274 - Side Story - Felicia's Perspective - Behind the Tea Party 1
Today Christina is hosting a tea party with her friends. The Markov family's illegitimate child has been invited, but from what Christina says, inviting friends for tea is just one of her assignments. She kept her face composed saying it was difficult, difficult, but she was talking more than usual, so inwardly she must be excited to welcome her friends. Christina described Basilia as a 'tsundere', but from where I stand, Christina herself is firmly 'tsun' while also being 'dere'.
...For someone who says she does not want to become a noble, she certainly completes the assignments given to her, that child.
If she truly hated it, she could just shut herself away, and Christina could twist any inconveniences resulting from that however she pleased. For Christina to work happily, the King my father would stand as her guardian, and even if I think it is still twenty or thirty years away, even after the generation changes, the next king should proclaim themselves Christina's guardian. If she truly hated the bothersome interactions between nobles, I could keep all of them away from her.
...That child, even as she says she hates it, hates it, she still properly faces her birth, does not she.
Right now she is rejecting her grandfather, but at her core she is earnest and good-natured. As Bertrand shows signs of decline with age, she will inevitably become concerned, and thinking of the territory's people, it will become a shackle. If something happens to the heir, she will choose to enter the Cantal family, even if it means living separately from her grandfather. That is the kind of child Christina is.
...I do like children who show initiative.
I like promising children even more. I had heard she was a reincarnator, so I thought even in her young form she would act like an adult, but Christina was a girl just as she appeared. Because of her small build she looks younger than her actual age, but compared to boys, girls' hearts grow faster. Seeing Christina with that in mind, her personality seemed roughly her actual age, or perhaps a little younger.
...I wish I could have attended Christina's tea party too.
She consulted me about the concept beforehand, and Christina was thinking of something interesting. I wanted to join in as a surprise guest, but with Basilia there it would be impossible. Most people who meet me for the first time turn into dolls. Even Christina, who can now talk to me normally, was a cute little doll when we first met. Aside from family, the only person who could talk to me without being flustered was Leonardo. I think that ability to use that face differently in public and private comes from his royal blood, but Leonardo's family still has not been found, and no royalty who remember having such a child nor who lost a child to kidnapping exist either. For that reason, no matter how much Leonardo's face resembles his father's features, he is treated as a commoner orphan. All the King my father can do is occasionally call him to his side as a favored knight and look at his face.
"Felicia-sama, a gift has arrived from the Owl Princess."
"From Christina? She should be in the middle of her tea party right now."
"It seems she made a cake for Felicia-sama as part of the tea party's concept."
I looked up from the documents I was holding, and a maid came pushing a cart. Since the cart held tea utensils rather than documents, she must intend to use the gift as an excuse to make me take a break. Because I am guarding Christina at Alfred's request, I have brought all my work to the detached palace. Since the distance for document exchanges with the government office building has increased, it has become a bit more troublesome.
...Still, having a 'little sister' really is lovely, is not it.
Looking at the chocolate cake that was clearly designed with a horned owl motif, I picture the face of the girl who made it. The extra trouble was because of Christina, but when I think of that adorable little girl, this much trouble is nothing. My own younger sisters had no charm to speak of, but if I could have a cute little sister like Christina, I feel like one or two more would not be bad.
...If I could get a little sister this cute, it might not be a bad idea to make Leonardo my husband.
Then a cute little sister would come with him. It is a truly wonderful idea.
...Well, I suppose he would be opposed to it.
If I want to obtain Christina by means other than taking Leonardo as my husband, perhaps marrying her to my younger brother would be good. Alfred is too far apart in age, but the age gap with my youngest brother will not matter once they are adults. If, as Christina herself claims, adulthood begins at twenty, then when Anselm comes of age at fifteen, she could marry him with hardly any waiting for my younger brother to reach adulthood. The only problem is that Anselm is my half-brother, so she would become somewhat more distant as a younger sister.
"That is enough. Cut it for me, please."
"Yes. ...I feel a bit reluctant to cut into it."
"Even so, it is food, so eventually it must be cut, no?"
I enjoyed the adorable horned owl for a while, then urged my maid to enjoy the cake in its proper way. As I thought, the maid also seemed reluctant to put a knife to this horned owl design, and she smiled wryly.
With a brief "if you will," the maid cut the knife into the horned owl's face. As the owl's face split apart, the scent of brandy gently wafted up.
"What a clever idea. Trapping the brandy's scent in the chocolate."
If this was intentional, it might be worth reporting to Christina's governess later. This presentation would earn extra points.
Since it was a refreshment for the tea party, though this is my break time, I will grade Christina's work. The horned owl, with even its ear tufts depicted, was adorable, so the appearance gets full marks. Next is the taste, which I will judge by putting it in my mouth.
"Oh?"
The cut cake was placed on a small plate and set before me. In the brandy scent wafting more closely than before, a faintly different smell was mixed in.
"What is the matter?"
"No, perhaps it is my imagination...?"
Just in case, I cut a small piece of the cake with my fork and brought it to my mouth. Mixed with the taste of mildly sweet chocolate and Psal berry jam was a faint trace of a taste that stuck in my memory.
"...Could you change the tea to Isekod leaves?"
"What? Ah, yes! At once!"
Abandoning the prepared tea set, one maid withdrew to brew new tea. Isekod leaves are tea leaves with detoxifying properties. They are not a universal antidote that works for everything, but they serve as some comfort, so people who fear assassination regularly drink Isekod tea. I have heard that some people build up a resistance to poison over years by gradually introducing small amounts of poison along with Isekod tea into their bodies.
