“Haaaaa, deep breaths in. Haaaa, deep breaths out.” Doing a breathing exercise, I calmed myself down. My heart was pounding from anxiousness.

“I am surprised something mundane as a tea party would unsettle you this much, Lady Hestia. You walk into a battle against E rank monsters without a care in the world, but a simple meeting between young noblewomen has you this distressed,” Ellaine said with a smile, sitting in front of me with her attendant Josine. It was not out of mockery, but due to genuine surprise.

Understanding what she meant, I couldn’t help but frown at that fact. “…I cannot help it. After living in the wilds for so long, fighting has just become natural. On the other hand, speaking with a group of nobles seems daunting. The etiquette lesson you and Manuela gave me is a good example of this, as you would always scrutinize my wordings and phrases in an attempt to polish them. Now, I am thrown into a den of strangers with this exact mindset. That thought scares me.”

Although, I don’t think you’re qualified to say that to me, Ellaine. You are shaking, too, I thought after seeing her hands tremble for a second. She was good at hiding her feelings, but not good enough to hide the fact she was afraid of going to this tea party.

It reminded me of when Manuela suddenly raised her voice when Ellaine first suggested this plan. It made me curious back then, but now I was convinced why she hadn’t participated in these events after she relinquished her inheritance rights.

Barathan and Manuela once mentioned a noble giving up their right to inherit their house’s title was usually ridiculed as a coward. When Ellaine did this, not only did she lose most of her retainers, but it seems she lost most of her “friends.” The last part was a guess since I never heard her mention anybody close to her, nor her time at the royal academy.

Even in the one week where we spent the time together in a forest for “Ellaine’s training arc,” we barely talked about her social life. We ventured into a monster-infested forest northeast of Firwood for the specific reason of allowing Ellaine to level up and train her skills under my watch, so all we’ve discussed was her growth as a mage and swordswoman.

Yeah, swordswoman. Apparently, her father was an accomplished knight of the Greenveil duchy knight’s order, and her brother was expected to join him after he graduated. Ellaine learned some swordsmanship from her father when she was younger, but gave up on it once her inferiority complex settled in. As both her physical abilities and stamina have grown from all the cardio I suggested, she took it back up again with the help of her two knights.

“While I do sympathize, I cannot compare it to being put in a life-or-death situation,” Ellaine replied in return. “I still cannot believe you would prevent my knights from fighting with me just so you could force me to face a monster alone. I am still in the academy if you remembered.”

“And? That isn’t an excuse when adventurers around our age must fight wildlife for a living. I will reiterate what I said last week — your royal academy seems more like a social club focusing on building connections instead of developing the elites of the future,” I responded, remembering the heated discussion I had with Ellaine and her knights. “Magic research, land management, economics are subjects I find interesting and agree are important for your growth as an intellectual, but when your only combat experience is either theoretical or sparring in a safe environment, then you will lack the initiative in real combat. A moment’s hesitation is a second too long.”

I then formed a mini wind gun and twirled it in front of me. “Besides, you were always safe. You might have received a scare or a wound, but I would have intervened if your life was in danger. If you ask me, doesn’t it sound similar to what you experience at the academy? Only with a higher difficulty. After all, I am not a cruel person.”

“…Well, it involves more menial work, I guess. The dismantling is usually reserved for attendants.”

Ahh, so pure and innocent…just like me when I first began! Although, she had less reservation than I had when she killed her first loopabit; well, she used a sword and I had to break its neck with my fangs.

“Ahem, while I enjoy seeing you two bond, I believe we should use this time to discuss the plan?” Interrupting our small talks was Saori, who was sitting next to me in her own tailored butler outfit. There was a maid outfit in her size available, but she refused to wear it.

“Miss Saori is correct, Lady Ellaine. Lady Hestia,” agreeing with my “attendant,” Josine spoke up in support to push us in a proper discussion. “It would be helpful for Lady Hestia’s sake to repeat what she learned during her training. This is her debut tea party, and I remember how nervous My Lady was during her first. Speaking of debuts, this will be your social debut as an adult, My Lady, so you must be prudent too.”

“Ah, my debut…right. I forgot I had that also. Since Lord Theodore had diligently spread the rumor among the nobles, I should also correct my story, so my mother isn’t seen as a liar.”

Since Lord Helvas, Ellaine’s father, ordered Ellaine to stick with me as my lady-in-waiting, without my consent I might add, she had to skip her social debut as an adult during the God Thanking Festival Ball in the kingdom’s capital. As Ellaine’s mother didn’t want people to think of her negatively, she told people she was sick and had to stay behind to manage the fief after the bandit attack.

