270 - Guidebook Creation and the Tea Party Concept
...What exactly does a guidebook need, I wonder?
I read knitting and handicraft books in my previous life too, but making one yourself is a different story. Things I casually read... unless you were the editor who made the book or the knitting teacher who wrote the manuscript, you wouldn't know what kind of care was put into which parts. And even if I pull out my past life memories, I'm probably an amateur at bookmaking. I had no idea what was important or how much I needed to write for it to pass as a guidebook.
...Well, it's similar to a medical prescription, right? First, the ingredients. Even I can figure that much out.
I write out what I think is necessary onto the writing board. Ingredients were absolutely necessary, and without patterns, bobbin lace would be impossible for someone trying to start it for the first time. Speaking of absolute necessities, preparing the bobbins, which give bobbin lace its name, is also needed. Pins for holding the thread and a pillow for weaving the lace are necessary too.
...When I think about it again, there's a lot of required items.
I write out the bare minimum I can think of onto the writing board, and a sigh escapes me at the sheer number. I'd hoped it might spread to the marketplace as common handiwork, but even just gathering the tools would be a struggle.
...What if I sold it as a set with the tools, like those books where you collect materials bit by bit with each issue?
Thinking about this, I decided to put the distribution method on the shelf for now. First, I want to preserve and spread Aurelia's bobbin lace. I want bobbin lace to spread widely enough that even if I walk through the streets wearing Aurelia's ribbon, no suspicious merchant would target me. Rather than thinking about how to distribute a guidebook that isn't even finished, creating an easy-to-understand guidebook should come first.
...I want to consult with Kalisa.
I recalled Aurelia's words and wrote them down as I heard them, but when I read them back, the meaning wasn't clear. I think it's because specialized terms get mixed in when I write exactly as Aurelia said them, so I suppose I'll have to refine the wording in these parts too.
...Illustrated diagrams are absolutely necessary too, right?
Explaining with words alone is hard to understand, and I'm planning to include patterns anyway. Adding diagrams along with them shouldn't make much difference.
...But first, how does one even make a book?
Nils suggested I make a book, and I jumped at the idea, but making a book isn't simple. At the very least, it's probably not like in my previous life where you created a manuscript on a computer and brought it to a printer.
...How did they do that printing I saw before in the basement of the Menhishumi Church...?
At the Menhishumi Church when I first went, since Leonardo was with me, they showed me the underground printing workshop that wasn't open to the public. I remember they collected small metal pieces with letters on their tips called type to create a plate, and attached it to a large printing press. Guide Anna explained it briefly, but I can't create a book manuscript with just a smattering of simple knowledge.
...I want to consult with Nils too.
The more I think, the more things I'm lacking come into focus, and I already feel like giving up. But if I give up this quickly, Aurelia would laugh at me.
...I just have to do what I can, little by little.
I should ask Nils about how to create a manuscript for printing. He's in the city of Grenore. I can't exactly summon him all the way to the capital, so I can handle the printing after I return to the city of Grenore. I drew that line for now.
...What I can do is write down everything Aurelia taught me.
I'll refine the wording, add diagrams, and check whether those would be understandable to a beginner, making corrections as I go. I don't need to make everything perfect from the start, and I didn't think I could do such a thing anyway. I'll consult Kalisa about the guidebook content, and consult Nils when it comes to printing it as a book. In any case, I just have to keep moving forward with what I can do, little by little.
While carving out time between working on the bobbin lace guidebook, I arranged to invite Basilia to the detached palace. As one of the assignments for my lady's education, Hermine would only supervise this. Checking with Nadine whether it was alright to invite Basilia to the detached palace, and consulting with the lady's maids about the tea party, was all something I was taking the lead on this time.
...I've watched Felicia-sama prepare tea parties several times, but doing it myself is fun yet difficult.
Until now, Nadine had handled all the arrangements, or I was always on the invited side, so preparing a tea party from scratch was refreshing. There were many things to consider, like accommodating the guest's preferences and the season, but since this time I was only inviting Basilia alone, that aspect was a relief. When I thought about it again, Felicia, who entertains so many guests of different ages and genders, was truly impressive.
