feeling came over Amy, she still hurried to stand up to greet the prince, but he politely waved away the gesture.

“Good afternoon. May I sit down?”

---

---

“Y-Yes, of course. Um, if you please… Hello.”

He had silky dark blond hair; a handsome, symmetrical face; and bright-gray, nearly silver, eyes. He was accompanied by two knights guarding him and one elderly maid. The prince sat on the chair pulled out for him by one of the knights—he was the spitting image of the portrait Amy had been shown before.

For some strange reason, that outrageously gorgeous face was smiling at her.

She vaguely felt like there were high-pitched voices squealing from far away, but her head was too full of questions to really notice.

Wh-Why is he over here?! Wouldn’t he normally start talking to the person closest to him or go by family rank or something?! I can’t get over how much he looks just like that picture…!

Unlike Isabelle, who recovered herself at once and was smiling normally, Amy could not stop blinking over and over.

“Forgive us for the intrusion,” the elderly maid whispered to Amy, taking pity on her clear inability to grasp the situation. “For safety’s sake, we had to suddenly change our plans and decided that the prince would converse with each seated group one at a time. You happened to be the only young lady sitting at the time, so you will be the first.”

Amy quickly looked around and saw that everyone had started rushing over to the tables.

Oh… I see. All right.

Now that she mentioned it, Amy thought it made sense. It would have been difficult to guard the prince in that crowd, and it would’ve been a huge problem if one of the ladies were pushed, fell over, and got hurt.

She was very relieved to hear this was why he came over to her first.

Edward continued his previous line of questioning.

“It looked like you were watching something.”

“U-Um… There was a pretty little bird. A sweet bird with blue feathers was perched on a branch on that tree there…”

Amy pointed at the branch, which was covered with bright green leaves. Edward gave a small smile at her answer and continued in a soft voice.

“Do you like birds?”

“Yes. Other animals, too.”

“So do you like dogs, then?”

“Yes, dogs and cats… I love all animals.”

She was saved by her favorite subject. Even if she wasn’t confident interacting with other people—especially the opposite sex—she wasn’t averse to talking about animals. Quite the contrary, it was one of her favorite things to do.

It seemed like the Prince had similar interests—he actually broke into a smile when he started talking about his dog.

Although they were both adolescents, equal in the sense that they both had not debuted in society, Amy’s speech and manner were actually incredibly informal for an audience with someone from the royal family. But she had a reason for this.

Today’s tea party was expressly prepared to see firsthand whether the candidates had the right temperament to be with the prince. That was why they had been given clear instructions to behave naturally, without worrying about etiquette and appearance more than necessary. However, even if that was the official statement, Amy knew they could always be punished for disrespect if they behaved too casually…

Amy had been unable to shake the villainess’s bad ending out of her mind. She didn’t want to get on the good or the bad side of the royal family.

Fretting over it, Amy had asked her parents for advice. They had told her that it didn’t matter if she acted casually around him just as the instructions said. The most important thing, they continued, was that she behaved whichever way came most naturally to her.

Her father pointed out that there really wasn’t anything to worry about, because even in the unlikely event that they tried to charge her with lèse-majesté—the crime of treason against royalty—there was no way she would face the punishments found in a bad ending. They wouldn’t break up her family, they wouldn’t execute her…because the current punishment for lèse-majesté included house arrest, fines, or—most seriously—the stripping of one’s noble rank. Not executions.

Even though the Northlands were nobles, losing that rank wouldn’t cause great damage to them. Their land would probably be seized, but as long as the people living on the land were protected, it didn’t really matter who was doing the job, her father had explained, laughing.

Not to mention that he could get a technical job in the private sector wherever and whenever he wanted. Harold’s dream of being an adventurer, too, was totally unaffected by his rank in society. And most importantly, they had been commoners originally in their past lives. If they were stripped of their titles, they would just go back to being ordinary people.

Hearing that they would be fine even if she provoked the prince’s displeasure had made Amy’s heart swell with hope.

Plus, if her informal attitude was deemed unsuitable for a princess consort, that might even help Amy’s cause! If it became part of the reason they would remove her from the list of candidates, all the more reason to celebrate!

“I heard you adopted a cat from the Duchess of Coverdale.”

