Chapter 04
Puring took a brooch from the sleeve of his robe and handed it to Meia.
“What is this, Master?”
“This is a brooch that helps you use teleportation and allows you to ascend to the 1st floor and above of the Magic Tower.”
“Thank you, Master.”
In order to go above the 1st floor of the Magic Tower, one needed either a wizard registration certificate or a Great Mage’s brooch.
“Please feel free to come to the Magic Tower anytime. If you do, this old master will be delighted.”
“Understood, Master.”
And Meia thought,
‘If, by any chance, the engagement is broken off… going to the Magic Tower might not be a bad option.’
“Please return safely, Master.”
Dressed beautifully for Olivia’s tea party, Meia headed to the Persen Marquis House.
After a long ride, the carriage stopped and the coachman knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Your Highness, we have arrived at the Persen Marquis House. May I open the door?”
“Yes.”
Through the carefully opened carriage door, a dazzling silver dress came into view. As Meia stepped down from the carriage, she looked like an elegant cat.
“Greetings, Princess Hatsbelua.”
The butler of the Persen Marquis House came forward and bowed deeply, greeting Meia respectfully.
“It’s been a while, Butler.”
“Yes, it is truly an honor to have you here. Princess Hatsbelua, I will guide you to the tea party venue.”
The place the butler guided her to was a beautiful glass greenhouse.
The butler of the Persen Marquis House opened the greenhouse door. Inside, lush green trees filled the space, making it feel like she had stepped into a forest.
“Princess Meia of the Hatsbelua Ducal House has arrived.”
A servant announced Meia’s arrival to the others in the greenhouse.
The young ladies who had arrived before Meia stood up at the announcement.
They had all been wanting to see Meia, who had been in near-seclusion for a while, so they welcomed her warmly with bright smiles.
“I will guide you to your seat.”
After Meia was guided to her seat and sat down, the other young ladies also took their seats.
And then it happened.
“Lady Meia!”
The owner of the overly high-pitched, fuss-filled voice.
“Lady Olivia.”
Meia smiled as gently as she could and looked at Olivia, who was walking quickly toward her.
“Lady Olivia, it’s been a long time.”
“Lady Meia, are you alright?”
Olivia’s abrupt question gave Meia a strong feeling that things were about to go beyond acceptable boundaries.
“What exactly are you asking if I’m alright about?”
“I was worried because you went through many unfortunate things all at once.”
“Thank you for your concern, Lady Olivia. I am fine.”
As Meia forced a difficult smile, Olivia showed a worried expression.
“I heard the rumors.”
The “rumors” here could include many things.
They likely referred to her parents’ deaths, the funeral without a body, and the “broken engagement.”
Meia already knew that Meril had been spreading things around, making it sound like she might become the Crown Prince’s fiancée instead of Meia.
The rumors spread quickly.
People did not simply believe Meril’s words. Meia had stayed secluded in her room, intending to let the rumors spread even more so she could use them.
And just then, an invitation to Olivia’s tea party had arrived.
“Lady Olivia, what rumors are you referring to?”
Looking at Meia’s nonchalant smile, Olivia slightly furrowed her brow and then relaxed it.
She had thought Meia would look uncomfortable if she mentioned the rumors, but instead Meia smiled and responded calmly, which left Olivia flustered.
“Your Highness, let’s talk about it later. Hoho, it seems everyone has arrived.”
Not wanting Meia to ask further questions, Olivia left the spot.
Meia smiled faintly, finding her rather cute.
The seated young ladies briefly heard Olivia’s explanation of the tea party concept.
Once the explanation ended, tea and sandwiches were placed on the table. The real conversation began.
“Lady Meia’s silver dress is as elegant as always today. If it were a color similar to your natural hair, it might have looked dull, but it suits you perfectly.”
“It’s like the Milky Way.”
“Like moonlight.”
With each compliment full of admiration directed at her, Meia might have been expected to feel proud, but she only quietly lifted the corners of her lips, gently curved her eyes, and smiled beautifully.
“Thank you for the compliments.”
Olivia did not enjoy this situation where Meia was being praised.
But she could not show it.
Hiding her feelings, Olivia spoke to Meia with a sorrowful expression.
“If your heart ever feels troubled, please come to me anytime, Princess Meia.”
At those words, Meia set down her teacup and said,
“Troubled, you say… That sounds like there will be more times when I will feel troubled, Lady Olivia.”
Meia was waiting for Olivia to bring up the engagement talk.
