Chapter 8
All the young ladies attending the tea party looked at Liriope with puzzled expressions, but she didn’t mind at all.
“Come over here and sit, right here.”
Liriope gestured to the seat beside her, and Rosearine hesitated for a moment, unsure.
But seeing Liriope’s bright smile, she sat down next to her.
Although a flicker of discomfort showed on her face, Liriope ignored it and directed a professional, welcoming smile toward her.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Rosearine said softly, glancing at Liriope’s reaction.
“Oh, it’s fine. People can be late sometimes.”
Liriope brought the teacup in front of her to her lips and took a sip. The tea was unique and delicious, and her eyes widened instinctively.
“Oh, what kind of tea is this? It’s really good.”
“Right? It’s tea imported from Dalbadian. It’s both tangy and sweet, so I thought I’d share it.”
“Ah, Dalbadian… isn’t that the island nation where it rains all year?”
Liriope tilted her head as if talking to herself, and Rosearine nodded in response, taking the role of answering for Selzionel.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Rosearine’s expression showed she knew a lot about tea, as someone passionate about collecting it.
Seeing her eyes light up at the mention of tea reminded Liriope of the original story, where Rosearine had gone to great lengths to obtain tea leaves.
At the same time, a good idea flashed through Liriope’s mind.
The tea leaves that Rosearine had worked so hard to acquire in the original story…
“Oh, Rosearine is really interested in tea, isn’t she?”
Liriope put down her teacup and asked, and Rosearine shyly nodded.
“I like collecting them.”
“Then why don’t you come by my duke’s manor this weekend?”
At these words, not only Rosearine, but all the other young ladies present, including Selzionel, were shocked.
Selzionel, in particular, looked visibly taken aback.
And it made sense.
Liriope had disliked Rosearine since the academy, and Selzionel had encouraged her in subtle and childish ways to isolate Rosearine from the other young ladies.
But Liriope now promised herself she would never repeat the mistakes she had made in the original story and spoke to Rosearine:
“My father recently imported some tea leaves from abroad. They haven’t been distributed in the Empire yet.”
Selzionel’s expression stiffened at Liriope’s words.
She had been looking forward to making Rosearine feel small and miserable at today’s tea party—what on earth was going on?
‘I haven’t even been invited to the duke’s manor yet, and that little…!’
“Oh my, if you have such tea leaves, I must be invited first, Liriope.”
Liriope smiled sweetly at Selzionel.
“You’re not really interested in collecting tea, right? But Rosearine here loves it.”
Selzionel’s carefully composed expression immediately froze.
The other young ladies also whispered among themselves, confused by Liriope’s suddenly changed attitude toward Rosearine.
The most surprised, however, was Rosearine herself.
Not only was she surprised that Liriope knew about her hobby of collecting tea, but she was even more astonished that Liriope was inviting her to her home to share rare tea leaves.
“I see… I didn’t know, since you’re usually so quiet and don’t talk about yourself.”
At that moment, Selzionel raised her teacup and spoke.
Although it sounded like a muttered comment, it was loud enough for all the young ladies present to hear. Her twisted expression suggested she was openly calling Liriope “gloomy.”
Both Rosearine and Liriope froze at the remark and glared at Selzionel.
Selzionel ignored their stares and took a sip of tea before teasingly speaking to the young lady next to her:
“Of course, the gloomy feeling could be just because of her expression, right?”
The young lady next to her glanced at Liriope and forced a smile. Other young ladies, wanting to react to the marquis’s daughter’s authority, awkwardly chuckled.
Rosearine lowered her head and pressed her lips tightly in response to the mocking laughter directed at her.
But then, a frustrated chuckle escaped from Liriope: heh.
All the young ladies, including Rosearine, immediately turned their attention to her.
Liriope rested her elbow on the tea table and looked at Selzionel with a mischievous expression.
“Honestly, if we’re talking about appearances, don’t you think Selzionel here looks the gloomiest?”
Selzionel’s smile vanished instantly.
The atmosphere seemed to cool down as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on it, and Liriope, smiling as though joking, continued.
Of course, there was still a sharp edge in her words.
“So it’s a good thing you’re a marquis’s daughter, isn’t it?”
Selzionel, unable to maintain her composure, stared at Liriope with a frozen expression. Liriope then lifted her hand from her chin, picked up her teacup, and said:
“You’re not upset, right? I’m joking just like you did with Rosearine earlier.”
“…U-uh, upset? Not at all.”
Unable to admit she was actually angry, Selzionel forced an awkward smile.
But her increasingly stiff expression could not be easily smoothed over.
Then it struck Liriope that, since she was engaged to Theo, there was no longer any reason to torment Rosearine.
After all, the only reason Liriope had bullied Rosearine was because the Crown Prince had taken notice of her.
Selzionel realized she would no longer be able to use Liriope to harass Rosearine, which made her naturally frown.
Still, she forced an awkward smile.
“But tea leaves from across the sea… I’m curious.”
Trying to change the cold mood, Selzionel’s follower, Landrian, spoke up.
The other young ladies began murmuring in curiosity as well.
Liriope didn’t answer, only smiling teasingly as she sipped her tea.
After all, the duke had never actually imported tea leaves from across the sea, so she couldn’t answer.
If Rosearine accepted the invitation, Liriope planned to obtain the tea leaves that Rosearine had originally struggled to buy in the city beforehand.
She didn’t remember every detail clearly, but she recalled that in the original story, Rosearine had only been able to buy a single box because the seller demanded an exorbitant price.
“Rosearine, you’re coming, right?”
Liriope asked again, her expression urging her to come. Rosearine smiled awkwardly and nodded.
“It would be an honor if you invite me.”
Using tea leaves to bridge the distance between them seemed like an excellent idea, and Liriope smiled in satisfaction.
She resolved to buy the tea leaves from the original story tomorrow and sipped her tea.
Selzionel, unable to hide her anger, glared at her.
Even at this tea party, she had surely intended to encourage Liriope to torment Rosearine.
Although in the original story, their bullying before the story started was summarized in just two lines, those two lines already revealed how much Liriope and Selzionel had tormented Rosearine since the academy.
In any case, that would no longer happen.
Once Liriope became friends with Rosearine, Selzionel wouldn’t be able to treat her badly either.
“Of course, you can’t go alone.”
Gemma blocked Liriope’s way, scolding her as she finished preparing to leave.
In the original story, Rosearine had rushed out early in the morning to buy the tea leaves she had discovered by chance. Gemma said Liriope couldn’t go to the city until her bodyguard, Gray, returned to the duke’s manor.
“Then why don’t you come with me?”
“Oh, Liri, even if I was born into a viscount family, I’m only half, so I can’t use elemental magic. Even if I could, I wouldn’t be stronger than you.”
“Then since I’m strong, I can go alone, right?”
“Absolutely not! If our master finds out, my head will roll!”
Liriope let out a long sigh.
In this world, the dangerous things were monsters or humans who used forbidden dark magic. She didn’t understand why she needed a guard to go somewhere with ordinary people who couldn’t even use elemental magic.
Ordinary citizens should be afraid of her, a graduate of the academy with top honors in fire-element magic. Even just seeing her graduation project would make them flee.
She suddenly asked Gemma:
“Then should I bring Lynix?”
Pointing to Lynix, who was dozing on the sofa, Gemma immediately scowled.
“Don’t be ridiculous. If you really want to go, ask His Highness the Grand Duke for a guard.”
“……Huh?”
Liriope looked puzzled at the unexpected name from Gemma.
“You have a choice. Either ask His Highness the Grand Duke for a guard and go to the city, or wait for Sir Gray to return and postpone your outing.”