“I did!” Amy chirped. “He’s such a cutie!”

“So it seems,” replied the prince, amused.

“But he gets lonely so easily without me. I worry he’s meowing out for me even as we speak…”

The bright smile that had emerged when she remembered Tigger immediately transformed into a sorrowful expression.

It was as if she was saying she wanted the tea party to end right then so she could get home as soon as possible, but as she spoke sincerely, looking totally guileless, the prince strangely couldn’t detect any sarcasm in her desire to leave.

Just as Amy’s attention was about to be totally carried away by the lonesome Tigger, it finally dawned on her that the prince had known that she had become the adoptive parent of one of the duchess’s cats.

“B-But…how did you know about that? Is the royal palace notified whenever a cat gets adopted or something?”

No money was transferred from the Northlands to the Coverdales during Tigger’s adoption. The duchess kept a close watch on all her adoptions so that no one would use the opportunity to send bribes to the duke’s family to foster political connections.

“I just want people who truly love cats!” the duchess would say occasionally, resentful. “It’s so upsetting when people take a cat they don’t even want just to make me feel compelled to do something for them in return. Those poor cats deserve better!”

Amy looked uneasy, but Edward grinned and shook his head.

“No, nothing like that. Alexander Coverdale has been my friend since childhood. I heard it from him.”

Amy gasped. “Seriously?!”

Although she was surprised he was connected to another of the otome game’s love interests, Amy was brought back to reality and nodded, realizing that it made sense. Edward and Alexander were so close in age, they had probably been steadfast playmates. And if they met frequently, cat adoptions wouldn’t be such a strange topic to come up in casual conversation…

“I’ve heard you’ve met with Alec several times.”

“Yes. When I would go to see Tigger, he—oh, Tigger is the name of my cat—he would be there sometimes.”

She had thought that Alexander, one of the suspected love interests of the game, would have negative feelings toward her, but perhaps as a result of their overly passionate first meeting, they became able to speak casually to each other. Even though he didn’t play with the cats, he would sit beside Amy and occasionally offer her sweets. And because he always provided mouthwatering foods, she’d end up accepting them.

Tigger was already used to Alexander, so he’d never run away from him either. As she spent her time petting the soft kitties and chatting to him, it was just like they were at a cat café.

That éclair from last time was particularly wonderful… That thin, soft, flaky pastry shell, filled with the perfect amount of smooth cream with a heavenly vanilla aroma, topped with chocolate…

Amy, who had been reliving the dessert in her head, suddenly remembered there was a royal prince in front of her, and she tried to brush off her silence by clearing her throat.

“What would you two talk about? Cats, I imagine?”

“Oh, no. Alec seemed to just want to hear stories about my brother…”

The moment she called him “Alec,” an awkward beat passed between them, but Amy, whose mind had still been halfway in the duchess’s cat room, didn’t notice.

Alexander wanted stories of “the famous Harold” in exchange for his sweets. It looked like her brother and his dual blades had captured the hearts of his younger male classmates, too.

“…Yes, Harold is a frequent topic of conversation at the royal palace as well. The Order of Knights and Order of Magicians are squabbling about who will win him over as soon as he graduates.”

“Really? I’ve always just seen him as my ordinary, goofy older brother…”

Amy was surprised that Harold was so popular among such important people. Her mother seemed to have already heard about this, however, because her calm smile never wavered.

Her brother’s dual-wielding swordsmanship would certainly be accepted in the Order of Knights, just as his aerial combat magic would be in the Order of Magicians. Although these skills were simply a result of his passion for video games, that would be incomprehensible in a society like this where they were actually desired for a profession.

Naturally, such skills didn’t exist in her otome game. Amy wanted to run with that train of thought and convince herself this was just a world that resembled the game but was altogether different… But looking at the prince in front of her, the only thing she could think of was that opening screen…

Of course, she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

She grabbed her upper arm as if hugging herself, fingers digging into her skin.

“…I have to get just a little heavier.”

The springiness she squeezed her fingers into was the armor that protected her from her fate. It was also the source of the magical power that allowed her to put animals at ease and befriend them.

“Pardon me—what was that?”

“Oh! N-Nothing, Your Highness. Anyway, about that dog you have—”

“Ed.”

