FSW Chapter 14

Purpose

Stress was beauty's greatest enemy, wasn't it? While preparing for the tea party, Nishina came to feel those words keenly. It was fortunate that her hair and skin were healthier than necessary—otherwise she'd already be bald with sandpaper-rough skin by now.

Unlike the spirited beginning, Nishina's motivation plummeted as the promised date approached. She hadn't thought it would be easy, but this exceeded her imagination. After selecting people to invite and sending out invitations one by one, she'd had to wander around searching for an appropriate location.

Her rose garden wasn't suitable—it wasn't summer yet, so the blooms weren't at their peak. She'd considered asking the gardener to advance the flowering season, but had to give up after being advised that flowers forced to bloom early would likely wilt easily afterward.

She finally managed to borrow her mother's tulip garden, but the problems didn't end there. She had to prepare refreshments and tea to suit the demanding tastes of young ladies, as well as appropriate clothing as the hostess.

After safely crossing all those mountains, today would finally show the results. Though the tea party hadn't even started yet, Nishina felt like offering prayers of gratitude just for finishing the preparations successfully.

Skillfully concealing her fatigue-worn face, Nishina made one final inspection of the surroundings. Thanks to the pâtissier's abilities evolving daily while researching Sir Russell's gifts, she'd been able to prepare splendid desserts rivaling the finest confectioneries.

On top of that, the fragrant floral tea Melissa had recommended and the high-quality tea table studded with jewels that His Imperial Majesty had prepared made the tea party all the more elegant. At this level, it was 80 points out of 100. And the remaining 20 depended on herself as the hostess.

She gently arranged the skirt of her dark blue dress, tailored for this occasion. To emphasize refinement over showiness, the focal point was placed on accessories rather than the dress. Thanks to the relatively modest style of the dress, the jewel positioned near her neck shone all the brighter. It was a jewel exactly the color of the bright yellow freesias decorating the table.

'So this was why Joy insisted so stubbornly on having this necklace made.'

Admiring Joy's grand design inwardly, Nishina clenched and unclenched her fist. Until just moments ago she'd felt only weariness, but now she was starting to feel a bit nervous. That's why she kept checking her surroundings and appearance repeatedly.

"Y-Your Highness! You d-don't need to be nervous!"

Ellis, pale as a sheet, whispered while repeatedly wiping her sweaty palms on her skirt.

'I think that's my line.'

Watching someone more nervous than herself actually helped Nishina's tension ease.

"Stop fidgeting and come here!"

Watching Ellis being dragged away by Joy's firm grip, Nishina's complexion grew more at ease.

'All right, let's go.'

Taking a deep breath, Nishina finally moved forward. The moment she appeared before them, the young ladies' bright, curious gazes focused on her. Though it was a situation that might have flustered her, Nishina spoke calmly when she reached them.

"It's my pleasure to meet you all. I am Princess Nishina Ea Rhonne of White Snow of the Snow Empire. First, thank you for taking the time to attend. This is my first time hosting such a gathering, so it may be quite inadequate, but I hope it will be an enjoyable time for all of you."

She completed the prepared greeting without a single mistake. Only when light applause sounded could Nishina finally shake off her tension completely.

As Nishina took her seat, the maids waiting behind began pouring tea. As the fragrance of the floral tea bloomed fully, the young ladies began carefully offering their greetings one by one. The first to speak was the young lady seated closest to Nishina.

"I am Valentina Orsini of House Orsini. It is an honor to be invited."

At such gatherings, it was customary to seat people in order of intimacy with the hostess—but when intimacy couldn't be determined, as in a first tea party like this, seating by rank was standard.

In other words, excluding Nishina in the seat of honor, she held the highest status here. Befitting the daughter of a ducal house, her greeting overflowed with elegance. Nishina was secretly impressed. Her own etiquette teacher would have given a standing ovation and praised her if she'd seen this. It was that perfect a display.

Nishina quickly took in everything from the gracefully held teacup to the sleek black hair visible at a glance. House Orsini was an distinguished family with diluted but genuine imperial blood mixed in. Perhaps because of that, members of the Orsini family were generally born with black hair like the imperial family.

Of course, her dark reddish-brown eyes differed from Nishina's, but the familiar hair color raised her internal sense of kinship just a little.

"I'm more grateful that you responded to my inadequate invitation."

However, since this tea party wasn't solely for building friendships, Nishina responded with a conventional smile and perfunctory manner.

Once the first greeting concluded, the young lady seated to Nishina's left offered her greeting.

"I am Haelsi Laurent of House Laurent. It is an honor to attend Your Highness's tea party."

A young lady with lush golden hair and a doll-like appearance beamed an unaffected smile freely. She smiled so brightly that Nishina's eyes nearly hurt in broad daylight. If this weren't a setting where she needed to summon every bit of dignity she possessed, she would have exclaimed aloud in admiration—but all Nishina could do was barely suppress the urge to squint against the physical stimulus. She hadn't imagined this kind of image at all during her preliminary research. With renewed feelings, Nishina reviewed the information described in the original work.

House Laurent, a core family of the Emperor's faction, had such tremendous loyalty to the Emperor that in the original work, they never supported Aiden to the end and fell together with the current Emperor.

