Chapter 48: Tea
“Greetings, Lady Elidranthia. I have come to pick you up. Let’s have a tea party together.” Daphne said as she appeared in the corridor right in front of Elidranthia’s room.
That’s scary. Was she stalking me?
“Greetings, Miss Daphne. Did you wait long? You could knock, you know.” Elidranthia’s smile stiffened at her eerie timing.
“Ah, I had just arrived as well. Please don’t worry about it. Now let’s go to the tea party, Lady Elidranthia. I can’t wait to have tea with an honored mage such as you. Your reputation precedes you, you know. I heard you cured many wounded knights and citizens when beasts attacked from the monster forest. We would love to hear the story right from the source.” Daphne held Eli’s arm, refusing to let go.
“I see…” Eli smiled wryly. She thought hard about how at least to buy time. “Please wait a moment. I need to call my personal maid. Alicia, let’s go. Please change your clothes. Ah, you can wear your uniform.” Eli grabbed her maid and dragged her along. The dimwit had proven reliable—
“Eh… why do I have to drink tea in the morning with you?” Alicia groaned, her bed hair sticking out in all directions.
“You’re my maid, right? It’s time to do your job and attend your master.” Eli smiled, pressuring Alicia to follow her. From her experience with Leina, she knew Alicia could talk for hours—perfect for small talk at tea parties.
“Were you expecting me to fill in the conversation like last time?” Alicia asked, her tiny brain already having forgotten who Leina was.
“Please…” Eli begged. “You’re the only one I can depend on. I was a bit shy and introverted in my past life.”
“…Alright.” Alicia rolled her eyes. “I’m an introvert too, you know.”
“Alright. Let’s go, Daphne.” Eli said, ignoring her bullshit. There is no way Alicia was an introvert. No introvert could talk for hours in front of other people.
The tea party was not held outdoors like in most fantasy novels, but indoors, inside a private room like a VIP lounge in a restaurant. Three tables were arranged side by side, and a man about Eli’s age seemed to be leading the party.
“Welcome! You must be Elidranthia. I shall grant you the honor of tea at my table if you swear your loyalty to me,” a boy said, his chin tilted upward with arrogance. “You may serve me tea.”
“... Who are you?” Alicia asked, stunned that a boy she had just met was already asking Eli to serve him. Eli had been about to ask the same thing, but Alicia had beaten her to it. She felt uneasy. She did not recognize this boy, but judging by his attitude, he had to be someone important—at least a duke’s son.
The boy froze at Alicia’s question. He stared at her blankly. How could there be anyone who did not recognize him—the second prince and the crown prince of Althemer?
“I see that your maid is crude in her manners. But I shall let it slide, for I am a benevolent prince. Now, Lady Elidranthia, please have a seat.”
Alarm bells rang inside Eli’s head when the boy revealed he was a prince. He was even more arrogant than she had expected. He seemed interested in her, but she knew it was only because she was a mage.
“My apologies, Your Highness, but I am merely a country girl. It would not be appropriate for me to have tea with you. Please allow me to sit with Daphne instead. She was the one who invited me here.”
“Very well. Do as you wish, for I am a benevolent lord.” Ludwin shrugged and waved his hand, shooing Elidranthia away.
Elidranthia immediately sat beside Daphne, who eagerly poured her a cup of tea. Ludwin was arrogant, but at least it had not turned into bullying. Eli was grateful to Repeara for making her a mage. She was certain she would have a much harder time if she were not one.
“Eli, I saw that you refused to have tea with His Majesty. Why did you refuse? It was such an opportunity! It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance—well, maybe not for you, but the rest of us would probably kill to have tea with His Highness.”
“That’s exactly why I refused, Daphne. There is nothing more scary than the envy of maidens. I might be a mage, but I know my place. I am merely a country girl and new to the Royal Academy, so I am sure I would make mistakes. My etiquette lessons weren’t thorough enough for me to feel confident dining with royalty.”
“I see. You are so humble, Lady Elidranthia. How rare that is here. Let me indulge you with knowledge about the tea and cakes we have in the capital.” Daphne then explained the tea they were served.
