Preparing for the Library Tea Party

My name is Hannelore, an archduke candidate of Dunkelfelger, currently attending my second year at the Royal Academy.

Lady Rozemyne has invited me to a tea party at the library. She intends to host it in Professor Solange’s office since the professor is unable to leave the library unattended for very long. And she wishes to hold it before the library becomes flooded with students.

Lady Rozemyne not only asked me to be part of her “Library Committee” but also extended an invitation to her tea party. It’s quite surprising, considering how frequently we missed each other last year. It appears that the Goddess of Time, Dregarnuhr, isn’t holding a grudge against me after all.

Typically, professors only extend tea party invitations to exceptionally talented students in higher grades, and only if they have a special fondness for them. That’s why, up until now, I haven’t been invited to any professor-hosted tea parties. As an archduke candidate from Dunkelfelger, I anticipated receiving a few invitations after my brother’s graduation, but I didn’t expect any this year.

I was overjoyed to receive an invitation to a unique tea party taking place in the library, with one of the professors in attendance. It seems like the Goddess of Time, Dregarnuhr, might be gracing me with her divine protection this year.

“I have been invited to a tea party at the library, Cordula.”

My cheerful grin prompted Cordula to respond with a delighted smile of her own.

“Since Ehrenfest sent the invitation, we can look to their tea party as a guide for deciding what sweets to prepare for ours.”

Lady Rozemyne and I had arranged to exchange books, and my musicians were set to learn some new compositions. This meant that Dunklefelger was preparing for another tea party, following the one at the library. Since Ehrenfest unveiled a new sweet, the “pound cake,” last year, my attendant Cordula has been fretting over what kind of treats Dunkelfelger could offer in return. Attending a tea party at the library before hosting our own would be a valuable opportunity to fine-tune our preparations.

◆

“Lady Cordula, Lady Rozemyne’s retainers have approached me with an inquiry regarding an ideal time for us to attend a tea party.”

One evening, as I lounged in the common room after dinner, Clarissa—an apprentice scholar—approached Cordula to deliver a report. While attendants typically handle the arrangements for tea parties, it’s not uncommon to receive word from apprentice knights or scholars in the initial stages.

I am almost done with my written lessons, so I am free any day during the mornings.

Last year, Ehrenfest, previously ranked thirteenth, elevated its rank to tenth due to academic excellence. To ensure I could hold my head high as an archduke candidate of a greater duchy, I dedicated extra effort to my studies. Practical lessons aside, I’ve been diligently completing the exams for my written classes this year.

I certainly worked hard.

Cordula, who was in charge of managing my schedule, let out a small sigh upon hearing the proposed date for the tea party from Clarissa.

“Lady Hannelore, you have sociology class on the proposed date for the tea party.”

”…Eh? Whatever should we do? When Lady Rozemyne initially approached me regarding the tea party, I mentioned that I would be available during the mornings after ten days… I just assumed I would be done with the written classes by then.”

Due to the sociology class changing the curriculum to one from the past, all duchies excluding Ehrenfest were taking the class together this year. Despite my earnest efforts in preparing for written classes, there wasn’t much I could do when the curriculum itself underwent a change.

“I had ensured that your schedule was kept open on all days except for this one, so this timing is a bit unfortunate.”

As Cordula pointed out, this happens to be the only day when I have a prior commitment in the morning. Since all Ehrenfest students have already completed their exams, they might not be aware of the second-year class schedule.

“This is just an initial inquiry, so if the date doesn’t suit us, we can simply request a change to another day. Lady Rozemyne’s attendants mentioned that Professor Solange is open to adjusting her schedule to accommodate your needs, Lady Hannelore, so there’s no need for you to feel disheartened.”

With a slight lowering of her shoulders, Clarissa shared this with me and inquired if she could request Ehrenfest to shift the tea party to the day after the suggested date. Seeing Cordula nod in agreement, Clarissa departed to dispatch an ordonnanz to Ehrenfest, while Cordula gathered my retainers for a discussion regarding the tea party.

And so, we settled on a date for the tea party that aligned with our preferences, and soon after, we received an invitation letter from Ehrenfest.

It occurred two days after we confirmed our acceptance. I had just wrapped up my practical brewing class and returned to the dormitory when Clarissa, her braided hair bouncing behind her, came running up to me with a pale face.

“Lady Hannelore, news of grave importance!”

“Clarissa, what seems to be the issue?”

“I have just received an emergency ordonnanz from Ehrenfest. It seems Prince Hildebrand will be joining the library tea party as well.”

Huh?

I tilted my head in confusion, struggling to immediately grasp Clarissa’s words.

“Did I mishear you? Prince Hildebrand should be in his room since he’s not yet a student at the Royal Academy, but it sounded like you said he’d be joining the tea party.”

“You heard correctly. It is exactly as I said. It seems Prince Hildebrand has taken a liking to the large shumils in the library, so he’s been visiting almost every day.”

Prince Hildebrand, what on earth are you up to?!