"The garden flowers are looking lovely, so... I was thinking of having the tea party in the garden. What do you think?"
"The wind isn't cold this season yet, so I think it's a good idea. The cosmos visible from the garden pavilion have begun to bloom, so they should be in full view by the tea party."
I voice the ideas that come to me. I keep turning my face toward Hermine, seeking someone to consult with, but each time she cups my cheeks with both hands and turns me back toward Valerier. I keep relying on Hermine, but she has come to the detached palace as both my tutor and a maid.
A tutor outranks a lady's maid, but a lady's maid outranks a regular maid. On top of learning about tea parties, I think she's drilling into me that I need to start making use of my lady's maid soon.
"Since our guest is Basilia-sama, would trendy sweets be more appreciated for the hospitality?"
"Basilia-sama is a young lady who is sensitive to trends, so I believe she is somewhat of a challenge."
"You're right. Even if we prepare sweets from a trendy shop, there's the possibility that Basilia-sama herself has already tried them..."
I have a feeling that Basilia would be delighted just by being invited to a friend's tea party, and wouldn't mind even if the sweets served were ones she'd seen before. But this tea party is also an assignment for me. Even if she seems like she'd be happy with anything, if I cut corners from the start, Hermine would scold me.
"...What if we abandoned a standard tea party and did something the two of us could enjoy instead?"
"Something the two of you could enjoy?"
"Basilia-sama also likes board games like Reversi and Saik, so I think she would enjoy doing something together."
A normal tea party involves arranging novel or trendy sweets and spending time exchanging information and gossip, but we're children, and the purpose of our tea party is certainly not information exchange, just simple hospitality. I don't think we need to force ourselves to have a standard tea party.
"Tina-san, please tell me everything you have in mind."
When I declared we should have a participation-style tea party, Hermine immediately interjected. She probably felt she couldn't stay silent. I imagine she thought it would be unwise to let Valerier, who still doesn't fully grasp me as a child, and me, a lady-in-training, freely prepare a tea party on a whim. For my part, having someone watch over me rather than leaving me entirely to my own devices actually makes me feel less anxious.
While confirming things with Hermine, I use the lady's maid to involve the cooks. Felicia poked her head in, wondering if something interesting was happening, but I told her it was a tea party study session involving a friend and declined her walk-in participation. If a princess were to join a casual practice tea party meant for ladies-in-training, it would become a tense affair where failure wasn't permitted. I'm fine since I'm already used to Felicia, but making Basilia suddenly face a princess would be pitiful.
...She did decline to participate in the tea party. In the tea party, that is.
When Basilia descended from the crimson carriage and saw Felicia coming out to greet her, she froze. Was it because she lost herself at Felicia's overwhelming beauty, or was she surprised to be welcomed by a princess? Either way, Basilia's eyes and mouth, widened in shock, did not close for quite some time. She remained frozen, entranced by Felicia, and managed to come back to her senses only when her tutor Eliana placed a hand on her shoulder. As expected, or what can I say, Eliana was unruffled even before Felicia.
"Christina's friend is such a cute girl."
Smiling with lips red despite wearing no lipstick, Felicia stroked Basilia's white cheek and noticed the lace ribbon tied in her hair. She moved her gaze to my hair with a leisurely motion, so she must have realized the ribbons were matching today.
"Girl friends wearing matching ribbons? How enviable, such a close friendship."
Whether the word "matching" broke the spell, Basilia's gaze turned toward me. When she noticed the matching ribbons tied in our hair, Basilia's cheeks flushed an undeniable red.
Felicia withdrew, saying she wouldn't interfere and for us to take our time. She truly seemed to have only wanted to see my guest's face. She had already been told about the tea party concept on the condition that she wouldn't intrude. All that was left was to report the actual reactions after Basilia went home.
"The gardener has trimmed everything beautifully, so I've prepared today's tea party in the garden pavilion."
"This way," I say, taking Basilia's hand and passing through the corridor. It might seem odd for a girl to escort another girl, but I don't mind. I'm in that kind of mood today.
"What... what sort of concept is this?"
