Royal Palace Tea Party (Part 2)
I made eye contact with a maid and signaled for her to come over.
I requested four glasses of water. When she handed them to us and I thanked her, she seemed surprised, but she smiled and bowed before stepping back.
"Diane, I'm going to pour juice and water on you now. The maids will probably guide you to a room where you can change. Tell them that your underwear is soaked, your hair is sticky, and you'd like to take a bath. The maids will surely notice your bruises, so tell them that your stepmother always hits you, saying you lack manners. Just apologize, saying, 'Sorry for startling you.' I'll take care of the rest."
She nodded at my words.
"Raphael, Brigitte, will you help me?"
""What do you need us to do?""
"I think her stepmother will say that Diane made a mess and insist on taking her home immediately, so I want you to stop her. If Diane changes in the palace, the abuse will be exposed. If it's just me, she might forcefully take her back."
The two of them nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, Diane, let's strike back at your stepmother."
With that, I poured juice over Diane's head.
"Oh no, my hand slipped. Now you're all sticky. Sorry."
I spoke loudly as I poured water over her next.
Then, I called over the maid from earlier and asked her to help Diane change and also requested a doctor's examination. The maid seemed to understand the situation and nodded.
Soon after, my Mother and Diane's stepmother arrived in a hurry, looking flustered.
"Hardt, what are you doing to a young lady?"
"She can't stay at the tea party like this, so we'll be taking our leave." Her stepmother said, grinning.
"Oh my, are you really going to take her home soaking wet like this?"
"Are you okay with her catching a cold? Or do you want her to fall ill so you can paint the royal family and Westland as villains?"
Brigitte and Raphael loudly criticized her stepmother.
She hadn't expected resistance and was visibly shaken.
"You're right, it would be troublesome if she caught a cold. She should change first.” Said Her Highness the Princess as she arrived.
Even she was telling her this, so the stepmother had no choice but to back down, though she looked pale.
When she tried to follow Diane as the maid led her away, the princess smoothly intervened, saying, "It's alright, the maids will take care of her," and guided the stepmother back to her seat.
"Hardt, you did that on purpose, didn't you? And everyone else was in on it too.” Mother said.
"Diane wanted to change her situation, so I just helped her a little.” I replied.
"But still... there had to be a better way... haah." She sighed as she returned to her seat.
Looking at the table, I noticed that Diane's wet chair had been cleaned. I gave the maids a small nod of gratitude before sitting back down in my own seat.
"Reinhardt, you sure went all out. But now that the royal family is involved, that stepmother won’t be able to do anything to Diane anymore. From now on, people will be watching closely."
"Diane is the heir, you know. Her father is a consort, just serving as acting Count until she comes of age. After this, the royal family will probably intervene, seeing him as incompetent. That stepmother likely doesn't realize that if Diane disappears, the count’s house will be done for."
Brigitte, you know way too much about other families. She’s definitely someone I wouldn’t want as an enemy.
After a while, a maid approached Her Majesty the Queen and whispered something to her. It was probably about Diane.
Then, Her Highness the Princess returned to the venue with Diane.
Wait, when did she go to pick up Diane?
Diane had changed into a light blue dress, her curled hair now straight and neatly tied with matching blue ribbons on both sides. She looked so different—like a beautiful young lady rather than a child.
She returned to our table with the princess, smiling at us. It seemed things had gone well.
"Honestly, Reinhardt, you always push trouble onto the royal family. But the Garuda family is about to join a joint business venture with us, so it's good we could intervene before it started."
"Is it really okay to talk about something that important with us?" I asked the princess.
"It's fine. It's about the tea bag business."
"Wait... is the Garuda family involved in tea production?"
Diane confirmed it.
Raphael and Brigitte also reacted with surprise and looked at the princess, who nodded—meaning it was okay to discuss it with us.
I asked them to keep it secret until the official announcement and briefly explained the tea bag business.
"But why does the Westland family, which has nothing to do with this, know about the business details?" Raphael questioned.
I told him that the person who came up with the idea was from the Westland territory.
I definitely wasn’t going to say that it was me.
The princess was struggling to hold back her laughter...
Now bonded by this shared secret, the four of us agreed to have a private tea party together soon before parting ways.
Diane would not be returning home for now and would be staying under the royal family's care.
As for me, I went to my Mother, and we headed home.
The moment we got into the carriage, my Mother scolded me.
"I told you to behave yourself! Why can't you listen?"
So I explained the situation with Diane and how she wanted to change her circumstances.
I also told her that Brigitte suspected Diane’s stepmother of plotting to take over the Garuda family.
And I mentioned how the princess was relieved that they had intervened in the Garuda family before the tea bag business began.
Mother, who had probably anticipated something like this, sighed and said, "If I go to a tea party with you, I have to be prepared for something to happen."
Since I had caused trouble for her, I apologized.
"Sorry, Mother."
What do you think about this chapter?
