‘Who is she?’

It was a face I’d never seen before.

I knew almost all the personal details of the nobles from District 1 in the capital.

‘If I don’t know her, then she must be from an insignificant family...’

That was what I thought.

“Eril.”

“Erilot?”

The twins called me.

“Hmm?”

“Not eating? Don’t like it?”

Balzac looked at me with a worried face.

My family was always very afraid when I didn’t eat.

Because whenever I was sick or troubled, I would lose my appetite first.

“No, it’s good.”

I twirled some pasta around my fork and popped it in my mouth.

Only then did Balzac’s expression relax.

Meanwhile, Lismond was running far away, avoiding Catherine.

After finishing the meal, I went back to my room.

The room provided by the Iklepto territory was to my liking.

It wasn’t as luxurious as Astra, but it showed signs of good care.

It seemed my luggage had been moved during the meal.

Just as I was about to sit on the sofa, there was a knock.

“It’s Rumelisa.”

When I opened the door, several young ladies, including Rumelisa, were there.

Rumelisa held up a case of tea and said,

“How about some tea time after the meal? I have some good tea.”

‘I’m a bit tired...’

But I couldn’t miss the chance to build connections.

I smiled brightly and answered,

“Sounds good!”

“Let’s have it in the garden. Others will be there too.”

“Yes.”

I put on a cardigan and left the room.

As we chatted while walking, we soon reached the garden.

The garden of the Iklepto Marquis estate was beautiful.

‘More like a field of evening primroses than a garden.’

There were no other flowers, only evening primroses everywhere.

Here and there were beautiful lights.

The primroses shining in the light were truly pretty.

“There’s a table over there.”

One child pointed to a gazebo.

We all took seats at the only table in the garden.

“Good the table is big enough. We can all sit.”

“Yes.”

We asked the servants to prepare the tea and began chatting in earnest.

“Lately, at the Azis Marquis family...”

“Empress Oselia...”

“Our family is starting a new business...”

I tried to hide my dazzled expression.

‘Such cute chatterboxes.’

Just talking for barely ten minutes, I got tons of information.

Since they were still kids, their lips were not tight at all.

While talking, the servant brought the tea.

The tea # Nоvеlight # leaves Rumelisa brought were definitely excellent.

“The aroma is wonderful.”

“The pastries are great too. So fancy...”

We were squealing and enjoying the tea when—

“Some guests are here.”

A group of girls approached.

‘Catherine.’

Rumelisa’s expression darkened.

“Good evening, Lady Erilot Astra.”

Catherine was the daughter of Duke Trang and a foreign princess.

In terms of pedigree, she was a step above Rumelisa, who had the Empress Dowager as great-aunt.

When Rumelisa greeted her, Catherine replied,

“Yes, Lady Paangte.”

‘Oh, Catherine doesn’t seem to like Rumelisa.’

She stressed the word “Marquis” very strongly.

Rumelisa’s eyebrows twitched.

“Sorry for taking the seats already.”

“It’s fine. We only have to host Lady Erilot Astra.”

Catherine smiled slyly at me.

“Nice to meet you, Lady.”

“Hello, Lady Trang.”

“You call Lady Paangte by her name, so call me Catherine too.”

“Eh? Ah...”

Rumelisa glared at Catherine without bothering to hide it anymore.

‘They’ve been enemies since the first life.’

These two had much in common.

Both were nobleborn who would put others to shame.

Only children of powerful families.

Mountains of pride.

Each leader of a different faction.

Just like there cannot be two suns, there cannot be two leaders in one world.

Whenever Rumelisa and Catherine met, they tore into each other.

“Rumelisa Paangte, the princess of the social scene? What a ridiculous story.”

“Catherine Trang, the poet of the social scene? Do I misunderstand what a poet is?”

Their enmity was as famous as that between Dukes Chateaubriand and Germo.

‘Why are they suddenly fighting over me...’

Catherine blinked.

“Hm? Why don’t we just call each other by name?”

“Uh... Catherine...”

“Yay, I’m happy! Shall we go?”

“Ah, I...”

I was about to hesitate when Rumelisa stepped forward.

“Erilot has a prior engagement with us. Lady Trang’s behavior now is only making things difficult for Erilot.”

“I heard Lady Paangte often hung out with Erilot in the capital. Can’t you yield to me, a stranger?”

“Yield a person? Erilot isn’t an object.”

“Not a person, but I meant yield tonight. Does Lady Paangte not get the context?”

Their eyes clashed in midair.

I thought sparks might fly.

