After we met the Marchioness's daughter, Iris, we made our way to the garden that the tea party was being held in. The garden had a built-in courtyard with tables set up where you could see the flowers in bloom easily.
Violet and I walked in with the Duchess, the Marchioness, and her daughter.
Iris was extremely composed and calm and had a relaxing smile. Her steps were graceful and natural.
If she's the same age as me, she must be seven too, but she definitely seems more mature than Violet, who's only a year younger than her. I keep forgetting that there are actually a lot of mature kids in this world, especially when Mika is two years younger and seems more mature than me...
Anyway, I carefully studied the way she carried herself so I could have more reference when helping Violet with her manner lessons. I tried to not make it obvious I was looking at Iris, but it seems her mom saw me and chuckled under her breath with a sly smile.
...
Lady, I think I know what you're thinking, and you better stop it.
Iris is a nice girl and all but I don't have the time to think about love-related stuff right now. Not to mention, I don't think I can see any girl my age around me right now as romantic partners since they're literal children. I also prefer cute girls, like the heroine, over the calm type. (though I'm definitely staying away from the heroine.)
As I was thinking about this, I remembered that Virgil technically also had a fiancé too. However, unlike with the crown prince's route, she wasn't a villainess that got in the way of the heroine. She was just mentioned at the end as an understanding person who was fine with stepping back.
...
Oi. Isn't that kind of unfair to his fiancé. Being known as a lady that had her engagement broken off is horrible for their image, and in a society where a woman was expected to marry a man to be supported, it was like marital suicide.
Hahhh...
I can only see Virgil as scum too now. What is up with these capture targets! Handsome men truly are the scum of the earth! How can they get away with that just because they're a little bit better looking! Apologize to all the plain and ugly guys, you jerks!
Okay, let's calm down.
My engagement will probably be brought up soon, so I should probably figure out a way to get out of it. I don't want to make a commitment too quickly. It would suck if I had a fiancé but somehow fell in love with someone else, I would just be the same exact scum as the Virgil in the game.
Luckily, I already have an idea.
I'll probably just explain that I want to focus on my studies and improving myself as I'll be the crown prince's attendant when I grow up. It was a setting in the game, but it'll also allow me to make sure Cyril doesn't go down the wrong path of being an uncontrollable flirt and cold-blooded man.
Anyway, I'll have a lot of studying and training up ahead so I can do my duties correctly, so I can't attend to a fiancé right now.
That should probably be a good excuse.
I'm drawn back to reality because of a familiar shade of hair that can only be found in this world. The light coming off from the golden color could blind an unsuspecting person.
To my surprise, it was the crown prince, Cyril.
When he saw me enter the courtyard with the Duchess and Violet, he perked up like a little puppy and had a bright smile on his face. I swear I could see a fluffy golden tail wagging behind him...
Hgfggg. Stop. That's too adorable.
"Virgil!"
He ran up to me but stopped in his tracks when he heard someone clearing her throat.
I looked at where the sound came from and saw a beautiful black-haired woman with deep blue eyes. She had a smile on her face but I felt like it didn't reach her eyes as she looked at Cyril with an almost judging look.
I looked back at Cyril, who held back his previous excitement and instead held a more formal position and posture.
Judging from what happened, I can only guess that the woman with black hair is his mother, the Queen, and Empress of the empire. I don't have a good impression of her, since I know what she's like in the game and what she put my pupp— *ahem* Cyril through.
I walked over to Cyril and greeted him.
"It's a pleasure to see you today, Crown Prince."
I looked up to see Cyril's childish smile on his face again as he greeted me back.
What an adorable kid, you just want to pinch his cheeks and give him candy.
While I was doting on him in my head, I looked over at Violet, who was barely able to contain her excitement at seeing him.
Calm yourself, child. Don't ruin the image we were finally able to repair.
Luckily, she was able to calm herself enough to greet him normally, rather than like a screaming fangirl.
After that, the adults and the children almost just naturally separated into different tables. I see the kid table and adult table are still a thing even in an otome game.
I ended up sitting at a table with Cyril while Violet went to find other children to talk to so she could change the image people had of her. This was all in our plan I had taught her. I was just there in case she needed support.
While talking to Cyril, who behaved like a happy puppy, I realized that multiple eyes were staring at us. Nobody was approaching us, but I could definitely feel the gazes of people from different places.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. Not to mention the titles we have, we also have the looks of capture targets. Even as kids, our appearances definitely aren't mob-like and could catch the attention of any passerby. Truly, it's scary how this world operates. Thank god I was at least reincarnated into the body of a main character with a distinct and good-looking face.