"There is nothing wrong with the knife. If poison was planted in the cake..."
If poison was planted in the cake, the first person to suspect would be Christina, who prepared it. It seems absurd to suspect that girl, but I cannot deny the possibility from the start.
"I will apprehend Christina-sama immediately."
"Just the antidote is fine. Let us let the tea party end without incident first."
"But..."
"It will not be too late even after we investigate a little more."
I can tell poison was planted in the cake, but I need to investigate where and how it was planted. Regardless of who planted the poison, investigating the method should not be wasted effort.
"Please stop, Felicia-sama. We will investigate."
I searched for where the poison was hidden while crumbling the cake finely. It would be nice if it were something I could see with my eyes, but no fool would use such obvious poison. Since I needed to check each item's smell and taste, I conducted the investigation with my own tongue. The maid tried to stop me, but for matters like this, my own tongue is the most reliable. I do not entrust important things to others.
"I will drink the antidote right away, so do not worry."
"Even if you say antidote, Isekod is not a universal medicine. Please do not do something that puts your own body at risk, Felicia-sama."
"...At this point, my body would not be undone by poison of this level."
It is such a shoddy poison that I could tell right away from eating it. Just as I had a flash of recognition from the taste, I was certain I had encountered it before.
"I cannot show this to Christina. And she went to all the trouble of making it."
"That Christina-sama is the suspect, you know."
I looked down at the cake on the small plate, now crumbled to pieces from my investigation to find where the poison was. I felt regret that she had gone to all the trouble, but the maid quickly took the finished plate away from before my eyes.
I timed sending a maid to fetch her around when the tea party would be ending, and Christina came immediately. Seeing her smiling, the tea party must have ended without any particular problems.
...From my view, Christina's cheerful smile and the maid behind her are quite contrasting, though.
The maid behind Christina is the one I sent to call her. Since she thinks Christina poisoned me, her wariness shows on her face.
"How was the horned owl cake?"
Now, how should I broach the subject? I was planning to guide the conversation by asking about the tea party, but Christina brought up the topic I wanted to hear about. When I gave a vague answer about the taste of the cake, Christina's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
...I am sorry, Christina.
Apologizing inwardly, I first set a trap. If I did not do this, the gaze of the maid standing behind Christina would be too uncomfortable.
"There is still half left. Would you like to try it?"
"May I? Yes, please!"
When I suggested she try the poisoned cake, Christina took the bait beautifully. As Christina's face lit up with joy, the maid behind her also lit up. Christina's smile is adorable, but the maid's smile behind her is the face of someone who can now openly serve the poisoned cake to Christina. She is a good-looking maid, but it is not a very pleasant smile.
"Here I go~"
"Christina."
As Christina brought the prepared cake to her mouth with her fork without hesitation, I called her name to stop her. Since I had investigated until the cake was in crumbs, I already knew where the poison was hiding. Christina had cut a rough, bite-sized piece, but the place where the poison lurked was also in that cut piece. If Christina had deliberately put poison in the cake, she would not be able to eat it without hesitation.
Or so I thought, but Christina tried to eat the poison without a moment's hesitation, clearing the maid's suspicions behind her. With a pale face, the maid behind me started brewing Isekod tea for Christina.
First, Christina's suspicion was cleared, so I diverted her attention from the cake in front of her by bringing up the tea party. Christina, who had no idea her own cake was poisoned, reached for the plate with the cake whenever the conversation lulled. Each time I called her name to stop her, so she probably thought I was being mean. Gradually, a hint of dissatisfaction crept into her blue eyes.
...From what Christina said, the poison was probably applied to one side of the cook's knife.
I learned from breaking apart the cake that the poison was under the Psal jam. If the poison had been mixed into the jam, it should have been on both the top and bottom sponges sandwiching the jam, but poison was only found on the bottom sponge. It seems at the tea party they ate the cake Basilia made, and after cutting my cake and Christina's cake, there was probably almost no poison left on the knife. It is only a coincidence, but it also seems to have worked in our favor that Christina made the cake intended for Basilia mosaic-patterned. By cutting through more sponge, the poison was reliably wiped off onto the sponge. For something to be put in one's mouth, having poison on it would be fatal, but in terms of wiping off the poison, it could not have been better.
I signaled to the maid that it would be best to have Christina drink the antidote just in case, and a cup was placed before Christina. Whether from talking too much or not, without any particular guidance, Christina brought the cup's contents to her lips.
...If you are not used to it, it is bitter, that Isekod tea.
Seeing Christina's brow furrow just for a moment, I was relieved that she had definitely drunk the antidote. For Christina, who likes sweet confections, it must be a harsh bitterness.
...It was fortunate to learn there was a spare cake.
I heard it was to be served to the servants later, but the servants' free time is after the masters have gone to sleep. I needed to secure it quickly, but not enough to kick my chair back and stand up. I wanted to end the tea party gracefully and send Christina back to her room without letting her suspect anything.
...She is surprisingly food-driven, this child.
When Christina reached for the plate with the poisoned cake the moment I looked away, the maid finally could not bear it anymore and took the plate away. Christina complained in a whiny voice, but no matter how cutely she begged, I could not let her eat something I knew was poisoned. If her mouth felt lonely, I guided her to drink tea instead, and Christina complied, complaining it was bitter. When she tried to eat the poisoned cake without suspicion, I felt a chill, but this obedience is truly endearing.
Almost there, but time is up. To be continued tomorrow.
Typos and misspellings to be corrected another day.