“We should thank Countess Cassilis for generously sharing such precious tea leaves. I never expected to be served Eflor tea.”
“This is my first tea party, so my mother put a lot of thought into it. If you’d like more, feel free to enjoy as much as you want.”
Melanie, who had brewed the Eflor tea with a sense of pride, served it to everyone and then savored the aroma as if showing off.
“As you might have heard, Eflor has a distinctive orchid scent, and to truly appreciate it, you must savor its fragrance.”
“What kind of tea food have you prepared?”
When a woman, who earlier introduced herself as the second daughter of Viscount Campbell, asked this, Melanie frowned and coldly replied.
“Eflor is meant to be enjoyed solely for its aroma, so it is not traditionally paired with tea food. Adding sweet tea food would only diminish Eflor’s rich scent.”
“But I’ve heard that Eflor is best enjoyed with fruits.”
When the Campbell lady reacted with confusion, others also nodded in agreement.
Originally, it was said that Eflor should be enjoyed without tea food to fully appreciate its scent. However, five years ago, when Camilla served Eflor with Elyaisan strawberries, this perception began to change.
Recalling Ariette’s words that fruits are often eaten as tea food in the East, Letticia suggested this idea to Camilla. Camilla, seeing it as a good way to reconcile with the Duke of Averil’s household, adopted this method.
Fortunately, those who attended that tea party praised the strawberries for complementing Eflor’s aroma well, and since then, the practice of enjoying Eflor with fruits gradually spread among tea lovers.
Even the academy professors, having heard of this, began recommending fruits as the appropriate tea food to accompany Eflor. It became a well-known fact among the capital’s nobility.
However, it seemed that Melanie, who had come from the West, was unaware of this. She sighed at the Campbell lady’s words and looked at her with a dismissive gaze.
“I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s best not to repeat it elsewhere. You might be laughed at for only having a superficial knowledge.”
“What did you say? Superficial knowledge?”
“It’s understandable that you wouldn’t know since this might be your first time trying Eflor. If it’s not to your taste, I can replace it with Arenne or White Opera. No matter how good the tea is, if the drinker can’t appreciate its aroma, it’s pointless.”
The Campbell lady’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Letticia, like everyone else, was also shocked and couldn’t hide her disbelief.
‘Is that something a host should say? Why is she humiliating her guest?’
Though it wasn’t unheard of for people to embarrass each other at a tea party, it was usually the guests who did so, with the host acting as the mediator.
To insult a guest like that was to not only tarnish one’s own reputation but also that of the family.
However, Melanie, either unaware of the cold atmosphere she created or simply indifferent, calmly spoke to Letticia.
“What about the rest of you? Oh, Lady Sharon, are you enjoying the fragrance of the Eflor?”
“…Ah, yes. The orchid scent of this year’s Eflor tea leaves is stronger and more flavorful compared to previous years. You’ve managed to capture the aroma without it being overpowering, which is impressive.”
Letticia placed her teacup down lightly and shared her thoughts in an attempt to lighten the mood.
However, Melanie’s eyes narrowed slightly as if dissatisfied with the response.
“‘This year’s tea leaves,’ you say. You speak as if you’ve had Eflor before.”
“Yes, I’ve had it a few times when my mother hosted tea parties.”
At Letticia’s words, Melanie nodded with a slightly stiff expression.
“I see. I’ve heard that the Wade Marquess, which is your mother’s family, also purchases Eflor. It seems the Countess shares it generously enough to host tea parties with it.”
“Hah, when was that? It’s been five years since the Sharon Countess began purchasing Eflor!”
At this, the Campbell lady spoke up as if picking a fight. She seemed quite angry, likely still upset over being ridiculed earlier.
‘Are they really about to start fighting? What is going on?’
The Campbell lady glanced at Letticia, who was alternating her gaze between the two, unable to hide her astonishment, and then turned to Melanie with a mocking expression.
“The fact that the Sharon Countess received a letter of recommendation from the Duke of Averil is quite well-known in the capital. You don’t seem to know anything about that? The first time Lady Sharon was mentioned in the Lucinella was because of that event.”
