Chapter 37
Tea Party Invitation (3)
The door swung open and the visitor strode in confidently, walking straight to the sofa where I lay face down—despite me not having said a word to come in.
Somehow, I already knew who it was. I turned my head away toward the opposite side of the entrance.
It was a childish act—unlike me.
But for some reason, I just felt like doing it.
Soon, a deep sigh from the visitor brushed the back of my head.
“…So childish.”
It was as if Vanilla had stepped on my heart, and now someone was taking an axe to it.
I had hoped they’d come to comfort me, but it seemed they were here to drive a dagger in instead.
I stayed silent, deciding not to respond to someone who would say something like that.
Even after a long while, the visitor said nothing.
They hadn’t left.
I could hear the clinking of a teacup being lifted and set down repeatedly behind me.
But no matter how long I waited, they didn’t speak.
I wondered what the heck they were doing and finally turned my head slightly.
“So you finally decided to look this way.”
Vaizen smiled victoriously, lifting the teacup in his hand.
“It’s dinnertime. Get up.”
He reached out his hand, as if to help me stand.
His large hand hovered before my eyes, but honestly, I didn’t want to get up.
“I’m going to starve.”
“Why?”
Vaizen asked quietly, placing a hand on my knee.
I wanted to ask him the same thing.
Why even ask why?
Can’t I just not want to do anything?
Can’t I just sit still and do nothing?
I just wanted to lie there, eyes open, breathing—and rest.
But Vaizen wouldn’t let that be. He pulled me up into a sitting position.
“Is walking to the dining room too much?”
“No, I’m just not hungry.”
Growl.
Right on cue, my stomach betrayed me with a loud rumble.
“Your stomach says otherwise. Are you feeling sick?”
“I’m just tired of everything.”
I twisted my body in irritation, and Vaizen grabbed my shoulders to steady me, continuing with his questions.
“Why?”
It was a short and clear question.
It irritated me, as if he were saying he wouldn’t let me go until I gave a proper answer.
“Just because!”
“…”
“I just feel crappy, tired, and I want to rest! Is that not allowed?!”
I wasn’t a teenager going through puberty—why was I acting like this?
Everything just felt unbearable. I wanted to rest. I wanted to sleep.
Just…!
“No.”
Vaizen met my eyes as he said that.
It wasn’t an angry look. Nor was it blaming.
Just his usual calm gaze, as he helped me stand.
“You’re the one who barged into someone else’s peaceful life and turned it upside down.”
His grip on my arms tightened.
“And now you’re saying you won’t do anything, just because you’re tired?”
“Everyone has times like this. You wouldn’t understand—”
“If someone doesn’t understand, then teach them. That’s your specialty, isn’t it?”
Vaizen knelt before me and took my hands.
His large hands completely engulfed mine.
“Get a grip.”
He squeezed my hands as if to lend me strength.
“If it’s too much to go to the dining room, I’ll bring the meal here. If you’re not feeling well, we can talk until you feel better.”
“…”
“So don’t hide like this, running away into your own little world.”
Only then did I feel my chest begin to collapse.
In my past life, I had been like this more than once.
I’d started working early, and with a big age gap between me and my siblings, I was often alone.
And during those lonely times, I was seized by bouts of depression.
On days like that, I wouldn’t sleep, eat, or drink—just lie still, blinking, until morning.
I thought of those moments as my mind taking a break.
Once I sorted myself out alone like that, I could face the next day again.
I thought everyone needed a little time to rest like that.
“Don’t run away.”
Vaizen, still holding my hand, finished speaking and closed his mouth.
The room, usually filled with noise, felt especially quiet today.
I wished Rudolph or Ian would burst in and shatter the heavy silence, giving me a sweet, dream-like break.
But I knew that would only sadden Vaizen more—so I looked up.
“Why did you ask me to go to the tea party?”
Vaizen lifted his head.
“Because you can’t live your whole life inside this house.”
It was a short answer.
It aligned perfectly with his earlier message of “don’t run away,” making me realize how sincere he was.
…Had I been running away?
“I didn’t run away.”
“Sure. But you didn’t not run away, either.”
Vaizen gently patted the back of my hand, still holding it tightly.
“It’s okay to rest when things are hard. But that doesn’t mean you can run away and hide from everything.”
“I know that much—”
“No, you don’t.”
His deep purple eyes sank low as he continued.
“You try to carry everything alone. You don’t understand. You don’t even see it.”