My head began to spin. My enthusiasm for attending a tea party with a professor vanished in an instant, and I could feel myself growing pale. Despite that, I couldn’t let Clarissa see how much this news disturbed me. So, I took her report, thanked her, and swiftly retreated to my room.

“Cordula, whatever shall I do?! A tea party with royalty, of all things… I… I… Aah, why did Lady Rozemyne have to invite Prince Hildebrand?!”

I never anticipated I would have to attend a tea party with royalty. Since passing my court etiquette class was already a struggle, I lack confidence in managing a tea party with royalty.

“Cordula, let’s send a letter declining the invitation immediately…”

“Milady, I’m afraid we have already accepted the invitation, so that is not an option.”

“Then, let us come up with some reason why I cannot attend the day of the tea party…”

“It would be one thing for the ever-frail Lady Rozemyne to give such a reason, but for a healthy, well trained archduke candidate from Dunklefelger, to use an excuse of not feeling well would be very difficult indeed. Professor Rauffen would throw a huge fuss, and even the aub would receive a report.”

”…Also, Mother would see through my feigned illness as an excuse to skip the tea party and scold me to no end. I wonder which is more frightening, the tea party with royalty or Mother?”

As I pondered this seriously, Cordula let out a deep sigh.

“Milady, please calm down a little. The prince is a regular visitor to the library, so maybe he expressed interest in the tea party. Ehrenfest would obviously not be able to reject a request from royalty. Surely it is not Lady Rozemyne’s fault—just unfortunate timing.”

”…It seems Lady Rozemyne has bad timing as well. Or did she catch it from me, perhaps?”

“Milady, your bad timing is not contagious. At most, it just inconveniences other people to a small extent.”

Cordula, that is not reassuring at all!

Nevertheless, my exchange with Cordula helped me to calm down enough to consider Lady Rozemyne’s plight at being forced to invite royalty to her tea party. Being the host surely presented a greater challenge for her than for me, a mere attendee.

“Milady, you need only keep last year’s court etiquette lessons in mind as you attend the tea party. Just stay composed and hold your head high, and everything will be fine.”

“Cordula, if only it were as simple as you make it sound.”

“Lady Rozemyne, who came first-in-class last year and passed the court etiquette lesson on her first attempt, will also be in attendance. You should consider using her as a reference.”

“C-Certainly. I will observe Lady Rozemyne and follow her lead when I’m unsure of what to do.”

I regained my composure. With a perfect example at the tea party to follow, all I need to do is imitate her, and I should be able to maintain appearances as befitting a member of a greater duchy.

◆

A few days later, after dinner, all students were called to assemble in the common room. Professor Rauffen informed us that a ternisbefallen, a type of mana-absorbing feybeast, was sighted. We were strictly instructed not to attack it, and instead we were to promptly inform our dormitory supervisor and wait for the Sovereign Knights Order to arrive.

“Is anyone here familiar with details regarding the temple or the duties of priests?”

Professor Rauffen posed the question to the assembled group, but considering no regular noble would venture near the temple, no one raised their hand, naturally.

“If you wish to know about the temple, you need only ask the one they call the Saint of Ehrenfest. After all, she was raised in the temple.”

Professor Rauffen dismissed my brother Lestilaut’s words with a shake of his head.

“I want to confirm if what Lady Rozemyne told me is consistent across all the temples.”

“Ordinary nobles typically don’t have dealings with the temple, so it’s clear none of us would know much about them. If you are still keen on learning, perhaps you should consider summoning representatives from the Sovereign Temple. Why not petition the king to that effect?”

“I am not exactly thrilled about the idea, but I will give it some thought.”

Professor Rauffen left the common room with his shoulders slumped in disappointment. Given the strained relationship between the current king and the temple, persuading him to summon the priests from the Sovereign Temple might prove challenging.

The approval of the temple won’t come easily for the king’s successor, it seems.

Prince Anastasius had stated he would not pursue the throne, yet during his graduation ceremony, he and Lady Eglantine of Klassenberg received a blessing from the gods. Consequently, the Sovereign Temple seemed to be strongly advocating for Prince Anastasius—or more accurately, Lady Eglantine—to ascend to the throne.

Lady Eglantine regained her royal status through marriage to Prince Anastasius. Having once lost that position, it would be challenging for her to claim the throne. Perhaps for this reason, Prince Anastasius was being put forth as the rightful successor instead.

◆

The evening following the ternisbefallen incident, Clarissa rushed into the common room once again.

“Lady Rozemyne received an order to return to Ehrenfest, and as a result, she sent a message stating she will be returning the book borrowed from Dunkelfelger. Additionally, she mentioned bringing a new book to the library tea party. Lady Rozemyne also requested that we bring musicians to the tea party so they can learn the new songs, as promised.”

“She has been ordered to return home? I wonder just what has happened in Ehrenfest.”

