Volume 5, Chapter 16 – The Queen’s Tea Party

The tea party was held on a lawn bathed in sunlight.

The fragrant air of the outdoors.

The aroma of trimmed plants, the sweetness of cream-frosted desserts, and the scent of fruits reflecting a translucent luster all blended together. This was complemented by dazzlingly white tables and chairs and a variety of pastries spread across the tables—fruit tarts, macarons, chiffon cakes, cream puffs, and other sweets of various shapes whose names she did not know. Even Edith, who was accustomed to the luxury of the nobility, could not help but click her tongue.

“So this is a royal tea party…”

It seemed even Edith had never seen anything like it. But this was to be expected. Although the Pescia Territory was powerful, it was, after all, located near the far north, which could be considered the edge of the continent. It was already a blessing for living supplies to be sufficient; to ask for more delicious food was asking too much.

Recalling the so-called “street food” in the Pescia Territory, Yisi couldn’t help but give a wry smile. The “specialty” there was just a layer of blood spread on ordinary food, which couldn’t really be considered a specialty at all; it could be made anywhere else.

Unlike Edith, Camilla’s attention was on something else.

“Just how much tax money does it take to prepare such a luxurious tea party…”

Andrea, who had been bustling around the table arranging the desserts, stopped what she was doing.

“It’s not tax money. This tea party is a private event of mine; I didn’t use money from the national treasury. All expenses are paid by me personally.”

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“But isn’t the national treasury the property of the royal family?”

Yisi voiced the question on everyone’s mind. Andrea shyly twirled a strand of her pink hair with her finger.

“Actually, it wouldn’t be wrong to say it’s treasury money, but I just intercepted a portion of it before it went into the treasury… B-But it really isn’t tax money, okay? It’s the gold coins earned from selling grain in the Astrid Territory.”

The Astrid Territory was located east of the Royal Capital and was also the easternmost territory on the continent. Due to its fertile soil and few natural disasters, it was the breadbasket of the entire Blood Clan. This granary was directly managed by the royal family; the rice grown by the farmers could not be sold by themselves but had to be handed over to the royal family, who would then buy it from them.

Compared to Edith, Camilla, and Yisi, who were focused on where the sweets came from, Mary and Tiffany were more concerned about the weather. Mary looked up at the sky.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the sun… Isn’t it nighttime right now?”

Following Mary’s lead, Tiffany pinched her own arm. “There’s no warmth.”

“The sunlight is an illusion created by the Alvier Tower. I thought that since you had just returned from the human world, Lady Yisi, you might not be used to having a tea party at night, so I used the Alvier Tower to simulate a daytime environment. I am very sorry that I cannot entertain you all with real sunlight.” Andrea bowed slightly with a look of shame.

“We are very satisfied with how it is now. You don’t need to apologize, Andrea. In the end, we’re the ones who should be embarrassed that you turned the entire capital into daytime just for us.”

“Only my bedchambers have been turned into daytime.” Andrea tilted her head, her night-colored formal dress swaying gently in the breeze. “The Alvier Tower is the most powerful of the fourteen Alexia Towers controlled by the Blood Clan. Within this Royal Castle, I can use the Alexia Tower to do many things that are normally impossible. Not even Boris is my match here.”

She didn’t show any of that when I was stealing the necklace.

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“Then couldn’t you have handled the assassins yourself, Andrea?”

“Ehe~☆.” ¹ /bonkkk!! this should be a big bonkkkk!!! smhhh

She dodged the question with a cute expression.

It seemed Yisi had done something unnecessary.

As she spoke, Andrea finished her preparations for the tea party. She first pulled out the luxurious-looking white chairs from the table, then, with a gesture befitting a noble lady, she introduced herself to Yisi’s group.

“Thank you all for accepting my invitation to this tea party. I am the seventh king of the Blood Clan of Hyurent, Andrea Fred Alvier. As friends of Lady Yisi, you may all call me Andrea directly, just as she does.”

“It is a great honor, Your Majesty. I am the adopted daughter of Count Decreya Cyril Pescia, and currently the second daughter of the Pescia family.”

“I’m Mary~”

“Tiffany.”

After they had each introduced themselves, the girls’ tea party began.

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A tea party was originally a process for noble young ladies to interact and get to know one another, but here, it had turned into an occasion for everyone to compare which dessert tasted better.

It wasn’t Mary who had intentionally created this atmosphere; it had just naturally evolved this way. Just as Yisi had expected, although Mary had been too timid to speak much with Andrea at first due to her status as Queen, the two of them became familiar with each other quite naturally over time.

However, what was different from Yisi’s expectations was that, perhaps due to feeling great sympathy for Mary’s past, Andrea kept asking Mary various questions about her life, looking after her like an older sister.

Mm, if I just leave them be, Mary will probably make a very good friend.

Unfortunately, the only happy ones among her companions were Mary and Tiffany. For the more mentally mature Camilla and Edith, this kind of occasion was extremely dull. Perhaps out of sheer boredom, the two, who normally didn’t get along, were actually able to sit together and play a game of chess.

In that case, I’m the one who doesn’t fit in.

Watching her companions like a bystander, Yisi took a small bite of what was probably a sandwich. It was a little too sweet for her.

She stretched out languidly. “It seems there are no egg tarts. Do they not exist in this world? I should try to make some when I get the chance.” But that would have to wait until she had the opportunity.

In this kind of afternoon-tea-like atmosphere, drowsiness could easily creep into one’s mind. Yisi yawned, and her eyelids grew heavy.

I’ll just take a quiet nap while no one is looking.

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When she woke up, she was in a room with a ceiling. Yisi glanced at the time.

“Midnight… I slept for a whole hour? They must have seen me sleeping and quietly moved me to a bedroom more suitable for sleeping.”

Even without looking at the [Omniscient Map], Yisi knew she was definitely sleeping in a room in the castle. If this were the Pescia family mansion, she would have been woken up long ago by the swaying carriage.

Andrea and her companions were really too considerate.

Yawning, Yisi sat up in bed and glanced at the map. The tea party was still going on, but Camilla and Edith had already left. The former was at the Magic Chanters’ Association in the Royal Castle, while the latter had returned to the Pescia mansion. Her dot on the map showed she was in a room with Refina.

Although she wanted to continue sleeping, she was in the process of adjusting her internal clock. Yisi struggled to break the seal of the luxurious soft bed and got up with sleepy eyes.

“Although I only came to the castle because of Andrea’s invitation, if I shamelessly continue to sleep here, I might become a topic of gossip for those fussy nobles—” Halfway through her sentence, Yisi abruptly remembered that she was no longer a commoner and couldn’t help but put a hand to her forehead. “Since I’ve already become a Duchess, there shouldn’t be a problem with me staying in the castle. I’ll just take a look around.”

Recalling that she had only seen a part of the castle last time, Yisi decided to take the opportunity to see the places she had missed.

The thousand-year-old ancient castle, in her original world, would be a place where it would be difficult to get a reservation even if one paid a high price. And not only would you not be able to touch anything, but various modern facilities would also detract from the building’s original charm. Yisi was certain that if she posted a photo of herself with the Blood Clan’s ancient castle online, it would surely provoke envious and jealous cries from countless cultural heritage researchers.