At the salon building.
“Mhm? … Nice to meet you. I’m Cristea Ellisfeed.”
“We came to the salon building for a tea party today. Our family previously wanted to invite you to one, but unfortunately, we couldn’t extend the invitation without knowing each other.”
“I see… I leave matter like those to my parents to decide while in school, prioritizing my studies, so…”
What’s up with this male student?
He doesn’t look like a classmate, so he must be a senior, but I didn’t expect to be blamed for declining a tea party on our first meeting.
My parents have advised me not to get involved with nobles other than friends. So, both the invitations and the declines are handled by Okaasama.
Well, I’m not used to noble exchanges, and my parents have agreed that I’ll gradually get used to it by inviting and being invited to tea parties with people who have passed their checks.
“Yes, my mother mentioned that. So, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know each other.”
Trinian, with his cheerful smile, was accompanied by a few boys behind him, all nodding with equally bright smiles.
Eh, something seems fishy.
Their smiles are too suspicious. Ruby, through telepathy, said to me, (I don’t like this guy. He isn’t thinking anything good. Let’s move on quickly.)
That’s right. I feel the same way.
Their eyes aren’t smiling; it feels like they have ulterior motives.
I don’t know what “anything good” he meant exactly, but it’s definitely not anything good.
Mariel-chan seemed to have caught Ruby’s telepathic message too, glancing at me from time to time.
Ugh, hurry up, Miria!
If she arrives, we can say it’s time for our appointment and leave immediately!
“Miss Cristea, if you are willing, perhaps another time we could…”
“What on earth is going on here?”
“Alicia-sama!”
Just as Trinian was about to extend his hand, Alicia-sama intervened.
“Oh, it’s Trinian from the Gadrey family, isn’t it? Don’t you remember the decree from the academy director when you first enrolled?”
Alicia-sama’s mention of the decree referred to the directive about not recklessly approaching us, the Sacred Beast contractors.
While we naturally avoided unnecessary contact with other dormitories and the salon building, thanks to that decree, there hadn’t been anyone foolishly trying to approach us.
Seeing Alicia-sama glaring sternly, Trinian smirked with a nasty grin.
“Of course, I remember. However, today, when I heard that you two were having a tea party together, I thought perhaps that ban had been lifted. After all, it’s you, a member of Georgia household, becoming friendly with someone from the Ellisfeed household, which shouldn’t be the case.”
“Well, that’s…”
Alicia-sama tightly gripped the folding fan she held.
It seemed to be a well-known fact that the Georgia family, or Alicia-sama herself, harbored hostility towards me from the Ellisfeed family.
They must have concluded that if I could befriend Alicia-sama, it would be acceptable for them as well.
… How did they arrive to such a conclusion?
Just because I became friends with Alicia-sama doesn’t mean I have any obligation to be friends with this Trinian character!