* * *
'Hmm. But, Michelle Grembert is not a friend of the princess...'
She kind of feels like an ardent believer.
She lent her doll to act as bait during the battle with the black wizards. She thought she had become quite friendly with the princess, but Michelle's condition was a bit too much to be her friend.
"Wow, Princess. Doesn't my face look weird right now? I'm so nervous."
Michelle kept asking about her condition with a pale face. Her tightly clenched fists had been trembling with tension since earlier.
"You are naturally white, so you don't look much different than usual. But, are you that nervous?"
Well, Deborah is a saintess who saved the empire.
Before, not many people recognized her true value, but after the battle with the demon, the number of her followers definitely increased.
"Really... I can't believe it. I didn't even expect it. Actually, I prayed, but I wasn't very lucky, so I never dreamed that I would be invited to this place. It's such an honor, and thank you again, Princess."
Michelle Grambert, who was invited to the tea party due to the whims of the princess, had trouble sleeping since the day she received the invitation. Everyone envied her attending a tea party with two popular figures in the empire... She never like her because she was a saint!
She, Michelle, had great pride in not being late.
'The owner of Armand, whom I had only vaguely imagined, was Princess Deborah! She even had a noble side job as a saint.'
Tea time with the person she admired so much that she secretly prepared a doll gift and even wrote an analysis paper!
"I'm a successful person. I'm glad I'm alive."
Michelle was thrilled.
"I didn't expect you to be in front of the imperial palace from dawn. I'm sorry I didn't come out early."
"It's a big deal if I'm late even for a second. That's why it's more comfortable to wait from dawn."
"Huh, yes, let that be. I've been bothering you for a while, what's that in your hand?"
"A script......"
"I don't know why a script is needed for a tea party, but this goes beyond that, what on earth did you write down?"
The 5th princess expressed her curiosity when looking at the slip of paper that Michelle was holding like a lifeline from earlier.
".... Things to say when we meet. This and that."
"Can I see it?"
While Michelle was hesitating, news came that the princess had just arrived in front of the Imperial palace.
"Princess, I suddenly feel dizzy..."
Michelle staggered and touched her forehead.
"Wake up. You've been waiting since dawn. If you fall down like this, you won't be able to see even one second."
"I'll try to hold on."
Michelle clenched her teeth and nodded determinedly. Soon Princess Deborah appeared through the door and Michelle managed to suppress her screams.
"Have you been well, Princess?"
Princess Deborah greeted with her unique cold expressions. However, the 5th princess was now able to read the warmth in the princess's eyes.
"Thanks to you."
The two shook hands lightly with their eyes facing each other's eyes.
"Have you been well, too, princess?"
"Yes, thanks to the princess, I've had a good rest and had a good time."
"But we decided to call each other by name, Deborah."
"That's right, Vivienne."
As the two of them were affectionately calling each other's names, Michelle put strength on the soles of her feet to resist the urge to roll.
'I'm so envious of the princess. I want to ask her to call me by my name in such a friendly way, too!'
Although she was shouting violently on the inside, Michelle was good at hiding her emotions like a high-ranking aristocrat.
"Lady Michelle, it's been a while."
Deborah said hello while hiding her awkwardness inside. In front of the person who wrote an analytical thesis on Armand and even promoted it as a five-star restaurant, she was a little guilty because she had been hiding her identity while pretending not to know anything.
In addition, she borrowed the doll that Michelle had to lure the 3rd prince to the ship, but she couldn't even return it because all of them were drowned in water.
'You said I didn't have to return it back in the first place, but...'
Since she is a princess of Seymour, she might not have been able to tell her to pay her back, Deborah glanced at her, and Michelle barely raised her voice with her pupils trembling.
"It's been a while, Princess."
"Last time, I suddenly asked you to lend me a doll to lure on the ship, thank you for your willing permission."
'It's just an honor to think of my doll, and even use it to plan a big deal! Another honor! So there is no need to thank me in such a polite manner... Hiks.'
But Michelle couldn't get the words out of her mouth as quickly passed through her head. It was because she was so distracted that her eyes went white as she got tangled up with the lines of the script she had written in advance.
'I shouldn't have prepared anything.'
"Michelle?"
The 5th princess lightly called Michelle, who seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
'I guess she must be a bit uncomfortable.'
