The Tea Party Intervention
The garden was wrapped in complete silence. Marine refused to meet my eyes, and Serina sat awkwardly between us, fidgeting like she didn’t know where to look.
I took a moment to think. How had things gotten this bad with Marine? What could I possibly do to help improve her social skills?
Friends. I need to help her make friends.
As far as I knew, Marine had only ever had one friend her entire life—me. I’d assumed she might have made at least one friend after entering the Academy, but judging by the current situation, it looked like she was still a loner there too.
There was nothing better for developing social skills during childhood than having friends. Since Marine had never had any, it made sense that her social abilities were underdeveloped.
I spoke to Marine, who was staring down at the ground.
“Marine.”
“Y-yes…?”
Serina’s eyes widened in surprise as she watched Marine freeze up completely in front of me.
“If you break a promise, you have to accept the punishment, right?”
“Th-that’s true…”
Marine shivered, clearly terrified of what kind of punishment I might give her.
“Every Saturday at four o’clock from now on.”
“Huh?”
“We’re going to have regular tea time here. You must show up. And you have to stay for at least two hours each time.”
“Eh?”
Marine looked utterly confused, as if she couldn’t quite process what I was saying.
“You’ll come, won’t you?”
She mulled it over for a moment.
“…Okay.”
She finally nodded. I gave Serina a light tap on the shoulder and sent her a meaningful look. Quick on the uptake as always, she nodded back.
“Marine, I’ll head out first. I hope you’ll seriously reflect on what happened today.”
I stood up and left Marine behind. Serina glanced around nervously before hurrying after me.
Once we were far enough that Marine couldn’t overhear, I spoke first.
“Serina, do you hate Marine by any chance?”
She waved both hands frantically in denial.
“Not at all! I still respect Lady Marine so much!”
“Even after she said such horrible things to you?”
“She’s the one who protected me from terrible bullying. How could I hate her?”
Serina really did have the kind heart of a romance fantasy heroine. In that case…
“Would you be willing to become friends with Marine?”
I felt a little guilty suggesting this right after she’d been so insulted, but it would be perfect if someone as genuinely good-natured as Serina could be Marine’s friend.
“If I could become friends with Lady Marine, I’d do anything!”
Serina clenched her fists tightly, her determination shining through. I felt a wave of gratitude as I made my proposal.
“Are you free every Saturday? I’d like you to attend tea time without fail.”
Her bright expression faltered.
“Ah… I usually have to work on weekends.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I check the daily job postings at the Imperial Central Market and pick up whatever I’m confident I can handle that day.”
“Ten gold.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll pay you ten gold for every Saturday you attend tea time.”
Serina looked flustered.
“No, you really don’t have to do that!”
I bowed my head with earnest eyes.
“I’m begging you. I want to fix that personality of hers for Marine’s own future. And to do that, I need you.”
“…There must be so many people who want to get close to Lady Marine.”
“In my opinion, you’re the perfect person for the job.”
Serina twisted a strand of her short hair, deep in thought.
In romance fantasy stories, the biggest factor in an evil noblewoman’s character development was usually her conflict with the female lead. If I could turn Serina and Marine into friends, I could kill two birds with one stone—improving Marine’s social skills and preventing any tragic confrontations with the heroine.
If I could secure Serina, I was willing to invest even more.
“Ten gold is too much… The money I earn from working every week is only about one gold…”
She was actually turning down money?
“So I’ll only take one gold. And on top of that, I’ll bring snacks for everyone to enjoy during tea time every week!”
I nodded.
“If that’s more comfortable for you, Serina.”
I pulled out my wallet and handed her ten gold coins.
“You clearly said one gold.”
“Consider it an advance payment.”
After hesitating for a moment, Serina bowed deeply and accepted the coins.
“Th-thank you.”
Attending the Academy as a commoner must put a huge financial strain on her. Giving her a good excuse and actual money like this would make it hard for her to refuse. To think I could essentially buy off a romance fantasy heroine for just ten gold. What an incredible deal.
“I’ll bring tons and tons of delicious desserts!”
“Yeah, good luck.”
I wondered just how much she planned to bake, seeing how fired up she was. Chuckling to myself, I said goodbye and headed back toward the magic department building.
