Mom and her friends finally separated from the group hug.
Mellissa and Stella were still dumbfounded by their intimacy, especially since the queen was also in it.
Well... That's actually the more reasonable reaction.
Valerie, Evelyn, Noir, Lily, and I, who have often seen our mothers being this close to each other were the odd ones.
Kiara also didn't seem that surprised. She had seen mom hugging Lawliela-sama when she came to our home for my magic lessons, and she also has a pretty high tolerance to royalties, considering Alexus and Lily often came to visit.
Umu... Me and my sister have become used to having royalties around us because of our circumstances.
Well, as long as we keep our manners, I don't see a problem with it. Especially considering I am Alex's fiancee.
It's better this way than Kiara becoming extremely nervous whenever she meets Alex, Lily, or their parents.
After they separated from their group hug, Sonia-sama softly patted Lily's back and told her to introduce herself.
Then, with peerless grace, Lily curtsied with a small smile adorning her beautiful face and greeted everyone.
"It is a pleasure to meet everyone. My name is Lily von Derium. I wish to make your acquaintance."
Mellissa couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration as she stare at her dazedly. Even Stella had her gaze fixed at her, her eyes sparkling in admiration.
Fufufu~ They're smitten by Lily's elegance and gratefulness~ As expected of my teacher and best friend~!
Snapping out of their daze, Mellissa, Stella, and Kiara then also introduced themselves to her majesty, Sonia-sama.
As expected, they're all very nervous. Mellissa and Kiara's voices were shaking, and Stella seemed to be stiff than before.
But then, the moment they finished, Sonia lunged and hugged all of them all at once and lifted them up in her embrace.
"Kyaaa~~!!! How adorable~!!! They're so cute and smart~!!! And those nervous expressions~!!!! They're too precious~!!!!"
All of them immediately short-circuited the moment they were held up by the queen. Kiara and Mellissa both began stuttering in a fluster while Stella immediately froze into a block of ice.
"Y-Y-Y-Your majesty!!"
"A-Awawawawawa!""
"!!!!!!!!!!"
"Ufufu~ Ufufufufu~!!!"
S-She's being surrounded by Loli Cuties... H-How envi- I mean, wait a sec!
Is this alright?! They're being smothered by her breasts!!
And more importantly, they're not gonna last longer if she continues to hug them!! They'll short-circuit!!!
All the mothers sighed helplessly and they began taking their daughters away from her embrace.
"Alright~ You've hugged them enough, Sonia~ Anymore and they'll become scared of you~"
"That's right. Can't you see they're stiff as a stick?"
"Ufufufu~ You need to give them time to familiarize themselves with you before you do that, Sonia-sama~"
Mom, Maya-sama, and Yulis-sama began calming their child down in their embrace.
"A-Ahem... Please forgive me. I was entranced by their cuteness that I forgot myself there for a moment..."
"Ufufufu~ Dear mother has been looking forward to this moment for a long time so she is very excitable. Please excuse her."
"L-Lily! H-How could you say that?!"
"Oh my~ Isn't it the truth, dear mother~?"
"U-Uuuhh..."
A-Ah... How terrifying... Even Sonia-sama couldn't escape Hana's teasing... What a terrifying little girl...
"Ufufufu~ It seems like she's growing up to be just like you, Sonia~"
"Umu. She will get the taste of her own medicine soon."
Sonia-sama blushed redly and pouted her cheeks slightly as she glared at mom and Lawliela-sama.
Oooh, so Sonia-sama has a habit of teasing her friends too, huh? What a coincidence.
"Enough of this! Since we're all here now, let's begin the tea party!"
"Hehehe~ Alright~ Everyone, let's go to the gazebo~"
Mom giggled at Sonia-sama's words and began leading everyone back to the gazebo to being our tea party.
Many maids led by Rosaria, who doubles as mom's personal maid and the head maid, began serving us with the freshly brewed teas and placed plenty of small sandwiches, cookies, and various desserts for us to enjoy.
As expected of the Super Maid Rosaria, she does things very quickly and perfectly. Honestly, I still can't believe that she's mom's personal maid and the head maid as well.
When I asked mom about it, she said Rosaria was only her personal maid in the past. But, the previous head maid saw the potential in her and trained her up to succeed her when she retires.
When she did, however, Rosaria didn't want to leave mom's care to any other maid. They've become similar to sisters at that point, so she became the head maid while still taking care of mom.
It's such a beautiful story... I wish Anne and Maria-chan will stay with me forever too, even after I grow up.
"Oh my~ Could these be the desserts Alterisa-chan come up with~? Evelyn has been telling me about it so much. I'm very excited to taste them~"
"It seems you've come up with even more types of desserts, Alterisa-kun. I am impressed."