“…It seems that the news hasn’t reached the West if I don’t know about it. Do you really think that a story famous only in the capital would be equally known elsewhere? That might be a bit short-sighted of you.”
Melanie attempted to retaliate, but no one agreed with her.
“Are you suggesting that the entire western region is unaware, or is it just you who doesn’t know, while others from the West do?”
“Exactly. It’s not like Lucinella is only sold in the capital. How could you not know?”
“Please, don’t be too harsh. It’s possible not to know if you’ve only been tutored at home until the age of 18.”
“Indeed, if you’ve had a lot to learn, it’s unlikely that you would have been allowed to read something like the newspaper.”
Four people, excluding Letticia, Stella, and Melanie, began to mock Melanie as if they had all conspired together.
Their comments were a dig at the western nobility, who continued to be tutored privately, in contrast to the capital, where children are sent to the academy at the age of 13.
Before Melanie could respond to the continuous provocation, Letticia loudly set down her teacup, creating a sharp sound.
“I’m the one involved, so I didn’t expect others to speak up on my behalf.”
Letticia’s cold retort silenced the four mockers.
Particularly, the Campbell lady, who had initiated the conversation, shrank back and closed her mouth when Letticia’s eyes met hers.
She seemed to understand the warning: ‘Who do you think you are to talk about me?’
“Ladies, while conversation is important, Countess Cassilis has gone to great lengths to prepare this tea for us. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the tea gets cold while we are too absorbed in our chat?”
Stella intervened to mediate, and the atmosphere began to calm down, as no one seemed willing to continue the conflict.
However, while Letticia and Stella worked to smooth things over, Melanie still seemed unable to calm her anger, breathing heavily.
‘The Countess must have had quite a hard time.’
Although the behavior of the Campbell lady and the others was undoubtedly malicious, Melanie was the one who had given them the opportunity.
The host’s role is to manage the gathering, even if a guest makes a mistake. Yet, Melanie had caused trouble and let another guest clean up the mess, making it unclear who was actually hosting the tea party.
Letticia, thinking it might be best to finish her tea quickly and leave, emptied her Eflor and requested the next tea.
“I’d like to try some tea food now. Could I have some Arenne?”
“…Of course, as much as you’d like.”
Melanie, who had finally calmed down, picked up the teapot and began brewing Arenne.
Watching this, Stella quietly whispered to Letticia.
“Why Arenne? You usually drink White Opera.”
“I saw the tea food, and there are a lot of things that would go well with Arenne.”
As Letticia and Stella conversed while looking over the serving cart, Arenne was prepared, and the maid served the tea food.
After surveying the tea food, Letticia added milk to her Arenne and picked up a sweet-looking madeleine.
“…Lady Letticia, you have quite an unusual taste. Madeleines are usually eaten with White Opera.”
Melanie sneered at Letticia as she noticed her choice.
Instead of being grateful to the person who had helped smooth things over, Melanie showed hostility, causing Letticia to frown slightly.
“Madeleines have a lot of sugar, which can overwhelm the flavor of Arenne. That’s why in our family, we never pair them with Arenne. We always eat them with White Opera.”
Melanie’s attempt to criticize Letticia’s taste while trying to assert control over the atmosphere was almost laughable.
“It seems the Cassilis household always drinks their tea straight. In the capital, we often add milk to our tea, so it’s not unusual to pair Arenne with madeleines.”
As Stella defended Letticia, others who had previously stayed silent began to speak up again.
“That’s right. Adding milk to Arenne brings out a different flavor, which pairs well with sweet pastries.”
“That’s basic knowledge taught in the first year at the academy, but I suppose it can’t be helped if Lady Cassilis doesn’t know.”
“Even so, I can’t understand what she’s thinking when she said such things to Lady Sharon. Did she really believe that Lady Sharon, who has become a Diamond in this season, wouldn’t notice?”
“Oh, by the way, Lady Sharon, will His Highness the Crown Prince be attending the ball in two weeks?”
