Happy Friday!
It was an elegant weekday afternoon, as I enjoyed a relaxed tea time.
Aah, I wasn't skipping school. We were entering a long holiday. Yurii-sama went out together with Dia and His Highness Prince Alan to take care of the horses, and I was in my room by myself.
Before this, even if they went somewhere, 「If I'm not with Mira, then I'm not going!」, Yurii-sama would hold a grudge against Dia, these few days have been sad.
Being with His Highness Prince Alan with just the two of them as well, although he hated it with all his strength, he didn't reject it as much as before, so it's going well.
What had destroyed my elegant tea time, were the violent knocks that you wouldn't think would come from a woman.
Yes, yes, yes.
「Please.」
「Finally! Mou! You, this girl, after the long holiday started, haven't you been out every day!」
Fuming mad, Matilda, had a hand on her waist and was sternly glaring at me. There was a box in her hand that probably had sweets in it.
「Ara, I wonder what it is. Panna cotta? Pudding? Fruit tart?」
「What a sharp-sighted girl…it's your favorite chocolate cake.」
「Ara ara, maa maa. Mati is a tasteful and good girl/」
「What a nice tone.」
Sighing, Matilda sat across from me, and gave me the tea cup that she had brought. I poured the black tea, and had tea time with the two of us. Let’s leave some for Yurii-sama.
「Matilda is not going home?」
「I wonder what I should do. Even if I go back, there’s really nothing to do. It’ll probably just be talks about betrothal and marriage proposals.」
「Since you’re still not betrothed yet.」
Marquis Raid House’s second daughter Matilda had a good appearance, was also cultured, and her smart personality was her charm. There were probably many houses that introduced their own children in order to become her partner.
Even so, Matilda, who was in love with love, didn’t believe in partners that were selected by the parents, and firmly refused political marriages of convenience.
「It’s not that bad though, the political marriage of convenience.」
「Even if you say that, it isn’t even the slightest bit convincing. You partner is that Judias Roderick-sama. If you’re complaining because of that, then it’s just you being selfish.」
I, was complaining just recently.
「A real political marriage of convenience is, well, it's almost the same as when a young girl like me, marries a person like your otousama, which is a common thing.」
「Did you notice something extremely discourteous?」
It’s fine if you yourself say it, but it’s no good if somebody else said it, was this how complex the childish mind was?
「Besides, there’s romance between the two of you! You are childhood friends, and in a political marriage of convenience, the guy wouldn't be crazy about the girl. You know, I want a fateful encounter, and have a wonderful married life where I love and am loved in return.」
「You are the second of four sisters, so it's possible for you to say that…」
If you were the only daughter, you would be asked, 'when will you wake up from your dream'.
「And, you've been saying that since you were a first-year student, but have you found your partner?」
「I found him, how rude.」
「Eh!!」
That, no way.
「You, can't be playing around with a strange man, right? If that's the case, I won't stay silent about it.」
「How come? He's an earnest gentleman.」
I mean, if they're dating, she wouldn't come to my place like this on a holiday. In the first place, it didn't look like she's rendezvousing with the opposite gender. Even if it's being made light of, as a matter of fact, the pure-hearted Matilda may be drowning in love without me realizing it.
If you're going to do this anyways, if someone like Al, or Al the person himself, had affections with her, I think that it would turn out well, although I'm secretly scheming it.
「Ah, has it not gone to the stage of dating yet?」
「I can not give you any more personal information than this.」
「Even though you have plenty of my personal information?」
「That's your fault for being so easy to understand whenever you're doing something suspicious.」
She said something like that, even though she's always persistently asking. When I don't say anything, Matilda and Erika, while feeling so timid that they couldn't say anything, would even go directly to Dia.
「Maa, I probably don't need to worry. The daydreaming young maiden Lady Matilda has, high standards.」
「I don't have such things. But that's true. I think that that person is more charming than anyone else. More so than your Judias-sama.」
「Maa, such feelings are different for everyone…. I, well, more or less think that Dia is the most charming though.」
It was the so-called, 'love is blind', there were no objections though, as it was also true that when you're in love, you become unable to perceive your surroundings.
