Chapter 57
There were no nameplates marking the seats, suggesting everyone was free to sit wherever they pleased.
But that came with its own problem. The noble young ladies, already familiar with one another through family ties, had naturally clustered into small groups—leaving no place for outsiders to join in.
‘Oh well. I’ll just sit alone.’
After a brief hesitation, Miela plopped down into an empty chair at a vacant table. Some of the nearby young ladies watched her bold move with veiled glances, but Miela didn’t notice.
‘Hmm? My back feels prickly. Is there a bug on me or something?’
Thinking it might be a bug, she brushed her hair and clothes a few times. Then her curiosity turned naturally to the spread of refreshments in front of her.
Freshly baked cookies still steaming with warmth and moist slices of cake looked mouthwateringly delicious. Miela couldn’t resist and picked up her fork.
Chomp.
“Wow, it’s so good…”
She couldn’t help but let out a murmur of admiration. Of course, in her heart, the number one gourmet experience was always the meals prepared by the chefs of House Baloire.
Still, the imperial palace desserts were no less impressive. Her expectations had truly been met. In fact, if the food hadn’t been this good, she might not have even considered attending the next gathering!
‘Ack, I only ate cake and now my throat’s dry. I need something to drink!’
Miela quickly downed the iced tea in front of her. The sweet drink with floating ice cubes was absolutely perfect. She even forgot all about the comments from earlier about being a commoner—everything felt flawless.
Meanwhile, watching Miela happily enjoying her treats all alone, some nearby young ladies began whispering among themselves.
“Look at her. Just eating dessert by herself. What could she be thinking?”
“Oh my. How pathetic is that?”
If it were a typical noble lady, being excluded from the other tables would’ve been devastating. She probably wouldn’t have touched a bite of dessert and would’ve barely sipped her tea.
That’s why Miela’s behavior seemed rather shocking to the others.
“Hmph. Must be because she’s a commoner—she doesn’t care what others think.”
“Exactly.”
Strangely enough, Miela’s enthusiastic dessert-eating gave them no opportunity to criticize her manners.
They had hoped to nitpick how she held her teacup or something, but with no flaws to point out, the young ladies awkwardly changed the topic.
“Oh right, is Her Highness the Princess coming to the tea party today?”
“Who knows? She’s so unpredictable. Maybe she’ll show up, maybe not.”
Truthfully, they were a little envious of how Miela acted with such confidence, unaffected by those around her. But pride kept them from admitting it.
“Look over there!”
“Gasp—who is that?!”
Just then, a commotion stirred near the garden entrance. Two young women entered, dressed far more extravagantly than the maids.
One looked about Miela’s age, the other appeared more mature—almost too much so for a gathering like this. It was unclear why they had come to the garden instead of attending the National Foundation Day banquet.
“Her Highness Princess Esther and Lady Marita of the Sybil Marquisate have arrived!”
The maid’s announcement revealed their identities to Miela.
‘Not a noble lady, but a princess? Wait—what?! Lady Marita of the Sybil Marquisate? Is that for real?!’
Startled, Miela accidentally bit the spoon she was eating cake with. The Sybil family—Regina had warned her—they were the hostile house suspected of placing a curse on the Baloire family.
‘This is no time to be leisurely eating cake!’
Miela hurriedly put down her spoon. She didn’t know why a noble lady who had already completed her debutante season would come to a place where young noble girls gathered—but she had to stay on guard!
‘No way… don’t tell me…’
She wanted to believe otherwise, but her sharp instincts whispered that Lady Marita might have come here specifically to see her.
Of course, Miela was just a mere commoner… but she was also the Baloire family’s future daughter-in-law. That alone could attract the attention of anyone trying to keep the Baloire family in check.
‘Unbelievable. She’s actually walking this way!’
Lady Marita, the current lover of the Crown Prince and the leading candidate for the next Crown Princess. Though in the original story, due to an unfortunate accident, her entire family died early on and she had little significance.
Because the original work focused solely on the main couple’s romance, the culprit behind the curse was barely mentioned.
“I haven’t seen you before. You must be Miss Miela, right?”
There’s a saying that bad premonitions always come true.
Marita, leading the princess, looked around and, upon locking eyes with Miela, smiled and approached her table. She even refused the other ladies inviting her to sit with them.
“Gasp.”
Instead of answering, Miela quietly drew in a breath. As the woman approached, a unique perfume wafted toward her—a sweet yet strangely disconcerting scent.
Not that her answer seemed to matter—Lady Marita offered a gentle smile and introduced herself.
“I suppose I was right. I’m Marita of the Sybil Marquisate. And this is Her Highness Princess Esther.”
Despite the friendly tone—as if they were family—the princess herself looked quite displeased and maintained a sullen expression. Miela quickly greeted them.
“Ah, hello. I’m Miela. It’s an honor to meet Your Highness, and you as well, Lady Marita. Pleased to meet you.”
“……”
The princess remained silent, pretending not to notice. Marita picked up the conversation smoothly, as if waiting for the opportunity.
“Haha, don’t be too disappointed by her lack of response. Her Highness is just shy.”
Does a shy person really wear a scowl like that? Miela found herself wondering but decided to let it go. There were more pressing matters.
“Um… did you come here to see me?”
“Huh? Oh no, nothing like that… Gosh, I must have given you the wrong impression.”
Marita chuckled softly behind her fan, looking a bit flustered. Her manner was so natural, Miela almost believed her.
“Of course, I came here to escort Her Highness to the garden.”
But before she even finished her sentence, the princess’s frown deepened.
“Hmph. You insisted on tagging along even though I said I could come alone.”
“Oh dear, Your Highness. Why so cold? You know how much I care for and value you.”
Marita finally gave a sheepish, awkward smile. She theatrically pulled a pocket watch from her coat and stood up.
“Well, I’ll be going now. I’ve safely delivered Her Highness, so I should return to the banquet hall. Your Highness, and Miss Miela—enjoy yourselves.”
“Hmph. As if I care…”
The princess muttered under her breath to the very end, but Marita pretended not to hear and gracefully exited the garden. Watching her elegant figure disappear, Miela tilted her head slightly.
‘That was strange. Why do I feel so uneasy?’
Marita’s surprisingly kind behavior had lowered her guard, leaving her with the feeling she’d missed something important.
‘The social world really is scary. Just because someone’s nice doesn’t mean they are. Same with Lady Rose earlier…’
With just the two of them left at the seven-person table, no further conversation came. Miela figured the princess would soon move to another table.
“……”
But despite her gloomy expression and silence, the princess didn’t change seats. Miela couldn’t just ignore her either, so she cautiously offered some refreshments.
“Um… Your Highness, would you like a cookie?”
“What? No thanks. I’m sick of those common cookies. You go ahead and eat them.”
Miela took the blunt reply at face value. Well, the princess lived in the palace, so of course she’d be tired of such sweets. Miela even felt a little envious.
“Okay! I’ll eat lots. Thank you for sharing, Your Highness!”
“…Huh?”