Deborah, who thought Michelle was having a hard time with her just by looking at her expressionless face, opened her mouth with a shy face.
"Seymour will definitely pay back the favor. It won't be easy to find a work worth as much as a doll that Young-ae made, but I want to compensate."
'Uh? Wait, I think it's the right time to say that line?'
Michelle, who suddenly recalled the line from the script, pulled her lips away.
"What do you mean by compensation? Don't say that. Because I can feel a wall from the princes."
"My face was a bit cold to begin with..."
"... Perfect."
"....."
"....."
The 5th princess, who had been silent for a while in the difficult atmosphere, murmured with effort.
"Aha, perfection is also a wall."
"...I'm just going home, sorry!"
Michelle jumped up, dyeing her pale face like a ripe apple.
"Haha!"
As she tried to run away, unable to bear the shame, the princess who was silent suddenly covered her mouth and shook her shoulders. Seeing her laugh for the first time, Michelle's legs gave out and she sat down.
"Ouch, where is the handkerchief?"
Michelle muttered gibberish.
"Why, you said you were getting dizzy from excitement earlier, but it looks like you're going to get a nosebleed this time?"
"No. When Princess Deborah smiled, the juice spurted all the way here."
"......."
It means that your smile is as fresh as fruit.
"I have to wipe..."
".... Would you like some tea?"
"Yes. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry. You're the best puppeteer in the empire... well, your sense of humor is just amazing. Every time you say something like a gem, I feel like I'm facing a wall from another world. Of course, it's perfect."
For some reason, It didn't seem like a compliment, but Michelle was satisfied.
'It's embarrassing to me, but it's okay because the princess laughed.'
It was a script born out of an absurd desire to spit out memorable lines from someone you admire, but it worked anyway.
'I get lucky.'
While Michelle was dying of joy inside, Princess Deborah held up the teacup with a smile on her face.
"The tea is really nice."
"Yes, it is very nice. Ha ..."
"I brought out my father's favorite tea leaves especially for you guys. If there is any wall left between each other, let's tear it down. Of course it's not perfect. Haha."
"...I will never do that again..."
"Why? It's fun."
'Both of you are having fun.'
Michelle's joke made the awkward spot more friendly, and Deborah sipped the tea while listening to their chatter.
"Ah, princess. You know what? There are no purple amethyst these days, so they can't sell it."
"Purple silk and thread are also fashionable. I tried to put them on all the dolls I have, but there are cases where they are out of stock."
"I'm going to suggest changing the color of the imperial family's symbol to purple instead of sky blue."
"What are you so far..."
Deborah was very embarrassed on the inside, but as always, it didn't show on her face. And that appearance gave the impression of being aloof from popularity.
"You're cool."
Michelle said right away.
"Well, of course. That's my girl."
"......"
'They're very close friends.'
Deborah tried to avoid their twinkling eyes with pressure, and inadvertently touched her sweaty ring finger. It was a habit she had recently developed after wearing her engagement ring every day.
And the eyes of two twinkled and naturally stared on the ring.
"Hmm. Princess Deborah, I heard rumors that you are engaged to the Duke of Visconti. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"Well, by the way."
Michelle shyly rolled up her lips and bit them off.
"At the wedding, that... Can I be your bridesmaid? Ho, if there are any seats left."
In Asteria, on the day of the wedding, four or five friends of the bride stood next to the bride as bridesmaids holding flowers. It was one of the traditions that came from the custom of protecting the bride from outsiders.
"I'm definitely next to the princess, don't look over it, Michelle."
"But the left side is empty."
Looking at the two of them bumbling, Deborah felt a strange feeling. At that time, she was an object of fear, so she couldn't even make eye contact with a young lady...
Besides the two of them, Margaret and Arin also came to see her wanting to be bridesmaids. She was busy living alone, but when she came to her senses, she was surprised and happy inside to see so many people sincerely congratulating her on her marriage.
The princess slightly curved her sharp eyes and smiled lightly.
'Huh.'
It was blinding for a moment, so Michelle touched the corner of her eyes.
"Isidore, the enviable child."
The princess seriously went to Isidore with the latest attack type magic tool collection and almost had a fight with him.
-∞oOo∞-