This tea party we were using as a way for Saori to find evidence and information on House Chezaic’s involvement in Davison’s fairy hunting was also Ellaine’s official debut event. She was supposed to socialize and become friendly with her future allies and “friends,” but we were currently doing something illegal…kinda.

“Well, that is my issue, so let us push that back for now,” she refocused with a deep breath. “Miss Saori, as you will be Lady Hestia’s attendant today, you will have free roam from the garden to the kitchen in order to fulfil your duties. In this moveable area, the security will be lax, and it will give you enough room and time for you to move around with your dark magic. Josine, Miss Saori will need aid to fit in perfectly with the other attendants, so please give her your support.”

“Of course, Lady Ellaine. Miss Saori, I am confident in our success,” Josine bowed slightly, calm as a peaceful lake.

“I am in your care, Miss Josine.”

Ellaine nodded at cooperation between those two and then looked at me. “Lady Hestia, as Manuela and I have taught you as much as we could on how to conduct yourself as a Lady in the one week we had, I believe you should do fine. It helped that your foundation was already admirable, and any deviation can be excused as a difference in culture. Aside from that, Lord Theodore has spread the rumor that you are a greifnoble tier aristocrat from Loatryx, so none of the ladies in attendance would dare provoke you for something insignificant as a speaking habit. They will not be as fastidious as Manuela was, so you may rest your worries.”

A short version of the rumor the High Bishop and Ellaine spread around was that I was a traveling greifnoble from Loatryx, using my adventurer role to wander freely in Artorias as a sight-seeing tour. I was then found out by House Helvas. They invited me to their home and have been acting as my host ever since.

Lord Sirius and the High Bishop were informed of my presence and wished me to stay within their castle for my safety, but I refused as I found it too bothersome to move residence. As they relented to my request, they ordered House Helvas to take care of me, which forced Ellaine to become my lady-in-waiting. Since my goal was to not be detected and have freedom in my travels, I opted to not reveal my presence at the God Thanking Festival. This forced Ellaine to stay in Firwood and her mother gave an excuse to hide me.

High Bishop Theodore mentioned that my identity as a priestess wasn’t included in the rumors and that I should reveal it after the tea party. In his words, “baffle society, your Highness.” I should leave a big mark in the party’s attendants’ memories to help the rumor grow even more, to the point it reaches the temple and the returning priests and priestesses.

Once Davison’s and House Chezaic’s supporters hear that “the High Bishop has already met the dragonewt greifnoble priestess” they will want answers and request that I meet them. When that happens, the High Bishop will attempt to extract as much insider information as possible. I needed to give out my white grace services as whimsically as possible in order to attract these priests’ customers and make the priests desperate.

Aside from a few changes, the rumor was pretty much spot on. Once we gathered enough information from today’s event or afterward, the High Bishop would have Lord Sirius launch an investigation party to House Chezaic while another party would storm Davison and apprehend him, after all his supporters would be gone.

I thought it was a bit too much planning, considering they were nobles contesting against a commoner, but Theodore wanted to deal with this situation as meticulously as possible. The act of fairy hunting was a sensitive topic that could destroy any attempts the Kingdom of Artorias had on rekindling their relationship with the elves. The fewer witnesses during this attack, the better.

If we didn’t snuff out the roots concerning Davison’s noble supports, then leaks could happen with the disgruntled nobles. We didn’t even know exactly why House Chezaic was supporting Davison in the first place. As the Kingdom of Artorias had an enemy with the kingdom of Atadoro in the south, Theodore didn’t want to risk dissatisfied nobles selling information to their enemy and then defecting. Execution, assassination, nor exile could be used against these nobles without proper evidence, since that would cause House Sirius to lose a ton of respect and prestige.

So, yeah, we had a lot to do before we could take care of this situation like proper and civilized humans. Honestly, it was a hassle when Saori could just sneak into Davison’s basement, but it seems like Theodore and Ellaine had ulterior motives concerning the nobles. I’ll ride their wave for now.

After a while, the carriage stopped. We had to wait a few moments as our driver presented our invitation before the gate guards let us in. The moment the cold disappeared, I knew we were inside the demesne of a noble house. The carriage moved a bit further until it stopped again, but this time, there was a knock on the carriage door.

Without another word, Josine stood up and opened the door, descending the stairs. The noise could be heard from outside — men and women mentioning presents and gifts and wanting to unpack them, while the happy voices of young women were overlapping with each other making it hard to decipher what they were saying individually.

