Chapter 49

The Royal Palace Tea Party (Part 1)
Since we had finished exchanging updates about our lives, I asked about the royal tea party I would be attending.

It was a tea party for eight-year-olds who had undergone mana appraisal, accompanied by their mothers. All nobles, from ducal houses to baronial families, were invited.

With the recent new products, the Westland family had been attracting attention, so Mother would have a hard time. However, rather than the new products, what might be more of an issue was that I had silver hair, meaning there could be children who would approach me regarding magic. That would be unpleasant, but probably still better than what Mother would have to deal with.

"By the way, have you figured out the meaning of the Sage God's Blessing: Library?" Brother Chris asked.

I answered that I had absolutely no idea.

When would I finally understand the meaning of this blessing? Perhaps I should visit the Sage God’s church at least once.

The next day, the three of us went to Brother Chris's recommended cake shop, a bookstore, and a weapons shop that Brother Gerald had wanted to visit. For lunch, we explored the food stalls in the square.

The following day, I spent my time reading the books I had bought, and since the tea party was the next day, I took it easy.

Finally, the day of the royal tea party arrived. Mother and I were heading to the royal castle in a carriage.

"Hardt, please, don't cause any trouble. Behave yourself."

"I won't do anything. I'll just sit in the corner and eat food."

"Really? I'm worried about you..."

When we arrived at the royal castle and got off the carriage, a waiting royal maid guided us to the venue. However, the hallway was long. It twisted and turned in various places, and since it lacked distinctive features, I would definitely get lost if I had to return alone.

After about twenty minutes of walking, we arrived at the garden where the event would take place.

Since it was still warm during the day, the tea party was being held in a picturesque garden. Looking around the venue, I saw that the children and adults were seated separately.

After parting from Mother, a maid at the venue guided me to my seat.

Two children, a boy and a girl, were already seated, and three more seats were empty. It seemed there would be two more attendees besides me.

As soon as I sat down, a girl took one of the empty seats.

Her attire was not appropriate for a tea party. Instead, she wore a bright red dress more suited for a grand evening ball, with pale blonde hair curled into elaborate ringlets.

Seeing such an over-the-top effort when there weren’t even any princes present made me want to recoil. However, the girl kept her head down, looking embarrassed.

Had she realized that she was out of place?

She didn’t seem like a bad person.

"Since everyone is here, shall we introduce ourselves?" Said a boy with brown hair mixed with reddish-gold strands and topaz-colored eyes.

I wondered about the still-empty seat, but the three of us, including myself, nodded in agreement.

"I'm Raphael Clondale, the eldest son of Duke Clondale."

Oh, the eldest son of a duke, huh? He probably took the lead because he had the highest status at this table.

"I'm Brigitte Carlton, the second daughter of Marquis Carlton."

She had hair that mixed orange and gold, with emerald green eyes. She had a ribbon matching her eyes woven into her braided hair—it looked cute.

"I'm Reinhardt Westland, the third son of Margrave Westland."

"I’m Diane Garuda, the eldest daughter of Count Gardua." The girl in the red dress said in a small voice.

After the introductions, an awkward silence fell over us, but then I was relieved to see the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness the Princess.

The Queen headed toward the group of mothers, while the Princess approached the children’s group.

The empty seat seemed to be reserved for the Princess. She would probably move around as she spoke with different groups.

Even royalty had it tough.

"Raphael, it’s been a while.” The Princess greeted.

Raphael’s mother was the current king’s younger sister, meaning he and the Princess were cousins.

They exchanged a brief and polite conversation about recent events before the Princess turned to Brigitte.

Wow, she was going to do this with each of us one by one? I could never handle something like that.

"Young master Reinhardt, I was well taken care of at the Westland estate this summer. I had many experiences I could never have had in the royal capital. Thank you." The Princess said.

"It is I who should be grateful. Thank you for visiting Westland. My family and the citizens of our territory were delighted." I replied.

With that, the Princess moved on to Diane.

Even when looking at Diane’s outfit, the Princess didn’t let her expression change and spoke to her normally.

As their conversation wrapped up, the Princess left the table.

"Reinhardt, right? Why did the Princess visit Westland? Did something happen?" Raphael asked.

"Young master Clondale, Her Highness stayed for five days and toured the capital of our territory. Recently, our domain developed hair dryers and irons, so I believe that was the reason for her visit."

"Oh, just call me Raphael. No need for formalities. I'll call you Reinhardt too. Among our age group, the four of us are considered high-ranking nobles. It’s still a ways off, but we’ll be attending the academy together, so let’s get along."

I see. This table was for the high-ranking nobles of our age group. That meant the Garuda family must be one of the top count families. My older brothers never told me about that...

"I’d like to be addressed the same way, just call me Brigitte. The hair dryer has been very helpful. It makes getting ready in the morning so much easier. And the iron—my maid says it’s light and easy to use."

"Thank you. I wasn’t the one who developed them, but I’ll let the inventor know you’re happy with them. Please call me Reinhardt as well."

"... Please call me Diane, too." She said softly.

This girl... her attire and behavior were completely mismatched.

"Diane, we just met, but since we’re going to be friends from now on, I have to ask—didn’t your family stop you from wearing that outfit?" Brigitte said bluntly.

She was direct, but it didn’t sound like noble-style sarcasm—more like genuine concern.

"......"

Diane fell silent, lowering her head.

"Diane, if you don’t speak up, no one will ever understand how you feel. We’re only eight. Even if you make a mistake, you can still fix things." Raphael added.

He might actually be a good guy. As the heir of a ducal family, I expected him to be more arrogant.

"... I said I didn’t want to wear it, but my stepmother ordered me to. She hit me when I refused, saying I was being selfish..."

What kind of mother does that? As a noblewoman, she should know proper etiquette.

I glanced at Brigitte, who seemed to know something.

"Diane’s real mother has already passed away. The woman who accompanied her today is her stepmother. She probably wants to make her own daughter, who is two years younger, seem like the rightful heir. But that’s impossible.” Brigitte explained to us.

How did she even know about another family’s situation at this age?

"Diane, what do you want to do? Your stepmother will probably continue tormenting you. Will you just endure it? Or will you fight back?" I asked.

"I hate how things are now. But there’s no one to help me. If I could change, I would. I hate being weak too..."

When I asked if she had any visible bruises from being hit by her stepmother, she hesitantly admitted that the bruises were on areas usually covered by clothing. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Sorry, I know you didn’t want to talk about it. But those marks are important evidence. You should gather as many witnesses as possible here."

Raphael and Brigitte looked at me with excited expressions, as if anticipating something interesting.

What do you think about this chapter?