8. A Tea Party in the Rose Garden

Today was another day off for the Institute. Last time, I got a tour of the western part of the citadel by Lord Marx, the Deputy Commander of the Second Order of Knights and son of Margrave Sargent.

“What do you think I should do today?” I asked Gina.

Before she could respond, we heard a knock on my door.

It was a messenger from Lord Glen, asking if I’d like to have tea with him this afternoon. Since I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do, I happily agreed, and Gina smiled happily.

“Then we will need to use the morning to get you all spruced up for your tea party!” she said before leaving the room.

I have tea parties every morning with Lord Glen to increase my mana pool. So how come I have to get spruced up for one on a day off? While I tilted my head and wondered, Gina and Martha came back in with four maids I didn’t know.

“Since His Highness was the one to invite you, we’ll have you wear a gown today.”

Huh? His Highness? Wasn’t I having tea with Lord Glen?

Before I could ask anyone, I was brought to the bathroom and stripped. Then, the maids I’d never seen before gave me a thorough scrubbing. They’re massaging while washing me! This is way too embarrassing, and it tickles...! It made me realize just how easy Gina and Martha were on me.

Once I was washed, I had a little break as I soaked in the tub. Once I got out, I was wiped down, and massaged with nice-smelling oils.

Next, I was brought to the dressing room and put in a corset for the very first time.

“Normally, we would tie it up very tightly, but we must leave it loose so you can eat your sweets properly, Lady Chelsea,” Martha explained. Just as she said, it wasn’t tied up tightly, but it made me stand up straight.

After that, they put me in drawers that went down to my knees, and added petticoats on top of that, while the maids I didn’t know came back into the room.

“We’ve chosen a few gowns for you. Which one would you like to wear?” one of the maids asked, showing me both light and dark-colored gowns. They were all much fancier than anything I’d ever seen at the Eucharis manor, so I didn’t know what to choose.

“Um...”

“They’re all cute, and would all suit you. Pick whichever one you’d like!” Martha said from her position beside me as I worried.

After looking closely at all of them, I chose a light pink gown.

“It’s got cute flowers on it...”

When I tried to justify my choice, the maids just nodded. “It fits your image perfectly, Lady Chelsea.”

“We should make her accessories and headdress flower-themed as well.”

“Yes, that’s a wonderful idea!”

The maids spoke among themselves before carrying the gowns I hadn’t chosen outside of the room, and Gina entered as they left.

“Though you usually eat your sweets around now, you’ll be too busy to do it today. That’s why I brought you these,” she said, showing me some bite-sized chunks of chocolate. They’d be easy to eat without getting my clothes dirty. “Please excuse me.”

Gina popped a piece of chocolate into my mouth. I could taste the sweetness as it melted, and it made me happy. I tried my best to repress the hum I had at how delicious it was.

“Let’s get you into your gown,” Martha chirped, helping me put it on.

Gowns are impossible to put on alone, huh... There were clasps and laces on the back, and it was sewn very complexly.

Once I was dressed, Gina popped another piece of chocolate into my mouth. I didn’t have time to savor it before the other maids came back with accessories and dressed me up. There were earrings, a necklace, and a headdress. I’d never worn anything like them before, so I couldn’t help but stare at myself. They even put a little makeup on me.

“You look wonderful!” Gina praised me with a smile.

I was so happy that I spun in place, and the maids I didn’t know complimented me, too.

“Next is manners,” Martha started as we left the dressing room.

I remembered thinking about how I wanted to learn how to greet people properly as a noble when I met Lord Marx.

“So I’m gonna learn how to pick up the edge of my skirt and say hello?” I asked. Martha gave me a strained smile.

“It’s called a curtsey, but the movement of your legs is much more important than your hands,” she replied, before showing me in detail. You pulled one leg diagonally behind you, and gently bent the opposite leg at the knee... I couldn’t do it properly, and I just ended up kneeling on the carpet.

“This is a lot harder than I thought...”

“You will get better as you practice,” she comforted me, lightly taking the skirt of her maid dress in her hands and curtsying.

“We’ll leave the curtsies at that for now,” Gina said, before showing me how to sit on a chair in a gown, and how to walk properly.

＋＋＋

When the first bell of the afternoon rang, Lord Glen came to my room. When he saw me, he covered his mouth in surprise. Do I look weird? I looked down at my gown, thinking that, but Gina and Martha and the other maids had done their best to get me ready, so I should be fine. I needed to be confident and greet him properly!

“Thank you very much for inviting me,” I said, carefully doing the curtsey I’d just learned, so I wouldn’t make a mistake.

Then, his expression changed to his usual gentle smile.

“I’d expected you to wear what you normally wore, so I was surprised,” he replied. Since I was wearing a headdress, he couldn’t pat my head like he normally did, so he stroked the back of my head instead.

By the way, he was wearing a shirt and vest, with a cape on top that was so dark a purple it was nearly black.

“It looks great. The flowers on the gown are really cute.” He complimented the part of it that I liked. For some reason, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “We’ll have a little walk in the garden, then have our tea.”

Lord Glen gave me another smile before leading me away by the hand. We went north from the lodging house to the area that Lord Marx had called the Great Western Garden. He kept walking north, without stopping.

Isn’t there a barrier there blocking anyone but a few from going in? Aren’t we gonna run into an invisible wall soon? While I was thinking that, we passed through easily. We were definitely in the northern part of the gardens. How, though?

As my mind continued to wander, we followed a small path to the side and went through a little arch. On the other side of the arch were lots of brightly colored roses. We were in a rose garden.

“Wow... It’s beautiful...”

“This place is a secret, so don’t tell anyone else, okay?” He placed his index finger over his lips, smiling. I felt like I was dreaming, so I nodded a few times.

