Chapter 221. Black Tea

"When are you planning to hold your wedding, Lyudmila?"

Since it was the day when a man and woman would officially become one, it was Valdrova's greatest point of interest.

Lyudmila answered Valdrova's question.

"We're planning to have it this fall. I thought it would be best to hold it around the time I enter the stable period, so we decided on then."

"I see."

"It would be such an honor if Your Highness could attend. Will you have the time?"

Count Consilus's territory was not very far from this castle.

Even if something happened in the Land of Demons, it was close enough for Valdrova to rush over and resolve it immediately, so she could make time whenever necessary.

"Yeah. I'll attend."

"Hehe, then I'll make the invitation as splendid as possible and send it to you first."

"Okay, got it."

Lyudmila smiled broadly before letting out a playful sigh.

"Phew. By then, I'll probably be wearing my wedding dress with my belly looking like a mountain... I just hope nobody whispers about me marrying a fat woman."

"Come to think of it, you're pregnant, aren't you? Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Whenever I try to move around a little, everyone makes such a fuss, saying I'll lose the baby. Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the girl!"

Lyudmila burst into laughter.

Valdrova quietly looked down at Lyudmila's belly.

"Speaking of which, Your Highness Valdrova?"

"Hmm?"

"I think our baby will probably be born around the beginning of winter. Before the baby is born, may I ask you for one favor?"

Valdrova quietly nodded, and Lyudmila continued.

"When the baby is born, I would like Your Highness to personally bless the child."

"M-Me?"

Valdrova was flustered.

"But I don't know anything about magic... If it's something like that, the Leader of the Alte Religion would probably be much better at it..."

"His Majesty the Gold Dragon may be a symbol of faith, but he's a complete stranger to me, isn't he? And you don't need to use any magic for this."

"Then what do I have to do?"

"Just kiss my child on the forehead so that they can grow up healthy."

"Oh, th-that's all?"

That was certainly something she could do.

Valdrova nodded.

"Yes. I will bless the baby when it is born."

"Thank you! I already feel so reassured."

Just as their conversation was coming to an end, Rizera quietly joined in.

"Would it be all right if I came to give my blessing as well?"

"Oh my, you, Rizera?"

"It will be a wondrous moment when a new life is born and sets foot upon this earth. The High Elves cannot possibly let such joy pass us by. Besides, I've never seen a human baby being born before, so I would very much like to see it..."

When Rizera smiled, Lyudmila's face brightened.

"Of course! I'd be truly happy if you did that!"

Then, with a playful pout, she lightly tapped her belly.

"A child born under the blessings of a great dragon and a beautiful elf. Can a child really be more spoiled than mine? I'm getting jealous already."

"Then how about receiving a demon's blessing as well?"

Penelope joined in without reading the room.

Lyudmila's gaze instantly turned cold, while Penelope hurriedly tried to advertise her own merits.

"A demon's blessing comes with accelerated brain development, improved night vision, and priority access to important positions in Hell after death."

"I'd rather our child go to heaven if possible."

"Then am I useless?"

"Hmm... I don't think so."

Lyudmila thought about it carefully before making her a suggestion.

"Then could you perhaps serve as the ward against evil spirits during the Festival of the Beginning of Spring?"

"You want me to be hung on a cross and burned?"

"I think burning a real demon would be more effective than burning a doll."

"I'd die!"

"It was a joke. Just tell the baby to grow up healthy."

Lyudmila's words had not been a joke at all.

She glossed over it with a laugh before turning her gaze toward Valdrova.

"I think I've been talking about myself too much. What about Your Highness, our Grand Duchess?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm curious whether there's been any progress with Regent Ferda."

Lyudmila's eyes sparkled.

The most interesting subject was always romance, and the best kind was romance involving people close to you.

At those words, Penelope snorted.

"What progress could there possibly be? That shy man probably hasn't even laid a finger on Her Highness because he cherishes her so much."

"Regent Ferda doesn't seem like that kind of person to me."

"Hehe. That's only because Miss Lyudmila doesn't know him. There's a sneaky little pervert hiding inside him, you know?"

Ferda had a cold and unwavering personality.

It was difficult to imagine someone like him behaving perversely.

"Don't speak badly of Ferda."

"Oh, my. My apologies."

Penelope looked slightly remorseful.

For about a moment.

"But it's true, isn't it?!"

"No, it isn't. There has been progress!"

"What kind of progress?"

Lyudmila's eyes sparkled again.

"What did you do?"

"Well..."

Valdrova trailed off while simultaneously blushing.

At the same time, Lyudmila's face lit up.

Whatever it was, something had clearly happened.

"Ferda..."

