It looked like an invitation, but what about it? Saena looked around for some additional hints. Usually, more information could be gleaned from the envelope than the original contents.

And there was something that caught her eye—this time it was the envelope that Evian was holding and fluttering.

‘Golden…’

The envelope was golden. It meant it was a letter from the Imperial family… She hadn’t even considered it because their attitude was too casual for handling correspondence from the Imperial family.

“It’s from the Imperial family?”

“Hmm.”

“Wow, a letter from the Imperial family. That’s amazing, sister.”

Saena thought simply. Oh, Kirsten gets letters from the Imperial family, how impressive.

While completely forgetting that she herself had received a letter from the Prince before.

“But this just doesn’t make any sense.”

Kirsten muttered while tapping her cheek with her slender finger. Her furrowed brow revealed her displeasure.

“Right, it doesn’t make sense. Not at all.”

Evian muttered in agreement.

“Sisters! There must be some scheme behind this!”

Floria shouted excitedly.

What kind of letter from whom could cause such reactions?

“How could Elaine Barnes possibly use a golden envelope?”

“And what about opening the Imperial Hall! If Elaine Barnes had such authority, she would have used it for her own gatherings. Really.”

“That’s right! Why give this to us? There’s a conspiracy, sisters!”

From what she gathered, it seemed a letter had come from the Imperial family in Elaine Barnes’s name, saying they would open the famous ‘Garden of Masterpieces’ hall in the Imperial Palace for the tea party led by Kirsten and Evian.

But since Elaine Barnes was a member of Lady Harper’s faction that constantly opposed them, this situation didn’t make sense.

Deliberately giving such an opportunity to rivals who were busy tearing each other down? They naturally suspected some scheme.

“Then, there’s only one person it could be, right?”

“Just looking at this passage, it seems so.”

[Though this gift was originally intended for ‘The Millennium Olive Tree,’ knowing that you already hold regular meetings by renting Imperial halls, I thought this gift would be well used for the tea party.

Though I have a deep curiosity about this long-standing gathering and would like to attend, even the Imperial family cannot ignore strict rules.

Instead, I request that you invite the next generation of the Imperial family to interact at the tea party.]

‘The Millennium Olive Tree’ was the name of a famous salon led by Kirsten and Evian, and as the name suggested, it was a salon with an incredibly long history.

Many people wanted to join despite its strong public service character for noble duties.

Because the membership itself could establish one’s reputation in noble society, as it had been strictly operated on a membership basis for generations. The social honor gained through activities was just a bonus.

Being as old as it was, the salon had strict entry requirements, which is why the letter mentioned rules.

“This passage too.”

[I hope it becomes a good time of interaction for those who will lead the next generation of the empire, regardless of gender.]

The other three pointed at passages in the letter one by one while deducing and reached a conclusion.

“His Highness.”

“Must be His Highness.”

“It’s His Highness, right?”

They concluded that the Prince had sent the letter through his fiancée, Elaine Barnes. And at that conclusion, Saena felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“But why would His Highness want to come to our gathering?”

“Kiki, did you do something rude before?”

“Evian, you should search your own memories well.”

“Sisters, could it be that Elaine, that woman, reported something?”

The three began theorizing again.

“They don’t even seem that affectionate.”

“Right. They’re not close enough for him to rush to punish someone just because his fiancée said something.”

“True, he’ll probably replace her too. That system is really terrible. I heard it wasn’t like this in the empire’s early days — is it the men of the imperial family who are the problem?”

“Who knows. Maybe it changed because there’s no concubine system.”

“But heirs are truly scarce. They need to pass on the Guardian Spirit.”

While Saena had been internally shocked when Sage criticized the Prince, this group was no better. She seemed to be the only one sweating at their comments that could warrant charges of imperial defamation.

“Then we should invite His Highness, and Elaine Barnes too, right?”

“Sisters, do we have to invite Elaine’s group too?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. It says here to invite the next generation of the imperial family, nothing else.”

“Then do we really need to invite Elaine Barnes?”

