Chapter 8 – Part 5

The next morning arrived.

With Natalie’s help, I neatly stacked the Crown Prince’s gifts in a corner of my room and gathered the bouquets I received yesterday.

Some of the gift boxes were quite heavy. They probably contained gold bars again.

I then opened my diary to check the message left by my diary friend last night.

[Did you create a new tea blend? I’d love to taste it someday.]

It wasn’t tea but alcohol.

If my diary friend was a noble, they could taste it at the upcoming Spring Ball in the Imperial Palace. If they were a commoner, they could sneak into the tea house I’d open in the future.

I left a brief morning greeting for my diary friend and headed to the tea storage room in the Imperial Palace.

Even though Her Majesty had granted me permission, I had been neglecting my duties as Her Majesty’s tea attendant because I had been working outside every day to prepare cocktails for the ball.

‘From today, I must serve Her Majesty truly delicious tea!’

I diligently searched the Imperial Palace’s tea storage and selected the finest and best-preserved tea leaves and herbs.

Serving these with each meal, Her Majesty was very pleased. Duke Oscar, who dined with Her Majesty for breakfast and lunch, felt the same.

“It doesn’t seem like you added anything extra, yet it tastes smooth and sweet.”

“These tea leaves are grown in the southern part of the Empire. They are of exceptionally high quality, so I brewed them as is.”

Her Majesty spoke to Duke Oscar, who was drinking his second cup of tea.

“Indeed, if only you had joined me for dinner last night, you could have enjoyed this tea too.”

“It’s my fault. Once the preparations for the ball are complete, I will spend as much time with you as you wish, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t say it’s your fault. I know you’re busy. I’m just being petulant because I want to see more of you, my dear.”

Her Majesty stroked Duke Oscar’s hand.

It was a world entirely of their own.

I felt dizzy from all the lovey-doveyness. Honestly, I thought I might faint.

Sensing the mood, I quietly slipped away from the dining room at an opportune moment.

* * *

After a fulfilling day, I encountered someone from the Crown Prince’s Palace near the servants’ quarters of the Imperial Palace on my way home.

The person handed me a large, heavy box.

When Natalie and I opened it in my room…

“It’s a dress! Perfect for the Spring Ball.”

Natalie said as she peered into the wide-open box.

“This fabric was previously presented as tribute from the Western Kingdom. It’s light in weight and feel but has a substantial sheen, making the lines of the dress very elegant and precious.”

As expected, Natalie had an eye for such things.

However, just the thought of taking it out and trying it on in the room I shared with Natalie felt cumbersome. So, I hadn’t examined it closely yet. It seemed to include gloves and shoes as well.

For the next few days, I diligently brewed tea and served it to Her Majesty three times a day.

I also served tea to Duke Oscar, who often dined with Her Majesty.

I blended three types of tea and sent them to the Crown Prince’s Palace.

Every day, Natalie and I carefully unwrapped and organized the gifts delivered from the Crown Prince.

And I exchanged greetings with my diary friend whenever I had a spare moment.

This time, while Natalie was busy reading, I opened my diary. At that moment, my diary friend’s writing appeared before my eyes.

[I will attend the ball with my parents this time.]

I replied immediately.

[Me too! I’m going with my parents and sister.]

I still couldn’t shake my curiosity about which ball my diary friend would attend—the Imperial Palace ball or an outdoor dance party.

Considering they mentioned going with their parents, it felt like the Imperial Palace ball.

But knowing how proper my diary friend was, he might also attend an outdoor ball with his parents.

Neither my diary friend nor I asked each other if we would meet at the ball.

Would we even recognize each other if we did meet by chance?

My diary friend probably feared losing the comfort of anonymity that came from not knowing each other’s identities.

And if we revealed ourselves and our families had complex relationships that prevented us from maintaining our friendship?

That would be incredibly painful.

If we were forcibly separated, like my friend Camilla and the person she liked, my cautious and meticulous diary friend would surely go to great lengths to avoid me.

I could see a future where I was constantly chasing after them wherever they went.

* * *

The ball was just two days away.