Seeing the table set up in the garden pavilion, Basilia's eyes went round. I'd invited her to the detached palace under the pretext of a tea party, but what was arranged on the table was clearly not tea party preparations.
"Basilia-sama is knowledgeable about trendy sweets in the capital, isn't she? So I thought that even if we prepared sweets sold in shops, there would be no novelty..."
I introduced the cook, who had polished everything beautifully today in preparation for the tea party, and the two kitchen maids assisting him. Since I didn't know whether a young lady would actually do the work herself even as a concept, I prepared kitchen maids.
"Since it's a special occasion, why don't we make a cake together? I had various things prepared with that in mind."
"I... I would be making it?"
"When I say 'make a cake,' it's just choosing what goes between the layers and decorating it, so even we can manage."
Explaining the concept, I described the items laid out on the table. Since amateurs couldn't possibly make a cake from scratch, I had several types of sponge cake prepared in advance, in different flavors and shapes. I also had several types of cream and jam for between the layers, and for decoration, I'd prepared star- and bird-shaped cookies, fruits, nuts, sugar confections shaped like flowers, specially ordered small-sized Norakamu, and sweets called jewel beans in this world which were jelly beans in my previous life.
"Let me explain how we'll play."
Saying this, I pointed to a round sponge cake that was a bit large for a child to eat. The flavor was mild chocolate.
"For the base, we'll use this chocolate one. For the cream between the layers... let's go with a sweet-and-sour berry jam."
As soon as I voiced my idea, the cook began to move. He took the sponge cake I'd selected and started spreading psal berry jam between the layers.
"We'll send this one to Felicia-sama. Since it's for an adult lady, how about soaking a bit of alcohol that complements the jam into the base?"
"In that case, I believe psal wine or psal brandy would be suitable."
"Then I'll leave that to you."
Since I don't know the names or flavors of the alcohol, I'll leave the selection itself to the professional cook. The flavors should come together more cohesively than if I combined everything on a whim.
"For the surface, instead of cream, coat it with chocolate and, let's see... use cookies and nuts for the eyes, and draw a horned owl's face."
"What shall we do about the ear-tufts?"
"How about sticking nuts into the base before coating the surface with chocolate?"
"Understood."
Basilia watched with sparkling eyes as the cook poured chocolate over the surface of the cake and smoothed it flat. It was more like assembling and decorating pre-made sweets rather than actually making sweets, but it seemed to strike a chord with Basilia. By the time the finishing work was handed over to the kitchen maids and the horned owl face was completed, Basilia's cheeks were rosy with anticipation.
...Yeah, kids really do love watching the process of making things. And gingerbread houses too.
In my previous life, I'd made a gingerbread house with a friend using a pre-assembled kit. The sweets themselves were ordinary, just familiar flavors, but I remembered how the sense of satisfaction from making a gingerbread house and the excitement of the time spent making it made the familiar sweets taste several times better, which was why I brought it to this tea party. I couldn't compete with Basilia on trendy sweets, but with this, there were no trends to speak of, so I thought Basilia would enjoy it.
The finished horned owl chocolate cake was delivered to Felicia via Valerier, and Basilia and I set about making our own cakes anew. Basilia, who had immediately started staring at the sponge cakes, was already struggling with the choice of base.
"Basilia-sama, which do you prefer, the chocolate-colored one or the pink one?"
"The pink one!"
"Then I'll take the square pink one."
"Do you like pink, Tina-sama?"
"No, I thought I would give my cake to Basilia-sama once it's finished."
"Then I'll give what I make to Tina-sama!"
We decided to give each other our cakes, and assembled them while asking about each other's preferences. The cook's role was to make cream based on combinations we thought up on the spot, while the kitchen maids' role was to assemble each cake. I'd prepared kitchen maids wondering whether a noble young lady would do the work herself, but when it came time to decorate the surface, Basilia was already holding up her sleeves and decorating the cake herself.
It might be unthinkable hospitality for a lady's tea party, but Basilia seemed to greatly enjoy this concept.
A cute girl frolicking and giggling is adorable. Now, for what everyone has been waiting for, it's almost time for that thing.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.