‘Is it from Libel?’

I tilted my head and took the tea party invitation the Duke held out. But contrary to my expectations, the name written on the envelope’s surface was different.

「Agnes Imeg.」

Imeg, Imeg.

After repeating it a few times feeling like I’d heard it somewhere, I realized. She was the young lady from one of Everdeen’s vassal houses whom I’d seen at Libel’s tea party before.

‘Come to think of it, they said the more proper noble houses are, the more they expand their connections through introductions from people they know. Sending an invitation first to someone you don’t know is considered something that hurts one’s pride…’

That’s why Libel also initially hinted through Jervis that she wanted to get acquainted with me.

Of course, they say that for people with tremendous influence, invitation letters begging for their attendance pile up like mountains, regardless of pride.

At that time, it made sense since I hadn’t been here long, and it was around when Everdeen was just starting to recover its prestige. Now she’s one of my reliable friends, so it’s all good!

「Hello, Princess. I am Agnes Imeg. Though I’m not sure if you remember, we met once at Viscount Diffrin’s tea party.」

Anyway, Lady Imeg’s letter, which started with a polite greeting, continued quite long. The main point was this:

「I heard you played a big role in the frozen lands recently. If it’s alright with you, would you attend my tea party and tell us about your heroic tales from that day? Since it’s a gathering of peers, it shouldn’t be too burdensome.」

‘Sigh.’

Actually, I just added a spoonful to what the Duke did.

Because the Duke pushed all the public credit onto me, the rumors seemed quite exaggerated. How embarrassing.

「Will you attend?」

When I handed the letter to the Duke, he quickly scanned through it and asked. After thinking briefly, I nodded.

“Actually, there’s not much of a heroic tale to tell… But I think it would be a good opportunity to start promoting what Beth and I are working on.”

After all, since the Imeg Count family is also Everdeen’s vassal, there’s no particular reason to decline the invitation. And it seems like the perfect place to subtly showcase the white branch tree hair ornament that Beth gave me.

Though I didn’t add anything else, the Duke, perhaps because he’d been working with me since “The Tale of the Invisible Gentleman,” quickly understood and nodded.

「Indeed, dropping hints beforehand would increase the buzz and anticipation. Be careful on your way.」

“Yes!”

Until then, I really hadn’t thought much about it. I was just sipping my honey milk while thinking I should discuss with Beth about what outfit would best highlight the white branch tree hair ornament.

Though everything about the ‘boy’ was still completely unclear, I acted based on the thought that it wouldn’t be too late to worry about it again after dealing with the immediate matters at hand.

But…

* * *

“Welcome, Princess. Ah, this is the young master of Count Carpendier. He’s three years older than you, Princess. He’s the second son of the Carpendier family, and he’s been at a resort all this time due to poor health. It hasn’t been quite half a year since he returned to the east.”

Why is he appearing here…?

On the day of the tea party, in the garden of the Imeg Count’s mansion, which was the promised venue.

I blinked while alternately looking at Lady Imeg’s flushed face and over her shoulder. But even then, the scene before my eyes didn’t change.

Among the peer young ladies with equally excited faces, no, right in the middle sat a handsome boy.

That black-haired boy who was looking at me with wide surprised eyes was definitely the one who had disappeared like a mirage in front of the wish tree a few days ago.

‘The young master of Count Carpendier…?’

To think all my worries since the Founding Day Festival – who he might be, how old he might be, where he might live, and so on – would be resolved in one go like this…?

Is it my imagination that this feels incredibly anticlimactic?

‘Where was the Carpendier Count family located again?’

<Wh-why is that person here…>

While I was hurriedly wracking my brain, Rick, held in my arms, also stammered as if quite surprised. Lady Imeg subtly gestured to the boy.

“Young Master Carpendier? You should exchange greetings?”

“…Ah.”

Only then did the boy seem to come to his senses, approaching with a strange smile while rising from his seat.

Unlike last time, the boy was dressed in luxurious clothes. They suited him surprisingly well. As if he had finally returned to his ‘true’ appearance.

Stopping in front of me, he placed one hand on his chest in an elegant motion and bowed. A calm voice penetrated my ears.