Saori followed, guiding Ellaine down next. Wearing the mana dress Saori made for her, as we owed her for paying for our equipment, Ellaine seemed to have garnered people’s attention, seeing as I could hear people’s collective gasps. Her outfit was a combination of a white frilly knee-long dress and a yellow-green coat, held together with a corset.

Since this was a semi-formal occasion, Ellaine’s dress was casual but made to impress. Some extra frills and ribbons were added to raise her feminine appeal, while a verdant green brooch, matching her eyes, was placed on her jacket to flaunt her wealth. The last detail added was her House’s emblem sewn on the chest part of the jacket. Seeing as how Manuela, Svena, Josine, and the other seamstresses of House Helvas influenced the dress, it was an exemplary combination of 21st century Earth’s fashion styles and medieval Peolyncian noble tastes.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Ellaine stopped in front of the door. She kept a proper smile as she looked to the right, where I could see her eyes wavering a bit, reminding me of a shy kitty. Upon Saori’s urging, Ellaine continued down the stairs without further issues.

“Lady Hestia.” That was my cue.

Taking a final deep breath, I stood up and gently walked to the door, where I saw Saori offer her hand to guide me down. Keeping my head up and without looking down, I took her hand and revealed myself to Artorias’s noble society for the first time. My legs were shaking a bit, but I was an entertainer by heart. “Baffle society,” High Bishop Theodore’s words remained in my head as I ground my fangs, hiding this action behind a smile.

“Oh my, is that the rumored dragonewt? What a mesmerizing dress!”

“House Helvas’s emblem is on the carriage. So, the rumors were truthful. My dearest mother mentioned it before I left, asking me to confirm it if possible.”

“Mine also. Truly a dazzling first entrance, no? I wonder if Lady Francesca and Lady Iracela will monopolize her attention? Shame.”

“I heard she was a greifnoble from the rumors. It might be hard for us schwertnoble, especially if Lady Ellaine were to shadow her.”

From what I could hear, my appearance seems like a success. I used a bit of my scale-dust to create a light fiery haze around me, making it seem like I was casting an aura after revealing myself. From what I remembered when I practiced it, it made me look a bit more charming, more mature, with my dress, which I liked.

My dress, unlike Ellaine’s, was more inspired by modern cocktail dresses with a bit of Victorian-era influence so I wouldn’t stand out too much compared to the other attendees. It was a tea party, a semi-casual semi-formal occasion, so I thought “why not?” According to Ellaine, nobles are supposed to impress with innovative ideas, right? Well, fashion is a good point to begin with.

You know, it’s funny how I’m talking about fashion when I never was that interested in it on Earth. I blame Saori and her insistence on making her designs fabulous. And this dress certainly does that.

My mana dress was light blue reaching down to my knees. Now, my dress couldn’t be too revealing, as a noble society valued modesty quite a bit; in addition, the more fabric that was used, the better it would be received. The ends of my skirt were flared with multiple layers of pleats to give the illusion of more fabric used. Saori added some extra detail to them to make them look similar to dragon scales, to fit my legs.

My chest and shoulders were covered, of course, and a red ribbon was tied around my waist. Frills were added to the ends of my shoulders, and I was wearing white sleeves and thigh-high sheer stockings to make my scales less visible. You could still see them — I wanted them to know I was a dragonewt — but they weren’t the focus of my outfit. To finish it all off, I had a hairpin with mana threaded flowers, a flower adornment on my right horn, and a cute ribbon on the ends of my tail.

We left out the emblem, as I didn’t want it seeing as I would just use Kargryxmor’s, and we didn’t add any jewelry, as none of the pieces at hand fit me. If I were to add jewels to my outfit, then it would be something made with my corrosive obsidian. I really like the dark purple hue.

“Do not overdo it with the fire, Lady Hestia,” Saori warned me with a whisper. I allowed the haze to fade away naturally as I walked down the stairs.

Instead of a mansion’s entrance, I was greeted by the sight of a massive garden, filled with young ladies in elegant dresses and white covered tables. There were other carriages on the road, where attendants were packing out boxes and handing them over to other attendants, the former of which I presumed worked for House Chezaic, as they all had the same emblem on their chests.

As I smiled at a group of young women who gossiped about me, who quickly turned away and hid their reactions with fans, two similar-looking girls around my age appeared. Both wore very fabric and color-rich dresses, making them stick out among most of the other attendees.