I was surprised to hear that she had received an order to return home. She was already slated to return partway through the term for the Dedication Ritual, so it seemed quite unusual that Ehrenfest would send her such an order.

“It is only Lady Rozemyne who has been ordered to return, not all of Ehrenfest’s students. That being the case, I presume there is either a health concern or some temple-related matter demanding her attention.”

Clarissa sighed and muttered, “It seems she is currently bedridden and hasn’t made a full recovery yet.” Upon hearing this, Cordula made an audible reaction.

“So, even though her health is poor and she must be incredibly busy with preparations to host the prince, she is still showing consideration for us with the book exchange and the musicians… Milady, you must remember to thank Lady Rozemyne after.”

“Indeed. She really is so thorough with her instructions. I could learn a thing or two from her.”

Of course, the preparations for the tea party were being handled by Lady Rozemyne’s retainers, but they couldn’t operate without her orders. It was reasonable to assume that, even in her weak condition, she was still capable of giving thorough directions.

“By the way, I’ve never done a book exchange at a tea party before. How should I go about it exactly?”

Books are very valuable, so they are strictly managed. Typically, they’re only taken from storage and lent out under the watchful eye of an archscholar, following the necessary procedures. Lady Rozemyne had lent me a book as if it were entirely natural, and as for the book that we lent to Ehrenfest, my father had taken the book to the Archduke Conference without consulting me and carried out the handover directly with Aub Ehrenfest, so I was not involved in the process. I did not know the correct manner in which to exchange books with someone else at a tea party. I looked to Cordula for help, only for her to also tilt her head in a puzzled manner.

“I think we will be fine if we closely follow Lady Rozemyne’s lead. We should reach out to the aub immediately and ask him to prepare a book for lending to Lady Rozemyne. Additionally, we need to organize a few scholars to oversee the book until the tea party. Are there any available at the scheduled time?”

Unlike Ehrenfest, where students from almost every grade had finished their written lessons, most of Dunkelfelger’s students were still in classes. I will need to select a few students outside of my retainers, or I won’t have enough people to accompany me to the tea party.

”…Say, Cordula. What if we bring Clarissa along to the tea party? She is a devoted admirer of Lady Rozemyne, so she would be thrilled to join us, and she knows a lot about her. Having someone who can act as an intermediary between us and Ehrenfest would be reassuring, don’t you think?”

”…Yes, I believe that is not a bad idea. Clarissa is a scholar of the sword, so she is easy to handle, and she is very well informed when it comes to Ehrenfest.”

A scholar of the sword is one who originally aspired to be a knight but ended up as a scholar instead. Attendants of the sword exist as well. Dunkelfelger greatly values martial prowess, so there are many people who wish to become knights regardless of their gender, especially at a young age. The knight course is immensely popular. However, allowing all of the aspirants to become knights would result in a deficit of scholars and adversely impact the administration of the duchy. Consequently, a limit on the number of individuals who can become knights has been instituted. Dunkelfelger conducts a selection exam before students join the Royal Academy to choose a predetermined number of archnobles, mednobles, and laynobles who can become knights.

Those who pass the exam proceed to become apprentice knights, but those who do not must choose between the scholar or the attendant course. Clarissa, hindered by her short stature during the selection exam, just barely failed as a result.

Although Clarissa is currently an apprentice scholar, she is also undergoing knight training simultaneously. This dual role is quite common for scholars and attendants in Dunkelfelger, leading people from other duchies to often assume that everyone from Dunkelfelger possesses impressive martial skills… Come to think of it, they would not be entirely wrong in that assumption.

Clarissa had failed to become a knight due to her own physical limitations, so when she saw how Lady Rozemyne—who was physically the smallest person in the Royal Academy and so frail that she was prone to collapsing—had defeated Dunkelfelger in ditter, she immediately became an ardent supporter of hers. Furthermore, she had also seemingly developed an interest in Lady Rozemyne’s teacher, who is a renowned tactician from Ehrenfest.

“Clarissa, if your schedule allows it, would you accompany us for the library tea party?”

“I shall attend, come what may!”

When I summoned Clarissa to inquire about her schedule, she became so ecstatic that tears welled up in her eyes. As a fifth-year student, she never had the chance to meet Lady Rozemyne in person before. A number of apprentice knights shot envious glances at Clarissa, who was in high spirits, and they came to kneel before me.

“Lady Hannelore, please allow me to come with you!”

“I wish to accompany you as well!”

As I watched the number of knights volunteering to guard me steadily increase, it became apparent how profoundly Lady Rozemyne’s influence motivated the apprentice knights of Dunkelfelger.

“I already have enough guard knights. I only require volunteer scholars and attendants for the tea party.”

I must keep an eye on the knights and make sure none of them trouble Lady Rozemyne by requesting a ditter rematch.

◆

We received the book to be lent to Lady Rozemyne from Dunkelfelger and selected two musicians to accompany us. We were finally prepared to attend the library tea party.

At the time, I did not have the faintest inkling that the tea party I had been looking forward to would end in such a way!