The term tea might be a misnomer. The drink served at the party was not ordinary tea like jasmine or chamomile, but a kind of herbal brew with a strong taste, softened only by honey and the cheesecake served alongside it. It was a balance of sweet, sour, and bitterness. Eli’s childish tongue did not like it, but she understood it was an acquired taste—possibly one forced upon children by their parents.
Unlike the tea Eli had drunk before, this one was a mixture of ginger and spices such as nutmeg and cloves, with flowers like roses used for decoration. It had a spicy and bitter taste.
“The tea is a bit strong, right? Would you like more honey?”
“It would be better if you added some milk. It’s too bitter and spicy for me,” Eli said.
“That’s why we have cakes beside it. Or would you like some biscuits?”
Eli sighed. She would have loved some milk tea or boba tea instead of this ginger herbal drink. Admittedly, it felt healthier, since it was made from herbs instead of sugar and condensed milk.
“Um… Daphne, where are you from? Are you from the Crown’s territory?” According to her professor’s advice, she needed to join a faction if she wanted to survive at the academy. She had been hoping to find someone from Bron’s dukedom, but Daphne let her down.
“Ah, no. I am technically from Duke Luca’s territory. But well, we are sworn to the Crown, right? It is not right to swear loyalty to anyone other than the king.”
“I see. In that case, since I just arrived here, may I know what lessons will be covered by the teachers? I received some tutoring in my territory, so I was wondering how it compares to the Royal Academy.” Eli dodged the topic about Duke Bron’s territory.
“Sorry, but magic must not be used inside the academy, so I can’t show you any magic,” Alicia said when a student queried her.
Alicia was at least level seven (the glass ball could only measure up to level seven before it broke), so the students were curious. Mages of level eight and above could be counted on one hand in the entire country.
Alicia was itching to show off her cheat skill, but she was not brazen enough to ignore academy rules. Instead of showing off here, she preferred to do so during the mage exam. There, she would become the top student instead of a problem child. Besides, she had no intention of showing off to nobles. If things went wrong, she might even earn their jealousy.
“Yes. There are four lessons in the nobility course: Etiquette, Economy, Accounting, and History. I prefer etiquette—accounting and economy are so tiring. I mean, why do we even learn those? Aren’t those men’s jobs?”
“Haha, you may be right. But I heard some noblemen prefer their wives to manage the household instead of a butler. To me, that is a symbol of trust, so I wouldn’t be lax in learning them,” another girl said.
“So it only encompasses the mansion, huh? Not the entire territory.” Eli sighed at the apparent discrimination between men and women in this region.
“But the lessons are exactly the same. Isn’t that ridiculous?” Daphne complained.
“Well, the official reason is that if the head of the house dies, the wife should still be able to manage the territory. But even then, shouldn’t that be the heir’s job? Why does it suddenly become ours?”
“The head of the house could pass away prematurely. If the heir is still young, there would be trouble,” Eli said. She suddenly recalled her own history.
Eli’s grandfather and mother had been attacked by monsters. Her brother was still in school, so if something happened to her father now, the county would be left without a count until her brother graduated. The territory would be fine for less than a year, but without a count, it would be unable to sign agreements with other lords, leaving it crippled in the long run.
“Does that even happen? First time I heard about it.”
“Well, Shadowstep almost met the same fate,” Eli said.
“I see. I guess it really is important,” Daphne sighed.
“All right, Daphne. This tea party was superb. The cake was delicious, and the tea was marvelous. It had a truly exquisite aroma. While I would love to talk more with you, I must depart for the mage building. I have yet to receive my schedule, and I also need to adjust it so it does not conflict with my Nobility course.”
“Ah, you’re going to the mage building? I’ll come with you.”
Ludwin dropped a bomb.
Eli gawked at him as he stood up and left the tea party he himself had hosted.
“Eh—um… Are you sure you want to come? Wasn’t this your tea party?” Eli said. Her words almost stuck in her throat.
“Well, we are in school. Just like you, I have mage duties in lieu of royal duties. They should understand our hardships, right?” He glared at his henchmen and led Eli toward the mage course. The obsequious students nodded like bobblehead dolls.
“I see.” Eli strained a smile. With no way out, she was escorted by Ludwin out of the classroom.
This is not how I wanted to escape from here! Damn it, Alicia! Was your prophecy immutable? Eli thought.