Chapter 7

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Today is the day of the tea party held in the palace garden.

Basically, only high-ranking nobles or wealthy low-ranking nobles' children are invited.

The tea party was organized to encourage interaction among children of the same age, but it also has a significant purpose: to identify potential future aides for Prince Jack and to assess the qualities of promising children in this age group.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness, Lady Lucy."

"Good afternoon, Lady Alicia. Let's enjoy ourselves today."

I smiled and returned their greetings.

This tea party is hosted by Her Majesty the Queen, but I am treated as part of the host side as Prince Jack's fiancée. I stand beside the Prince, receiving greetings from the guests in turn. The Queen is expected to make an appearance in the latter half of the event.

The first time, both the Prince and I didn't utter a single unnecessary word, silently pasting on smiles as we greeted the guests.

But now, we are friends. We enjoy light, relaxed conversations in hushed voices, audible only to the two of us, in between greetings.

"...Hey, Lady Alicia is in top form today. It's the same as the first time, and it's hilarious."

"It's because we haven't interacted with the other nobles yet after the time loop. Things will start to change from today onwards."

Lady Alicia is the daughter of the Count of Chalard, who was known for chasing after Prince Jack at the academy. Even now, she gazes at me intently during the brief moment of greeting. Oh, how terrifying. I remember, I remember this feeling! "Fiancée in name only" was a phrase Lady Alicia used the most often towards me.

"Oh, nostalgic~ It's the eldest daughter of the Viscount Yuges. The Yuges family moved to a neighboring country before I entered the academy, so I haven't seen her since this tea party."

"The Yuges family are apothecaries. They moved because the soil in the neighboring country is better for cultivating medicinal herbs. The Viscount Yuges developed the medicine for Hysa disease."

"Really?"

Medicine. Medicine, huh. One way to prevent Father's death might be to grow the herbs needed for the Hysa disease medicine. Since the Viscount Yuges should be the one to develop the medicine, as he did the first time, I should try to build a closer relationship with the Yuges family... I must definitely talk to Lady Marie, the eldest daughter, later.

"Hey? Isn't that...?"

I glanced at the Prince, who was staring intently at the person with a stern look.

"That's Alfred Balfour. The heir of the Balfour family and—Miria's fiancé."

He, Alfred Balfour, stood in the greeting line with a bored expression.

Right, he was Miria's fiancé! A beautiful young boy with chestnut hair and sky-blue eyes. He's only 13, after all. In two years, when he enters the academy, he will grow into a handsome young man and become quite popular among the female students.

Still, Miria, a baroness, was engaged to him, the heir of a count's family? While love marriages are not uncommon, Miria eventually became the Prince's lover... The social gap in a political marriage seems quite large.

"The Balfour family will fall into decline a bit later. That's when they will become engaged to Miria from the wealthy Baron Bloomis family."

"Is that so..."

"The Baron Bloomis was overjoyed. However, I suspect that the Balfour family's decline might be part of Alfred's strategy."

"Wait, you mean he drove his own family to the brink of ruin?"

"Yes. Alfred was... abnormally obsessed with Miria. I was shocked when I heard her story. He is a dangerous man. Be careful."

I see. If he did indeed bring down his family to get Miria, that's quite something... Hmm, being a cute girl is tough. I remember at the academy, many high-ranking nobles' sons were infatuated with Miria, even though she was engaged. It's quite pitiful that he couldn't win her over despite being her fiancé.

When I looked at Lord Alfred, our eyes met.

His sky-blue eyes, slightly widened in surprise, looked incredibly beautiful.

"---He doesn't look like a bad person, though."

The Prince frowned deeply at my mutter.

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Today's tea party is in a garden party format. There are designated seats, but guests can move around freely and help themselves to the buffet-style sweets and light snacks.

Most of the greetings are done, and the guests are enjoying the tea party as they please.

As for me, after talking to all the young ladies...

"Oh, I'm more tired than the first time..."

...I couldn't bear the visibly unhappy Miria and escaped to a secluded part of the garden.

She was incredibly angry!

When Miria appeared to greet us, she was one of the last guests. She looked at me with such sharp eyes. They seemed to say, "You're too close, it's unfair, don't mess with me!" (My interpretation, of course) In simpler terms, she was glaring at me fiercely. It's not my fault! But I couldn't say that, so I responded with a forced smile.

"Phew..."

I'm so exhausted...

I miss the first time, when I just sat emotionlessly beside the Prince and the tea party somehow ended.

I couldn't help but shiver.

Prince, please cover for me later...

"Let's sit here."

I sat on a bench tucked away in the garden and took out a handkerchief from my dress pocket. I unfolded it on my lap.

Hehe, I borrowed a few cookies and Madeleines to enjoy on my own!

"Mmm! They're delicious!"

One of the good things about being sent back to the age of 13 before our engagement is that I can still enjoy the bond I have with the palace's pastry chef, Barnazar. These cookies and Madeleines are the flavors I love. They are the best. I love Barnazar. Next time I visit the palace, I'll go to the kitchen to thank him again. (And get more sweets!)

While I was happily munching on the sweets, someone suddenly appeared from the other side of the garden.

"---Ah, Miss Lester..."

The one who muttered my name in a dazed manner was Alfred Balfour, whom I was just warned about.