Chapter 6

She tightly clenched her trembling hands, her large eyes flickering with anxiety.

The tall man gently enveloped her clenched hands with his large ones.

"It'll be fine, I promise."

"Yeah, right..."

"Yes. I will definitely protect you."

She glanced up at the man once, then lowered her eyes, her long lashes trembling.

"If we miss this chance, it will be too late..."

Interrupting her words, the man firmly embraced her small body.

☆

It was three days later when the queen announced she would host a tea party. Alan and Princess Florentina have been meeting frequently, sharing meals and such, but there hasn't been much progress.

Florentina's company seems to be mentally exhausting, and Olivia's room in the castle has become a refuge for Alan. Today, too, Alan, who had been showing Princess Florentina around the castle in the morning, came in the afternoon. Olivia thinks that if he's going to come here to complain, he might as well go back to his office and do some work, but seeing Alan's exhausted and worn-out face, she can't bring herself to say such harsh words. However, with Alan's already limited working hours being further reduced by his duties with Princess Florentina, his workload is piling up, and his assistant, Bax, is looking increasingly grim, though for a different reason.

"By the way, has everything been prepared for the tea party Mother announced?"

"Well, yeah..."

Olivia smiled wryly as Alan, after a long bout of complaining, suddenly looked up as if he had just remembered something.

The queen seems determined to win over Princess Florentina. She has planned a tea party at the castle, inviting noble ladies and matrons. This is likely to introduce Princess Florentina, who is not well-known in the country, and to lay the groundwork for when she marries into the royal family. Olivia, who is engaged to Silas, will be co-hosting the event with the queen. Honestly, this is a bit of a hassle.

The queen has selected about thirty guests, including the wives of ministers, duchesses, and their daughters, as well as countesses and baronesses who are well-known in society. The queen will handle the older matrons, but the younger ladies and matrons closer to Olivia's age have been assigned to her. Honestly, Olivia is better at dealing with older matrons than with the chirpy young ladies of her age, and she is frantically researching the current trends among the young ladies. As the host, it's not just about nodding and agreeing; it requires more effort.

Having been Alan's fiancée for years, Olivia knows the names and faces of the young ladies, as well as their hobbies and talents. However, this knowledge alone isn't enough to get through the event. She needs to facilitate conversations, bridge the gap between Florentina and the young ladies, and ensure that everyone at the table enjoys themselves. It's not an impossible task, but it requires a lot of effort.

"We have seven types of tea and have also prepared coffee, which is currently in vogue. The castle's chefs will prepare light snacks and sweets, so that shouldn't be a problem. The main focus will be introducing Princess Florentina, so we will use Lebanoir's specialty, woven textiles, for the tablecloths and serve a few sweets from her country."

"...It seems like you've done most of the preparations."

When Alan looked exasperated, Silas shrugged.

"Mother said it would be good practice for Olivia to host tea parties as a future princess, so she smoothly passed the responsibility to her."

"I see, that sounds like Mother."

Alan gave her a sympathetic look. At that moment, Bax's voice echoed from a distance, "Alan!"

"Prince Alan, Bax is calling for you."

Alan slumped in defeat.