Lord Simeon ended up staying overnight at the palace after the ball ended. The next day, we woke up separated, just as we’d been before.
Among the huge number of invitations I’d received for days in a row, there was one from the Vissel embassy. It’d been sent by Ambassador Van Rail and was addressed to me, not the Flaubert household. Apparently, I was wanted at an upcoming tea party.
The envoy was waiting for my response, so Joanna hurriedly came in to alert me. Looking over the invitation, it stated that they wanted me to make time that very day due to the urgency.
It wouldn’t have been rude of me to decline a summons like this due to having prior commitments, but even though I really was busy, it was obvious that this would be no ordinary tea party. I owed a debt to the ambassador, so I wrote a reply saying that I’d attend and handed it off to the envoy.
I consulted mother-in-law for my dress, opting for a more subdued look. She and father-in-law had both seen yesterday’s incident, but they didn’t bring it or their many opinions up with me since I was so calm about it. They seemed to trust me and Lord Simeon; as long as we were sure of ourselves, they wouldn’t need to step in.
That made me wonder how my own family, the Claracs, were faring. Brother had been exasperated for sure, but he hadn’t gotten particularly angry after—he’d gone home without delay. He might not have even reported this to our mother yet, since he’d been so grumpy about having to attend that ball in the first place. By the time these rumors made it to House Clarac, they would have warped into unbelievable territory, making them fine to hear.
Even Lady Aurelia, who’d been the most upset that night, wouldn’t go as far as to slight a state guest... Or rather, I most likely wouldn’t have to worry about her doing so, since she wouldn’t get such an opportunity. She was usually able to say her biting words to people because those targets were right in front of her. She wouldn’t speak ill of them when they weren’t around. She’d really only give them a strict evaluation if asked.
As for the people around me, they were all relaxed because it seemed no problems were truly arising.
But that was only true of those around me—I couldn’t help but feel that there were more disturbances in store. When I left home, wondering what was waiting in the wings, I traveled to a region that lay between the nobles’ district and the commercial district. The Easdalian embassy was nearby as well. Many official buildings were built in this area, so it had a different sort of lively feeling than the commercial district. It was a weekday afternoon, so there were a decent number of people on the roads. Travelers and officials were lined up at the consulate service window.
The Vissel embassy was a building with a cute appearance: wooden window frames painted white and set into a red brick wall, with a green triangular roof. It was easy to find among all of the other buildings. Not only was its appearance fancy, but its atmosphere was also friendly.
I was allowed inside via a different entrance than the usual front desk. The reception room I was led to featured a generous amount of wooden furnishings, giving the room a warm feeling. Light streamed in from the large glass window, brightening up the space significantly. Beyond the window was a small garden, and from what I’d heard, many tulips were planted in it. I wished I could’ve visited this place in the spring.
Though this was a tea party, not many people had been invited—there were only two others. A refined, quaint old man, Ambassador Elvin van Rail, greeted me.
“Welcome, Mrs. Flaubert. I’m terribly sorry to have asked you to come on such short notice.”
I loved how bright and friendly this old man was. Not only did I owe him, but I was fond of his humanity.
“Good afternoon, Ambassador Van Rail. Thank you very much for inviting me. I wasn’t able to greet you the other night, so this presented the perfect opportunity for me.”
He took my hand and offered me a gentlemanly escort to the tea table. Before he pulled out my chair for me, I politely bowed to the person who was already sitting down. I’d spoken to her in Lagrangian at the ball, but in this place, I chose to match her by greeting her in Visselian.
“I’m honored to meet you again. Good afternoon, Your Highness Mira.”
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Marielle. You’re very good at speaking Visselian. Please don’t mind me—Lagrangian is just fine.”
Waiting for me at this table was the state guest who was supposed to be residing in the palace. She opened by speaking Visselian but cleanly segued into fluent Lagrangian.
Her dress today was a bright emerald green. Light silver cutting lace decorated her sleeves and décolleté, and the soft fabric fell along the lines of her body. Her abundant ash-blonde hair stood out against this dress, making her seem even more fairylike than usual.
On the other hand, I wore a white and light-blue dress, a common color palette for this season. It had a simple design without many adornments, so one could call it boring.
I could tell that Princess Mira was taking in every angle of me, just as I was observing her. I wondered what sentiment was floating within her deep blue eyes. I was still unable to tell how she felt toward me.
On the surface, she was smiling calmly. “I wanted to speak with you one-on-one. There were so many people at the ball that I didn’t get the chance, so I had the ambassador set up this meeting for us. I’m grateful you came.”
“I’m honored.” I, myself, didn’t waver. Of course Vissel would have invited me somewhere after that incident. I’d predicted Her Highness would be here.
There were no signs of the knights or Lord Simeon anywhere. It seemed the princess hadn’t told the palace that she’d be meeting with me.
“Please, have a seat,” she said. “I’m sorry to get straight to the topic at hand, but I don’t have much time. I slipped away from the palace despite my busy schedule, so we’ll have to start right away.”
“I understand. I’ll take my seat, then.”
The ambassador pulled out my chair for me, which I lowered myself into, facing Princess Mira. One of the embassy staff entered, leaving tea and snacks for us, and Ambassador Van Rail took his own seat.
The princess cleansed her palate with some tea. “I see you’re not surprised at all. You knew I’d be here.”
“I had an inkling, at least.”
“You wore such an extravagant dress last night, yet today you’re subdued. Was that on purpose?”
I didn’t answer, merely smiled silently. She knew I’d dressed modestly so as to not upset her.