CHAPTER 84………..
Two days later, a letter arrived from the Emperor.
As I’d heard from Yevgeny two days before, I was to co-host the tea party with her. The letter contained an imperial order that was less a request and more of a command—essentially telling me to keep a close eye on the Second Princess.
I sighed and rubbed at my temples.
“Phew…”
“Your Highness, is something the matter?”
“No… not really.”
It was just—at the tea party, I had a strong feeling that I shouldn’t bring Ilya and Mulin with me this time.
Noticing my mood, Mulin crept closer, studying my expression.
“Um… Your Highness, First Princess…”
“Hm?”
“It’s just… what happened two days ago still bothers me.”
At her words, Ilya nodded in agreement.
“I never expected Lady Nakari Calypsa to show up there. And of all things, to take the Second Princess’s side in that situation…”
“That too, but more importantly, one of the people the Second Princess keeps at her side is precisely Lady Nakari Calypsa.”
Of course, I already knew that.
“Just as Lady Anis Welber plays the part of Yevgeny’s attack dog to earn her favor, Lady Nakari Calypsa serves as her strategist.”
Yevgeny, whose head was as empty as a blank slate, wouldn’t have so cleverly ostracized me in society all on her own. The one helping her from the shadows was none other than Nakari Calypsa—the same girl I’d met two days ago.
“I gave them the perfect excuse to attack me. Damn it.”
I clicked my tongue and drank my tea.
At my reaction, Ilya and Mulin hunched their shoulders as though they’d done something wrong.
“We’re sorry. It’s our fault…”
“How is it your fault? You didn’t do anything. It was Yevgeny who acted.”
“Still…”
“Enough. I wasn’t trying to make you apologize.”
Cutting them off firmly, I rose from the sofa.
Annoyed or not, I still had things to take care of that had piled up without my realizing it. One of them was the tea party I was to co-host with Yevgeny.
Dragging my reluctant body, I set off toward the Second Princess’s palace.
Since Yevgeny was the one who had insisted on hosting the tea party, I had to go to her palace to check on the progress. At the same time, knowing our relationship wasn’t good, the Emperor had assigned a watcher to oversee things.
…
“Brother!”
“Good to see you.”
The watcher was Dmitri.
I lay sprawled on the sofa, staring blankly. Dmitri came closer, meeting my eyes.
“His Majesty said that if either of you princesses needs anything, you should feel free to tell me. That’s why I’m here.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been well?”
“Yes.”
“And your body?”
“I’ve fully recovered. No aftereffects.”
“That’s a relief.”
Dmitri’s lips curved faintly into a smile.
Having gotten somewhat used to him during our time at the temple, I just shrugged my shoulders. But Yevgeny, seeing the familiarity between us, grimaced and tugged at Dmitri’s sleeve.
“Brother, your seat is here. Next to me.”
“Alright.”
Yevgeny shot me a triumphant look.
Not that I wanted him anyway.
“Let’s just finish this quickly. Mother’s also planning to invite noble ladies on the same day as our tea party, after all.”
If my fragile mother didn’t want to be left out among the noblewomen, I needed to train her beforehand.
I lifted the budget ledger and spoke.
“Since this will be the first tea party since the Second Princess’s collapse, it should be held on a grand scale. Do you have any particular atmosphere in mind, Yevgeny?”
“Oh, I… um…”
As she spoke, I carefully noted her preferences and drafted a budget according to them.
Once she finished and I’d completed the draft, Dmitri, who had been watching me, suddenly took the ledger from my hands and raised his brows.
With a puzzled expression, he asked:
“Why did you write this entirely according to Yevgeny’s taste?”
“Brother?”
Yevgeny whipped her head around to look at him, clearly flustered.
Placing both hands on Dmitri’s arm, she laughed awkwardly.
“W-well, it’s because it’s my tea party? Sister Riri wrote it that way for me. Besides… Sister Riri doesn’t like being in the spotlight anyway. Right?”