She was certain that Olivia would not ignore the rumors Meril had spread.
Olivia’s mouth must also be itching to speak.
‘Say it. Hurry and say it, Lady Olivia. Then I can speak comfortably too.’
Meia hid her thoughts and waited for Olivia’s next words.
“I thought your heart must still be unsettled after your parents’ passing… I just meant I’m worried about you.”
At those words, Meia smiled slightly. It was not the answer she wanted.
Then she would simply guide the conversation toward what she wanted to hear.
“You cannot grieve forever over your parents’ death. Soon I will have my coming-of-age ceremony and become the Crown Princess. I will have to study even harder than I do now. My parents’ death is sad, but I have no time to grieve.”
At her words, the young ladies around her let out admiring sounds.
“As expected of a model noble lady.”
“If you were a man, I would have fallen for you.”
“If it were me, I would have locked myself in my room and been unable to do anything from grief. There is truly no one more suitable for the position of Empress than Lady Meia.”
As the praise continued, Olivia bit her lower lip.
Then Olivia finally mentioned the rumor Meia had been waiting for—the one Meril had spread.
“From what I heard, the position of fiancée has been changed from you to Lady Meril.”
At Olivia’s words, all the young ladies present fell silent.
Directly asking about a rumor that had been quietly circulating was not proper etiquette for a noble lady.
Meia smiled with elegantly curved eyes.
“Lady Olivia… can you take responsibility for what you just said?”
Meia lifted her eyes arrogantly.
“As nobles, we must take responsibility for our words.”
“T-that rumor is actually…”
Olivia could not continue.
“You should not be swayed by rumors… that is not like you, Lady Olivia.”
Olivia inwardly regretted it and tried to explain, but Meia spoke faster.
“Are you saying my uncle, who recently lost his brother and has not even held his coming-of-age ceremony yet, would tell me to hand over my fiancée position to his daughter? My uncle dotes on me so much. That’s nonsense. And above all, I spent ten years engaged to His Highness the Crown Prince—would the Imperial Family really want to break that engagement?”
At those words, Olivia fell silent.
The other young ladies also nodded in agreement.
“Right. The Imperial Family really dotes on Princess Meia.”
“And so does the Crown Prince.”
“Ten years of history cannot be ignored…”
Meia lifted her teacup again, took a sip, and looked around.
“As expected, it really is just a baseless rumor.”
“Of course. A breakup after ten years together? It must be a rumor.”
“Hoho, why did such a rumor even start?”
People agreed with Meia even though they knew Meril had been spreading things around. Meia’s words were more persuasive than Meril’s.
Olivia’s frustrated expression came into view.
‘And she thinks she’ll become Empress like that. She can’t even control her own emotions.’
Clink.
Meia placed her teacup down again and said calmly,
“I suppose I should take my leave now. It was nice seeing everyone after so long. I plan to host a tea party at my ducal estate soon, so please come.”
“Yes! Please send invitations!”
“Me too!”
Meia simply smiled brightly, stood up gracefully, and the other noble ladies also stood and bid her farewell.
After confirming Meia had left the glass greenhouse, the young ladies began discussing the rumor.
“It’s not like breaking an engagement is child’s play…”
“But why would Lady Meril say something like that?”
“Well…”
“It doesn’t seem like a situation where a breakup would happen at all.”
“But the head of the family has to follow orders. The current head is Lord Luman, Lady Meril’s father.”
“Would he really tell Princess Meia to give up her fiancée position to Lady Meril?”
Everyone knew how precious Meia was, destined to become Empress.
No matter what rumors circulated, overturning an engagement established by the previous generation would reveal the ambitions of the current Duke of Belua, making him vulnerable to political attacks.
And if the head of the family stole the position from his underage niece, he would be criticized by society.
“Yes.”
“There won’t be a breakup…”
“There’s no way.”
“Still, I thought she would be struggling after losing her parents, but it’s good to see she’s overcoming it well.”
A unilateral engagement cancellation by the Imperial Family would be an insult to Meia, who had worked hard as the flower of high society, and all her past actions would be seen as performances by the Imperial Family.
The moment of breakup—loss of trust for the Imperial Family.
The moment of breakup—loss of public support for Patsreri.
Meia had already anticipated it.
‘If the engagement is maintained, nothing special will happen… but if it’s broken off, the rumors in high society will become quite interesting.’
In the carriage returning to the ducal estate, Meia smiled pleasantly for the first time in a while.