Valdrova struggled to get the words out before bringing both hands to her cheeks.

"Ferda touched my cheek."

"...What?"

"What did you say?"

"What does that mean...?"

The three reacted as though cold water had been thrown over them.

Even Rizera, who had been quietly listening, looked flustered.

"When you say he touched your cheek, how exactly...?"

"Like this..."

Valdrova gently pinched and pulled her own cheek.

The hopes of Lyudmila and Penelope, who had believed there would at least be some romance involved, were brutally crushed.

Valdrova herself was now genuinely confused.

"Isn't this... an expression of affection among humans?"

"No, it isn't!"

"That's treating you like a child!"

Lyudmila and Penelope strongly objected.

"My goodness. If there's a girl you like, do you really pull her cheeks?"

"I thought our Regent had finally gone from being a herbivore to a carnivore, only to discover that he's got a cockroach in his mouth."

"Is that... so?"

Valdrova looked embarrassed despite still believing that it might have been some sort of affectionate gesture.

"So there wasn't actually any progress..."

"Other than pulling your cheeks, how far have you gone?"

"Well... we've hugged each other..."

"A man of his age should absolutely not have stopped there..."

Valdrova thought that was already quite a lot, but Lyudmila's expression remained gloomy.

Lyudmila scanned Valdrova from head to toe.

She had two fearsome-looking horns, yet her overall appearance was gentle.

She was a beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure that one could stare at for a long time without getting tired of it.

"This won't do."

Lyudmila made up her mind.

"For the sake of our Grand Duchess's happiness, this Lyudmila Purity shall take action!"

Lyudmila sprang to her feet.

The sheer force of her declaration caused Valdrova's shoulders to droop slightly.

"H-How?"

"You want a deeper relationship, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do... right?"

"There's only one method for a situation like this."

She held up her index finger.

"Pounce on the Regent!"

"Ooooooh!"

Penelope clapped her hands in agreement.

Valdrova did not understand what she meant, but Rizera, sitting beside her, turned bright red.

"P-Pounce on him? Why would you do something like that...?"

"Because he's being so frustratingly slow! Do you know how stubborn that man was before I pounced on Arwen? He even had trouble saying that he loved me!"

"Really?"

"Now he can't even live without me! That's the result of boldly taking one step forward! So, for the sake of your relationship, you need to be bold!"

"Hmm..."

Valdrova began seriously contemplating her words.

"I-I'm against this!"

Rizera jumped in, trying to stop the madness.

She certainly did not appreciate Rizera sticking his nose into something that was almost settled.

"You and Regent Ferda are engaged, and until you become formally betrothed, I think it would be better for the two of you to continue getting to know each other and maintain a healthy relationship by spending more time together—"

"What kind of old-fashioned nonsense is that?"

"Oh my, oh my. He must think this is some world that has only just crawled out of the primordial era!"

They began looking at Rizera as though he were the strange one and ganging up on him.

Penelope actively argued against him.

"Culture naturally develops over time! The idea that men and women must remain separate is becoming a thing of the past, and society is gradually becoming more open-minded!"

"What do you mean by 'open-minded'?"

"Well, if you want to know what that means—"

"Ladies."

Just as Penelope was about to make an obscene gesture, Luri interrupted.

"During an elegant tea time, I would appreciate it if you would use elegant language."

Her tone was extremely businesslike, but her eyes told a different story.

They were filled with the single-minded determination to kill Penelope if she did not move that finger.

Naturally, Penelope had no desire to die, so she withdrew her finger.

"Since it is tea time, why don't we talk about tea?"

"Tea..."

Penelope lowered her gaze into her cup before speaking.

"Let's talk about tea, then. Mr. Rizera?"

"Yes, let's do that."

"Her Highness Valdrova is thirsty. Is it really proper to make her wait?"

Penelope knew that the question she had thrown at Rizera was not merely about 'talking about tea.'

"The finest tea leaves, clean water, and proper tea-making techniques are what allow tea to achieve its best flavor."

"Would something like that really be enough to make the great Red Dragon wait?"

"Even so, if we wait just a little—"

"What if she dies because she doesn't drink tea right now?"

"W-What?"

Penelope pressed forward aggressively while Rizera grew flustered.

"If it's that urgent, then she should drink water rather than tea..."

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

"W-What?"

"Her Highness is thirsty right now! What good is the finest tea in that situation? The water she can drink immediately will taste sweeter, won't it?!"

It was a valid argument, but Rizera could not bring himself to admit it.

After thinking hard, Rizera came up with a good counterargument.

"Wait. Water that merely passes briefly through tea leaves cannot properly be called tea."