Her eyes sought confirmation from me.
It was true I disliked attention, but after recalling yesterday’s humiliation, I couldn’t respond warmly.
Yevgeny scowled at my reaction. Then Dmitri calmly corrected her.
“Even so, if you’re co-hosting, you should have asked the First Princess for her preferences as well. You can’t just arrange everything to your own liking.”
“But…”
Yevgeny gripped her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white as she trembled.
Pretending not to notice, Dmitri gently patted her back.
“I only say this so you won’t hear harsher words from others. Don’t take it too hard.”
“….”
“And you, First Princess—don’t simply go along with Yevgeny’s convenience. Be clear about what you want as well.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“In that case, we’ll discard this draft. We’ll redo it at the next meeting.”
Both of us nodded.
Seeing Yevgeny’s gloom, Dmitri—always weak when it came to her—sighed softly and turned back to me.
“I won’t be able to escort you out. Can you manage on your own?”
“I’m not a child.”
He looked stern.
“You are a child.”
“Just let me leave already.”
I smiled faintly, offered a light curtsey, and quickly left the palace. Yevgeny’s glaring eyes prickled at the back of my head.
When I arrived at Mother’s palace, the attendants who had been waiting rushed to bow deeply. With warm smiles, they led me to where Mother was.
Mother hadn’t waited in her chambers. Instead, she had stood outside the door, unable to rest until I arrived.
“Riri…!”
The moment she saw me, she threw decorum aside and ran toward me. Dropping to her knees, she embraced me tightly.
“Mother, you shouldn’t run in the corridor.”
“Oh, I forgot myself… But I heard you went to the Second Princess’s palace? Sir Bishop told me you’re co-hosting a tea party with her. What happened?”
So I gave her a rough explanation.
Mother frowned slightly, tilting her head.
“So you’re not on good terms with her…?”
“I only realized recently. That she hates me.”
“…I see.”
She smiled awkwardly and stroked my hair.
“A mother, yet I didn’t even notice that much… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Honestly, her hostility feels more like a feather duster than a real blow.”
“Still, Riri. That’s exactly when people get careless. If you treat even weak attacks lightly, you’ll end up badly hurt.”
I remembered the time I had been poisoned and nodded.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. And if anything happens, you must tell me. Oh, but—the tea party is in just a month, isn’t it? Won’t your schedule be too tight? I can manage fine on my own.”
“You haven’t participated in society for five years, Mother. Even before that, honestly…”
I trailed off. Mother flushed bright red and cupped her cheeks.
“So you noticed. How embarrassing… Still, since my daughter is introducing me, surely the ladies will be understanding.”
“Absolutely not.”
If Mother approached it with that mindset, even nobles willing to support her would abandon her for the Empress.
After all, the noblewomen attending would be there to judge whether Mother could rival the Empress or not.
“We can’t let them look down on you.”
Smiling, I held her hand.
“Even if Marchioness Ioline helps, that has its limits. Five years is a long time—trends, politics, interests, all have changed.”
“…You’re right.”
“So the first step is to study the genealogies, don’t you think?”
Mother tilted her head, puzzled.
“I do know about their backgrounds. Sir Bishop gave me a directory, after all.”
“Then you’ve memorized it?”
“I’ve memorized the ones who accepted invitations, more or less.”
“Then you also know their family situations?”
“Um… I suppose so?”
Her eyes turned suspicious, as though asking what are you plotting? I grinned slyly.
“Mother, I’ve made quite a lot of money.”
“Yes, His Majesty mentioned something about you finding a guild to trade orichalcum with. And I heard the restoration of the Hamtmac Mountains is finished, so diamond mining will soon begin…”
“Exactly. Which means my private funds are overflowing.”
“What are you planning, dear?”
Gripping my shoulders, she looked grave. She didn’t want me embroiled in dangerous schemes again.
I hid my darker intentions behind a smile.
“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything reckless. I just need you to scatter a little bait, that’s all. You’ll be the one to cast it.”
