Chapter 51. Tea Party (1)

Guided by the head servant, the tea party venue was a greenhouse located in a corner of the main palace.

Iella’s eyes had already widened at the sight of the enormous greenhouse before entering, and once inside, she had to bite her lip tightly to stop her mouth from falling open.

The interior maintained a pleasant temperature despite the sunlight pouring through the transparent glass, making it seem like paradise.

‘Is it because it’s the imperial palace? There’s not a single place that isn’t beautiful.’

If circumstances had been different, she would certainly have been completely absorbed in admiring this sight for a long time. But thinking about it differently, perhaps it was precisely because of these circumstances that she could even lay eyes on the emperor’s greenhouse.

For someone like her, whose living radius had been limited to around the territory, this was a place she would never have visited in her lifetime.

Eventually, reaching a specially prepared space inside, she saw tables filled with various refreshments in keeping with the occasion. The emperor had not yet arrived, as his seat was empty.

‘Is that why the atmosphere felt like this?’

Somehow, when she entered the greenhouse, the peaceful atmosphere that greeted her seemed strange, making her initial tension feel unnecessary. Now she understood why.

It was because the emperor, whose mere presence could suffocate everyone around him, wasn’t there.

“His Majesty said he would be a little late due to state affairs.”

The head servant, who had personally pulled out a chair for her, conveyed the message with a formal attitude after Iella sat down. Then, receiving a teacup from a maid who appeared with a tray, he placed it in front of her.

“I’ll prepare tea for you while you wait.”

Everything after that happened swiftly. With skillful hands, he brewed the tea, poured it perfectly into her cup, tidied up neatly, and withdrew with a polite bow.

By the time Iella looked up from her teacup, there was no one around her.

‘…Why are they so quick?’

Left all alone, Iella couldn’t hide her bewilderment. They had all retreated like an ebbing tide, and their intention didn’t seem to be for her convenience……

‘It looks like they’re running away before Ailexia takes out her anger on them.’

Like avoiding sparks before they fly.

‘Well, I can understand that.’

Iella let out a small sigh.

Their behavior wasn’t completely incomprehensible. The emperor who made an invitation that was more like a notification and then didn’t immediately appear, Ailexia who was suddenly left waiting for someone she didn’t want to meet.

In between, those who would suffer the most were the servants who had to attend to Ailexia until the emperor arrived.

‘She must not hold back her temperament with the main palace servants either.’

Thanks to this, Iella realized once again that the three methods Vanessa had mentioned weren’t completely absurd.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust Vanessa, but… no matter how I think about it, they all seemed like good ways to die.’

Regardless of status, they were all people of the main palace who served the emperor. In other words, they were the emperor’s people. The attitude and appearance shown to them was essentially the same as showing it to their master, the emperor. The saying that there are eyes and ears everywhere in the imperial palace doesn’t exist for nothing.

Yet Ailexia revealed her true nature even to them. Even to the head servant who directly attended the emperor.

The emperor must have heard about this through his own eyes and ears. Of course, Ailexia wouldn’t have acted differently in front of the emperor either.

‘The fact that nothing has happened until now means it really must be okay.’

Iella stirred her tea with the silver spoon placed next to the saucer. A subtle rose fragrance wafted from the dark reddish-brown tea. She put down the silver spoon and picked up the teacup.

Taking a sip as if just moistening her throat, her mouth filled with a bittersweet taste and the subtle fragrance of roses. Finding the taste not unpleasant, Iella took a few more sips. Then suddenly, she shifted her gaze around.

‘With no one here, it feels like I came to play alone.’

The quiet greenhouse, beautiful colorful flowers surrounding her, fragrant flower scents, warm tea.

Despite knowing this wasn’t the time for such thoughts, her body, stiff with tension, relaxed in the surrounding environment that offered nothing but elements to soothe mind and body.

‘…This is nice.’

Iella suddenly realized how tired she had been. This brief moment of rest felt incredibly sweet.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t had a moment’s rest since entering this body. She had been constantly moving, trying to return to her original body. In the process, she experienced things for the first time and went through many tense situations. Among them, dealing with people associated with Ailexia was the most draining and difficult.

