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nThe Marchioness tried to frame Theor as if he had broken pottery, but the emperor suddenly intervened, and all in vain.

nThe potteries in the pavilion were cherished by the previous emperor.

nNo matter how young a child breaks it, he cannot escape punishment.

nAstelle seemed to love her nephew very much, so she tried to avenge her daughter, Marianne.

nAstelle wasn’t stupid either.

nThere’s no way she wouldn’t know it was the work of the Marchioness.

n‘Maybe……are you trying to poison me?’

nThe frightened Marchioness realized another possibility.

n‘If not……maybe my daughter Florin……’

nThere was no one who didn’t know how devoted she was to the current emperor when she was still the crown princess.

nThe Marchioness had witnessed Astelle several times with Kaizen, the then Crown Prince.

nAstelle’s eyes looking at Kaizen were the eyes of a girl in love.

nThere is no way that her feelings would have disappeared as the years passed.

nPoor Marianne might have realized that she was up to something.

n‘She was dethroned as empress and banished, and must have been jealous to see the young and pretty Marianne by His Majesty’s side.’

nNow, I don’t know if she wants to get revenge on me by getting rid of Florin.

n‘I wish I could look through her room. If I search it, I will surely find the poison.’

nHowever, Astelle was now a guest invited by the Emperor.

nThe Marchioness wouldn’t be able to search Astelle’s room unless there was a clear reason.

nThe testimony of the maid is still not enough.

nShe said to the maid, “Tell him I’ll attend.”

n‘It’s better for me to go to the tea party and watch what she’s doing.’

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n***

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n“It’s done, Lady Astelle,” Hannah said as she put down the comb.

nAstelle was sitting in front of the dressing table.

nIn the mirror, the figure of herself with her white-blonde hair loosely was reflected.

nAstelle wore a blue dress embroidered with white lilies and had a simple hairstyle.

nA peony hairpin made by a round pearl was inserted.

n“Thank you, Hannah. Good job.”

nFaint memories of the past flashed across Hannah’s brown eyes.

nHelping Astelle dress up like this, it seemed that her old memories came to mind.

nAstelle felt a similar sentiment.

nAs she sat in front of the dressing table and helped by Hannah, it felt as if she had gone back six years ago.

nBack in the days when she lived as the prince’s fiancee in the capital’s social circle.

n“Let’s go.”

nAstelle went with Hannah to the tea room in the garden.

nAs they approached the tea room, a refreshing scent of white acacia blossoms wafted up.

nAgainst the clear sky, the flower clusters with their petals drooping were dazzlingly white.

nThere were people who arrived first in the tea room.

nAstelle walked in with a welcome smile.

n“Marchioness, long time no see.”

nThe Marchioness of Croychen turned her gaze.

n“Lady Astelle.”

n“So you were invited too. I’m glad there are other ladies besides me. I was worried that only gentlemen would come to the tea party hosted by the Count,” Astelle smiled casually and spoke softly.

nThe Marchioness was about to say something more, but a dark-haired girl rushed to speak.

n“Nice to meet you Lady Astelle. This is Florin, the second daughter of the Croychen family.”

n‘Oh, this lady is Florin.’

nFlorin is Marianne’s sister and the strongest candidate for the new empress.

nAstelle thought she would be beautiful because she was Marianne’s younger sister, but she looked a little different from Marianne.

nUnlike Marianne who has blonde hair and a bright appearance, Florin has a doll-like appearance with flowing soft black hair.

nShe looks younger than expected.

nThe amethyst-purple eyes looking at Astelle gleamed with curiosity.

nShe was very cute when she made a girlish expression.

n“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Astelle.”

n“Nice to meet you too, Lady Florin.”

nThis was her really first meeting with her.

nAstelle had seen Marchioness and Marianne several times when she had previously lived in the capital but had never met the second daughter, Florin.

nAs if acknowledging Astelle’s thoughts, Florin smiled and spoke, “I was not feeling well when I was young and was recuperating on the Croychen’s estate. So, I never had the chance to see Lady Astelle, but it’s an honor to meet you now.”

n“Oh…… were you not feeling well?”

n“I was very ill when I was young. I am a lot better now.”

nNow that Astelle saw her, there was a slight pale tinge on her pearly white skin.

