Episode 8
Baroness Horton laughed, covering her mouth with her gloved hand, and continued speaking.
“I was worried because you’ve been staying home since then, but I’m so happy to see you again.”
Chloe sensed what Lady Horton was up to.
Chloe had been embarrassed and withdrawn from society after she had ruined the first tea party she had held a year before as a duchess. It was unlikely that Chloe would have liked to have had that incident. Lady Horton would have known that fact.
‘Chloe seems to be a good target in the social world too.’
Of course, it didn’t matter because the Chloe back then and the Chloe now were different.
Chloe realized that the ladies and gentlemen around her were listening intently to her and lady Horton’s conversation. They were probably expecting the delicate Chloe to cry or be shocked or something. But Chloe had no intention of letting that happen.
Chloe smiled naturally, without any exaggeration.
“Yes, that’s true.”
“…”
A look of confusion flashed across Lady Horton’s face. In fact, the old Chloe would have already been crying or blushing and running away.
“I…your grace, are you really okay? I was so sorry to see you so flustered and even crying.”
“Yes, it was like that back then, but it’s okay now. It was a long time ago. But…”
Chloe laughed lightly.
“You sound like you really want me to not be okay.”
Lady Horton felt the air around her turn cold for a moment.
The person in front of her was clearly smiling, but only lady Horton, whose gaze was on her, could truly tell…
Chloe’s eyes were not smiling. Lady Horton noticed the coldness in her smiling voice.
The Chloe she knew couldn’t have been like this. Chloe Battenberg, a woman who was always looking out for those around her. A woman who was pitifully generous, unbecoming of her husband’s status, who endured the envy and malice of society, but could do nothing but cry.
Is this woman in front of you me, the Chloe Battenberg I once knew?
In that brief moment, Lady Horton remembered that the other person was a duchess. Unfortunately, in a society where a woman’s status is determined by her husband’s status, Chloe had never been able to use the position that had fallen into her hands.
But Chloe now was different. Lady Horton thought so. And if the day ever came when Chloe would fully utilize her position, then she, herself…
Lady Horton waved her hands wildly in surprise as if she had been burned.
“Oh, no! How could that be? I, I am not good at starting a topic, so I must have said something rude. I am truly sorry, Lady Battenberg.”
All the ladies who were listening were surprised by Lady Horton’s sudden change of attitude. However, the person facing her, Chloe, did not seem to care much.
“Oh, no. I am also still lacking, so I sometimes say and do things that are rude, too. I understand you, Lady Horton.”
Chloe said with a smile. But lady Horton understood the hidden meaning in her humble words: ‘You were indeed rude.’ Her back became clammy with a cold sweat for some reason.
As Chloe and lady Horton’s subtle fight ended with lady Horton’s declaration of surrender, the atmosphere at the tea party became much more subdued. One of the attendees, a quick-witted lady, quickly changed the subject.
“By the way… have you all read this week’s edition of Queen’s Digest? It’s about the bustle dress with the new ruffled sleeves…”
The conversation quickly moved to a peaceful direction, and no one tried to attack Chloe after that.
Chloe returned to the duke’s residence after faithfully carrying out her original purpose of ‘examining the social atmosphere and eating delicious food.’
***
“Did you enjoy the tea party?”
A low voice suddenly fell over Chloe’s head as she was slicing her beef.
Chloe turned to face her husband sitting across from her. Alphonse’s beautiful face was filled with the same emotionless emotion as always.
Another polite remark. Chloe thought so and smiled politely in response.
“Yes. It was really fun.”
“Thank goodness”
The conversation during dinner did not continue any further.
After dinner, Chloe bid Alphonse farewell as usual and went up to the bedroom.
No, she was going to do so…
“My wife, may I have a moment?”
Just before Chloe could say goodbye, Alphonse spoke. His voice was indifferent but polite.
“Huh? Of course.”
Chloe answered, blinking her wide eyes.
“I would like to be treated to tea. Is that okay?”
When she heard that, Chloe’s face lit up as if a switch had been turned on. Sharing a cup of tea with someone else was one of her favorite things to do.
“Of course!”
This time Chloe wanted to let Alphonse choose his own tea. She went into the tea room carrying a few small papers and appeared in the drawing room a few minutes later.
“What is that?”
Alphonse showed interest. Chloe didn’t notice, but this was the first time since their marriage that Alphonse had shown interest in what Chloe was doing.
“It’s a sample tea. Here, try it.”
