READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 6
Chapter: 6
“Rize.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
“…No. Continue.”
“Yes.”
Every time I had Rize touch my clothes or hair, or wash my body for me, I honestly wanted to run away, but as a noble, I had no choice.
No, it was just that I wasn’t really that good at dressing up, and maybe putting on lipstick was the extent of what made me look presentable. Of course, it was comfortable too…?
Thus, as usual, I had to let Rize wash me and get me ready today as well. With the other noble ladies coming over, it would be quite the problem to go out looking like I had just rolled out of bed.
“Young Lady, how would you like your hair done later?”
“Hmm… just let it down. It’s not like I’m meeting adults, so I think it’s better to go comfortably.”
“Then I’ll do that.”
Since childhood, this whole dressing up and putting on makeup had always felt awkward. Of course, I was better at it than when I first started.
“Nieshita, Rian, Belatof, Haien, and Gerald…”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s just been a while since I’ve met girls from other families.”
“You are a girl too, Young Lady.”
“True, but I don’t often spend time with girls my age, do I?”
“That is true.”
Honestly, part of my reluctance to hold a tea party was this too.
Being a boy, and also because there weren’t many people who wanted to get involved with our family. Naturally, there wouldn’t be many chances to meet people from other families.
Especially not girls my age. I at least occasionally met adult nobles for business, but even that was rare.
“Ha… what a hassle…”
“You’re the one who prepared all this, aren’t you?”
“Still, a hassle is a hassle.”
“Young Lady, how’s the water temperature?”
“Just right. You know better than I do, Rize.”
“Even so, it might not suit your preference.”
“Rize does a really good job.”
Though she was technically my personal maid, I genuinely liked Rize.
Among the people in the family, she was honestly the easiest to talk to, and being around the same age made it even more comfortable.
“I’m just going to close my eyes for a moment, so take care of it.”
“Yes.”
I had gotten used to not bathing myself by now.
Besides the makeup, honestly, this was convenient. If I sat still, she would automatically pull out my arms, apply soap, wash me, and put skincare products on my skin—honestly, it was pretty relaxing.
It wasn’t as if I had no shame left, but Rize was my peer after all.
She wasn’t the kind of weird person who would blush or act super embarrassed over a girl just in her early teens.
Anyway, Rize thoroughly washed my body and we stepped out of the bathroom. After that, she naturally dried my body, led me to my room, helped me put on a dress, and did my makeup.
…Honestly, being a noble was pretty convenient.
“Rize, is there anything unusual among the Young Ladies coming today?”
“Other than the fact that two Young Ladies, not just one, are coming from the Haien family, I don’t think so.”
“Twins, huh? Not sure what to expect, but that doesn’t sound too unusual.”
Anyway, I was getting my makeup done. Just a light dusting of powder and some eyeliner…
Honestly, my appearance didn’t even really require makeup. Unlike William, my face was honestly pretty.
I could confidently say I had a pretty face. Even those who looked down on our family couldn’t deny my appearance.
Of course, it was a bit weird when adult noblemen talked about my looks.
“Ha, what a hassle.”
“If you’re too tired, should we change the schedule?”
“Huh? No, it’s just bothersome. It’s not a problem or anything. Plus… I’ve been preparing for this tea party with the butler for a while now.”
It was a hassle, but I had to get it done anyway.
Honestly, I just wanted to spend time with Rosalyn and not deal with this tea party, but plans, preparations, and invitations were all already finalized. If I suddenly backed out now, that would be problematic in itself.
The makeup was done, and I was all set.
By now, the maids in the garden would have probably finished their preparations as well.
“Shall we go out?”
It would be odd for me, the host, to arrive late.
Speaking of which, I wonder what Rosalyn is up to right now. Even though we lived in the same house, the place was so big that we didn’t cross paths often, which was a shame.
*
All the Young Ladies had gathered. Honestly, calling them Young Ladies is generous; to me, they just seemed like little girls.
We exchanged casual greetings and were loudly chatting while eating a variety of desserts like tea, sweet cookies, and puddings.
“Haha…”
“Emily, do you want some of this?”
“Cookies?? Are you seriously eating cookies right now? As nobility, we should be enjoying something more refined and precious like pudding!”
“In that case, Emily, don’t eat. I’ll have it all to myself.”
“W-what?”
“It’s tasty, so there’s no need to force yourself. This isn’t some cheap snack anyway.”
“Ugh…!”
The two bickering over cookies and pudding were the Haien twins.
“Really, aren’t you two being too noisy?”
And glaring at the rowdy twins from across the table was the Young Lady from the Nieshita family.