Both pinched the ends of their dresses and curtsied. The girl with yellow eyes spoke first, “Lady Ellaine, it has been a long time, no? We missed you so dearly at the God Thanking Festival.”

The girl with red eyes then continued in her stead, “My, when we heard from your mother that you were sick, we were so worried for you. Winter is a dangerous time where you must watch your health the most, Lady Ellaine. We are gladdened to see you attending another of our tea parties, again.”

With a waning smile, Ellaine curtsied in return. “Thank you for inviting me, Lady Francesca and Lady Iracela. I apologize that I couldn’t join last year’s tea party. I was sadly preoccupied which, unfortunately, made me unavailable.”

“That is understandable. Life is full of surprises, yes? Our schedule cannot always be free…Also, I recently heard a very interesting rumor. My sister and I are very glad to see that it was true.” The yellow-eyed girl then turned to me, curtsying deeply with her sister. “My name is Francesca Eulalia Chezaic, the second child of Lord Arcanuess Chezaic. May the Goddess bless our meeting today.”

“I am Iracela Wilma Chezaic, youngest child of Lord Arcanuess Chezaic and the younger twin sister of Lady Francesca. May the Goddess bless our meeting today, My Lady. Lady Ellaine, would it be possible for you to introduce us?”

As if they were waiting for it, all the noblewomen attending today’s tea party became quiet and looked in our direction intently.

“Yes, this is Lady Hestia Atsuko, a noble of the Dragonewt Country Loatryx.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you two, and I thank you for inviting me to your tea party from the depth of my heart. I initially didn’t want to join, as I am a foreigner, but I couldn’t help myself after how much Lady Ellaine described it. My curiosity for an Artorian social event had to be sated.”

Holy shit, what am I saying?

“It is our honor to be your hosts, Lady Hestia. On behalf of the noble ladies of Firwood and the surrounding fiefs, we sisters would like to welcome you to the Kingdom of Artorias. Please, enjoy your time with us,” Francesca announced, causing everybody in the surrounding to clap. “Lady Ellaine, I cannot thank you enough for persuading Lady Hestia. You are an invaluable friend.”

Friend?

After that, the twins showed us to our seats and told us that tea would be ready in a bit and that we should use this time to get to know the others. As it was a custom to give presents to the host Elaine and I presented boxes filled with…

“Since I remembered Artorias had a problem with yeast, I had my retainers bake some confections for us. I promise they are spongy and soft as clouds, aside from being too delicious to resist,” I said, as Josine and Saori opened two boxes to show a cake and a bunch of cupcakes.

Truthfully, I didn’t know how Artorias was so dependent on the elven kingdom for yeast. I mean, the taverns serve beer, ale, and mead. Last time I checked, yeast was made during the processing of beer, so how could they not know of yeast’s existence? Well, whatever the reason was, this fact was a major boon for today’s event.

“C-Cake, amazing! How many layers were added, Lady Hestia? The one I tasted was smaller than yours.”

“They are so colorful. L-Lady Hestia, would it be alright for us to taste them today? Th-They must be unimaginably expensive.”

“Lady Ellaine sponsored the raw ingredients? Why, if House Helvas had a hand in this, then the quality of the individual products must be great. Lady Hestia. Lady Ellaine. We cannot thank you enough for treating us to something this wonderful.”

The daughters of barons and baronets were visibly flustered by what I was showing, unsure if the Chezaic twins or I would allow them to taste my confections since they called it a “luxury even for nobles.” It seems they thought they weren’t worthy or rich enough to taste it.

On the other hand, the mednobles looked like they wanted to devour the cake on the spot. They mentioned the confections they could buy were smaller and less decorative. Sugar wasn’t a problem, since Artorias grews sugar beets, but without yeast, the confections had to be kept small, otherwise they would turn into sugary rocks.

As everybody thanked me profusely for our presents, I couldn’t help but feel good about myself. The constant praise was making my soul flourish. I also checked on Ellaine, as I believed she should be enjoying it too, but she wasn’t smiling as much as I thought. She kept a reserved smile as she responded to everybody.

Shouldn’t she feel more hyped about this? Hmmm, I thought, wondering what was bothering Ellaine. I haven’t asked why she was nervous about joining this tea party, as I thought she would do it eventually. Maybe I should speak to her, afterward.

Saori and Josine were then led by a butler to the kitchen to prepare the confections. I was wishing them luck that they could find something damning.