「Even though it's your own circumstances, you don't make it clear.」
「Even if you ask me which part of that person specifically was wonderful, I wouldn't be able to answer you. I think that it's just a vague feeling of love. If I have to give you an answer, then it's because he's a hardworking person, but I don't think that I would be able to describe him with just a few words.」
「Things like love and hate, that's not how they work.」
「I wonder…」
I took a sip of tea.
「It seems that you know that I've been absent every day, but did you come to visit me every day?」
「I did!Just where did you go.」
「I went to Dan-sensei's greenhouse. Because sensei was growing medicinal herbs.」
「Aah…it seems like Prince Yuriel has an interest in medicinal herbs. A few days ago too, I gave him some of the medicinal plants that I grew.」
「Aah, as expected, you're the one who shared it with him. Thank you very much.」
This time, I took a bite of the cake. It was sweet and delicious.
「When I was not there, did you also bring sweets with you?」
「They were completely wasted. In the end, I gave them to Erika and Melissa as presents. If I ate them by myself, I'll gain weight.」
「When you bring sweets with you, you consult with me your troubles, which seems like it will take a while.」
「…you're well aware of it.」
「What? Did you not complete your homework?」
「I'm not Erika.」
Each and every year, when it came to Erika, because she procrastinated on her homework, on the last day, there will be the usual people in that girl's room helping her. I won't help her this year, even though that was what I had decided, in the end, she clung onto me in tears every year and I lost.
Really, how it will turn out this year? It's already the seventh year, I've already given up.
「Really, it was just recently though. You didn't realize it either?」
「Is it about how Matilda's cake is subtly bigger than mine?」
「You gluttonous girl! Both of them are the same! I'm not talking about that, I'm being serious. It's about Erika. …that girl, she's been absent-minded a lot recently, right? Moreover, she's been acting suspicious.」
Maa, it's not like I had no idea.
「Is she like Mati, falling in love?」
「You think that that girl is someone who's pace would be disturbed by love? She isn't Mirabell.」
「Even I won't act suspiciously because of love.」
「If I looked at how you're doing, I would always be able to understand how you're doing with Judias-sama. Your partner is much easier to understand though?」
「I thought we were talking about Erika right now…」
Calming down, Matilda nodded vigorously.
「It would be good if I don’t get involved in something troublesome though…I want you to try and be careful.」
「Of course I'll do that, but…I wonder if it would be better to look into it.」
「Not at all…. it’s not good to poke your nose into it too much, and it'll be fine if we do what we can when that girl decides to rely on us.」
「That’s true…you shouldn’t think too hard on it either. It’s wonderful for you to worry about a friend, but if even you get depressed like that, it would be hopeless.」
「Thanks.」
Gulping down the black tea, Matilda sighed, and returned to her calm self once again.
「So Mirabell is not going home.」
'Even though you go back every holiday every year,' she said.
「Yes. Since it seems like they’re doing well this year.」
Since Yurii-sama’s birthday, Duke-sama lectured Father and Mother and it seems that he had them go home together. I'm not even a match for him anymore.
'As parents who had worried their daughter, you aren’t even embarrassed,' was what he said to those two people it seems, and as expected, Mother, who had reflected, tentatively returned to Swain mansion. According to the private secretary’s secret letter, 『Madam is stubbornly avoiding Master』. Even though they’re living in the same mansion. This private secretary had already followed Father for a long time, so he was a comrade who shared the same troubles as me.
With the current situation, the day that I return home, will be when, Mother and Father's unnecessary conversations where I had to mediate decreased.
Bringing Yurii-sama into that environment was not the best for his upbringing either.
「This year, I plan to stay at Al’s house for two days.」
「Ara, I see. Stop by my house by all means as well next time. I want to play together with Prince Yuriel.」
「Yes, we will, eventually.」
Her sisters were very intense, so I’m worried about Yurii-sama’s distrust of women getting worse though. No, they’re all lovely ladies.
「If you’re going to the Alwick house, then you will also see Ian-sama. That’s so nice, that person is exceedingly cool. He gives off the feeling that no one will be able to tame him, a man among men!」
「You…didn’t you just say that you found a good person…」
「There's a difference between love and infatuation. Although I've never personally met him, I so jealous that you know Ian Alwick-sama. All young ladies are infatuated with the free and uncontrolled Ian-sama to some degree, aren't they?」
I'm not though.
「You seem to be enjoying yourself. You have been exhausted recently and was like an old woman.」
「You really are, a child who isn't able to say things indirectly.」