Time passed as I sampled the taste of the breast milk of my mistresses who have just given birth.
The people who went to check on Arknoa have arrived at Newnelly Castle, and I have to go there as their host.
Fortunately, the welcome party attended by the four noble families of Quordenze, Sylopea, Evenafis, and Spierzeig proceeded without incident so far.
I was a little worried about the reaction of my mother and Fanny, who were meeting Romilie for the first time, but there were no particular accidents. Well, I think both of the m have a bad impression of the Spierzeig family, but I don't think they harbor any deep grudges or hatred towards Romilie personally, so that was as expected.
Perhaps, of all the nobles currently in Newnelly Castle, the one who hates the Spierzeig family the most is Countess Sylopea. On the surface, she seemed to maintain a frie ndly atmosphere, but I get the feeling that her feelings towards Romilie were not very good. Somehow.
Count Evenafis, on the other hand, seemed to like Romillie. Even in the face of a hopeless situation in which her father and grandfather were killed in a single battle, she re mained strong in her heart and faced the battle of Othelloria with determination to defend it to the death. He mentioned this when we had a conversation in Nambonan City, so I think she left a pretty good impression.
In any case, the peaceful exchange continued during the chat time after the dinner. As expected, no one would be foolish enough to openly express their dissatisfaction he re.
Because everyone would switch talking partners every now and then, there were times when Countess Sylopea and Romilie were talking, but it never went physical. I gues s had the Countess really intended to, it would have happened back in Nambonan City.
[Onii-sama.]
As it happened, me, Fanny, Plume, and Romilie were having an amicable conversation now.[While we're here, why don't we have a little tea party together?]
Fanny says that she enjoys talking with the four of them and wants to talk in a more relaxed manner.
Of course, this is a proposal that has already been discussed behind the scenes. It is also a small play to show that Fanny welcomes Romilie.
[That sounds like a good idea. ...Romilie-dono, Princess Plume, how about a drink?]
This would be a helpful suggestion for Romilie.
This is because the relationship with the Sylopea family is important for the Spierzeig family, who will have to keep pace with the Quordenze family from now on.
As for the Evenafis family, I think we have a good idea of what happened after the signing ceremony in Nambonan City and today's welcome party. That family was anti-Spi erzeig, but only because they were drawn by the Quordenze family and the Sylopea family, so it wasn't like they had any deep grudges against them.
Furthermore, as the next generation is undecided at this point, the reign of the current head of the family, Macvan Evenapis, will continue for some time. In other words, the favorability gained this time can be used for a fairly long time.
The problem is with the Sylopea family.
Their bad impression of the Spierzeig family was on a level comparable to my father and grandfather. In particular, the hatred nurtured by the current head of the family, As ia Sylopea, is quite deep-rooted. And, as much as I prefer otherwise, I don't think an elderly such as her can change their feelings so easily. ꭆἈΝO͍ʙĘŠ
However, there is still a path to salvation here. That is, the next head of the family will be Plume. No matter how, Asia is the interim head of the family, so if the opportunity a rises, Plume may be able to inherit the family headship as soon as possible.
If Romilie wants the chance to build a good relationship with Plume, she wouldn't want to miss it.
On the other hand, this is a meaningful proposal for Plume as well.
When Asia, through and through anti-Spierzeig, is in the foreground, it becomes difficult to move in many ways. They want the next generation of Plume to show an attitud e of compromising with Romilie, and for the entire Sylopea family to have a balance of zero plus or minus.
[Well, I think that will be wonderful.]
[Yes, indeed.]
That's why I got the okay from both of them without any problems.
[I'm glad you accepted Well then, Onii-sama, thank you for your time.]
After saying that, Fanny left the room to prepare for a small tea party.
The idea is that it will be a simple tea party that started spontaneously, so there will be no elaborate preparations. Therefore, it wasn't long before Fanny's personal servant came to inform us of the venue. Since it was almost the chilly season, it seemed that we would be using a room in the castle instead of the usual garden.
I explained to the adult group, including my mother, that we would be leaving my seat for a while, and I headed to the tea party venue with Plume and Romilie in tow.
[Welcome, everyone.]
When we entered the room, Fanny welcomed us.
A round table had been set up. Plume and Romilie greeted Fanny, who is hosting the small tea party, as if they were guests.
While looking at the three of them, I wondered where I would actually sit.
...Anyway, all three of them are beautiful. This gathering is bound to be a feast to my eyes.
Some of the civil officers working at the castle were excited about these three they dubbed "Three Beautiful Princesses", and I can understand their point. Although each of these three Princesses has some differences, there is no doubt that all three are attractive beauties.
I felt like I was inside the sexy manga published in a weekly shonen manga magazine about three beautiful sisters. The eldest sister, Romilie, who is older and calm, the sec ond sister, Plume, who is the same age as the main character and close to each other, and the third sister, Fanny, who is younger and to which the main character acts mor e like an older brother...it's wonderful. I would like to be the lucky pervert who accidentally jumps into the room where the three sisters are changing.
[ Onii-sama?]
I was fantasizing about a story of three sisters with plenty of underwear scenes, when the third sister tugged at my sleeve.
[Oh, thank you for preparing the tea party. Please, have a seat.]
If I look at the positions of the eldest sister and second sister... no, Romilie and Plume, I should be able to see where I'm going to sit. I ended up sitting in a position where I could see Romilie on my left, Plume on my right, and Fanny directly across the round table.
[Princess Fanny, thank you for inviting me this time.]
After Romilie expressed her gratitude, she suggested that we have a more casual conversation at this tea party.