Chloe smiled and handed Alphonse a tray of tea leaves. These were small portions of tea leaves with different characteristics. The tea drinkers could smell the leaves themselves and choose the ones they wanted.
Alphonse picked up each piece of paper and smelled them, quickly picking one out.
“Oh, it’s Labsang Souchong! I guess you like the smell of smoke.” 1Labsang Souchong is a type of black tea consisting of Camellia sinensis leaves that is smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. This smoking is accomplished either as a cold smoke of the raw leaves as they are processed or as a hot smoke of previously processed (withered and oxidized) leaves.
Chloe said happily.
Lapsang Souchong is the name she used when she lived in korea. According to the label on the tea can, the name they use here is different. It was natural, since the geography and mountains were different.
“It smells similar to cigarettes. You like cigarettes, right?”
Chloe playfully imitated Alphonse as she held a hand over her mouth, spit out air as if spitting smoke, and laughed through her slightly disheveled bangs.
Alphonse watched her intently, his face blank as if he had no idea what she was thinking, and then said.
“My wife.”
“Yes?”
“That is not ladylike behavior.”
Ah… Yes. That’s right. Chloe ended up getting a little pouty.
A moment later, Chloe came back with a pot full of Lapsang Souchong.
But this time, she didn’t just bring tea. On the tray she was holding was a small plate. And on that plate was…
“Is it ham?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Chloe answered with a proud face.
Alphonse knew what it was. It was the ham he often ate as a snack with his wine. If it hadn’t been for the distinctive aroma wafting from the teapot, he might have been confused as to whether Chloe had brought him a drink.2He means wine by a drink here.
She strained the tea through a strainer and handed the cup to Alphonse.
“Bon appetit.”
Alphonse looked down at his teacup. The colour was not much different from the first time he had tried last time, but the aroma emanating from this tea was unique, even a little spicy. Alphonse brought the teacup to his lips.
The taste in my mouth is like…
“It’s like bacon, right?”
Alphonse took his teacup away from his lips at Chloe’s unexpected question.
“Yes?”
“Whenever I drink Lapsang Souchong, I always think of it as bacon. Bacon is made by smoking pork, and Lapsang Souchong is made by smoking tea leaves.”
Chloe tapped her teacup with her index finger.
“Bacon flavored tea sounds interesting.”
“Is that so?”
Alphonse took a few more sips. Perhaps because he had chosen it himself, the smoky, thick flavor suited his taste quite well.
But it was a strange feeling.
Something was missing. Alphons Battenberg, by nature, doesn’t enjoy eating much. He sees food as something essential to survival or to entertain guests. So he never felt the need to eat anything in particular.
But now, somehow… he felt a strange carving…
“Aren’t you feeling that something is missing? Come on, try it.”
Something was thrust before Alphonse’s eyes. It was the plate of ham.
Alphonse picked up a piece of ham and put it in his mouth. The ham was soft and chewy, and the salty taste and meat juice burst out. He could also taste the rich flavor of fat.
He realized that this was the food he needed.
“It suits the tea, right?”
Chloe said happily.
“Yes, it’s unusual for side dishes to go well with tea.”
“Lapsang Souchong goes well with meats. Salty ham, sandwiches filled with ham, sausages…”
Chloe had a happy face as if she was imagining delicious food.
“Personally, I was reminded of dumplings. Meat dumplings with lots of meat in them.”
“Dumplings? Aren’t they from Wen?”
“That’s right. It’s where Labsang Souchong originated from too.”
Wen is a huge monarchy located in the eastern part of this world.
Chloe, who studied about tea in this world, also knew that tea originated in Wen.
“Do you like Wen’s cuisine?”
“Yes! I really, really like it.”
Chloe laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Alphonse drank his tea in silence.
The two soon drank all the tea they had brewed from the teapot. Of course, they also ate all the ham. It was amazing how they could eat and drink so well even though it was just after dinner.
As before, Alphonse didn’t say anything like ‘I like it’ or ‘I don’t like it’ while drinking tea. Instead, he opened his mouth to make a suggestion.
“If it’s okay with you…….”
“Come visit me anytime, Your Highness.”
Alphonse was a little surprised for a moment. She had already noticed what he was going to say and had even responded.
“Drinking tea with someone is my favorite thing in the world.”
Chloe smiled brightly.
***
From then on, the two had tea time after dinner as a habit.
It was a huge step forward, considering that previously the only time two people would see each other face to face was during dinner.
