Meia sneaked past the group by the door to the outside.

The sun had long since set. The stars twinkled faintly in the sky and the lanterns shone above the tables. Light was also rising from the pool. The musicians had taken their seats on the stand and were playing a soft piece for the guests. There were people everywhere. A few brave ones were dancing. The rest stood or sat at the tables. There were so many. It was not really a small celebration. The courtyard was completely filled. Everyone was in the finest evening gowns draped with expensive jewelry. Mr. Monet could not be spotted in the crowd.

Meia felt a little out of place.

~I am self-confident.~

"Miss Arvis?" a voice asked from behind.

"Y-yes."

Meia turned, expecting it to be Mr. Monet.

She saw white.

She saw a hat.

She saw her white hat.

A little higher, she looked into a familiar face.

It was the butler. Now he had given up his job as a cook and was back in white gloves and tailcoat.

"Is this your hat? One of the guests found it in a restroom."

~This stupid hat!~ Meia remembered that she had put it next to the sink and then completely forgotten that it exesited.

"Yeah, that's mine. Can you take that to my room?"

"Very well."

"And can you also take this notepad here? The maid left it in my room."

Meia handed him the block.

The displeasure in his gaze indicated that it probably was not the first time this had happened.

"And can you tell me where Mr. Monet is?"

"Has he not returned yet? I must apologize, but I can't tell you where he is."

It was not what Meia wanted to hear.

"Don't worry, I'll find him."

Meia said goodbye to the butler and set out herself to look for Mr. Monet.

~Why do his employees always not know where he is? Shouldn't they know where the master of the house is?~

Unnoticed, Meia slipped past the people across the courtyard. Looking around, she noticed a woman at one of the tables, drinking wine from a glass. The woman herself was not necessarily noticeable. However, the way she elegantly held the glass reminded Meia a little of Rujell. It would probably be good to blend in better with the atmosphere and act a little more ladylike.

Meia first of all tried to copy Rujell's hip swing, as well as she could manage at least and as she slowly made her way through the crowd like this, she quickly realized that there was another problem. Everyone was divided into small groups and she did not belong to any of them. If Mr. Monet was not here yet, then sooner or later she would have to join one of the groups in order not to attract negative attention. Meia was preparing herself mentally and spiritually. But for now, it could still wait.

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After some aimless wandering, Meia arrived at the other side of the courtyard, where food and drinks were being handed out from two long tables.

Something to eat was always a good way to pass the time, so she went to one of the tables to get an overview.

~They have everything here.~

The table was filled to the brim with all kinds of food. Meia had visited many noble families in her life, but she had never seen so much exotic food. Some of the seafood she still recognized by its appearance, and when tasting the meat dishes she would certainly be able to identify one or the other, but overall it was an accumulation of food that was obviously not made for her class. But even though she was inwardly overwhelmed with the selection, she tried to appear unfazed. ~I shouldn't take anything that will make me dirty. And can I just take something or do I have to wait until they give me something?~ After all, she did not want to embarrass herself. Under no circumstances should it be noticed that she did not participate in such parties more often. But she did not know whether she would have to tell someone that she wanted something? And would they then serve her something according to her wish, or would she be allowed to take something herself? Should she get plates and cutlery and if so, from where? She was overwhelmed. Glancing to the side, she actually discovered someone grabbing several oysters directly from the serving plate and placing them on their plate. That would probably meant that they were allowed to serve themselves? She was still unsure, because there were two cooks at each table who were serving food to other guests. Surely she could ask one of them to give her something, but if that were not right, her inexperience would be exposed. Maybe handing out only applied to certain dishes?

She could not ask one of the cooks. But she also could not stand here too long. In her mind, she could already hear people whispering about her, 'She must be from the lower class.' She could not leave the table again without taking something to eat. Then they would think she was conceited that even with this selection there was nothing for her. Afterwards, this could even be taken as an insult to the host, that is, to Mr. Monet. Besides, she really wanted something.

She decided it was best to take something by herself that she could eat out of her hand without cutlery. Of some of the things, she did not even know how to eat them anyway. The oysters, for example. ~What do you do with them? Do you spoon them out? What is the etiquette?~ Such things were therefore ruled out from the start.

Her gaze circled the table and finally lingered on one thing. It was a plain baked bread that appeared to be filled with various cheeses, ham, and herb butter. The cheese was melted and baked on, melting in a delicious way. The bread was still steaming and its aroma could even hold its own against the rest of the food. The bread was probably intended as a side dish at its core, but it looked very appealing and it was also pre-sliced, making it virtually foolproof to eat.

Confidently, Meia reached for a piece.

The closer it came, the more delicious it seemed.

The anticipation was quickly dampened. When she noticed that it was not just the bread that came to her.

From the remaining part of the bread on the table, to the piece in her hand, a web of cheese stretched out and hung with it over the other food and the tablecloth.

~How could anyone anticipate such a thing?

Meia had successfully picked up a new problem. Tethered, it stood at the tabletop. Had she better just put the piece back? But how shabby would it look? After all, she had already picked it up. With every second she pondered, the cheese sank further toward the tablecloth. Because she could not think of anything better, she decided to put it back and maybe it was not too late.

Her hand moved forward. The cheese sank further down. Her hand stopped.

It seemed that it was already too late to put it back. The way back had probably not been an option from the beginning. Meanwhile the cheese kept sinking, so she raised her hand higher, but the cheese kept sinking, so she took a step away from the table. The dance with the cheese slowly caught the attention of the people around her. She would like to start crying. Where had she made the mistake? All she wanted to do was to eat something. Unable to do anything else, she stood there and just watched the sinking cheese.

"Oh, Miss, wait!" said one of the cooks and came running.

He probably could not watch her suffering any longer.

He took the bread from her, put it on a plate and solved the problem with a knife.

"Here you go.", he handed her the plate.

"Thank you...", Meia answered quickly and quietly.

Embarrassed and close to tears, she then stole away with her plate.

~That was another blunder.~

Mr. Monet was evidently not here yet. At least he had not had to witness her performance. And at least she could now eat something to seem busy to the other guests. Perhaps the bread would manage to comfort her a little - after all, it was at fault.

.../ End Part