“So you’re the rumored Princess of Everdeen. I am Damian Carpendier.”

Damian Carpendier.

I don’t know why that name feels so unfamiliar.

Is it because I didn’t expect to learn the identity of that strange boy so suddenly, in such an unexpected way?

While I awkwardly rolled the boy’s name around in my mouth a few times, he took my hand and lightly kissed the back of it.

Oh, m-my goodness. When I shuddered with a delayed surprise, he released my hand and spoke.

“I apologize for not recognizing you last time.”

“Eh, what?”

“Ah… Could it be you’ve already forgotten about that day? When I still remember it…”

It was a very meaningful tone. As proof, Lady Imeg’s eyes, who was standing nearby, grew so large they looked like they might fall out.

The boy, Damian, looked down diagonally with quite a pitiful expression. When I saw tears glistening between his black, long eyelashes, confusion set in.

‘That day?’

Which day is he talking about? The day we met in front of the wish tree?

Or could it be…

‘…The Founding Day Festival?’

My thoughts gradually leaned toward the latter.

That’s because first of all, his face looked too similar, and his gentle smile and voice were similar too.

Besides, isn’t it stranger to show such a longing attitude over just briefly crossing paths once in front of the wish tree?

While this isn’t exactly a normal situation either way. It seems like Damian is the one I met at the Founding Day Festival…

<Mmph! Mmph mmph…! Mmph? Mmph!>

Oh my, what a shock!

It was then that Rick suddenly made strange sounds. He tried to say something very indignantly, but he only made muffled sounds like someone whose mouth was covered.

I almost screamed in sudden shock but barely managed to hold it in, conscious of the many watching eyes. Instead, I gritted my teeth and tightly squeezed my arm holding Rick.

‘What on earth are you doing?’

I almost became someone who screamed out of nowhere. And in front of Damian at that.

It’s not like another ghost is covering his mouth. Why is he acting strange by himself?

But Rick just continued making frustrated “mmph mmph” sounds.

What is he really doing? Did he eat something wrong… but that’s not even possible?

“Princess?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Haha.”

Lady Imeg tilted her head, perhaps finding the sudden silence strange.

I quickly changed my expression to smile at her and turned my gaze back to Damian. His purple eyes were still looking at me with a strange affection.

Ah, this is really confusing. After hesitating for a while, I carefully asked what was bothering me.

“…If you really remember, why did you leave like that in front of the wish tree last time?”

“Ah, I really couldn’t stay any longer then. But seeing how we’ve met again like this, it seems fate isn’t just empty words after all.”

Wow, he says such embarrassing things without even changing color. Well, he did kiss my forehead without hesitation at the Founding Day Festival too…

Thinking about being kissed, strangely my face didn’t heat up even though the person involved was right in front of me. Until now, I’d been troubled because my face would burn up just from suddenly remembering it.

While rubbing my cheek with the back of my hand at the unfamiliar feeling, I discovered a bunch of piercing gazes over Damian’s shoulder.

Oh right, come to think of it, everyone seemed very interested in Damian from earlier… Is it because of his extraordinary appearance?

‘While rumors about new products are welcome, I don’t particularly want to be the talk of people otherwise.’

There are too many watching eyes here, including Lady Imeg. Recognizing this, I lowered my voice to whisper to Damian.

“This doesn’t seem like the place to have this conversation, so if it’s alright with you, would you invite me to the Carpendier mansion next time?”

Damian blinked once at my words, then curled up the corners of his mouth. An inexplicable satisfaction appeared on his white face. His purple eyes wandered around my face and hair area.

“…Gladly. It would be my honor, Princess of Everdeen.”

* * *

The tea party that followed was successful in its own way.

Though Lady Imeg and the other children clearly seemed curious about my relationship with Damian, they didn’t bring it up first when we kept our mouths shut.

The new product promotion I had momentarily forgotten about because of Damian’s presence was also successful, thanks to one young lady showing interest in the hair ornament.

I achieved what I intended to. And though unintended, I seem to have found the person I’d been looking for so long…

It was truly a day of nothing but gains, so why does my heart feel so unsettled?