Chapter 2 – Part 7

‘Why do I feel so unsettled?’

He didn’t ask me any of his usual questions and remained very quiet. It was even more suspicious because of that.

‘His Highness has been acting strange lately. His clothes have changed, and his whims have increased for no apparent reason.’

There was also the matter of insisting on dining in the small dining room attached to his bedroom instead of the grand and spacious dining room.

And why he chose to work in that tiny study instead of his perfectly fine office was beyond me.

‘Is he experiencing a late adolescence or something?’

In any case, the important thing was that I didn’t get fired.

Yes. Whether His Highness is going through a late adolescence or not, the crucial fact is that I got through this tea time safely.

I needed to keep my job, which paid 115 gold and 76 silver a year.

I had to hold on to my position to save up and buy a three-story building in a prime location to open a cozy tea shop—a small and modest dream of mine.

However, the image of His Highness’s beautiful face, with his serene expression and lowered eyes, kept lingering in my mind.

‘Usually, he sits upright in his grand and lavish office, questioning this and that.’

It had been a long time since I’d seen such a gentle expression.

To shake off these thoughts, I finished reading the book.

‘The plot is just like what Her Majesty was talking about earlier!’

The dying duke in the story really does have a terminal illness, and he humbly divorces the protagonist and retires to his duchy.

‘The process of getting the duke’s seal on the divorce papers was anything but humble, though.’

After much chaos, he ultimately became humble.

The protagonist, who divorced the dying duke, remarries the tyrant emperor she fell in love with again. And then, the wedding night follows!

Is it really okay to write about a real person, especially a member of the royal family, like this?

‘Isn’t this author afraid for their life?’

Knowing that this story was based on real events made even the cute pen name seem extraordinary.

What kind of person is this “StrawberryChoco” author to be so brave?

I put on my thinking cap for the first time in a while.

‘The Great Depression’ was a sensational hit that had the imperial capital abuzz, and my sister said that every bookstore was scrambling to stock more copies.

It wasn’t a secretive, underground publication.

And it’s not like the imperial family was showing any signs of displeasure with the book.

If there had been even the slightest hint of disapproval from the imperial family, my sister would never have sent it to me.

‘So, this means…’

Just then, someone knocked on the door of the tea storage room.

Knock, knock!

‘What’s going on? It’s not yet time for His Highness’s dinner.’

I opened the door, wondering who had come to see me. It was Madeline, whom I had recently become acquainted with.

“Hi, Erica!”

“Madeline! Come in.”

Madeline was a maid to Duke Oscar, the consort of Her Majesty the Empress. Since she wasn’t part of the Crown Prince’s palace, she wouldn’t suddenly get fired and disappear.

Finally, I was making friends within the palace!

Madeline looked around the tea storage room and said, “It’s getting cleaner every time I come here. I wish our tea storage room at the Rose Palace was like this.”

“Right? I think it’s more efficient for one person to manage it than having several people take turns. Why don’t you suggest it to the head butler at the Rose Palace?”

“Yeah, I mentioned it last time, but he seemed to find it difficult…”

Madeline trailed off as she spotted ‘The Great Depression’ on the table and her face lit up.

“Erica, have you finished reading this book?”

“Yeah, I just finished it. Here you go.”

It had been arranged that Madeline would read ‘The Great Depression’ next.

“Thanks! I’ll read it quickly and then pass it to Charlotte.”

“After Charlotte finishes it, it’ll be Camilla’s turn.”

“Yes!”

Charlotte and Camilla were maids working with Madeline at Duke Oscar’s Rose Palace.

I was thrilled to have friends I could see again next week and the week after.

Madeline placed ‘The Great Depression’ in her arms and handed me another book.

“Erica, you should read this one too. It’s incredibly fun!”

As I took it and examined the title, I noticed it was another book with a very long title.

I tried to put the book in the cabinet, but the cabinet was already full of tea caddies.

Madeline asked me, “Is the cabinet already full?”

“Yes, this cabinet is filled with tea leaves from early spring last year. I set them aside because they overlap with the new teas we received this year.”

These were tea leaves that would no longer be used.

With this year’s new first flush tea, there was no reason to serve last year’s first flush tea.

“It’s a shame to waste them, but I’m not sure what to do with them.”

I wished I had received a proper handover from my predecessor.

Seeing my disappointment, Madeline cheerfully suggested, “Just send all of it to the Rose Palace.”

“All of it?”

“Yes, that’s the usual practice. Any leftover tea leaves from the Empress’ Palace and the Crown Prince’s Palace are collected by the Rose Palace. Didn’t you know?”

I didn’t, but her words reminded me of something.

I opened the tea storage room’s inventory ledger.

Madeline, running her finger down the dates next to me, found an entry marked “Rose Palace.”

“Look, it’s written here!”

It was an entry from around last fall, showing that a massive amount of tea leaves had been sent to the Rose Palace.

And that wasn’t the only entry. Flipping through the pages, I saw that large quantities of tea leaves had been sent to the Rose Palace the previous summer and spring as well.

Is there a tea-consuming beast in the Rose Palace?

“Madeline, what do you do with all these tea leaves?”

“There’s a lot you can do. They’re used in potpourri, ground up into face wash, and even as bath additives.”

Madeline continued speaking as she picked up a couple of tea caddies to take with her.

“Duke Oscar’s ‘101 Uses for Tea Leaves’ was featured in the newspaper last week. Didn’t you see it?”

“I don’t read the newspaper much…”

Come to think of it, my sister always nagged me to keep up with the news.

Madeline said, “I’ll have to come back to move all this tea to the Rose Palace, so I’ll bring the newspaper then. Is this time tomorrow good for you?”

“Yes, that works. Thanks, Madeline!”

“See you tomorrow then!”

Madeline took two tea caddies with her and returned to the Rose Palace.

I recorded the tea leaves Madeline had taken in the inventory ledger.

Then I carefully inspected the cabinet again to sort out the tea leaves to be sent to the Rose Palace when my attention was caught by two new tea leaves.

They were tea leaves whose variety and origin I couldn’t identify.

“These are tea leaves I’ve never seen before!”

Tea leaves coming into the Crown Prince’s Palace are usually labeled with their origin, such as “Western Kingdom” or “Duchy of Perenis.”

But these tea leaves had no such labels.

Each compact tea caddy had the image of a winged lion carved on it, but that was just a symbol representing the empire and the royal family, not a clue.

“I’ve tasted similar tea before.”

However, this tea had significantly less astringency and a more pronounced roasted flavor compared to the similar varieties I’ve tried.

“Where could these tea leaves be from?”

While pondering over the tea leaves, it was time to prepare for the Crown Prince’s post-dinner tea.

The same attendant from earlier came to relay the instructions.

“His Highness is dining in the small dining room.”

“Is it the one attached to his bedroom again?”

“That’s correct. Please prepare the tea and bring it there.”

The passageway was narrow, making it inconvenient to push the tea trolley, but oh well.

I blended the chamomile tea that His Highness favored at this time of day.

I prepared a tea set with chamomile flowers, orange zest, lemongrass, and a hint of mint, all arranged on a large tray.

Then I headed to the small dining room attached to His Highness’s bedroom.