Sayo realized she was yet to give a proper greeting as well and hurriedly bowed to Roanna and Liselotte. “And I’m Sayo. It’s nice to meet you, Lady Roanna—and you, Lady Liselotte.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Liselotte replied brightly.
“Oh yeah, Sayo hasn’t met Liselotte properly either. Please be friends with her as well.”
“Is Sayo also a sibling to you and Sir Amakawa, Lady Suzune?” Roanna asked, looking between Latifa’s and Sayo’s faces.
“N-No, I could never...!” Sayo waved her hands in denial.
“Sayo is Onii—I mean, my brother’s friend.”
Unable to shake the habit of calling Rio “Onii-chan,” Latifa corrected herself.
“I don’t think I’m worthy of calling him a friend either... I merely had the fortune of meeting Sir Haruto during his travels.”
“I see... I noticed there’s a lot of people with black hair in this mansion, including Sir Gouki and Lady Kayoko. Are they all here because of that?”
“Yes, we all serve Sir Haruto.”
“I see now...” Roanna said in understanding, but there was a thoughtful look on her face.
“Onii-chan considers them his friends, not vassals.”
“Some things cannot be allowed. We’re living in his mansion, so we can’t risk making any blunders when there are guests visiting.”
“I should be the one saying that... Tell me if I make any mistakes here, Liselotte,” Latifa said, quietly looking at Liselotte to her right.
“Heh heh. You’ll be fine, Suzune,” Liselotte said, giving her stamp of approval.
“You two seem quite close.”
Roanna expressed interest in the relationship between Latifa and Liselotte.
“Yes, we were just saying today how we’re basically sisters. Isn’t that right, Liselotte?”
“Yes, Suzune and I have gotten along since the day we first met.”
Latifa entwined her arms with Liselotte, who accepted it as though it was completely natural. It was an exchange that showed how close the two were.
“That must be nice...” Flora muttered enviously.
“What is, Princess Flora?” Latifa asked, tilting her head with a blank look.
“I have an older sister, but I’ve always wanted a younger sister... I-If it’s okay with you, Lady Suzune, would you be willing to treat me like a sister as well?” Flora found her courage to make a request of Latifa.
“Huh? Umm...”
“Why don’t you try it? Since tonight is a sleepover,” Liselotte said encouragingly.
“So... Just ‘Flora’?” Latifa said hesitantly.
What a sweet sound that was. Flora basked in happiness before replying. “Flora, Flora... Yes, that’s me!”
“Flora,” Latifa repeated once more, this time sounding more natural.
“Thank you very much, Lady Latifa!”
Overcome with emotion, Flora thanked her. At the other table, Christina was watching her little sister with a soft expression.
“Lady Suzune, could you call Roanna in the same way?” Flora requested more.
“M-Me?”
Roanna was taken aback by the sudden focus on her.
“Yes. You don’t have a little sister either, right?”
Apparently to Flora, not having a little sister meant she had to be in want of one. And with it coming from the royalty she revered, Roanna had no reason to refuse.
“U-Umm... Then can I ask the same, if you don’t mind?” Roanna said shyly.
“Err... Sister Roanna?”
She was silent at first.
“What do you think, Roanna?” Flora asked excitedly.
“Well... I can certainly see the appeal.”
It seemed the desire to be an older sister was there after all. Roanna looked embarrassed as she blushed.
“Right?!”
Having shared the joy of being an older sister, Flora looked triumphant.
“In that case, I’d prefer it if you didn’t call me Lady Suzune anymore. It feels a little silly, heh heh.”
This time, Latifa was the one to make a request.
“B-But what can we call you instead?”
“You can call me Suzune like Liselotte does, or if there’s another name you’ve always wanted to call your little sister, you can do that too!”
“Th-The ultimate question... My sister calls me by my name without the title, so maybe I could do the same... What should I do, Roanna?”
“H-Huh? Let’s see...”
The sudden question left Flora shocked. Roanna also hummed in contemplation. After thinking for a while...
“Suzune?” Flora said, calling Latifa by her name.
“Okay, Flora!” Latifa replied brightly.
And while group three steadily deepened their friendship, beside them in group four, which consisted of Satsuki, Miharu, Aki, Charlotte, and Lilianna...
“There’s something I’ve been wondering about,” Charlotte said out of the blue, grinning. “Are you and Sir Masato interested in each other, Princess Lilianna?”
She looked at Lilianna, who was sitting across from her.
“You sure don’t hold back, Char...”
Satsuki had a feigned tone of reproach in her voice, but she had probably been wondering about it herself, since she had a curious grin on her face.
“Lady Suzune once said that all-girls parties are about love-related gossip. Lady Aki must be interested in her little brother’s romantic life too, no?”
“Huh? Well... I’m not completely disinterested,” Aki said, glancing at Lilianna’s side profile. Miharu also followed her gaze in curiosity.
Lilianna shrank back in discomfort. “Erm...”
“What are we talking about? Love stories?!”
Overhearing their topic, Latifa jumped into their conversation.
“Please tell us too,” Flora said, joining the conversation with eager interest. With that, Satsuki’s and Latifa’s groups instantly merged together.
And that wasn’t all. It seemed everyone was starved of love-related gossip. Monica also sensed the waves of love in the air and leaned towards them from the other table. Before they knew it, Celia’s group had joined them in a tight encirclement enthusiastically discussing Lilianna and Masato’s romantic rumors.
“Why don’t we just bring Masato over?”
“Wha— Lady Suzune?!”
There was no time like the present. Before Lilianna could stop her, Latifa had run out of the dining room.