"What?!"

"Besides, if you do it that way, it would actually be an even more unpleasant experience than simply drinking water."

"Hmm..."

That was also true.

As Rizera calmly insisted that the tea needed to be properly brewed, Penelope glared at him displeasingly before speaking.

"Then what if..."

"Yes?"

"What if you put the tea leaves directly into your mouth, pour hot water into it, and drink it like that?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Isn't that actually the best method? You get to experience the aroma of the black tea coming directly from your mouth in real time! You could practically enjoy every single flavor, couldn't you?"

"You're a complete genius!"

Lyudmila gave Penelope a thumbs-up.

Penelope's logic was beginning to make Rizera dizzy, while Lyudmila was not even thinking about the logic in the first place.

She was simply enjoying the situation far too much.

"There is a proper time for everything. There is a time when flowers bloom, a time when fruit ripens, and a time when it is eaten. I simply hope that Your Highness Valdrova can enjoy the happiness that comes at the appropriate time—"

"Enough!"

Unable to endure it any longer, Penelope shouted.

"What do you know that you keep sticking your nose into this?! You glorified elf-shaped food!"

"E-Elf-shaped... food?"

"Dragons have their own circumstances, humans have theirs, and elves have theirs! What could an elf like you possibly know about the relationship between a human and a dragon that gives you the right to run your mouth?!"

"I-I'm only saying that they should have a healthy relationship—"

"I've dated more than a hundred women! I can confidently say that I understand men just as well as I understand women, considering how well I can read women's minds!"

"I'm only talking about relationships between men and women—"

"Have you ever dated a woman? Have you ever dated a man? After being a virgin for thousands of years, what could you possibly know about relationships between men and women?!"

"That..."

"You, who would let our Grand Duchess Valdrova go forever without drinking tea until she dies of thirst! You're not just an enemy of women—you're an enemy of the village! An enemy of the Grand Duchy!"

"U-Uu..."

After Penelope unleashed a barrage of verbal abuse, tears finally welled up in Rizera's eyes.

He did not dare say anything, fearing that his voice would come out damp with tears whenever he tried to speak.

Penelope, expecting a decisive victory, raised her arms triumphantly to celebrate.

But it was too early to celebrate.

Until that moment, none of them had dreamed that there was a final boss waiting.

"Master, and ladies."

It was Luri who spoke up to end the argument.

"There is now a board game prepared for light entertainment in the game room. I would appreciate it if all the 'ladies' would please leave."

"Hmm, shall we? Your Highness, let's go."

"Okay."

Lyudmila and Valdrova rose from their seats.

"I-I'll go too."

Penelope also stood up cautiously, watching Luri's expression.

The only one remaining at the table was Rizera, the male.

"Ah."

Luri blocked Penelope as she tried to leave.

Apparently, there had been a misunderstanding, so Luri repeated herself.

"I said only the 'ladies' should leave."

She emphasized the word.

This time, Penelope sat back down, while Rizera stood up.

Luri, who had been standing politely, dragged a chair over and sat down in front of Penelope.

Silence descended.

It was a silence that carried the chill of a blade pressed against Penelope's throat.

"Do you have any final words?"

Inside Penelope's mind, which had become as hazy as if covered in fog, only one thought surfaced.

"Still... the Earth is round?"

***

"Did you enjoy the ladies' gathering?"

Valdrova nodded at Ferda's question.

"Yes. It was lively and fun."

"I'm curious what you talked about."

"Well, what did we talk about...?"

Valdrova gathered the various conversations she remembered and condensed them into a single phrase.

"How to make black tea?"

"Black tea?"

"Rizera and Penelope seemed to argue a little over it, and Rizera looked like he was upset because he even shed tears."

"Is that so?"

It was strange enough that they had argued over black tea.

But the fact that Rizera had cried was even stranger.

What on earth had happened?

"Speaking of which, Ferda, can you brew black tea?"

"Of course."

"I'd like to try a cup of black tea made by you..."

"I'll prepare it for you."

Ferda skillfully handled the tea set, and after completing the delicate process, he handed her a beautifully brewed cup of black tea.

Valdrova carefully brought the tea to her lips.

"How is it?"

"It's delicious."

"Fortunately, I brewed it at just the right time."

Ferda spoke with satisfaction.

Valdrova stared intently at him.

She remembered the conversation from the ladies' gathering.

"Could you brew it a little less?"

"Then the tea would lose some of its natural flavor."

Valdrova could not think of a proper response, so she simply said to Ferda:

"I'm thirsty."

She had argued so strongly about it earlier.

Wouldn't it be worth trying at least once?

That was what Valdrova thought.