356 Tea With The Princess



It was time for the princess to visit us.

They had already sent a letter ahead of time asking to visit us and the fact that they were kind of asking for 'permission' showed the real dynamics between Mother and the Royal Family.

That fact scared me a little to be honest. No… Perhaps saying it scared me was a little incorrect… It's more like it's making me quite concerned.

At first I wanted to wait for the princess at the gate when it was near the time for her arrival but Katsuki stopped me and insisted I wait inside the drawing room for her instead.

Even though they insisted, it still felt really weird for me and I wasn't able to calm down. This was amplified by the fact that I would be meeting her alone as Odeta, Delmare and Lisa would not be meeting her but rather just watching us from somewhere nearby.

They did not tell me where they would be watching from though, which was why I'm not even sure if they were actually going to do it or not.

The reason I'm restless was because of that prophecy. With how things are going, I'm fully expecting her to be taken while on her way here.

While I was pacing around the room waiting for the princess, Katsuki finally returned to inform me of her arrival.

Oh good, she didn't get kidnapped… Yet.

"Alright! Then I can go greet her now!"

"Mistress, please don't do that and take a seat. You may stand when the princess comes in but please sit before she does."

Ugh… This is all noble etiquette and stuff… There's a reason why I don't even have a single tier of proficiency in it, you know?

Everything I knew about it was just some superficial knowledge I have that I reference from my old World… Since I needed to know some of them in order to write some of the books I had written before…

But even with my limited knowledge, I could very clearly tell that whatever I'm doing right now isn't what a lower ranked person should be doing…

Just how much influence and authority does Mother actually hold?

Wait… Don't tell me… Was Mother the first Queen? Maybe even the founder of this kingdom? Mother never told me her age but if I were to think about it… Judging by the history of the kingdom, it was established at least a few--

"Ara, ara? What is my little one thinking about?"

I jumped at the sudden voice of Mother who seemed to have literally appeared out of thin air.

"Mo… Mommy? Where did you come from?"

"Ufufu~ I was just checking on my cutest little one to see if you needed anything before meeting the princess~ But I think with little Katsuki here, you will be fine~"

"Of course, Katsuki is always dependable after all!" I praised, which caused Katsuki's tail to wag a little from hearing that.

So cute~

Mother giggled, "Of course~ In that case, do have fun with the little princess my child. Remember, you can just act as yourself~"

"Ugh… I know, Mommy…" I whined.

She then reached forward and adjusted the [Mask of Impossible Identity] I was wearing to keep real identity from being exposed.

Satisfied, she nodded to herself, "Ufufu~ my little one really is the cutest~"

Mother then gave me a wave before walking through a portal that had appeared in the air in front of her, disappearing from my sight.

Did she really just teleport to me to tell me that?

Speaking of which… What was I thinking about again?

Right at that moment, the doors to the drawing room flung open and a very excited princess was standing there with her arms outstretched.

"Big sister! I'm here!!"

I was already standing so I simply turned around to greet her.

"Oh! Welcome Princess Tiara! Did you have trouble getting here?"

"Not at all! Big sister's house is so big! Are we going to eat cookies today? What kind of cookies are there for tea?"

"Umm… Calm down, princess… Umm… Katsuki?"

My Inugami maid bowed, "We have indeed prepared cookies for tea today, Mistress. There are chocolate cookies, gingersnaps, peanut butter, sugar cookies, butter cookies and macaroons."

Uwaaaa~ Just hearing Katsuki list them off is enough to make my mouth water!

I looked to the side and I realised the princess was actually drooling from hearing Katsuki list off all those cookies.

"Please excuse me, princess," A voice came from behind her.

I looked back to see the same maid that I saw the other day at the prince's ball appear behind the princess. In her hand was a handkerchief that she used to wipe the drool off the princess's face.

I guess she's her chaperone as well?

Katsuki waited until she was done before bowing her head at me, "The tea is prepared in the gardens, Mistress, Princess Tiara. If you would follow me."

The princess cheered, "Yay, cookies!! Let's go big sister!"

She was even tugging on my arm cutely.

We followed Katsuki to the garden where a small table with pure white cloth had been set up in the middle surrounded by various flowers.

As we moved to sit down at the table I eyed the maid that followed the princess here since I didn't have a chance to take a good look at her that day.

[Name: Aria Blanche

Title: Third Princess's Guard, Third Princess's Caretaker, Mist Maid

Race: Mahun

Gender: Female

Current Mood: Cautious

Stats:

132 Strength

152 Dexterity

114 Endurance

127 Magic

Skills:

Tracking (Tier 2), Hunting (Tier 2), Noble Etiquette (Tier 2), Marksman Skill (Tier 1), Assassination (Tier 1), Martial Skill-(Dagger Proficiency (Tier 2), Bow Proficiency (Tier 1), Sword Proficiency (Tier 2), Throwing Proficiency (Tier 2))

Magic Skills:

Hydromancy (Tier 2), Astromancy (Tier 2)]

Hmm… I'm not really one to judge but… I'm not really sure if she's able to protect the princess properly with stats like this… Heck, even Katsuki can beat her in a head on fight…

Maybe she's just meant to take the princess and teleport away when things happen instead of fighting? I guess that would be the most sensible thing to do.

Her Hydromancy magic must also be just in case she needs to camp outside with the princess and that will help them avoid dehydration.

She's definitely not a maid trained by Mother's school which made me question why until I realised that using one of our maids to protect their princess would also equate to them admitting their own incompetence.

Ugh, more politics.

I wonder if--

"Mistress, please enjoy your tea."

My thoughts were interrupted by Katsuki's voice as several maids came towards us while pushing along carts piled high with various kinds of sweets. They stopped in front of our table, each of them standing at attention beside their own carts and ready to take my order.

Ahhh~ This is definitely what I live for!! Tea time filled with all kinds of sweets!

I immediately started picking what I wanted to eat, "I want that cake, those cookies, that pie, that pudding, that cake and that one too… Umm… Maybe those eclairs… Ah! Definitely that ice cream too!"

The maids immediately started to gather what I ordered from the carts before bringing it to my table to enjoy.

Oh, did it seem too little? This is just the first round~ I'm planning to eat everything~

I looked at the princess to see that she was still looking at the carts with wide eyes.

"Ehehe~ There's no need to hold back, princess Tiara. Go ahead and tell them what you want and they will prepare it for you~"

She turned to me with sparkles in her eyes, "Can I really, big sister?!"

"Of course~ That's why we're here isn't it? It's tea time and we're here to eat sweets~"

The princess still seemed to be unsure so she looked at her maid for affirmation. Only when Aria nodded did she turn back to the sweet carts excitedly.

"Yayyy! Then I want those cookies! And those cookies!! And umm… All the cookies over there too! And those cookies that big sister picked!"

Just like they did with me, the maids quickly gathered all the sweets she requested and brought them over to her, prompting the start of our delicious tea time~

"Ahhh! Big sister! This cookie is so good! Try some!"

"Mmmm! The sweetness blends just right with the saltiness! Try this pudding too princess!"

"Nom~ Waaa! I didn't know puddings could taste this good too! Big sister should also try this cookie!!"

Ahhh~ So much sweetness! So much sugar!! This is the best tea time I've had this week!

I'm of course not counting the times I've had tea with the other girls since they made them special in their own way too~ 

Odeta would always make it boisterous like it's a party and also try to feed me while letting me fondle her abs. Delmare would of course be serenading me with her wonderful songs while I enjoyed the sweets alongside her performance.

And then there's of course Lisa who would… Well… Probably eating a different kind of sweet from in between my legs while I was enjoying mine.

Mmhmm~ Tea time is the best~