Published: August 25, 2025
"I have compiled the list of attendees. Lady Rosemine, please memorize the names and territories of all participants."
Liselotte handed me a list of lord candidates or their senior noble proxies who would attend the Ehrenfest-hosted tea party.
It included the names of territories, participant names, their physical traits, and personal preferences likely to come up in conversation.
...Ugh, do I have to memorize all of this?
Without photos, it's hard to picture their faces at all. As I received the materials, I felt a suffocating pressure.
"We have also summarized each territory's characteristics and specialties here. Hopefully, it will be of some help," Philizine said, adding more documents on top. It seemed she and Hartmut had compiled information gathered from the tea parties they attended. I couldn't turn down their kindness.
"I will do my best to memorize everything."
"Lady Rosemine, since you returned with almost no social experience, this will be very challenging," Liselotte said.
"Thankfully, Brother Wilfried will assist on the day, so I'm somewhat relieved. If it were just me, it would truly be difficult," I replied.
Because we invited all territories, the hosts are listed as a joint effort between Wilfried and me. Perhaps because Wilfried is attending, several male lord candidates also declared participation.
I grit my teeth and focused on memorizing the guests by staring hard at the list.
...Okay, Classenburg is Lady Eglantine, right? Dunkelfelger is... wait? Not Lady Restiraut? Lady Hannelore, first year. Uh-oh. Same grade, but I can't picture her face at all. What kind of person is she? Drevannel is not first year, but her older sister in fifth year is coming. Hmm.
Perhaps because I finished my lectures so quickly, I hardly remember my peers. The few I remember have older siblings attending instead. Maybe Dunkelfelger sent first-year Hannelore instead of her brother Restiraut because she dislikes me.
...I hope I can build a friendly relationship with Lady Hannelore. But if she also likes Ditter, would she keep pestering me about Ditter if we get along? Hmm.
“Lady Rosemine, Lord Wilfried, a reply has arrived from Ehrenfest. They cannot provide such a large amount of supplies for the territory competition. This is all they can offer at present,” Justox said as he entered the multipurpose hall with the reply.
We had requested reinforcements of supplies for the territory competition, but they returned with limits.
“What!? Then what are we supposed to do!?” Brother Wilfried shouted, eyes wide with anger, but I was surprised at how much support they were actually giving us.
The territory competition is held annually. The budget allocated for the noble academy is fixed, so such a big increase was unlikely. They probably stretched the budget to the limit, anticipating future trade and the lords’ council.
“They’ve done better than expected. It’s worth asking even if it seems impossible.”
“Rosemine, this still isn’t nearly enough!” Wilfried insisted.
“Well, sugar is still expensive, so it can’t be helped. Given how difficult it is to increase the budget, they have done quite well. The rest we will have to manage ourselves.”
During the two years I was asleep, sugar became somewhat more available but remained costly and prone to shortage. It’s natural they can’t supply everything for the competition.
“But then how can we satisfy guests at the territory competition?”
“Brother Wilfried, do you know how many people from the royal family will attend?”
“Ignatz should have researched that.”
While I watched Wilfried’s civil official search through documents, I turned to him.
“If we have enough quatre-quarts for the royal family and Lord and Lady Aub’s reception, that should be acceptable for now. Can we manage with that?”
“As long as it’s limited to the royal family and Lord and Lady Aub, perhaps. But what about the other nobles?”
“...First come, first served.”
“Huh?”
“Seats will be allocated in order of arrival, and when supplies run out, that’s it.”