Chapter 61

Patricia’s deep, clear green eyes gazed intently at Al, who nervously scratched his head in a flustered manner.

"Milady Patricia, I'm glad to see you well."

"Yes, it's thanks to you, Lord Al. I'm pleased to meet you today. Please, have a seat."

The chair Al was offered was elegantly carved. In front of it, a white tablecloth was spread over the table, and a beautifully polished silver tea set was placed there.

"U-um… yes…"

Al bowed to the Viscountess Tara and the knight Joanna, who were present, before sitting down. The chair, covered with embroidered fabric, had a soft cushion, making it very comfortable. As Al sat down, feeling a bit dazed, Patricia sat opposite him, and the Viscountess Tara sat beside her. Two ladies-in-waiting had helped them by pulling out their chairs, and their movements were extremely natural and graceful.

Not knowing what to do, Al looked around, and one of the ladies-in-waiting placed a cup in front of him and slowly poured tea into it. The fragrant aroma of the tea spread throughout the room.

"Wow, it smells great."

Al said this without thinking. Patricia and the Viscountess Tara smiled warmly at his words, and the tense atmosphere seemed to ease a bit.

"Al, is this your first time having tea?"

"I think I experienced it a few times at the intermediate school, but I don't remember at all… I'm sorry."

Al corrected himself halfway through. He vaguely remembered having tea as part of a manners lesson in class, but he had never thought he would have such an opportunity, and he couldn't recall what the instructor had said.

"Don't worry about it. Just hold the cup with one hand and don't slurp loudly. That's enough. Do you want sugar? And milk, right?"

Sugar? Al thought it was an expensive item, but perhaps this was how noble tea was served. Not knowing what to do, he replied, "Yes, please."

"Al is the same age as Narech, right? Your father is a knight, isn’t he?"

"Yes, we have a small village in the Cipley Mountains as our fief. I am the third son, but fortunately, I was allowed to attend intermediate school and was in the same class as Narech."

Perhaps the Viscountess Tara had heard about Al from the Adventurers' Guild, or maybe from Narech or Kain. While drinking tea, she asked Al about his adventures and his encounter with Patricia. Al, tense about his word choice and the atmosphere, answered with a back drenched in sweat. Patricia watched him with a smile.

"I understand, Al. Thank you for everything. From tomorrow, please come here at this time for tea. You can do Lord Radyard's work afterward. I'll tell him that. Is that alright, Milady Patricia?"

Patricia nodded several times. The Viscountess Tara turned to Al.

"The extermination party is set to depart in a week, so it should be possible until the day before."

Al nodded, and the Viscountess Tara agreed. For today, this much was probably enough.

"Then, I'll take my leave now."

Al stood up, wiped the sweat from his palms onto his clothes, and bowed to Patricia and the Viscountess Tara before leaving the room.

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"Although he's only 15, it's understandable that he seems a bit lacking in spirit and somewhat unreliable."

After Al left, the Viscountess Tara sighed. However, Patricia smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Lord Al is very reliable when it comes to it. Meeting him was guided by Lady Tempest, it was fate."

Her tone had a dreamy quality. The Viscountess Tara shrugged as she had before.

"You seem quite infatuated with Al. It's good that you're feeling better, but you need to have more awareness as a member of the royal family… Didn't you have a fiancé, Milady Patricia?"

The Viscountess Tara's question made Joanna nod.

"He is the heir of the Taggart Dukedom. However, the princess has never met him."

"Is that so. The Taggart Dukedom is in the west, isn't it? I wonder what has happened there."

Joanna shook her head in response to the Viscountess Tara's question.

"I don't know. The territory governed by the Duke of Taggart is quite far from the Earl of Senette's domain where we lived. We have no idea what stance they took in this political change."

The Principality of Rain bordered the Kingdom of Tempest directly, but generally, very little information came in. Of course, for the Viscountess Tara, the Kingdom of Tempest was her homeland, and the Earl of Senette was her family. She had asked her husband, Viscount Lester, to gather as much information as possible, but she had only heard that Duke Prentiss had taken control of the area around the capital of the Kingdom of Tempest. She had not received any information about the various regions.

"I see… What a difficult situation. For now, we can only wait for more information. Joanna, I'm sorry to ask this of you as a knight, but could you help our ladies-in-waiting and get Milady Patricia to fit in quickly? It would be nice if she could find something other than Al to be interested in…"

"Yes, I will look into it, Lady Tara. Thank you for listening to the princess's request this time."

Joanna bowed formally as a knight, and the Viscountess Tara smiled gracefully.

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