“Huh?”

The prince smiled at Amy’s puzzled look. Amy felt like she had a frog in her throat—it was the exact same smile tinged with loneliness from the game screen.

“You can call me Ed—not Your Highness.”

“O-Oh, uh… Sure. Ed.”

Although his expression didn’t change that much when she called him by his nickname, his bright gray eyes lit up joyfully, and Amy suddenly lost her train of thought.

🐾🐱🐾

THEY continued to chat about animals until the old maid prompted him that it was almost time to move on. When he had finished with every table and didn’t loop back around for round two, the tea party concluded without a hitch.

Upon returning home, Amy headed straight to the room where Tigger would be. Just as she opened the door, Tigger rushed toward her with his tail raised, as if he had been counting every second until her return.

Amy flopped down with a thump and threw her arms around the cat to recharge.

“Tigger, I’m home! I’m so sorry. Were you terribly lonely? Oh, I’m so tired… It was exhausting, but…”

He was easy to talk to…

Almost surprisingly so.

Amy figured it was because neither of them touched upon the subject of the engagement at all.

It was definitely disturbing, seeing someone who looked exactly like that person from the illustration. But when they actually talked to one another, his gentle demeanor and polite way of speaking were exactly what one would expect of a prince. She hadn’t been frightened at all.

And at the end of the day, not only did he eagerly listen to her talk about Tigger, but he also seemed to enjoy talking about his own dog and horse. There’s simply no room for animosity or hatred when animal lovers have a conversation.

There was just one thing Amy was worried about—that smile.

Although he was older than Amy, Edward was only thirteen. If they were in Amy’s past life, he would be in junior high school. He should’ve been able to smile with fewer cares etched into his face. But the difference was like night and day when she compared Edward with the memories of her old male classmates from junior high school… Even Alexander, who was a high-ranking aristocrat in his own right, didn’t smile like that.

When she wondered whether being in the royal family meant restricting one’s authentic self that much, Amy felt a pang in her chest for him.

“I just don’t get it…”

As Tigger meowed softly, he rubbed his head against her, nuzzling her. Amy guided his large forefeet onto her lap. She filled the spaces between her fingers on both hands with his soft fur and then massaged the base of his ears. At the sight of his contented, happy expression and the feel of his soft fur, Amy felt her wound-up heart begin to relax.

Tigger’s mouth always looked like a smile when it was closed. Amy put her fingers at the corners of his mouth and lifted her own to match.

“Say, Tigger… It’d be nice if Ed was able to smile a little more naturally in front of the person he’s going to marry, don’t you think?”

The person he’s going to marry… In other words, not me.

There were many beautiful people at the venue who were worthy of becoming a princess consort. He spent longer talking at the other tables than he did with Amy, and his other conversations were animated, too.

You’ll probably never talk to him again, Amy told herself.

Although she was relieved at this, her heart grew slightly heavy for some reason. But that was okay. If she slept wrapped up in Tigger’s fluff, she would definitely be back to normal by morning.

Almost as soon as she finished that thought, there was a knock on her door and her mother appeared.

“Amy, I’ll call right away for Mrs. Kelleher to come tomorrow. She’ll take your measurements in the afternoon, okay?”

“What?”

“If I knew it was going to end up like this, I would have had us make riding dresses together before. I just thought we had more time until you needed one…”

Clueless, Amy hugged Tigger tightly on her lap.

“Wh-What are you talking about? Riding as in…horseback riding? I mean, I like horses, but… Huh? What is it?”

With a startled face, she looked past the elegant black fur tickling her cheeks and saw her mother laughing.

“You were the one who promised to go to the castle riding grounds with His Highness!”

There was half a second of silence.

“…What?”

“You don’t remember? When you two were saying your goodbyes to one another?”

Amy desperately racked her brain, trying to remember their last conversation…

“Unfortunately, it seems our time together is up,” he had said. “You’ll meet Ventus next time.”

And then Amy blurted out, “Okay, thank you very much for having me!”

Ventus… That was the name of the prince’s horse!

At the time, the only thing I had thought about was how grateful I was that it was all over, but…!

Amy let out a surprised yelp, finally realizing that her casual response had actually been received as an acknowledgment of their next meeting!