Among the people present, the one with the highest status is Romilie, who is the head of a noble family. Plume and I, the next head of the family, are lower in rank.
No matter how casual the occasion may be, repeatedly referring to her as "Romilie-sama" would make us feel nervous. She must be worried about that.
[Thank you for your kind words... Welcome to my tea party, Princess Romilie.]
When Fanny replied, Romilie smiled cheerfully and nodded.
[Then, tonight I will also call you Princess Romilie.]
[Yes, thank you very much, Princess Plume.]
While we're at it, I also confirmed how I would refer to her on this occasion.
It felt like the air in the room became a little lighter as we called out to each other. By saying it out loud, the perception of the person in front of me may have switched from "the Head of the Spierzeig family" to "Romilie Spierzeig".
[Great grandfather Evenafis brought me some fancy tea sweets.]
While the servant was setting up the tea utensils, Fanny began to explain.
The people present here belong to Quordenze, Sylopea, and Spierzeig, so I couldn't help but feel that Evenapis is somehow being hubbed. Therefore, arrangements were made behind the scenes to have the tea and sweets provided by Count Evenafis.
I honestly didn't know what would come out. But if the Evenafis family couldn't prepare the sweets, we would probably use the sweets we made ourselves and disguise the origin.
[ fancy tea sweets?]
If it were the castella, she would have simply mentioned it as just a delicious snack. Apparently the Evenafis family had prepared some strange sweets for us.
[Yes. Apparently it was also served in Nambonan City.]
The signing ceremony was held in Nambonan City, but Romilie and I arrived last. My father and the older generation, who had arrived at Nambonan earlier than us, held thei r own tea parties to kill time.
Fanny said that the tea sweets that were served at that time were also provided by the Evenafis family. I guess they probably had some leftover material.
[Young Master, this is a little hot, so please be careful.]
The servant arranged the plates and placed the tea sweets there.
The appearance of the tea sweets was very similar to Chinese steamed buns. It's not a meat bun type with uneven folds, but rather a smooth one. Since it was a light cream color, it looked like a custard-flavored pastry.
[This is?]
[Fufufu, it is a dragon's egg.]
When I asked, Fanny answered with a mischievous smile. The little devilish feeling was cute.
[Sweets made with dragon eggs? ...I wonder if they taste different from bird eggs?]
To be honest, it just feels like some kind of crazy food.
I don't know if dragons are reptiles, but my personal impression is that they are closer to snakes or lizards. I'm not sure if it's really safe to eat eggs like that. ...Well, my body is that of a Highlord, so I don’t think I’ll get food poisoning or anything like that, other than whatever damage the sweets will inflict emotionally.
[Come on now, Fanny.]
When Romilie and I were silently talking with our eyes, "Can we eat this?", Plume burst into laughter.
[That's the name of this sweet. It doesn't really use dragon eggs.]
[Ufufu. Are you surprised? Apparently this sweet originated from the Mammushred region.]
In other words, it is a type of food similar to "Something Eggs" that are sold in rural areas of Japan. An image of an office worker on a business trip to the Mammushred regi on buying a famous confectionery called "Dragon Egg" as a souvenir from work at a shop at a Shinkansen station flashed in my mind.
[This is certainly a fancy tea sweet.]
Hartinos City, the home of the Evenafis family, faces Lake Meo, where there are many ships smuggling with the Mammushred region. During trade, some of their culture m ust have flowed in as well. It's a very interesting food alright.
[...I've heard that in the Mammushred region, dragons are considered sacred creatures that live with the great king. Although it's just a name, to think they'd eat their eggs.]
It was Plume who answered Romilie's question.
[It seems that there are many tales in Mammushred about humans who ate real dragon eggs. I think the name was given after those legends.]
Come to think of it, Plume was among those who arrived in Nambonan City first. Apparently, she attended Count Evenafis's tea party and heard many stories about dragon eggs.
[Old tales? Is there an example?]
[When a traveler was lost in the mountains and was hungry, a dragon appeared and blessed him with an egg. After eating it, the traveler regained his strength and was able to return safely to his village. ...a lot of the circulating tales are similar like that.]
It’s uncouth to criticize such folklore, but only an incredibly devoted animal to offer up its precious eggs for humans. As silly as it sounds, these folklores made the dragon t o be a rather heroic figure. Well, as a dragon, it might not be a problem if it gives someone else an unfertilized egg.
In fact, this legend is probably based on a real-life experience, such as when a human lost in the mountains had no choice but to steal eggs from a dragon's nest to survive. That seems like a more plausible story.
[That's why people sometimes eat these sweets as a prayer for a safe journey home.]
If you eat a dragon egg, you'll be able to return home safely, so it's a lucky charm that focuses on that part.
The reason Count Evenapis served this in Nambonan City was to wish everyone a safe return to their respective territory after the signing ceremony. I don’t think it's a bad choice since it can be a good topic for conversation.
[...while we are not going anywhere soon, let's eat it quickly.]
You should eat hot food while it's still warm. I cut it into small pieces with a knife and used a fork to bring it to my mouth.
I thought it would be fluffy and chewy like a Chinese bun, but it was surprisingly soft. This may be more like a food similar to manju.
[There’s bean paste inside. ...Is this some kind of nut? It's delicious.]
As Romilie said, the paste inside had a nutty flavor.
[This is made from tree nuts...]
Fanny and Plume began to explain about the nuts used as raw materials, and Romilie listened with interest.
It was soothing just to watch these beautiful Princesses happily talking about sweets.
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