Chapter 624

Afternoon Tea with Lady Aliulus (1)
Once our discussion on clothing and design wrapped up, we took a break and moved on to the tea party.
Amira joined us too—she’d finished her studies for the day, and honestly, she’s far more knowledgeable about tea party etiquette than I am!

“Young Lady Amira, your manners are truly impeccable. May I ask where you learned them?”

“Ah, well… I was born into the upper class of the settlement where my sister lived. So I was taught from a young age.”

“I see. Then Lady Lily’s background must have been quite different.”

“I devoted myself entirely to craftsmanship—and a bit to learning how to protect myself, of course.”

“So even within the same settlement, upbringing makes such a difference…”

“With respect, Lady Aliulus, it’s the same for you as well.
Among the artisans living under your rule, those who do business with nobles must surely learn manners from childhood. But for the rest, mastering their craft takes priority over etiquette.”

Oof—Amira’s logic hit hard.
Even Lady Aliulus couldn’t argue with that.

“You… you’re quite right. I’d forgotten my own noble position for a moment. My apologies, Young Lady Amira.”

“Not at all. I only came to understand such things myself after moving in with my sister.”

I don’t know much about Amira’s time in the royal castle.
She doesn’t talk about it—and if she doesn’t want to, that’s fine.
When she does want to share, I’ll be there to listen. That’s enough for now.

“But this tea you’ve brought, Lady Aliulus—it’s truly delightful. There’s a faint hint of fruit in the aroma.”

“Thank you, Young Lady Amira. It’s made from tea leaves that are a specialty of my domain.”

“A local specialty, you say… Would it be possible to purchase some?”

“Sister, not during the tea party...”

“Oh, it’s quite all right. I can spare a small amount. Once I return home, I’ll have it added to our trade list.”

Yes!
Amira seems to love it too, and even a small supply will be more than enough for our household!

“By the way, those spiders of yours are remarkably intelligent.”

“You mean the Kiblinki Saltas?”

“Yes. I heard they captured this kingdom’s former crown prince and his associates during the party. And Lord Sazaby has apparently requested to borrow them—is that for security purposes?”

“The loan to Darshe isn’t for security, but rather for agricultural development and the discovery of new crops.”

“Agricultural development?”

“The Kiblinki Saltas live in remote areas and grow vegetables to sustain themselves. I started recruiting them personally, and that’s how things ended up like this.
This year, they’ll be active in Darshe, the Isles of the Eight Gods and even within the McFarlane Dukedom—so I’ll need to recruit more than usual.”

“I see... agricultural development. Would that include the cultivation of flowers or fruit trees?”

“What do you say, Kiblinki Saltas?”

(If you phrase it that way, yes, it would include those. However, they’re not our specialty, so we’d need someone to teach us the basics first.)

“Splendid. Lady Lily, please allow me to request a loan of some Kiblinki Saltas for my own Aliulus territory as well.”

Huh—sounds like there’s a reason behind that request.
Well, I’m sure Lord Sazaby will handle the allocations fairly.

What do you think about this chapter?