Chapter 23 - Volume 2 (1/2)
Volume 2, Chapter 10: Heading out For Tea, Part 2
Since we were late to the tea party, the cute Shelly had a teary face. Apologize, Rick.
“Yurushia-sama, I am the second daughter of Marquis Manchi, Beatrice, um, I hope to get along with you.”
Beatrice-chan, age eight. A girl with beautiful black hair and azure eyes. Though her ladylike elements ended there…
“Yeah, good to meet you, Betty-sama.”
“Did you shorten my name? I’m older than you, you know… then may I call you Yuru-sama?”
“It’s alright with me, Betty.”
“Good.”
Yup, as I though, she’s a cute if airheaded child. We’re becoming fast friends.
“Wow… Yuru has a flower in each hand.”
“ … Yup.”
Shelly is similar to Betty in that it’s also her first tea party here; I’m currently hamstrung between the embraces of the two people. I’m so firmly stuck that I can’t even drink my tea, which amused Grandmother and Elea-sama as I tried to bring tea or sweets to my mouth.
What kind of harem is this?
“Hey you three, have you been to any other tea parties?”
Elea-sama asked in a carefree tone. My loose speaking manner is definitely from the influence of the presence of Mother and Elea-sama.
“I’ve been to Aunt-sama’s tea party, yup!”
You’re hopelessly lively, Betty.
“I-I’ve gone with Aunt-sama, to Yuru-sama’s mother’s tea party.”
“Mmm, mm, yeah, I was invited to Shelly’s mother’s tea party.”
Although the first tea party was compulsory, participation in others was a matter of choice.
“After that, Shelly and I had tea together.”
“Yeah, together with Yuru-sama.”
“!? Yuru, Shelly, how sneaky! Invite me, invite me!”
“Yup, alright.”
“Y-yes, I’ll be in your care, Betty-sama.”
Hopelessly lively indeed… Betty.
“So, anyways… do you know about the [Moonlit Tea Party]?”
While Shelly inclined her neck in confusion, Betty who was a second year at the academy, thought of it.
“That thing, My Elder sister’s friend spoke about it, it’s a secret tea party that can’t be talked about until after it’s done.”
“Yeah, yeah, that thing. Do you know of anyone who has been to it and come back?”
“A friend of a friend of mine has participated, it seems to have been wonderful, so I heard.”
When she mentioned the story from her sister, Betty had a dreamy expression filled with yearning on her face.
Elea-sama knitted her eyebrows ever-so-slightly.
“If you ask me, I’d rather have none of you three participate…”
“ ! ? ”
“Really?”
I didn’t think anything of it since Shelly and I had no longing to go, but Betty, who desired deeply to join in, looked aghast.
“Why is it bad, Eleanor-sama.”
“I don’t mean that it’s necessarily bad or anything… But you can’t even tell if the letter of invitation is really from the Oberu household. Has anyone ever actually seen the guests with the invitation? Since the invitations don’t remain after you participate, what happens can’t be verified at all.”
That’s certainly true. Even if there are no problems with the [Moonlight Tea Party], some perverse copycat trickster might use it to kidnap people.
“… Have there been any people missing recently?”
When I remember the remarks of Rick, Elea-sama shows a surprised face, and patted my head with a complacent smile.
It certainly seems shady…
“I understand, Elea-sama. Allow me to give you something good.”
“What is it?”
I struggle to bring out my arm that was squashed, and take something out of my pocket.
“Just an invitation to the [Moonlit Tea Party].”
At my words, everyone’s eyes went wide. Well, Shelly is still eating cake.
“Is that … real?”
“Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you doing, Yuru, it can’t be shown to anyone else!”
“It’s nothing much… this one is the third one to arrive since this morning.”
“THE THIRD!?”
When it was one per day, I sent them back. After a week, two a day started coming. Those went into the trash without me reading them. Now it’s already been three since this morning.
“… As expected of Yuru. Will you be participating?”
I don’t know what Elea-sama expected, she seems amazed.
“Of course not. If I didn’t give this to Elea-sama, it would have been burned.”
“B-burned!?”
It’s fine if you stop being so surprised, Betty. Also, Shelly, even if you understand and are not interested, please stop with your fourth slice of cake.
“Ahaha, Yuru is so interesting. May I have this? I’d like to have a look.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
As I tried to shuffle forward in my dress, my awkward position finally kicked in and the letter fell off the table, Betty jumped at it like a puppy.
＊＊＊
“Princess Yuru-sama, about those kids…”
“Y-yeah… let’s talk.”
Even though she said so in a calm tone, Vio had a serious face and her forehead was twitching, I urged her to go ahead.
It’s been more than half a year since I’ve talked with the four children.
I don’t take them with me. I don’t want them to take care of me. But, their salary keeps being paid and they’re shopping using my name, the cases of entering the mansion’s important facilities are also not down, it’s the same thing as a parasite.
“Those four people don’t do anything. Really, they do nothing. In the present situation, they should be impatient to improve, seeking work on their own, or at least have resigned from serving the duke and returned home or something…”
“Wh-what did they do?”
“Every day… every single day, they laze about and haven’t done any work in the mansion for months. Not just that,”
“There’s more?”
Vio keeps going on, it won’t ever end.
“To others, people who do not work, do not eat, but these are the personal servants of Princess Yuru-sama. Giving meals is part of my authority, but they’ve gone over my head and tried to negotiate with the dinner staff within the first year. And as soon as they were told it’s unacceptable, they started going out to eat daily.
“…Oh… Oh.”
They’re amazing. Since they’re paid so well, they’re eating out all the time, but I didn’t stop them…
“Every day…?”
“Yes, every day. And at a high class restaurant at that… Princess Yuru-sama, have you seen this?”
“Eh…”
Vio brought out a box with several things in it. A one-handed sword that was tinged with magic which looked familiar. A pocket watch made of gold and silver. Several of Father’s treasured books from the library. Several of my accessories from the parties…
“These are…”
“These were found by a contact of mine, this is what we managed to repurchase after those four people sold them off.”
They’ve really done it, these guys.
The twins are for sure guilty. The book was what Christina was reading. But, Fontaine is not fully confirmed as guilty.
“Princess Yuru-sama… this is something I found in the depths of the storeroom Fontaine has been using as her playground…”