“…”
“If it were up to me, I’d rather you acted crazy and bothered people like you always do. Or throw a tantrum and storm out with your bags if that’s what you want.”
These were words he never would’ve said before.
With a worried tone, Vaizen continued.
“You said this house would always be your nest to return to. But that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to stay locked up in a cage.”
“…I—”
“I want you to be a free bird.”
At that, something swelled inside me.
Why was I crying?
Why did it feel so sad?
No—was it even sadness?
If not sadness, then what was this emotion?
My chest prickled. I bowed my head.
This time, Vaizen didn’t force me to raise it.
He didn’t do anything as I cried.
He just quietly held my hand, as if no one else existed, and patiently waited.
After a long while, I lifted my head. Vaizen was still there, gazing at me with his calm expression.
“…I’m hungry.”
That was the first thing I managed to say. I hadn’t planned it—those were just the words that slipped out.
I had skipped lunch, and after everything that happened, I hadn’t eaten a thing all day. It made sense.
Vaizen gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Yeah, I’m hungry too.”
“…I don’t want to go to the dining room.”
“I’ll have the food brought here. Just wait a little.”
In both my past and current lives, I had never made such a childish request.
But right now, I felt like I could say anything—and it would be accepted.
That’s just how I felt.
Vaizen patted my head gently, like dealing with a stubborn younger sibling, and agreed.
“What do you want to eat?”
“…Bread.”
“How about the croissants you like?”
I nodded and slowly stood.
Vaizen said he’d bring the food and told me to wait in bed, brushing the hair out of my face as he said it.
It was a warmth I had never felt from anyone before.
And because of that, it was all the more embarrassing—kindness I didn’t want to let go of.
If I said I cried again, tears slipping through closed eyes as I watched Vaizen’s back walk away—
Would anyone believe me?
***
The next day, I decided to attend Lady Stibach’s tea party.
I wore the sky-blue dress Vanilla had made and promised Lucy I’d wear the accessories she picked out. Days passed in a mix of excitement and unease.
Then came the day of the tea party—at Baron Stibach’s estate.
“Jin—no, Lady Odelia~!”
From a distance, I spotted a girl with vivid green hair and snow-white skin. Her eyes were crescent-shaped, giving her a permanently smiling expression. A slender, delicate girl.
She looked just like me.
Startled, I took a step back. I had expected Lady Stibach to appear, but…
Maybe the real lady was still inside?
But the name that nearly slipped from the girl’s lips was definitely mine.
“I heard you were coming, but I couldn’t greet you earlier—so sorry! It’s been so long since we met! You should’ve sent word—”
“Wait, hold on—”
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar girl’s rapid-fire greetings, I waved a hand to pause her.
She stopped immediately, tilting her head curiously.
“Are you… Lady Stibach?”
“Yes, Lady Odelia.”
She nodded at my question.
“Wait, what happened to your face?! Why do you look like me?!”
Startled, I backed up. She raised a finger to her lips, signaling me to lower my voice.
“I’ll explain everything inside. For now, keep your voice down. And since we’re both noble ladies, let’s use proper speech.”
“Ah, uh… yes.”
“And from now on, call me Lady Rosanne. Got it?”
Lady Stibach—no, Rosanne—linked arms with me cheerfully.
She clung so closely, I wondered if we were really that close. There was almost no sense of distance from her.
Even with my ex-boyfriend, we’d never walked this close.
Just as I worried about tripping over her, she whispered,
“My face returned to normal the day after we parted.”
Her calm tone confirmed the truth, and I quietly nodded.
“And the place you asked me to look into…”
She looked around cautiously, then pulled my arm down.
“All the young ladies at today’s party might have information about it.”
“Might?”
“I can’t say for sure. I only heard rumors floating around in high society. But there’s one thing they all have in common.”
Rosanne held out her hand, palm up.
“Besides us, there are five others attending today. And all of them are already engaged.”
“Is that strange?”
“Very. They all got engaged within a week of their debut.”
I tilted my head at her words.
In the setting of Flower-Handed Man, girls debut at sixteen, and boys at eighteen.
People raised in seclusion falling in love with someone new outside—it happens all the time, right?
Ian was the same.
Seeing my confusion, Rosanne smacked her chest in frustration, then tugged on my ear as if to make sure I was listening.
“It’s practically impossible! These engagements aren’t between noble families—they’re the result of someone stealing their crush’s heart!”