The party then continued for a while until the tea arrived. We were seated and enjoyed a relaxing session of tea and snacks as we spoke to each other. Apparently, the tables were divided up among schwertnobles and mednobles, according to Ellaine, to ensure “ease of socializing” for everybody.

Wasn’t it a bit rude? Making people remember their ranks in a social gathering. I mean, I would be happy to talk to anybody here, but maybe it was harder for the nobles? They were obsessed with rankings and tiers, after all.

Well, anyways, after Francesca and Iracela gave a speech about welcoming the new year with new and renewed bonds, they wish us to continue enjoying the party as long as we wished. From there, the intro was done and acquaintances were made; we were now allowed to wander the whole garden or stay at the table to continue snacking or sipping tea.

“While I wouldn’t want to speak ill of our neighbours, I have heard some rather unsettling rumors from the Lecartiglio duchy, so I wouldn’t recommend traveling there for now, Lady Hestia. Uhm, I am not belittling your abilities, I swear. I just wish to warn you as I heard the youngest daughter of House Moreschi was kidnapped from her house. Cedaraille or Griffonpeak would be great traveling points, and then you could visit the Morgiana duchy.”

“Oh, absolutely! Lady Hestia, you must come to the capital if you have the time. Although I might not be able to boast to a scion of dragons, I would like to mention that a royal academy is a wonderful place for the educated. The university and the mage’s guild there are being led by the dukes of Morgiana and Myrddin. Our premier magic talents. They might interest you,” the daughter of House Cathrina said.

“Oh, this might also interest you, Lady Hestia. At the end of last year, the heir of House Morgiana was made the principal of the academy. Lady Thyra Nimue Morgiana. A talented magician who has reached the advanced tier of magic, who also was allowed to join the capitol basilica of the Holy State Aureolis to learn holy magic! In addition, she is only a few years older than us!” the daughter of House Venierus told me. “It would delight us if we could meet again at the academy, Lady Hestia.”

“I understand, I understand, however, I was intending to travel the kingdom at my pace. I do not know when I will reach the capital, so I cannot make any promises,” I told them, overwhelmed by how many people were talking to me. I will have to visit Griffonpeak one day for Aurena, but I don’t think I will visit the academy…for now.

Seeing as I was the new kid in the neighborhood, everybody was naturally curious about me, especially after the rumors about me were confirmed. They were asking about my magic abilities, how Loatryx was, or my general interests.

Concerning the questions about Loatryx, it really made me regret not asking Agni, Kraftja, or maybe even the guild master about it. Loatryx was north of the dwarven lands and Farron seemed to know a lot about dragons and dragonewt, so it made sense to try asking them. I would’ve been able to answer everybody’s questions if I had more knowledge of Loatryx instead of dodging the question.

Huh? Where is Ellaine? I wondered. After the greetings, Ellaine and I were kinda dragged away by a group of girls to continue where we left off before the Cheziac twins gave their speech.

I asked the group of girls if they saw Elaine go somewhere, and only one of them could tell me she went back to the tables. The others didn’t seem to know, but I guess they were too engrossed in our small talk. As I went over, I saw that a couple of girls were standing before Ellaine with rather smug smiles while she held her head down.

“Ah, Lady Ellaine, what luck. The noble who unceremoniously gave up her inheritance rights and all the retainers her mother gave her was once again given a chance to succeed in life. Meeting a greifnoble of Loatryx, of all countries. How lucky can one person be, right? Sister?”

“True, Sister, I agree. Instead of funneling this chance to their more talented and obviously more worthy son, House Helvas still intends to support their underperforming and outright embarrassing daughter. What a lovely family, although, not the wisest action, I must say.”

““Hie hie hie hie hie hie hie!””

“Oh, imagine if the Kingdom could form a diplomatic relationship with Loatryx due to Lady Hestia. What a reward House Helvas would gain. What a reward Lady Ellaine would gain. Wouldn’t they rank up to Arcanuess, Lady Francesca?”

“Luck is part of success, too, but Lady Ellaine would be an ill fit candidate for a reward. A noble who isn’t even confident enough to even attempt the inheritance battle is not a noble the kingdom should be promoting. It would only sully the reputation of our more qualified candidates, right? Lady Iracela?”

““Hie hie hie hie ha ha ha ha ha!””

…Are you kidding me? What is this? A fucking otome game?! What is this shit!

“Hey!” my loud voice resounded through the party, drawing the attention of the bullies standing before Ellaine. “I will now ask you to politely walk away from my friend, otherwise, I shall show you what I do with scum!”

One of my veins probably popped as an unpleasant memory resurfaced.