“That’s true. But it would be strange to only invite His Highness. And won’t he show some restraint with his fiancée present?”

Looking at how the Prince had acted towards Elaine Barnes after dancing with Saena, they doubted he would care about his fiancée’s presence, but considering how Elaine followed him around with fierce eyes, he might automatically censor himself to some degree.

Apart from her own feelings about the Prince, Saena was somewhat surprised by one thing — everyone seemed to already know well about the Prince’s tendencies.

It seemed she was the only one who had lived ignorant of such matters.

“Anyway, let’s have Saya’s non-exclusivity launch party as a tea party at the Imperial Palace.”

Kirsten smiled softly at Saena.

“We have no choice, unfortunately. If it drags on longer, there will be unnecessary gossip.”

“Right. They’ll say things like ‘there must be some problem, that’s why they’re not bringing her out.'”

While Saena herself didn’t care much about such things, seeing them think ahead on her behalf made her feel grateful and strange.

It really feels like having ‘friends’…

“Hmm, but I don’t think it has to be His Highness…”

“…What did you say?”

Saena muttered a thought that suddenly occurred to her.

“According to this expression ‘next generation of the imperial family’… wouldn’t Her Highness the Princess be fine too?”

Of course, the phrase ‘regardless of gender’ gave a big hint, but she could pretend not to notice that.

A moment of silence followed Saena’s words.

“…Wow.”

“Huh.”

“Oh my.”

After letting out these strange exclamations, they all suddenly burst into wild laughter.

“Ahahahaha!”

“That’s right.”

“Wow, that’s perfect.”

She suggested it hoping to avoid facing the Prince, but their reaction was excessive.

It felt almost like they were teasing the Prince, making her wonder if this was okay, but since the other party had made the proposal indirectly because they didn’t want to reveal their identity, she figured they couldn’t openly object.

“I was worried we might have to change it from a tea party to a banquet-style gathering because of gender imbalance. This solves everything at once!”

“Actually, not getting an invitation will later reveal their intention. How interesting.”

Kirsten grabbed both of Saena’s cheeks and stretched them while giving another melting smile.

“You’re so cute, Saya.”

“Wha’ are ‘ou doing? Ow!”

When her pinched cheeks made her pronunciation strange, they laughed again, finding it delightful. Kirsten really was someone who laughed at the smallest things.

* * *

When Saena returned to the town house, she received news that a guest was waiting in the reception room.

“A guest?”

“Yes. Your friend, Miss–”

“Could it be Lady Valdez?”

“Yes.”

Elizabeth was the only one who would visit without notice like this.

Was she like this in her past life too?

Thinking back suddenly, hmm… she seemed to have been.

Back then, she hadn’t thought much of it since they were close, but now Elizabeth’s behavior felt somewhat unpleasant.

Especially after their last meeting. She had become more wary of her.

“Hmm.”

But she couldn’t openly drive her away, she thought as she moved toward the reception room.

‘How did she know I came up to the Imperial Capital?’

She hadn’t made it obvious, nor had she exchanged recent news with Elizabeth.

“Saya!”

As soon as she entered the reception room, Elizabeth greeted her enthusiastically, calling her name.

“My goodness, you came to the Imperial Capital without even letting me know, how could you?”

“……”

“We parted somewhat awkwardly last time, didn’t we? I was waiting, thinking you would contact me first….”

She brought up various topics as if she had been waiting. Why did she think I would contact her first? It was somewhat incomprehensible.

It was Elizabeth, not Saena, who had committed the rudeness of bringing an outsider—George Hollander no less—to their appointment. Since she had stepped aside to let them resolve their issues according to their circumstances, shouldn’t Elizabeth be the one to make contact first?

“Did you talk well with that man who helped you?”

As soon as she sat down, Saena asked this without any preamble.

“Oh, oh… yes.”

“A pickpocket, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know you could get pickpocketed in Rohaton Street. The security there shouldn’t be that lax. Did you go somewhere in the outskirts?”

“Ah, well…”