“Hoo…”
One of them, asleep… was Belatof.
“Haha! Ella! You don’t have to be so uptight!”
“Be quiet.”
Rian was responding to Nieshita with a huge grin.
And the last Young Lady from the Gerald family was…
“Eek! H-hot…”
She had mindlessly taken a sip of tea and was now blowing on it because it was too hot.
Ha… haha… what a total disaster already. I was starting to feel like running away.
Honestly, I’d be more satisfied just talking about business with the adults and later building connections when I grew up. Just sitting quietly was already draining my energy.
“Everyone?”
But I had to do what I was here for.
I didn’t intend to just sit around and call out to them, so I decided to bite the bullet.
“Thank you all so much for coming to this tea party today. Though I haven’t prepared anything extravagant, I hope to build good connections with all of you.”
Smiling sweetly, I decided to lay my intentions bare.
I wanted to create connections with you all, with your families.
Though we were a family with plenty of money but no real foundation, I wanted to improve our standing a bit.
After all, they were just kids, and they weren’t from the really prestigious families. They were just barons or baronesses, not counts or dukes.
I thought it would be more effective to avoid hiding my intentions or doing anything strange.
“The tea and desserts prepared today, are our family’s heartfelt offering to all of you.”
“Hmm…”
“Ah ha…”
The young ladies responded to my words.
Just a moment ago, Rian, who had been chatting loudly with Nieshita, and Belatof, who was still half-asleep, along with the Haien twins, Nieshita, and Gerald were all looking at me.
“Young Lady Leonhardt.”
“What is it?”
“Do you believe the Leonhardt family is on the same level as us barons?”
“Hmm… I suppose so.”
With a slightly venomous expression and tone, Nieshita said this to me. It was a little disappointing that my goodwill was received poorly, but I actually welcomed it.
After all, my main target today was Nieshita.
It seemed that the baron was considered higher than the baroness, and the Leonhardt family didn’t even have a proper territory yet; we only possessed a mansion and land purchased with a lot of money.
“Nieshita family is certainly a more established lineage than ours. They’ve been successfully utilizing their fertile land from the past to grow excellent wheat and barley for other regions.”
Thanks to that, they were reasonably wealthy and highly regarded among central nobility for a baron family, though still a baron family nonetheless.
Considering that, it appeared to be a better situation compared to ours, which was being looked down upon from both central and peripheral areas. That was why I invited them to this tea party, and I expected this reaction too.
“However, if you get to know our Leonhardt family better, maybe some of the issues your Nieshita family faces could be resolved.”
“What do you mean?”
Knowing Nieshita’s Young Lady, Ella, and having a rough idea of their family’s situation, I brought this up as well.
Ella Nieshita was still quite young. Among this gathering of nobles, her family may be fairly good and respectable, but she herself was the youngest in terms of character and personality. She regarded her baron status as something incredibly important and always demonstrated that confidence and arrogance in her actions.
However, the Nieshita family has recently struggled to keep up with the growing demand for crops. Thus, while they had plenty to supply outside the territory, they were failing to meet the needs inside the territory itself.
And this sort of issue… could easily be solved with money.
“We can purchase the land surrounding the Nieshita family’s farmland. We’ll help turn that land into farmland, and in the meantime, we’ll procure the necessary crops from other regions and supply them to your territory.”
“W-what…”
Holding a stack of papers, I presented a sudden proposal to Ella Nieshita, who appeared flustered. Despite pride in her noble status, she was still just a 10-year-old girl.
She likely wasn’t accustomed to matters like this, and she probably spent her days playing happily and carefree. She likely lacked an understanding of how businesses or family affairs operated.
“It must be a tough decision since this deals with family affairs. Why don’t you return home and discuss it with your father, the Baron?”
Naturally, a 10-year-old girl couldn’t just decide on something like this on a whim. Especially not as the cute little daughter within her family, Ella had no real power in such decisions.
It was simple. Just tell your dad. You can’t decide this kind of thing on your own.
“What do you think?”
“Ugh… Honestly, you saying this doesn’t mean anything, but! I’ll! Specially! mention it once! I don’t know how my father will receive your proposal!”
“Yes, that will be enough for us.”
I replied to Ella Nieshita with a bright smile.
This is easy.
Thus, the matters related to Nieshita were quickly settled. By the way, why was the young lady sitting next to Nieshita staring at me like that?
Hmm… Anyway, I was planning to talk to each of the Young Ladies gathered here properly, so I didn’t see it as an issue.
Rather, I felt like after this little tea party was over, I wanted to have dinner with Rosalyn and unwind. Honestly, chatting with these little kids about political issues was no fun at all.