CH 2.03

The weather is beautiful; what a perfect day for a tea party!

Today’s guest of honor is a young lady wearing a light blue dress that matched the crisp blue sky. Her black hair and dark eyes give her a winning look, and her slightly upturned eyes give off a strong impression.

She is 19 years old, two years older than me, and the same age as Her Royal Highness, but I don’t think she has the same caustic personality as Her Royal Highness.

Her father was awarded the title of Marquis, and you can tell just by talking to her a little that she is making the effort to live up to it. You can see it in her manners, too.

Yes, she is the Michelle of the Marquis of Andrette, who had attended the tea party that Elise hosted at my house a while ago.

As she was leaving, we bade each other goodbye and extended invitations to each other.

In fact, I even received a letter from her inviting me.

But this time, I decided to invite her.

You know what I mean, right?

Because once I hold a tea party, I don’t have to do anything for six months, right?

I thought it would be a hassle, but my husband didn’t say anything about the scale of the event. So you see, two women getting together makes a great tea party.

No matter what anyone says.

“But it’s really a wonderful garden. You can feel the history in the pavilion.”

I guess so.

They spend a lot of money maintaining it, and this pavilion was built by a duke a long time ago for his wife. It’s natural to feel the history.

Or rather, you’ve studied very well. You seem to know a lot about this pavilion. I’m sure you’ve never been to a tea party at the Duke’s mansion before, given your age.

Or I should say, there was no tea party for Elise the other day.

“Everything about the Duke’s residence is wonderful.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

We are still cautiously talking to each other.

I hope we can be friends, but I’m not sure.

Our conversation over a leisurely cup of tea was bland.

I’m not very socially active, so whatever Miss Michelle says sounds so valuable and fresh.

We each drank a cup of tea and ate some light sweet pastries.

Ah, delicious!

While I’m gobbling up the sweet treats that I have been deprived of during tea time lately, without being vulgar, Michelle empties her cup and pours me the next cup of tea.

Ah, then our subject changed somehow.

Sensing such an atmosphere, I straightened my posture.

“How well does Your Grace know me?”

“How well…do I know you?”

“I’m referring to my position in social circles.”

I see.

I only know a little bit about it, and her faction is the so-called Anti-princess faction.

It’s not that the Marquis of Andrette is anti-royalist. Rather, he’s more of a neutral faction.

As you may have guessed, the faction is because of the Princess’s character.

She was born as the youngest daughter. As a result, she grew up adored and pampered by people around her.

You should know what happens when someone is raised that way, right?

She’s also powerful and beautiful, so she must be full of herself, right?

To begin with, if you think about Her Royal Highness’s character, which was the reason why my husband avoided marrying her, I don’t think it’s more than a little difficult.

From what I’ve heard, I don’t want to get close to her. To make matters worse, I’m now the person Her Royal Highness considers the most detestable, so I refuse all tea parties and evening social gatherings that Her Royal Highness might attend.

Well, basically, I’m refusing everything.

Anyway, Her Royal Highness is such a harsh person.

Miss Michelle is protecting young ladies who were unjustly targeted by Her Highness and is protecting them within her own faction.

What a philanthropist. That wonderful spirit makes me think that Miss Michelle is actually a Goddess.

But why would Miss Michelle, a neutral faction, be doing that? I also assumed that the main reason was that the Neutral faction’s daughter was the main target.

The reason why the Neutral faction is targeted is because the anti-royalist faction is basically a group of rising nobles, so they are small in scale.

However, they have a lot of money, so it would be troublesome if they were to become full-fledged enemies.

Her Royal Highness seems to be well aware of this, and doesn’t bother them unless there is a serious problem.

But once in a while, the ego bug gets the better of her, and she wants to take it out on someone, and the neutral party was just the right target.

If Her Royal Highness targets a high-ranking lady, there is a possibility that the neutral one will become an anti-royalist, so she always targets only those who seem to be in a weak position.

And the one who is protecting such targets is Miss Michelle.

Then, from that standpoint, Miss Michelle would be the anti-princess faction.

Recently, she’s been regarded as a neutral party that’s closer to the rising nobles. However, Miss Michelle has no such intentions.

He even told Her Royal Highness about it.

She wants to refrain from doing so.

But the Princess seemed to think that neutrals were also a kind of enemy, so she didn’t take it well at all.

“The reason you approached Elise-san was to protect her from Her Royal Highness, am I right?”

“That’s part of it. In addition to that, I also considered that perhaps we can receive the protection of the Duke of Lindbeld.”

What an honest girl.

With the protection of the Duke of Lindbeld, even Her Royal Highness can’t do anything about them.

The Lindbeld clan, who are said to be the most loyal of loyal vassals, are related to the royal family.

Rumor has it that even the Emperor can’t raise his head in front of my husband.

Speaking of which, which faction does the Duke of Lindbeld belong to? If you ask, the correct answer is that they don’t belong to any faction because the scale of their influence is too large.

What need is there for factions when a clan can even have an opinion on the royal family?

“Did you approach me because you want the protection of the Duke of Lindbeld?”

“I would like to have the protection of the Duke of Lindbeld, but Your Grace does not seem to be very fond of socializing, so I won’t force you.”

In short, you want me to join your faction and protect you.

Hmmm…I’m feeling a little guilty.

This is because Miss Michelle’s faction is suffering because I, Her Royal Highness’s archenemy, do not go out to socialize.

The cause of their rough patch is also my husband’s marriage.

I think it’s because the person he married was exactly beneath Her Royal Highness’s eyes.

If I was another country’s royalty or something like that, she’d probably put up with it…she would, right? Absolutely…

Sigh~ I feel like I should help with this at least a little bit.

It’s not all my fault, but I’m a bit of the cause. Moreover, the world of women is scary…

I heaved a sigh and proposed.

“Um…Should I attend a tea party hosted by the Royal Family at least once?”

My appearance would deflect some of Her Royal Highness’s hostility.

If I take my husband with me, I can use him as a shield!

Perhaps.

“Are you sure?”

Miss Michelle hesitantly asked.

It isn’t advisable, but there’s no other way.

It was one of those nuisances that my husband had mentioned, and to be honest, I would rather manage something like this spontaneously than deal with Mrs. Miriam.

Because it was something that I was more or less involved in.

“I believe there’s one coming up, is there?”

I also received an invitation.

I was going to turn it down with a good excuse.

By the way, there was one for my husband as well.

“Yes, what then?”

“I’m thinking the sooner we start moving, the better.”

The truth of the matter is that you should finish what you dislike first.

Michelle seemed relieved, and I was happy to be of help, even if small as it may be.