In the evening, as previously informed by Duke Oscar and Natalie, I took a leave and left the palace.

My sister was waiting in the carriage sent from home.

“Come on, my little piglet, let’s go home!”

“Oh, sis…”

With her help, I piled up all the gifts from the Crown Prince on one side of the carriage.

“Wow, are all these gifts? Even after unwrapping and organizing them, there’s still so much?”

My sister marveled at the Crown Prince’s generosity.

“What’s in that box, a dress? Have you tried it on?”

“Not yet.”

“Oh dear…”

My sister opened the dress box slightly and sighed. Then she pointed at the pile of gifts on the left with her chin.

“Just selling a few of those would be enough for your year’s salary. Especially that fat cat sculpture. It’s solid gold, right?”

Come to think of it, among the daily gifts from the Crown Prince were always items that seemed designed purely for their cash value.

A golden fat cat statue, golden goblets, golden paperweights, golden coasters, a golden squid, a golden salad bowl…

Eventually, out of ideas, yesterday’s gift included a simple rectangular gold bar.

‘Did someone tell the Crown Prince I like money?’

My sister rummaged through the pile of gifts and quickly got bored, then began poking my side, asking if I’d heard any interesting stories from the palace.

“Oh, the book you sent me, ‘The Emperor is obsessed with the Duchess who was in the marriage of convenience with the terminally Ill Duke’.”

“Isn’t it interesting? It was sold out in every bookstore, but I managed to get a copy for you.”

“Apparently, it’s based on Empress Dowager’s autobiography.”

“What?”

“I heard it from Her Majesty. Keep it a secret.”

“Wow… that’s really not a secret I wanted to know. Let’s just pretend I never heard that.”

Despite her words, my sister seemed quite perturbed by the revelation.

She kept propping her elbow on the carriage cushion and sinking into thought, muttering, “But still,” and lifting her head repeatedly.

The carriage moved slowly.

We arrived at the Marnel County residence late in the evening.

“I’m hungry. Aren’t you hungry, sis?”

As soon as we got off the carriage, my sister hurriedly grabbed the large dress box and ushered me inside.

“Piglet, there’s no time to eat! Hurry up.”

She summoned all the seamstress maids and servants in the house.

“Everyone, emergency! Emergency!”

The bell for summoning the servants rang loudly throughout the mansion.

My sister complained.

“The ball is the day after tomorrow, and you haven’t even taken the dress out of the box! What have you been doing?”

Even our parents sided with her.

“Erica, your sister is right. Go upstairs and try it on!”

“Chip! Chip!”

In the chaos, even a bird escaped from its cage, squawking loudly, leaving me feeling dazed.

Thus, I had to skip dinner and cooperate with the maids as they surrounded me, fitting and measuring the dress on and off my body.

My sister kept the bird from pooping on my dress.

“Sis, can’t I just wear that dress I tried on last time?”

“Why?”

“Can’t I just wear that to the ball? I’m hungry.”

“Just by looking, you can tell this one is much fancier.”

Grumbling, my sister put the bird back in its cage and brought a plate full of bite-sized finger sandwiches from the kitchen, feeding them to me.

They were cucumber sandwiches, leftover from tea time.

“I don’t like cucumbers.”

“Just eat what’s given.”

As I nibbled on the cucumber sandwiches, our maids skillfully recorded the dress measurements and pinned them in various places.

Then they handed it over to the seamstress waiting outside to start ironing it gently.

My sister, supervising everything, declared,

“If it’s finished by tomorrow morning, there will be a special bonus!”

“Yay!”

“Chip! Chip!”

After the hectic dress fitting, we were having a late dinner together.

Talking about the dress, my sister was impressed.

“The Crown Prince is very meticulous, isn’t he?”

“Why?”

“There were three pairs of shoes in the dress box. The designs are the same, but the sizes are slightly different.”

“No wonder the box was heavy.”

My sister marveled again at the Crown Prince’s thoroughness and asked me,

“Erica, are you going to enter the spring ball with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“No, I felt too pressured, so I declined.”

“What? Then what’s with that dress?”

“I don’t know. He just gave it to me.”