My ultimate goal was to help Marine make five friends. I would no longer tolerate her living as a loner.
Between training, attending classes, and messing around with Cani, the calendar had somehow already landed on Saturday.
“Eh? Young Master, where are you going?”
Cani had been unusually interested in my whereabouts lately. Since I was getting ready for tea time, she naturally started prying.
“I have plans with Marine and a friend named Serina.”
“Se…rina?”
“Yeah, the nice girl with pink hair.”
“Is she a girl?”
“Yep.”
“Is she pretty?”
“W-well… I guess so?”
“Hmmm…”
Cani looked distinctly displeased. Feeling oddly guilty, I hurriedly finished getting ready.
“S-so I’ll be going now?”
“You’re not even taking a carriage?”
“I feel like taking a walk after so long.”
“…Have a safe trip.”
“Yeah.”
The autumn leaves had begun changing color earlier than usual this year. As I walked along, admiring the foliage turning shades of red, I thought to myself,
Lately, Cani’s clinginess seems to have gotten a lot worse.
She had always been affectionate, but recently it had intensified. Sometimes I’d wake up to find her secretly sleeping in my bed. She’d press herself against me in the carriage on the way to school. And most recently, the notorious late-sleeper Cani had even appointed herself as my personal morning alarm.
I still remembered how startled I’d been to open my eyes and find her staring right at me.
…Come to think of it, Cani only has me as a friend too…
When I really thought about it, Cani was in the same boat as Marine—she only had me. My guess was that her recent clinginess stemmed partly from fear that she might be abandoned now that I was making new friends.
I should invite Cani to the next tea party too.
I knew their relationship wasn’t great, but becoming close to someone you used to be on bad terms with could be a valuable experience. Marine had no friends, and neither did Cani.
Now that I think about it, Serina mentioned she’s being bullied too…
It was kind of depressing that the only person around me with a normal social life was Carden. To have a lonelier life than the Demon King’s daughter… It was honestly a little sad.
The garden was filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers. Feeling my mood lift, I stepped inside.
“Oh. That sweet smell.”
The deeper I went, the stronger the sugary scent became. I had told Serina that Marine went crazy for sweet foods, and it looked like she had taken that very seriously.
“Hello!”
“Hey.”
Since I’d arrived a bit early, only Serina was sitting at the table. Even though it was the weekend, she was wearing her school uniform. Flower petals had been naturally woven into her hair. Steam was rising from the teapot, meaning she had even prepared the tea in advance.
As soon as I sat down, I asked the question that had been on my mind.
“You’re wearing your uniform even on the weekend?”
Serina scratched her cheek shyly.
“I… don’t really have many other clothes…”
“…”
The mood grew heavy.
“Ahaha, don’t worry too much. After today’s tea time, I was planning to buy some clothes with the money you gave me.”
“Want me to give you more?”
If she wanted, I was fully prepared to hand over tens of thousands of gold without hesitation.
“No, it’s fine.”
“I’m serious. It might sound like bragging, but I’m ridiculously rich.”
“Even if you’re from a count’s family, you’re still a student. You probably just get an allowance, right?”
Hmm, she didn’t seem to believe me.
“You know about Cola, right?”
“Of course?”
“I’m the one who developed it.”
“Eeeeh?!”
It was the first time I’d seen her make such a ridiculous face.
“You’re the son of that count’s family who developed not only Cola but also magical tools like air conditioners?”
“That’s right.”
Nobles all knew it was the Edgar family behind the inventions, but since Serina was a commoner, she only knew that it came from a count’s family without knowing the exact name.
“Now do you believe me? So if you ever need money, just tell me without hesitation.”
“U-um…”
The way she was twisting her fingers made it obvious she wanted something.
“How much should I give you?”
“It’s… not about the money…”
“Yeah?”
“Could I… maybe try Cola once?”
“Ah…”
I thought I had increased production enough to make it widely available, but it seemed a poor commoner like Serina had never had the chance to taste it.
“That’s easy. I’ll have some delivered to your dorm.”
“Thank you!”
Seeing how purely happy she looked, she probably thought I’d send just one or two bottles. I decided to send her enough to last a lifetime so she’d feel thoroughly overwhelmed.
If she wouldn’t accept money, then I’d just send her Cola instead.