n“By the way, the Count……”

nWhy is Vellian, as the host of the tea party, not present yet?

nAstelle looked around and was about to ask.

nBut a new attendee entered the tea room.

nFlorin, who was examining the table, and the Marchioness, who stood with a grin on her face, hurriedly bent her knees and bowed her head.

n“Greetings, the Lord of the Empire.”

nThe person who came in was Kaizen.

nAstelle, who was confused, also hurried to greet him.

n“Astelle.”

n“Your Majesty.”

nVellian followed behind him and came in.

n“Oh, everyone is here.”

nAstelle gave him a look that asked how this happened.

nVellian blatantly ignored Astelle’s gaze.

n‘How rude.’

nSatisfied with Astelle’s hardened expression, Vellian politely thanked Kaizen.

n“It is an infinite honor for Your Majesty to attend my first tea party.”

nParticipants sit around the center table.

nThe Marchioness and Florin sat next to each other, and Astelle sat next to Vellian.

nOf course, Kaizen took the top seat.

nHandmaidens poured fragrant tea into white teacups on the table.

nThe inside of the tea room was beautiful in its own way.

nThe whole wall was light green jade, and the floor was blue marble.

nThe windows were beautifully draped in mint-colored silk curtains.

nThe tea party was a casual social gathering. All the invited ladies sat down, drank tea, and chatted for a while.

nWhen the weather is nice, there are occasions where you can take a walk in the garden or listen to music to refresh the atmosphere.

nIt was a short event that lasted about an hour or two.

nMost of them invite close people, so they chat in a simple and friendly atmosphere.

nHowever, instead of a friendly atmosphere, there was only an uncomfortable silence at this table.

nKaizen and Astelle were divorced, and Florin was the young girl mentioned as Kaizen’s future wife.

nFlorin’s mother, the Marchioness, saw Astelle as an enemy.

nEven Vellian didn’t seem to intend to set the mood as he was trying to figure out Astelle’s true intentions and keep her from doing anything stupid.

nIn this situation, the atmosphere was not good.

nAfter a moment of silence, a lively voice lifted the heavy stillness.

n“I brought tea and dessert for today’s tea party. It’s a dessert made with ingredients brought from the capital. Very tasty.”

nFlorin was still cute.

nShe also smiled kindly at Astelle.

n“I am looking forward to what it will be like,” Astelle said.

n“If it’s okay with you, I’ll bring the dessert I brought.”

nAt Florin’s orders, the maids brought the plates from the tray to the table.

nThe dessert Florin brought was a tart made from regenerated fruits.

nAstelle saw the fruit in the tart and stopped her hand.

nOn top of the tart, white fruits were wrapped in smooth syrup.

nIt was Lintail.

nLintail was a fruit that only grew near the capital.

nSince it is a special fruit that can only be tasted in the capital, there was no opportunity to see it in the east.

nIt was the first time Astelle had seen it since she left the capital six years ago.

nThe juicy flesh gave off a sweet and fragrant smell. It looked delicious, but Astelle drank only tea without touching the dessert plate.

n“Do you not like the dessert?” at Florin’s careful question, Astelle responded with a smile.

n“I don’t like this fruit very much.”

n“Ah……sorry. I should have asked beforehand.”

n“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

nIn fact, it wasn’t just that she didn’t like it, it was that she couldn’t eat it. Astelle had a peculiar constitution in which she had a fever when she ate Lintail fruit.

n‘Without knowing it, I ate this when I was young and got very sick.’

nAnd after eating the whole plate, she had to lie in bed for several days.

nHannah came to Astelle with a teapot.

nThen her hand slipped and she dropped the teapot.

n“Ouch……!”

nVellian, who was sitting next to Astelle, put down his teacup and shouted.

nTea water poured on the table, in an instant, ran down the table. The white ceramic teapot fell to the floor and shattered. Hot tea splashed all over the place.

n“Sorry, Count. I’m sorry.”

nHannah knelt on the floor and begged for forgiveness.

nAstelle also stood up.

n“Count, I’m sorry. How could my maid make such a mistake……”

nFortunately, Vellian was not seriously injured and only his clothes were wet.

nAstelle couldn’t drink hot tea, so she always prepared the tea a little lukewarm.

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