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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Tea Party Tactics
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“Young Lady Lanshuss? Oh my. You’ve arrived early.”
Though she had suffered a mysterious defeat from the very start, the trampling of the sprout had only just begun.
She had to keep her wits about her, if only to avoid getting on the bad side of Arabelle, the center of their group.
The young lady to Arabelle’s left signaled the beginning.
“Lanshuss?”
Lumina was a married woman, so she should properly be addressed as Young Duchess Heart.
As Lumina muttered in confusion, the young lady to Arabelle’s left spoke with a smirk.
“Am I wrong? That’s what I heard.”
“Me too. I heard there was a wedding, but not a single guest attended. Did you really have a ceremony? Besides…”
The young lady to the right glanced at Lumina’s left hand.
“You don’t have a wedding ring, so I don’t think it’s wrong to call you Young Lady Lanshuss.”
Lumina was inwardly impressed.
A wedding?
…It was a vow ceremony using black magic (which was illegal), disguised as a wedding.
A wedding ring?
…She received a collar, disguised as a ring.
*She’s not wrong if you get down to the details.*
Sharp, as expected.
When Lumina said nothing, they pressed their advantage, cornering her.
“Bringing in someone of common blood and dressing them in expensive gowns doesn’t make them a noble, and buying a title doesn’t grant its name a history.”
They were mocking Lumina, suggesting she was a Young Duchess in name only, with no real substance.
They were interrogating her, implying that however she managed to get married, she was clearly not welcomed by anyone in the ducal family.
*…I can see why it would look that way. I guess watching one opera wasn’t enough.*
The reaction Arabelle’s group wanted from Lumina was for her to tremble with humiliation or shiver in fear.
But Lumina assessed the situation coolly.
Then, she opened her mouth.
“I never expected to hear such things here, of all places, in the Imperial Palace.”
“What does the location have to do with anything?”
“Because this marriage was officiated with the sanction of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“…”
“We may still be young, but I believe openly denying something His Majesty has acknowledged could be a problem.”
“…”
“If we were close, who would care if you used a nickname or my maiden name? But we aren’t, are we?”
*Address me properly while you have the chance.*
The young ladies to her left and right flinched at Lumina’s warning.
“…Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves, Young Duchess. I’m Evelyn Meyer.”
“I am Leah Schmidt. …Young Duchess Heart.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Young Lady Meyer, Young Lady Schmidt.”
*The one who told them to call me Lanshuss must have been Princess Arabelle.*
But Arabelle had been silently observing the situation the entire time.
*She did the same thing last time.*
She was a truly troublesome princess.
Having corrected her title, Lumina glanced at the ring finger of her left hand and said.
“You mentioned the wedding ceremony and the ring, but I believe a truly loving heart is more important than such formalities.”
They had exchanged something else in place of a ring, but it was an object related to black magic.
Deciding it was best not to show it, Lumina desperately feigned being in love.
“You’re right. But it was so sudden and without any warning that rumors were flying among us that a love potion must have been used, you know?”
“A love potion? Do such things really exist?”
“There’s one being secretly distributed these days. I hear its effects are quite potent. Is that true?”
“How would I know? I’ve never used one.”
Lumina tilted her head, her large, innocent-looking eyes wide.
Her attitude screamed, ‘I don’t know anything.’
Such a low-level leading question would never work on her.
“But I do wonder sometimes. The marriage was possible because Father looked upon me so favorably.”
The Duke Heart?
That notoriously cruel demon?
“It was Karayan’s wish, but it was a marriage that Father also readily approved. So, if you want to clear up your questions, you would get a clearer answer by asking him directly.”
“You seem to be able to speak with the Duke so casually.”
“Of course. Whenever I’m bored, I visit Father in his office, and he always greets me affectionately.”
Evelyn’s and Leah’s jaws dropped.
Even setting aside his status as a Legion, Duke Heart was a terrifying figure to behold even from a distance.
But affectionate?
And she visits him whenever she’s bored?
“Father even gives me lots of candy!”
They wondered if it was a lie, but seeing her call him ‘Father’ so naturally, they had no choice but to believe it.
People like them would never have the nerve to call the Duke ‘Father’ even if they had married the Young Duke.
As Evelyn and Leah were overcome with shock and astonishment, Lumina changed the subject.
“By the way, what does everyone usually talk about when they gather like this?”
“We…”
Evelyn and Leah exchanged glances.
They had almost forgotten, but the real test was about to begin.
“We usually start by talking about the tea of the day. As you know, the art of tea is a basic refinement, isn’t it?”
Leah called a maid and had her bring the tea leaves.
At a glance, the leaves looked ordinary.
But in reality, it was a bitter-tasting tea.
This was Arabelle’s tea party; they couldn’t possibly serve poorly brewed tea or use cheap leaves.
Instead, they had deliberately procured unpopular tea leaves that only a select few enjoyed.
It was said that one had to be in their fifties or sixties to appreciate the true value of this tea, a difficult task for them, who were still in their early teens.
“As our guest today, Young Duchess, please have the first taste.”