We looked at all the different types of roses for a while. Red and pink, white and yellow, orange and purple... Some flowers were more than one color, or had more petals than others, so I didn’t get bored. As we walked through the rose garden, I could see a little gazebo with a white roof.

“I’ve got the tea prepared over there. Let’s go.” Saying that, he slowly walked towards it.

Now that I think of it, we’ve been holding hands this entire time. Is he worried I’m gonna get lost? I might look a lot younger than I am because of my height, but I’m twelve already. Should I tell him I can walk on my own? Gina’s lessons on how to walk with a man mean nothing like this...

While I was thinking that, we made it to the gazebo. Inside was a slightly older maid, who smiled at us. There was a round table in the middle, and there were half-sized rounded benches on either side, covered in big cushions.

Guided by Lord Glen, I sat in the middle of one of the benches, and the maid started working, putting hot tea on the table.

“Thank you,” I said to the maid after she was done. Lord Glen’s smile deepened hearing me.

“There are some things I’d like to talk about, but let’s eat first.”

After he said that, I gave a short prayer to the earth gods before looking at the cake in front of me. It was round, and about the size of my fist, with three layers. On the bottom was sponge cake, in the middle was yellow-ish cream cheese, and the top was covered in white cream. There was a bright red strawberry set on the very top.

Scooping up a bit, I brought it to my mouth. The soft sponge cake, cream cheese, and the lightly-sweetened white cream spread through my mouth... Mmm, it’s delicious! I ate the rest in a daze.

“That’s called cheesecake. I’m glad you like it.”

Since I still had cake in my mouth, I just nodded. I was so happy...

Back at the Eucharis manor, I never would have thought about living like this. Not only did I get three meals, but I could eat sweets in the mornings and afternoons. I had my own maids, who took care of me all day. I was allowed to study, and I even got days off. At the end of the day, I could sleep in a fluffy bed. Sometimes I had to resist the urge to pinch my cheek, just to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

I was being treated so well as a guest of honor now, but I wondered if I’d have to go back to that house once my Skill research was over. If I do go back, will I end up being starved and whipped again? Thinking about things I’d been avoiding thinking of, I shook my head.

“Is something wrong?” Lord Glen asked, giving me a worried look.

...That’s right! I was having a tea party with Lord Glen right now!

“It’s nothing.”

He went quiet for a while, putting a hand to his mouth and looking at me. “If you’re worried about anything, you can always talk to me. If it’s something you don’t want me to know, you can talk to your maids instead. Don’t hold things in.”

“Thank you,” I replied, eating my last bite of cake.

Once we finished eating and were drinking our tea, Lord Glen corrected his posture. “I actually invited you here because I wanted to ask something of you.”

“Ask something of me...?” I tilted my head, unsure of what he could ask of me. He signaled for the maid to leave, so we wouldn’t be heard. It must be something important. Thinking that, I corrected my posture, too.

“It’s about your Skill...” he started, looking straight at me. “Your Skill lets you create any seed you wish for. When you made the Origin Spirit Tree seed, you realized that you could create whatever you wanted, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“...You could even create seeds that could kill people.”

“Like poisonous plants?”

He gave me a small nod.

When I created the palm seed just from looking at my book, I realized something. My guide book was full of edible plants, but there were also plants that it said were “poisonous raw, but edible after cooking.” I’d done my best not to think of it, but...I really could make poisonous plants if I wanted.

“I’ll be straight with you. If you wanted to, you could create seeds that could just pump out poison. You could easily kill someone with them. If you weren’t careful, you might even destroy a whole country.”

A chill ran down my spine at his words, and I muttered, “I would never...”

I tried to deny it, but he continued, never taking his eyes off me, “Could you say the same if you were sent back to the Eucharis manor after your Skill research is finished?”

My eyes went wide with shock. I was fine now. I was happy living like I was, so the thought never occurred to me of killing anyone or destroying any nations. But, what if I went back to that house...? What if I went back to those days of abuse...?

“I...” My mind went blank. I couldn’t say that I wouldn’t. Before I realized it, I was gripping my fists so hard that my nails were digging into my skin.

“I told you that I had something to ask of you, right?”

I nodded, lips still sealed shut. It was then that I remembered the Mana Sealing Bracelet that got put on Lady Margaret. He was probably going to ask me to let him put one on me to seal my mana after my Skill research was over. Once it was sealed, they wouldn’t have to worry about me making any bad seeds anymore... I looked downwards, unable to look him in the face.

“What I want to ask of you is for a promise that you’ll never create any bad seeds.”

“...Huh?”

“In exchange, I’ll make sure you’re completely protected. Once your Skill research is over, I’ll make it so that you can stay at the Royal Research Institute as a researcher.”

I hadn’t expected that. I slowly looked up, only to see Lord Glen giving me his usual gentle smile.

“Then, I’ll get a noble family that will treasure you to adopt you.”

“You...aren’t going to seal my mana?” I asked.

Lord Glen gave me a funny look. “Why would we seal your mana when you haven’t done anything wrong? You haven’t made a single bad seed yet. Really, you’ve just created good seeds, like quick-growing plants, and the Origin Spirit Tree seed. If we sealed people’s mana on the basis that they might do something bad, we’d have to seal everyone’s.”

That was true.

“But we would have to seal it if you said you’d create some bad ones, of course.” He gave me a bitter little smile before patting the back of my head again. “You said you wouldn’t, so I’m going to believe you.”

I felt my chest heating up.

“But will my father and Lady Medisina agree to let me become a researcher?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it happen. So, can you do what I asked?”

“Yes, of course! I’ll never make any bad seeds!” I declared, sitting up straight before bowing deeply to him.