‘This is going to turn into a fight.’

“Uh, then—”

Just as I tried to speak, other children who were nervously watching stepped in.

“How about we all have tea together? There’s plenty of space at the table!”

“Y-yeah.”

Rumelisa and Catherine frowned.

But seeing my troubled face, they sighed resignedly.

Rumelisa’s group yielded the seats to Catherine’s group.

“Please, sit.”

“Lady Paangte brought tea leaves, and they’re wonderful.”

“You there, bring more tea sets.”

We ended up sitting around the table for a nighttime tea party.

There were ten chairs, so it was quite lively.

‘Almost like a proper tea party... wait, ten chairs?’

Me.

Five on Rumelisa’s side.

Five on Catherine’s side.

‘That’s eleven people.’

Turning my head, I saw a red-haired young lady standing apart.

She was the girl who had called me ‘filthy blood.’

A black-haired girl from Rumelisa’s side looked embarrassed and said,

“What do we do? There aren’t enough seats...”

“Yeah. But who is that? I’ve never seen her before.”

Catherine, who sat first in the remaining seat, said,

“Oh. That’s Sarah Fogg of the Fogg Marquis family.”

“Fogg Marquis family...?”

The children were confused, so Catherine said lightly,

“Not a family from District 1, but she came up to the capital this time, right?”

Sarah Fogg shrugged and answered,

“Yes! Hello, ladies.”

The girl greeted with fluttering eyelids.

Other young ladies nodded lightly.

“Nice to meet you, ladies.”

“Hello.”

“But what about seats?”

At that moment, I said,

“How about we all scoot closer together?”

These kids probably couldn’t imagine scooting over to sit.

In the capital, there were always enough seats.

Especially at parties, the number of guests was perfectly calculated and everything set.

There were never uninvited or unapproved guests.

It was a great insult.

The kids clapped their hands and nodded.

“Oh, great idea.”

“Just get more chairs!”

These kids really were kind.

‘If I said this in Astra...’

I briefly thought of Liantin.

“What? We came first, why should we give up our seats? Are you crazy?!”

We scooted closer little by little, and the servants quickly brought more chairs.

Sarah Fogg clapped happily.

“A midnight tea party with nobles. It’s like entering a fairy tale.”

Then others laughed.

Catherine raised a teacup brought by a servant and said,

“Sarah always speaks so sweetly.”

“But how did you two get to know each other?”

“Because of the friendship between Marquis Fogg and my father.”

Sarah giggled.

“My father started a business with Duke Trang.”

The atmosphere was warm.

Rumelisa no longer showed any ill will to the other young ladies.

Catherine also seemed unwilling to spoil the mood, pretending not to notice Rumelisa.

The midnight tea party was thankfully not chaotic.

.

.

After the tea party ended late into the night, the young ladies slowly dispersed.

“It was a really enjoyable tea time.”

“How about gathering again tomorrow to drink tea together?”

“Great!”

I smiled brightly and said goodbye.

Then I left the garden with light steps.

‘Got so much good info!’

Just as I was about to climb the stairs—

“Um, Lady.”

A voice came from behind.

I turned to see Sarah Fogg.

“Lady Fogg?”

“Yes!”

“What is it?”

“I think I misunderstood you, so I came to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

Sarah approached hesitantly.

“I heard many bad rumors about you. So I was misunderstanding you alone. I... was rude, wasn’t I?”

She had laughed awkwardly in the dining hall; maybe that was why.

Sarah smiled brightly.

“There’s no way such a considerate person could have half such vulgar blood. I was foolish, right?”

“...”

“People’s jealousy is too much. Spreading rumors just because you’re talented...”

“...”

“I apologize for misunderstanding, and I hope we can build a good relationship going forward.”

“If you mean my mother being a commoner, that’s true.”

“...?”

I was already climbing the stairs, so I looked down at Sarah a few steps up.

“Yes, that was rude of me too.”

“Ah...”

“But I also want to build a good relationship from now on.”

What good is fighting with a child?

‘Among nobles, there are plenty who care about bloodlines. I can’t fight them all.’

When I saw Sarah in the garden, I realized she just really wanted to fit in with the other young ladies.

“I’m sorry, Lady Erilot Astra.”

“Yes.”

I nodded lightly and went back up the stairs.

Then, from the entrance came another ruckus.

“Lady Erilot! It’s Catherine! If you’re okay, can you talk with me—”

“Rumelisa! You said you liked the tea leaves, so I want to share some!”

‘Ugh.’

It seemed like another battle for me was about to break out.