“If it doesn’t put you in danger, I’ll do whatever it takes. So there’s something you mean to gain from this tea party, isn’t there?”
“Yes.”
But it wasn’t only for myself.
Looking into her blue eyes, I smiled softly.
“It’s for you too, Mother.”
Because if we wanted to keep the Empress from ever laying a hand on her, we needed allies. Lots and lots of them.
Time flew, and soon the wretched tea party with my little sister arrived.
I found it irritating that I had to prepare carefully from the morning for her sake.
“And I can’t even bring Ilya or Mulin…”
Without them, it already felt boring.
“I really don’t want to go.”
“You must, Your Highness! Go and put her in her place!”
“Please tell us what happens. If anything goes wrong, we’ll rally Yevgeny’s servants and sway public opinion in your favor.”
How reassuring.
I chuckled at their fierce determination and patted their arms encouragingly.
Soon, a temporary knight assigned as my escort arrived. His name was Valen.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Smiling, Valen extended his hand. Even through his gloves, I could feel he had fewer calluses than Sesil.
“I wonder how she’s doing.”
Sesil had gone west to Chester territory to subdue bandits—but that region also had monster sightings. Officially, the mission was to wipe out bandits, but in reality it meant cutting off the monsters’ activities.
I wasn’t worried about Sesil’s skill. Rather, I worried about her fragile sense of guilt—that she might wallow in self-blame.
“Hurry back, my mad dog. Without you, my palace walls feel cracked.”
The tea party, arranged to Yevgeny’s taste, was held grandly in the Emerald Hall.
Since the hall was normally used for banquets, the children couldn’t hide their awe, marveling at the Emperor’s favor for Yevgeny.
Feigning modest pride, Yevgeny greeted them.
“Thank you for coming to my tea party today! Oh, and to Sister Riri as well.”
Though we co-hosted, she made it sound as though she were generously including me in her event. Some of the children noticed and exchanged glances.
Awkward smiles spread as they offered greetings.
“We greet Your Highnesses, the Princesses. May the blessing of the Goddess Airidium be upon you. I am Mia of House Basila, Count’s daughter.”
“May the blessing of the Goddess Airidium be upon you, I’m Seira of House Rebana, Baron’s daughter!”
“James, heir to Viscount Ferdi.”
One by one, the children introduced themselves and tried to lighten the atmosphere with new topics.
The first was a familiar face.
“I heard the news. Thanks to Princess Lirien’s medicine, my mana impairment has greatly improved. Hearing it from Father reassured me so much.”
It was Emily Grisilla.
Before everyone, she made sure to praise my achievements, almost puffing up with pride.
“Th-that’s right. I was overjoyed as well. Especially since it was Her Highness the First Princess who procured the main ingredient. You’ve all heard, haven’t you? About her exploits during her visit to the Magic Tower!”
This time, it was Lady Biante Rolobian who chimed in—a girl who had become one of my followers after I saved her from Isabelle.
Her admiration for me practically oozed out.
As my Magic Tower journey was mentioned, the young noblemen grew excited, bombarding me with questions.
“Your Highness, is it true you outwitted that eccentric master of the Tower?”
“If you mean Adix Rodburigo, yes—he lost every wager he made against me.”
The sword-loving boys leaned forward eagerly, eyes shining.
“Then is it also true you defeated a whole group of Third-Circle mages?”
“I’ve wondered too! They say mages tremble at the mere mention of your name—is it true?”
“Well… half true, half false. It wasn’t me who defeated the Third-Circle mages, but my knight, Sir Sesil Blonmind.”
I even took the chance to restore Sesil’s tarnished reputation.
The young men, who admired the Imperial Knights, were about to erupt in admiration when—
“What of it? Even if he has such skill, he still failed to serve the First Princess properly.”
“….”
The lively atmosphere instantly froze.
The youths who had been praising me flinched and turned toward the speaker.
“Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
“….”
Nakari Calypsa smiled slyly, fluttering her fan.
