CH 2.08

“Uh, Miss Michelle? I feel different from what you told me ――”

“Oh, what do you mean?”

You said that you were troubled because Her Royal Highness was eyeing you like an enemy, no?

What do you mean by ‘trouble’?

It’s weird…

It’s quite hard to define ‘troubled’…

“Have a drink, Miss Risha. Besides, all the sweets here are delicious.”

The youngest girl, Amanda, smilingly invited me to join her.

“Rest assured. I’m certain there’s nothing poisonous in there.”

I looked up at Miss Reese, a bit surprised.

In fact, she is even taller than me, who is one of the tallest women in the room.

I mean, wait!

Do you just say ‘poison’ like it’s an everyday conversation?

S-Scary…

“Take your time eating. If Her Royal Highness is here, we will fight her off, or rather, deal with her.”

No way! You’re so dependable, Miss Matilda! Isn’t it funny how much more dependable you are than my husband?

I thought you were in trouble.

I mean, I have a feeling that if you were, it would make a boring tea party a lot more fun!

Miss Matilda, who seemed to be the most dependable, seemed the best at armed struggle.

Eh? When I looked at Miss Michelle, she smiled and said she was glad we could be friends.

“Miss Risha, please attend our tea party sometime! We always have a good time with this group of good friends.”

Miss Amanda, whose eyes were sparkling, makes me feel at home as a marked member.

Yes, yes, charming, no?

If you, elder sisters, ever encounter troubles, I’ll help you, okay?

“The main subject of the tea party is about how to manage to corner Her Royal Highness’ faction in an argument, and everyone’s stories are very informative! It makes me feel like I have to do my best too.”

The way you sniff and clench your fists is adorable, but the things you say aren’t adorable at all, Miss Amanda…

“I’d love to hear your story, Miss Risha! You were so cool just now!　I loved the way you smiled and intimidated your opponent! I could eat several loaves of bread with that frustrated look on Her Royal Highness’ face!”

Un, un, it’s a misunderstanding!

It’s too troublesome, so I just smiled for safety.

It’s my husband who talked her down! Don’t misunderstand me! Don’t put strange expectations on me!

“Hmm, I hope her conceit settles down a bit.”

“Oh, it’s no fun when she calms down, is it?”

Miss Matilda…What the hell are you aiming at?

I’m speechless.

“My goodness, everyone, Risha is in trouble. Please calm down a little.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little excited! If such a beautiful woman is married to the Duke of Lindbeld, Her Royal Highness will be churning with anger inside! Everyone is saying it. She’s like a Goddess.”

That’s too much praise.

It’s not that I’m averse to compliments, but my husband seems to think I’m a disappointment when I open my mouth. But in any case, he approves of my looks.

“But you’re really beautiful…You know, before you got married, I didn’t hear very good things about you.”

Miss Reese said with a touch of trepidation.

I wasn’t going to get angry at her, as it was all my fault. In fact, she now sounds skeptical about the rumors.

I’m just glad everyone’s talking to me like this now!

They have a lot of quirks, but they’re somewhat kindred spirits.

I think I have a rather quirky personality too, so maybe we are kindred spirits.

Eh? She said she was aware of the rumors? I’m aware of them to a certain extent, but probably not as good as Michelle’s friends. 

“Please keep in touch with me, and hopefully we can be friends, Miss Risha…Or would that be a bit brazen of me?”

“Oh, no, not at all.”

I’m kind of glad.

I don’t have many friends ―― er, almost none!

I’m terrible at socializing, so I asked them to please teach me various things! They emphatically said they’ll take me in.

So, I’ve made friends.

It’s going to make socializing a little more fun from now on!

I hadn’t found much to look forward to, but I’m sure I’ll have fun with the ladies.

As we were chatting for the sake of exchanging information, the bell that my husband had mentioned rang.

“My, it’s already this late. Excuse me for a moment, I’m going to go to my husband’s.”

My husband told me to visit him at this time.

Besides, I’m getting a little tired and want to rest.

“I’ll show you around. My father has an office in the Royal Palace, so I’m familiar with it since I’m often in and out of there.”

I see.

As I recall, the Marquis of Andrette is the head of the Foreign Ministry.

Because of this, I heard that Miss Michelle has been to the Royal Palace many times.

I am not familiar with the Royal Palace, so I thankfully asked Miss Michelle to show me around.

My husband also told me to ask her to show me the way. It’s safer than asking a complete stranger.

After all, we’re in the enemy’s stronghold.

I don’t think they’ll do something today after receiving a hard bashing from my husband, but one can never be too careful.

“Let’s go then. The Duke’s office is located near the royal residence. I’ve never been there before, but I know where it is, so please don’t worry.”

I trust you, Miss Michelle.

However, I realized after this that I had been very naive in my thinking.