Chapter 9

The blue sky.

The white clouds.

A refreshing breeze blew through the garden of the Stewart family's estate. The first tea party was a garden party, blessed with good weather.

The participants, dressed in their finest, waited with bated breath for the appearance of the Stewart triplets, their hopes for the family's future prosperity high...

The eldest son, Georg, was known for his vigor and had been hunting even before he came of age.

The second son, William, had been helping with the family business since he was old enough to understand and was known for his diligence.

The eldest daughter, Emma, was frail and quiet, a gentle and beautiful young girl.

This was the general impression most of the participants had of the triplets. After all, the Stewart family's estate in the Palais region was in a remote area, and even the neighboring nobles had rarely seen the young triplets.

The only information available was through the stories told by their father, Leonard, who was overly proud of his children.

No one knew that the eldest son, Georg, disliked studying.

That the eldest daughter, Emma, was obsessed with insects.

Or that the second son, William, was essentially Emma's errand boy.

"Welcome to the Stewart family's garden party. Please enjoy yourselves."

The party began with a casual, almost dismissive greeting from their father, Leonard, followed by the introduction of the triplets, and the servants moving in unison to serve the guests.

Georg scowled in his unfamiliar attire. The young ladies attending the party, however, mistook his stern expression for rugged handsomeness.

Emma wore a simplified dress made from silk thread she had raised herself, trying to hide her blank expression. The nervousness of her first tea party and the desire to protect her inadvertently stirred the protective instincts of the young gentlemen in attendance.

William, on the other hand, smiled at the cute young girls. The mothers of the attending children were buzzing with excitement at the sight of such a beautiful young boy.

Each of the triplets was observed from a distance due to various misunderstandings. Amidst this, a single boy approached them directly.

"Lord Georg, it's been a while!"

Joshua, the son of the wealthy merchant in Palais, was the only one who had regular interactions with the triplets. He was a 14-year-old with dark brown hair and eyes, and freckles that made him look cute.

At last, a smile returned to Georg's face.

"It's been a while, Joshua! It's a relief to see a familiar face!"

Joshua, amused by Georg's expression, began to chat in a way that seemed overly familiar to the other guests.

"I came to check out what interesting things you're up to."

Georg responded with a serious face.

"No one could stop Mother."

Joshua burst into laughter at Georg's reply.

"Mr. Joshua! Could you introduce me to the Stewart family?"

A slightly plump girl spoke from behind Joshua.

"Oh, my apologies."

Joshua, maintaining a serious expression, introduced the plump girl.

"This is Lady Yuraria, the daughter of Baron Malle. My father and Baron Malle have a business relationship..."

Lady Yuraria, the girl in question, curtsied slightly.

"Joshua...?"

Georg's smile froze.

"Isn't she cute? Lady Yuraria! I thought she would make a perfect fiancée for Lord Georg!"

Joshua's sudden betrayal made Georg's smile twitch.

"And Lord William...! This is Lady Caroline, the daughter of Viscount Garland!"

Joshua introduced another girl, a red-haired girl around William's age.

"Joshua..."

William's face also twitched. Merchants prioritize profit. Expecting friendship from Joshua, who had the blood of a wealthy merchant, would only lead to disappointment. They understood this, but he was the only friend of their age.

"Lord Emma, would you like to talk to me...? Wait, where's Lord Emma?"

Emma was nowhere to be found.

Bored with the not-so-long introductions, Emma had wandered off to the table with desserts, aiming for a cake, and ended up surrounded by several guests.

"Miss Emma! I'm Chris, the eldest son of the Mons family! You're as cute as they say!"

"Miss Emma, I'm Glen from the Duke Jouk family. Emma, I heard you have a quiet personality. Talking so loudly might surprise you!"

The commotion around Emma had even started to turn into a subtle competition.

"Wow... Emma is so popular."

"Come on... What are you saying so calmly! We need to help her!"

Joshua, suddenly losing his composure, sought help from the two of them. As a member of a baronial family, he couldn't just go and help against the baronial and ducal families.

"Help her... But she's not in trouble, is she? Emma?"

"She's talking just fine, sister."

Joshua, who knew that he had a crush on Emma, was being teased by the two of them, partly due to his recent betrayal.

"But why! Lord Emma can talk normally! She usually ignores everything except for insects!"

Joshua had crammed himself with insect knowledge for this day. Emma, however, had gained some common sense from her memories of her past life and could now hold normal conversations beyond insects. This was a miscalculation on Joshua's part. Georg and William were laughing at the sight of Joshua's flustered face, which they had never seen before.

While Emma could now hold normal conversations, she was still in a bit of a bind.

Everyone here is a child or a teenager...

At 35 years old in her previous life, she felt like a babysitter. The idea of considering them as potential fiancés was a bit awkward. Moreover, she felt a twinge of unease seeing William talking to the young girls.

Puffy... He had a thing for young girls, but is that really okay?