Published: August 10, 2026
The garden of the Dilz Royal Palace was breathtakingly beautiful.
Flowers of every color bloomed in profusion, and the gentle sound of the fountain's water filled the air. The garden table was covered with a white lace cloth, and the silver tea set gleamed in the light.
Across that beautiful tea set and a selection of tempting sweets, a silver-haired girl sat before me. Lady Reimia spoke with such lively energy that even her elegantly arranged hair seemed to sway with every gesture.
"How do you find it, Lady Marie? The tea. Does it suit your palate?"
"Y-yes...... It's very delicious."
"Isn't it? Actually, the tea leaves are from Ipsandros. I had them specially brought in because I thought you would surely like them, Lady Marie. The fragrance is wonderful, and it's supposed to be good for beauty as well!"
"Oh, I see. Then these sweets too..."
"These were made by the royal palace's exclusive pastry chef. Of course, we have ordinary cooks as well, but they couldn't make the kind of sweets I liked, so I used my own authority to hire someone new. He's a confectioner who trained for ten years in Flaria."
"That's wonde—"
"Thanks to him, my afternoon snack time has become much more fulfilling! Especially this tart—it is truly one of my favorites. Made with fresh fruit and acacia flower honey......"
......She didn't even give me a chance to respond.
Lady Reimia's energy was unusually high.
No, now that I think about it, she might have always been like this ever since we first met years ago.
Lady Reimia always looks at me with her large eyes sparkling. Especially today, she seemed to be in an extraordinarily good mood. Was there a reason for her cheerfulness? Before I could ask, Lady Reimia beamed and spoke.
"Oh, today is such a wonderful day! I've always dreamed of inviting Lady Marie to the royal palace like this and hosting you with tea and sweets."
"Huh? Y-you dreamed of having tea with me? Surely not—"
"It is true, from the bottom of my heart. That is why I renovated the garden. I had this gazebo and table set made so we could have tea in the middle of the rose garden."
"Had them ma— I see......"
"And I wanted you to see this garden too! Well, what do you think? Splendid roses, aren't they? I had over a hundred varieties of rose seeds brought in from all around the world. It took three years, but they finally bloomed so magnificently. Ah, please rest assured, there isn't a single thorn on them. The gardeners checked every plant one by one and removed them all. If you like, I can make you a bouquet!"
"No, really, please don't trouble yourself."
"Then I'll give you rosehips as a souvenir. Ah yes, please give them to the gardener at Granado Castle—what was his name, Johan, I think? I once learned how to care for flowers from him, so this is my way of thanking him."
......Yes, I answered in my heart and only nodded.
Ugh...... How much longer is this one-sided conversation going to continue?
It wasn't that I disliked talking with Lady Reimia, or that I found it boring.......
Just then, a man's voice called out from beyond the bushes.
"Hey, Marie?"
I turned toward the voice.
There stood my husband, the handsome man with dark skin, black hair, and green eyes—Cyrus Granado. He was tall.
His upper body visible above the rose bushes, he looked at us with an exasperated expression.
"Are you still talking? If you don't return to the carriage soon, the coachman will worry."
"Oh, that's right. Then, Lady Reimia, I should be going......"
As I said that while standing, Lady Reimia's expression darkened in an obvious way.
Puffing out her peach-like cheeks even more, she frowned and said,
"Lord Cyrus, you're surprisingly inconsiderate. We're in the middle of an important conversation between ladies. Please don't interrupt!"
Interrupt?
Lord Cyrus probably hadn't expected to be spoken to like that. He blinked, his soft green eyes widening in surprise.
"Ah—my apologies, Princess Reimia. However, today we came here for an official visit."
"Oh, but your meeting with Brother Richard ended just now, did it not? There's no need to hurry home."