Chapter 26

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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In a rush, the tea party was held under an unfortunately cloudy sky. The overcast, threatening rain but not quite raining, seemed to mirror the tense atmosphere of the tea party welcoming the royal family.

The slightly larger than usual cats had taken refuge in Emma's cottage, also serving as guard cats to watch for any intruders who might try to uncover the palace's secret of silk.

This tea party, gathered by the noble families who were eager to form a marital alliance with the royal family, despite the harassment from Emma's mother, Mersa, had taken on a completely different appearance from the previous one.

Due to the unstable weather, it was held indoors instead of in the garden. Most of the gathered young noblemen and noblewomen were from families of higher rank than earls. Their attire, which had been casual dresses and formal wear at the last party, was now fully dressed in the best of the social season.

And... even after the scheduled start time, the prince and princess did not appear.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was impossible to start the tea party without the royal family.

It was also impossible to chat and laugh without the royal family.

An awkward, silent atmosphere continued.

Emma wore a simple dress in a light green, the same color as her eyes, which was very plain compared to the other young ladies. The current fashion trend was off-the-shoulder dresses, which exposed the shoulders, and the other young ladies wore dresses with higher exposure. Emma, who had no chest and thin limbs due to her age, tried to cover as much as possible. She had her corset loosened to enjoy the cake.

She preferred what suited her over what was in fashion, and what was comfortable over what was in fashion. She absolutely did not want to overdo it.

Georg and William wore black formal wear with touches of the Stewart family's purple.

Purple is the color of the Stewart family, so the boys are required to wear it.

Amid the silence, the young noblemen glanced at Emma hesitantly.

Nobles of earl rank and above are well-educated.

Each young lady was full of confidence, keeping up with the latest trends, and their posture while waiting for the royal family was almost in a state of combat readiness, tense and on edge.

Many of the young noblemen could not help but be captivated by Emma's delicate appearance amidst this tension.

Even if they were just sulking with their heads down, unable to eat the cake in front of them because the prince and princess were late, or trying to suppress their hunger, or trembling with nervousness, it seemed to be interpreted as "I want to protect her!"

For some reason, every time there was a tea party, Emma's popularity inexplicably rose, and this phenomenon would continue.

After about an hour of silence, word finally came that the second prince, the princess, and their mother, the king's concubine, had arrived.

Everyone stood up and headed to the door to greet the royal family, bowing as subjects.

Rose Alicia Royal, the king's concubine, entered, calling out to her husband, Leonard, with a sweet voice.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't decide on a dress..."

"You shouldn't say that. It is a great honor. The royal family should not apologize."

"I know, I'm still not used to the etiquette, I'm sorry... Oh, I'm apologizing again. Hehe."

It was only natural that everyone, who was bowing, thought (Your dress choice, right?) in their heads.

The royal family should not apologize. In other words, the royal family should not give any reason to apologize.

"Couldn't decide on a dress..." like it's a first date!

"Not used to it..." after being a concubine for over 15 years?

If they said it out loud, they might be immediately sent to jail for disrespect, but their minds were free.

Rose told the young noblemen and noblewomen, who were bowing, to relax and lifted the bow.

Only then did they raise their heads.

In front of them stood the beautiful black-haired prince and princess.

The prince, though slightly displeased, exuded royal dignity, and his well-defined features gave him a cold impression.

The princess, hiding behind the prince, had her black hair neatly tied up and wore a red dress to match her mother.

Everyone who raised their heads tried their best to hide their shock.

The royal bloodline is black hair. This is a well-known fact.

However, until this moment, only a few people had ever seen the royal family, and they were captivated by the black hair for the first time.

To the people of this world, this special hair color is something most people never see in their lifetime, and even the prime minister, who constantly interacts with the royal family, is said to be tense every time he sees it.

Just being black-haired made everyone feel a sense of awe and reverence.

The three brothers shared the same expression.

However, their gazes were subtly different.

For the three brothers, who were pure Japanese and born in a very rural area, black hair held no particular significance.

Rather, it was a relief.

While everyone else was focused on the prince and princess's hair, the three brothers' gazes passed over them and were fixed on the concubine, Rose Alicia Royal. Rose's hair was orange, and her eyes were hazel, not particularly rare colors. But...

To put it bluntly.

She had huge breasts.

There were huge breasts, something they had only seen in comics.

Moreover, the current fashion trend was off-the-shoulder dresses.

The huge breasts were bursting out.

There are big-breasted women in Japan too. While they had never seen huge breasts, they assumed they existed. However, most big-breasted Japanese women tend to hide their chests.

Even bras that make the chest look smaller are popular.

The three brothers had never seen anyone so openly displaying huge breasts.

Ironically, they were more fixated on the real huge breasts than on seeing black hair, which was rarer in this world.

It was a breathtaking sight, beyond the realm of big-breasted or small-breasted.

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Huge breasts were more of an SSR than the prince and princess.