“Alright.”
Lumina readily picked up her teacup.
Evelyn and Leah expected Lumina to spit it out, shuddering at the terrible taste.
Then, as if on cue, they would snap at her.
*How can you be a Young Duchess if you can’t even drink something like this? You still lack the refinement for your position. You should first be aware of your place.*
That was the plan.
“It’s Benemot.”
“Yes. You can’t even drink some… What?”
But contrary to their expectations, Lumina’s calm voice rang out. She had even identified the tea leaves.
“It must be from the Lane region. It’s much richer and more flavorful than what’s commonly available.”
A faint smile graced Lumina’s lips.
It wasn’t the same happy excitement as when she first saw him, but she looked pleased enough.
“I was surprised for a moment. To encounter a tea so rare you can’t buy it even if you wanted to. This is truly a tea party hosted by the princess.”
*That can’t be right. Why isn’t she even frowning? Were the tea leaves switched?*
Flustered, Evelyn hastily brought the cup to her lips.
And was immediately punished for it.
*Cough, cough.*
A bitter and spicy taste rose up. Evelyn, who had only eaten sweet desserts her whole life, felt her mind go hazy.
It was like brushing your teeth with strawberry-flavored toothpaste every day, only to suddenly use a spicy one.
“Ah, I couldn’t come empty-handed either, so I brought something. I’m glad it seems I’ve chosen well.”
When Lumina called for Ash, he, ever so quick in these moments, placed the tea leaves he had brought from the mansion on the table.
“What is this?”
“It’s a tea I personally enjoy.”
A new tea set was prepared.
Lumina, giving a vague answer, began to brew the tea she had brought.
Evelyn and Leah watched her with fire in their eyes, searching for anything to criticize.
But Lumina brewed the tea with expert skill.
“From which master did you learn the art of tea?”
“I cannot give you a name, as I did not receive teachings deep enough to call them a master. Did I perhaps seem lacking in some way?”
“How long were you taught that you can’t even call them a master?”
“One day.”
“One day?”
“Yes.”
Her stepmother would sometimes call for Lumina.
It was to create a pretext to torment the girl who lived as quietly as a mouse.
She would hire a tutor for the day and watch the lesson from the side.
After the lesson ended and the tutor left, it was only natural for her to berate Lumina, saying, *You can’t even do this?*
The teachings from that time seemed to have become calloused in her memory.
*She used to look at me just like Evelyn and Leah are now.*
Thanks to that, she wasn’t nervous at all.
Whether she should be happy about this or not was another question.
Having brewed the tea with flawless movements, Lumina poured it into each of their cups.
“…It’s purple?”
“That’s right. Pretty, isn’t it!”
Purple tea.
It has been said since ancient times that blue hues suppress the appetite. It looked more unappetizing than pretty.
Evelyn and Leah exchanged anxious glances.
“You wouldn’t dare drink it if you thought it was poison.”
“Then I’ll drink it first. I brought it, so if I drink it and I’m fine, then it’s fine, right?”
Lumina sipped the ominous purple liquid.
And her pink eyes sparkled as if they held the Milky Way.
It was a change in expression that made one curious about the taste just by looking at her.
The color made them highly suspicious, but they couldn’t hold out forever.
With the feeling of downing sewer water, Evelyn and Leah brought the tea to their lips.
“Ugh!”
*It’s awful! So bitter!*
Like the Benemot, it was a taste that adults would likely enjoy. And she was drinking it like it was cream puff filling?
In their disbelief, Evelyn and Leah felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Of course they did.
What Lumina was doing now was the very same method they had tried to use to put her in her place!
Was Lumina playing the same trick on them to get back at them?
It felt like the tables had been turned.
Just then, Lumina’s cheerful voice broke through their thoughts.
“I thought if you could enjoy Benemot, this would also suit your palate. I’m so happy to have found a peer with similar tastes!”
In that moment, Evelyn and Leah realized.
Lumina wasn’t trying to get back at them; she was genuinely enjoying this tea.
It was jarring to see someone with such a fluffy, cotton-ball face have such a peculiar palate.
With pale faces, Evelyn and Leah began to eat the desserts.
They didn’t even want to touch their teacups.
At this point, it was less a tea party and more a dessert party. Lumina called over a waiting maid and gave an order.
“Could you bring me some lemon juice?”
The maid who received the order glanced at Arabelle for permission.
Arabelle, who had been quiet all along, nodded her approval, and only then did the maid move.
A moment later, the lemon juice was ready.
“Sometimes your tastes change depending on how you feel that day, don’t they? When that happens, I drink it like this too.”
Lumina pushed her teacup toward the center so the other young ladies could see clearly, then added the lemon juice.
The purple tea slowly changed to another color, like spreading watercolor.
It was a vivid pink, resembling Lumina’s eyes.
It was fascinating enough that even the young noble ladies, Evelyn and Leah, couldn’t close their gaping mouths.
*Kids will be kids, after all.*
So thought Lumina, who looked more like a child than anyone else there.
