Published: August 25, 2025
From the afternoon, I had planned to go to the library again and immerse myself in reading, but nobody allowed me to do so. They said that the reflection meeting and preparations for the coming tea party the day after tomorrow must come first.
They told me that if we prepared everything this afternoon, I could spend the whole day in the library tomorrow, so I wanted to finish as early as possible.
“It seems that the central nobles are accustomed to sweets with a lot of sugar. For the quatre-quarts to bring to the tea party with the music teachers, wouldn’t it be better to mix in some honey to make it sweeter?”
“If that’s the case, based on the information about the teachers, we should also slightly change the tea.”
Our reflection meeting was held in the dormitory’s multipurpose hall, attended not only by Wilfried and his close aides but also by those who wanted to gather information.
“There was some reaction to Rinshan and the flower decorations as well. However, it seems that the thing Solange-sensei was most interested in was the plant paper.”
“Plant paper, huh. It’s not as easy to use as Rosemine’s.”
Even though they understood that it’s meant to be promoted as a new industry in Ehrenfest, Wilfried grumbled, saying he didn’t know how to effectively promote it.
“I think it’s enough if people from Ehrenfest use plant paper when copying manuscripts in the library. From conversations with Solange-sensei, we know that the teachers have their respective ways of communication, so the news should spread accordingly.”
More important than risking revealing the materials and manufacturing methods by calling it “plant paper” is to call it “new paper” to further pique their interest. Also, we agreed not to talk about printing just yet.
Filine began explaining how I spoke with Solange, based on the notes she had taken, and Hartmut added some explanations here and there.
“It seems that the professors doing research have an obligation to submit part of their results to the library. Knowing about affordable paper, I thought we could sell it.”
I heard that many teachers find bookbinding troublesome and prefer to use scrolls. So, why not make paper covers like files or binders in advance, with uniform plant paper sizes, so they can be bound together? Books with uniform heights are definitely easier to store. I took out my writing board and quickly jotted this down.
“Lady Rosemine, what are you writing? The civil official apprentice is taking notes of the meeting…”
“It’s a new product idea, so please don’t mind.”
“…Why are you writing about a new product during a tea party reflection?”
Wilfried muttered, but if I don’t jot ideas down when they come, I’ll just forget them.
“I never know when inspiration will strike, so I always carry my writing board.”
“Lady Rosemine’s writing board looks really useful.”
“When we get back, shall I introduce it to Plantin Trading Company? It’s a wooden board filled with wax, so if you don’t get fancy with carvings, it’s very cheap to acquire.”
“Please do!”
The civil official apprentice immediately showed interest. Though plant paper is cheaper than parchment, it’s still expensive, so it seems out of reach for mere notes.
“Since we learned lessons from this tea party to use next time, and the measurement dates for Schwarz and Weiss have been decided, we have to notify Hilsure-sensei. Richarda, please take care of it.”
“Understood.”
While Richarda left the room to contact via Ordnance, I talked about topics for the next tea party.
“Would it be about music again?”
“I expect they will ask various questions about composition.”
“…Will I be okay? Honestly, I’m not very knowledgeable about music.”
I only know the practice pieces forced on me and haven’t been exposed much to social events, so I’m not very familiar with the common music played.
“The musicians will know, so there’s no problem with music. However, I heard that not only the music teachers but also Lady Eglantine will be present.”