"Is that true...? Wow... They all look so delicious..."
Maria-sama, Lawliela-sama, Latis-sama, Maya-sama and Yulis-sama who saw the desserts I "came up" with all looked at them in awe and surprise.
"Ufufufu~ That's right~ These are actually new ones that she just came up with and had our chefs make~"
"That is amazing~!
"Umu. It seems Lisa wasn't just boasting."
Oh no~ You're gonna make me blush~ Staph it~!
Evelyn, Valerie-chan, Noir, Mellissa, and even Stella all began eyeing the sweets and desserts with sparkling eyes.
Ufufufu~ They're so cute~ They're even sweeter than these sweets combined~
"Thank you very much for your praise. It is only because of our chef's skills and efforts that we were able to serve it on this very special occasion."
"Ufufufu~ You don't need to be that humble, Risa-chan. I've always been jealous of Lily and Alexus who could taste your desserts whenever they go here. They've always boasted about your sweets, you know~?"
"Ehehehe~ They're amazing, after all~"
"Thank you very much!"
Ufufufu~ I'm glad they liked it very much~
Hana had told me that she missed the foods we had in our previous world, especially the desserts, which is also the reason why I made them in the first place.
I'm so glad I could recreate it from memory~ Although it takes a few trial and errors, I think it went quite well based on their reactions~!
Ufufufu~ Watching these beautiful ladies and cuties eat my desserts happily is a reward in of itself~!
After a while into our conversations, the mother's group became immersed in their own conversation so we children also gathered.
We all sat on one side of the circular table, while our mothers sat on the other side.
"Does it suit your taste, Maya-sama, Stella-sama~?"
I approached the two new girls with the warmest smile I could muster. I didn't want to make them uncomfortable since this must be the first time they've ever interacted with other girls around their age.
Moreover, I'm from a ducal household. Even though our households were very close, I'm still technically above them in rankings, so they might feel a bit intimidated.
But, I just want to be very close friends with them, disregarding our social rankings!
I just wanted to be close with these cuties!
My intentions are pure!!!
"Y-Y-Yes! T-They're al extremely delicious! I-I can't believe you came up with them..."
"Uhn... Amazing... I love them..."
Guhhh!! I-I just felt something pierce my heart...
T-They're so cute...
"I'm so happy~ Please don't hesitate to ask for more from our servants. We have prepared plenty, especially for today's special tea party~"
"T-T-Thank you very much!"
"...Thank you."
Hehehe~ Still shy, I see~ Don't worry, I'll be sure to melt those ice and make you dere dere~!!!
One by one, Evelyn, Valerie-chan, Noir, Kiara, and even Lily began joining my conversations with the two.
As expected from the two newest members of the group, they were very stiff and shy.
Kiara was slightly better than them since she had met the others before during their sleepover and visits. But, they're still doing their best. It seems like they truly wanted to become friends with us after seeing how close our mothers are.
After a while, Stella started becoming more and more comfortable as my cutie little angel Kiara did her best approach and get close to her.
They began talking amicably with each other. Well, at least Kiara did while Stella just listened to her and occasionally reply and nod to her while munching on a cookie.
Fufufu~ My little angel just made her first same-age friends~ I'm so proud, I could cry right now~
I'm so glad Stella comes to this year's tea party. Without her, Kiara would be the youngest of the group, and she might not have had the chance to make a friend the same age as her.
As expected, having a same-age friend is different, especially at this age. It may not matter in the future, but a one or two-year gap right now is enormous.
It's difficult to really make friends with someone older than you by one or two years. Even though Kiara gets along well with Evelyn and Valerie, I could see that there is a distance between them. She treats them like her "elder sister's friends" rather than her friends.
Mellissa seemed to also be experiencing the same thing. She has grown very close with Noir, who she knows is the same age as her. Noir also has a very soft and gentle personality that makes it easier for the shy Mellissa to approach.
On the other hand, Lily seemed to be able to make friends with everyone.
Though, that might be a little cheating... After all, we're not "truly" young children. We're high schoolers in a five and three-year-old-bodies. We don't really see that wall since both of us see them as little sisters and we could get along with them well.
Though, from the others' perspective, Lily might just seem like a very mature little girl. A genius, mature princess with unparalleled elegance and gracefulness.
Well~! As long as we could still be best friends with each other, I don't really mind what they consider us as~!
Evelyn, Valerie-chan, Noir, Lily, Mellissa, Stella, as well as Illya, they're all my best friends that I won't ever let go!!!
AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please vote and comment your thoughts~!