However, I can only thank my forever stoic face, or I might just break down in embarrassment from the capture target treatment. I never realized how mortifying it would feel to just introduce myself and hear a bunch of whispers and muffled squeals from girls I don't know. THAT'S SO EMBARRASSING! MY QUESTION IS HOW IN THE WORLD CYRIL CAN JUST TAKE IT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE LIKE NOTHING IS WRONG!
Hahhh...
I look over at Violet, and luckily she seems to be doing a lot better.
When she introduced herself, there were a lot of murmurs from the noble children present. The way Violet acted before must've made an impression on some children, so to see how much she's changed in just a year must be super surprising.
She was luckily able to join a table with three other girls, one of which included Iris.
I've gotten a lot used to using magic in just daily life so I can always be training, so I enhanced my hearing naturally to see what they were talking about. Of course, I only used it on one of my ears, so I could still pay attention to what was happening in my immediate surroundings. I was still naturally participating in the conversation I was having currently since it would be rude otherwise.
I looked over at the table Violet was at, and they were having a nice and friendly chat. It was just idle chatter, but that's what most conversations between nobles who haven't grown that close is like. It's super superficial, but it can also be a way for a true friendship to happen. It's almost like testing the waters before committing.
However, one conversation topic that the two unnamed girls started piqued my interest.
"Oh! Have you heard about the new product that has been making quite the buzz lately?"
"You're talking about that, right? My father had gotten some and they are truly delightful!"
"Right, right, mine too! It's called a 'fountain pen' right? Such a strange name, but it is peculiar as it is useful!"
Heh.
I laughed under my breath with my straight face.
I had said that the company I made has been thinking of a new invention, correct? Well, you guessed it...
I SUCCESSFULLY MADE A FOUNTAIN PEN PROTOTYPE. BEGONE THE DAYS OF STUPID DIP PENS.
Of course, there's no way dip pens will go out of style since there's a certain feel to the letters written by them. The adjustable line widths can make really nice calligraphy, and even people in modern times still used dip pens.
HOWEVER, NOW I CAN FINALLY WRITE MY NOTES WITHOUT HAVING TO CONCENTRATE ON THE STUPID LINE WIDTH. I CAN ALSO CONTINUOUSLY WRITE WITHOUT HAVING TO DIP IT IN INK! HURRAH FOR MODERN INVENTIONS! HURRAH FOR CONVENIENCE!
Thank the lord that when I died, my life flashed before my eyes and I was reincarnated into a body with a really good memory. There was no way I could've remembered that one documentary I watched about the history of writing utensils back when I was 15, otherwise. To be honest, I still really don't remember much, and that's why it's still a prototype. How I envy the fact that Cyril has a photographic memory... though I might actually not want that in case I see something I don't want to see...
Anyway, despite the fact it's just a prototype right now, it's been selling extremely well lately, so that's great! I may have said I won't take credit for other people's work, but technically this other person doesn't exist in this world! Who said I couldn't use modern knowledge! I only said I wasn't going to take the work of people in this world! This was for the good of all people who value convenience over anything!
Not to mention, it might even urge people to write more, which might mean more entertainment for me! I really need more things to do for fun in this world without games and tv! Maybe I should figure out how to make a printing press, so mass-producing books can be easier and the price of books can go down! It's just a matter of remembering the blueprints...
Either way, I'll have to make sure that the current product I have out sell well! That's why! I'll be collecting some consumer responses during this party as well!
☁︎☁︎☁︎
Cyril had a happy smile on his face.
He was in a happy mood.
Why wouldn't he be? He was able to see Virgil when he didn't expect to. If his mother and everybody else weren't there, he would've hugged him on the spot when he saw him.
Thinking about it now, maybe it was a good thing he hadn't. Since just thinking about it made his face flush. Cyril wondered if there was anyone out there that could explain why he felt this way. However, he didn't really care since this fluffy feeling made him feel lightheaded and happy.
He noticed, though, that Virgil seemed to have his attention elsewhere, after hearing what seemed to be a laugh under someone's breath. Looking in the direction of Virgil's gaze, he noticed that he was looking at the table Violet was sitting at.
Sitting at the table, we're three other girls he didn't know the name of. One of them, however, wasn't like the rest. She had a familiar maturity and was extremely pretty. Drinking tea and laughing along with the other girls, she behaved calmly and elegantly. He could swear that Virgil's gaze was on her. Thinking this, Cyril gripped his teacup tighter.
'Does Virgil prefer girls like her?'
Suddenly snapping out of it, the blonde-haired boy had a confused look on his face.
What was he thinking?
It was strange he was even thinking things like that.
Unlike the pleasant and fluffy feeling he usually had when he was with Virgil, this new feeling felt murky and gross.
He didn't like this feeling that he couldn't put a name to.
All he knew was that, right now, he wanted Virgil to look at him again, and not at someone else.