And Haelsi—the Laurent daughter before her eyes—had been the first friend the Emperor assigned to the original Nishina. If Nishina hadn't declared Sir Russell her mentor and friend, and hadn't held this tea party, she probably would have been introduced as the first friend exactly the same way. But excessive loyalty could potentially interfere with what Nishina needed to do going forward. Because of that, she'd felt a strange resistance—

The moment she directly faced that smiling face, that resistance vanished without leaving a speck of dust. At Nishina's gaze watching her intently without a word, the corners of Laurent's beaming lips gradually lowered. Anxiety settled in her large eyes, wondering if she'd made some mistake.

"Your Highness...?"

"Ah, forgive me. Your smile was so radiant I lost my words for a moment."

"I see... what?"

At the unexpected flirtation, Laurent's face burst into flames. A young lady on the opposite side who'd been drinking tea choked so badly she coughed in agony.

Laurent opened and closed her mouth several times before finally pressing her lips firmly shut. This morning, her mother had repeatedly warned her to remain composed no matter what the Princess said.

But the one who'd thrown the stone hadn't even noticed the ripples she'd caused. From the start, Nishina hadn't considered honesty and dignity to be opposing concepts. That's why she thought there was no need to hide the reasons for her actions, even if she suppressed things like returning smiles, being informal, or age-appropriate exclamations.

Nishina tilted her head at the strangely silent surroundings.

"Is something wrong...?"

"N-no."

Only when the next young lady in turn came to her senses belatedly and offered her greeting did the awkward atmosphere return to normal. While Laurent still struggled to cool her flushed face, Nishina—having finally finished greetings—lifted her teacup.

Taking a sip of the tea with dried flowers blooming beautifully within, the sweet and fresh floral fragrance that had been wafting from all around spread throughout her mouth. Melissa had been so proud, saying this was precious tea imported from another kingdom for today. Indeed, it felt like holding spring itself.

"I'm not deeply versed in tea ceremony, so I prepared tea my mother recommended—I hope it suits your palates."

"This is my first time trying this tea, and it's truly fragrant."

"That's right. The aroma is so lovely, it pairs wonderfully with light refreshments."

They seemed genuinely impressed, offering nothing but praise. Some young ladies even asked where to purchase it.

She'd done well to include this tea in the gift list.

It was customary to give small gifts after the tea party to those who'd attended from far away—Melissa's advice. She'd struggled again putting together a gift list, but the headache had been worthwhile.

Amid fragrant tea, sweet pastries, warm weather, and beautiful flowers, the tea party ripened smoothly.

This was her first time having casual conversation with young ladies her age, but exchanging words and listening to their conversations was quite enjoyable. Her only close friend tended toward taciturnity, so initiating conversation was always Nishina's role. After the frivolous talk—like how they'd lost sleep from excitement after receiving the tea party invitation—passed, more personal topics emerged.

"I've been learning accounting lately, and it's such a headache."

When one young lady brought it up, everyone seemed to agree.

The invited young ladies were either marked as heirs to their houses or still competing for succession. In other words, they were all young ladies studying to inherit their families. Nishina secretly sympathized with these daily life stories not so different from her own.

"For me, swordsmanship lessons are the worst. I'd rather study more accounting than take swordsmanship lessons."

A countess's daughter seated near the middle shook her head as she spoke. Adding that she truly hated sweating and physical labor, the young lady casually posed a question to Nishina.

"I heard Your Highness recently began swordsmanship lessons as well... isn't it difficult?"

"Mm, my stamina isn't great so it's a bit overwhelming, but I'm learning quite enjoyably."

Nishina set down her half-empty teacup and answered with a smooth smile. Recalling days when her legs trembled constantly, her raised lips wanted to fall naturally—but still. When he praised the stamina slowly increasing at a snail's pace, the satisfaction was immense. She used to boast to Sir Hilton until he grew tired of it.

"For me, imperial studies lessons are harder than that. It's embarrassing to admit, but I get scolded by my tutor every single lesson."

Nishina shrugged playfully as she spoke. It was 100% pure truth, but the young ladies seemed to think it was a joke. The young ladies laughing lightly seemed much more at ease, having melted well into the tea party.

'I think it's about time to begin.'

Recalling the tea party's true purpose, Nishina added casually.

"Perhaps it's because Brother is so outstanding that I'm compared all the more."

She said it as if it were nothing—but this was the crucial opening to the story she was about to begin in earnest.

"His Imperial Highness the Prince?"

Recently, the only news they'd been hearing would have been slander meant to firmly bring down the Prince who'd lost his backing. Unable to hide her surprise, one young lady immediately asked, and Nishina continued as if she'd been waiting.

"Yes. My tutors praise Brother so much—they say until their mouths wear out that he's a model of an excellent leader."

"Ah..."

"Moreover, though Brother has only been assisting His Imperial Majesty with duties for one year, he's already showing exceptional results—everyone marvels that he's a talent with a promising future. That's why I'm constantly compared to him."

"..."

Though she'd finished speaking in the same light tone, silence fell for a moment.

The gentle atmosphere stiffened instantly. She knew she'd made things suddenly awkward—

But it couldn't be helped. This had been the tea party's purpose from the very beginning.