She thought her mind had eased a bit after meeting Vanessa, but now it seemed that hadn’t been perfect. Perhaps the anxiety and stress accumulated before that had been too great for the effect to be significant.

‘Just for a moment….’

Anyway, there was no one around, and she had nothing to do until the emperor arrived. Even if someone was secretly watching her, there would be no problem as she was just sitting quietly.

Iella put down her teacup and silently savored the tranquility. She lost track of time.

That sweet respite ended when Emperor Helios finally appeared.

“I’ve kept you waiting long.”

It was when at least an hour had passed since Iella arrived at the greenhouse.

* * *

Iella looked down at her teacup. She could see thin steam rising from the surface of the freshly brewed warm tea. After preparing the emperor’s tea, the next thing the maid did was to replace Iella’s now cold tea with a fresh one.

Only then did she realize how long she had been alone, and felt it.

‘If this was going to happen, they should have set the appointment time later….’

Then she would have had more time to steel herself, thought Iella, but realizing that the time she spent alone in the greenhouse had been essentially the same, she swallowed her complaint.

Come to think of it, she was quite something herself. Entering the tiger’s den and promptly relaxing to enjoy a sweet respite once left alone. Had she become desensitized from experiencing so many crises?

‘My mind is surprisingly calm.’

Perhaps that could be it. Iella felt herself maintaining composure even with Helios in front of her.

Of course, it could also be because the servants who had left the greenhouse upon his arrival had reappeared, so they weren’t alone in the space.

Whatever the reason, at this rate, she could finish the conversation with him without any trouble.

“I called for you, but I didn’t really expect you to come. Nor did I expect you to wait all this time.”

At that moment, Helios, who had been leisurely taking a few sips of tea without saying anything, put down his teacup and spoke. For Iella, it was an outrageous statement. Thanks to that, a discourteous reply slipped out without much effort.

“…I didn’t know what would happen if I refused Your Majesty’s summons. And I waited quietly for so long because I didn’t want to give you any reason to find fault with me.”

“Hmm.”

The emperor let out a low hum and gave a bland smile.

“It sounds like you’re implying I’ve done that before.”

“Haven’t you?”

“Well. I thought I was treating my guests quite well.”

He raised one corner of his mouth in a sneer and leaned his upper body slightly forward.

“I even laid out the groundwork for you to enjoy yourself directly.”

At these shameless words, Iella was speechless. Could that be called hospitality? Meanwhile, Helios straightened his posture and added with a seemingly regretful tone.

“Well, it didn’t quite work out. Who would have thought the hostage would refuse orders and act on her own?”

“……”

“Should I prepare hospitality again if you’d like?”

“That’s not necessary.”

Iella replied firmly to his gleaming red eyes that looked ready to put his words into action immediately. Helios snickered as if he had expected this response, leaned back comfortably in his chair, and crossed his legs.

“You two have some similarities. Come to think of it, I heard you haven’t been seeking out the hostage lately.”

“Did you call me just to say that?”

“Not exactly, but the more I think about it, the more curious I find it.”

Iella couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. Ailexia changing men was something that had happened several times before Allen. So why did he find it curious? Because the person was Allen?

Her question was soon answered.

“When the hostage first came from Bledin, he made quite a fuss about putting him in that damned harem. And when you took him, I thought you’d keep him by your side forever.”

Iella’s understanding of Allen and Ailexia’s first meeting was limited to the one-line explanation: “Ailexia put him in the harem when he came as a hostage.” She had no idea how the process had unfolded.

Even in her brief speculation, she had assumed that since Allen was an illegitimate child and a hostage, it had probably happened without much commotion.

“Well, thanks to that, we unexpectedly gained an island that was under the duchy’s jurisdiction.”

“An island?”

“You didn’t know? My uncle personally presented it to me, trying to somehow grant that ridiculous demand. Considering the value of that island, it was an absurd deal. What value could a hostage, rejected and sent from the kingdom, possibly have to warrant that?”

“……”

“There’s no bigger fool than that.”

Iella almost found herself agreeing before she could stop herself.