254 - Secret Tea Party 1
I roll the bobbins, clack, clack. With the high-quality thread I brought from Grenore, a simple flower-patterned ribbon should be completed soon. It is more complex than a geometric pattern, but not so intricate as to show off bobbin lace's full potential. As a ribbon made by a child to give to a friend, I think it is neither good nor bad.
...Now that I think about it, since it was a special outing, maybe I should have worn the lace collar.
The bobbin lace collar made in Mandez had been brought along when I moved to the capital, but I still had not worn it even once. The lace was so beautifully made that I kept saving it for a special occasion, but for the Recollection Festival I wore the outfit prepared for me as the Spirit's Favored Child, and for the martial arts tournament I wore formal wear, so I never had a chance to put it on. Part of me felt like I could use it for everyday occasions, given the special feeling of being in the capital, but somehow I could not bring myself to use it, feeling it would be a waste.
When I let slip such thoughts to Rebecca, who prepares my clothes every morning, Felicia came by. Somehow word must have reached her ears through some channel or another.
"If you need a reason to dress up, you can just create one, you know."
"I dress up whenever I feel like it, even without a reason, and besides, I am most beautiful when I do nothing at all," Felicia continued as she entered the room, wearing a dress that had just been delivered the other day. Though I say "dress," the fabric coverage was kept to a bare minimum. It was a bewitching outfit that revealed not only her body lines but also her chest and legs. The tailor, who had lost a major customer when the Eighth Princess fell from grace, seemed to be working hard to gain the Sixth Princess as a new client. He was making Felicia's clothes at full speed and delivering them to the detached palace whenever they were completed.
"Aren't you having a tea party with your followers today?"
"Today, I am in the mood to go out."
Apparently, she had turned down all visitors for today because she felt like going out. Felicia was a sociable person. She had been cooped up in the detached palace keeping me company at Alfred's request, so perhaps she had finally felt like going out.
"But won't your lady's maids and coachmen have trouble if you suddenly say you are going out?"
"My stewards do not make careless mistakes in that regard."
The lady's maids and stewards who served Felicia on a daily basis were apparently trained to handle their mistress's sudden whims. I glanced at Felicia's steward, but he did not seem particularly flustered or panicked.
"...This is actually a consideration for the servants, as a lady."
Apparently, being away from home once in a while was a form of consideration for the servants. If the mistress is always in the residence, the servants cannot relax, and it is apparently difficult to do major seasonal reorganization of the rooms.
...Certainly, doing a big cleanup right in front of one's master probably is not very elegant.
Not that I myself was particularly concerned about elegance. But as a lady, I suppose one had to be mindful of such things.
"Christina, the maid you will bring along can be Nadine."
"Would not Hermine-sensei be better?"
If we were going to organize the rooms in preparation for autumn, I thought it would be better to leave Nadine, who was supervising the work, at the detached palace. But Felicia instead gave instructions to bring Nadine and leave Hermine behind. When I asked back in surprise, I found myself stared back at by Felicia as though I were the strange one.
"It is true that normally we should leave Nadine as the supervisor. But we are talking about organizing Christina's room, are we not? For autumn, it is better to leave it to Hermine, who already knows your preferences."
And as a bonus, Felicia gave me an assignment. Starting from winter, I would have to entrust the task to the detached palace's maids and give the organization instructions myself. Apparently, I was exempted from organizing the autumn room by Felicia's judgment, since I still was not used to the capital and the detached palace.
"To add to that, since we are visiting where we are visiting, it is better to bring a maid of higher status."
Felicia also instructed that Leonardo should accompany us as an escort. It seemed Felicia would be taking charge of today's outing, and I felt a little relieved just to follow her directions.
"Leonardo, I forbid you from acting as Christina's shield, as her big brother."
"Where on earth are you taking me!?"
With Leonardo, my strongest shield, suddenly sealed off, my thoughts, which had been in a fully deferential mode, came rushing back. As I moved to hide behind Leonardo, thinking I would not let us be separated, I noticed Felicia had a rather amused expression on her face.
W-was I being teased?
Had she just been testing how I would react if she tried to separate us? I could not grasp Felicia's true intentions, and as I grabbed Leonardo's clothes without caring if they wrinkled, Leonardo took over my question.
"Where do you intend to take Tina?"
"There is no need to be so wary. The place I am taking Christina to visit is my Mother's detached palace."
If it was the consort's detached palace, security was strict and danger was minimal. The Silver-White Knights were stationed there in greater number than at my detached palace, so there should be no need for Leonardo to stay glued to her side as a guard, Felicia said.
"You cannot very well insist you will not go anywhere unless your brother accompanies you, can you?"
"In other words, it is something like training to cure Tina of her shyness around strangers..."
Indeed, I cannot use myself as a shield forever, Leonardo's gaze dropped down to me. Felicia's proposal seemed to have easily won Leonardo over. When I heard the reasoning, it was a proposal I could not very well refuse either.
"I understand. So I am forbidden from hiding in the shadow of Leonyaldo Big Brother, but you will still come along, right?"
When I answered that I would obey, Valerier brought a lace collar from the dressing room.
Felicia's carriage had no walls, so the ventilation and visibility were good. Leonardo had been told to accompany us as an escort, but since the carriage had no walls, I did not feel that far apart from Leonardo, who was riding alongside.
...Even though I finally broke out my lace collar, being separated from Leonyaldo-san makes me restless.
I was restless, but I could not let it show on my face, so I forced myself to remain calm. Since this was essentially a pointed remark that relying entirely on Leonardo was a problem, I had to prove that being separated by this much distance was nothing.
"It is not like I am going to eat you, you know. There is no need to be so tense."
No one was telling me to become completely independent right away. They were telling me to gradually wean myself off my brother step by step, and as I distanced myself from my brother, to increase my close acquaintances instead. I thought that not hiding in my brother's shadow was something I should be able to do at age eleven.
"...By 'get used to being away from Leonyaldo Big Brother,' is there actually a need to get used to it?"
"Leonardo is a linchpin of our country's defense. We cannot keep him playing around in the capital forever, now can we."
Felicia's brow furrowed slightly, as if troubled, and I recalled what Alfred had told me. On the carriage ride to the capital, I had heard that things were currently a little tense with a neighboring country. If that was the case, it would be only natural to want Leonardo, who guarded the border, to return to the fortress.
...If we are talking about tensions between countries, I suppose I will have to set aside my shyness around strangers.
After hearing the circumstances, I could not keep tying Leonardo down just because of my shyness. Leonardo was the commander of the knights who guarded the fortress at the border, and at the recent martial arts tournament, he had earned the highest renown as the Silver-White Knight. Such a useful knight could not be kept babysitting his little sister forever.
...No good. I thought I could at least stay home alone without Leonyaldo-san, but in the capital, it is probably impossible.
In the city of Grenore, I had lived a life where I hardly left the residence, so I could do the same in the capital. That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I was in a position where merely being seen led to love letters being delivered, invitations to lunch from the former king, and receiving the protection of the Sixth Princess. Even if I wanted to be left alone, my surroundings would not allow it.
I could not just keep shutting myself away like a clam forever.
Time is up. I succumbed to the daytime heat, so today's chapter is pitifully short.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date. Fixed any typos and omissions I found.