7 Afternoon tea

"An invitation has been extended to you, my lady. It appears that a ball will be held in the royal palace."

"You say a ball? May I inquire as to the nature of the celebration?"

"It's the crown prince's coming-of-age party, my lady. The emperor has asked everyone to spend that day in the palace, and you cannot refuse his invite."

I sighed as I took a sip from my cup. The smell and taste of green tea which I usually found sweet as honey ended up tasting rather sour as a lemon in an instant. To be honest, I never enjoyed going to the palace but I had no other choice since I am my father's only child and his only heir to the Grand duchy.

Truth be told, but the emperor had his motives for always making me visit the palace and it seemed like my father was very well aware of the reason. Gaining the emperor's favour not only made me the most hated one amongst the women's society except Her royal highness the empress, my godmother who adored me like if I was her daughter.

I received personal training from her and she even taught me a lot about fashion. I adored her ever since I was little. The empress used to be best friends with my mother which I heard and she mourned the most when she heard of her death.

"I bet aunt will be looking forward to my visit tonight."

I mumbled as I drew circles on my cup. I wasn't that excited to visit the palace but as I said, I had no other choice.

"Good afternoon, my lady."

A soothing husky voice called to me, and I turned to see Heinley staring at me with a grin on his face. As he bowed, I rose from my seat and returned his greeting. I then returned to my seat, but he beat me to it, pulling my chair for me as I sat down.

"Thank you, Sir Heinley, for being such a gentleman."

I said, my face flushed as I gestured him to take his seat as well. Well except my father, no other man has ever pulled a chair for me. He was the first and that added him more points.

"I apologize I came so late, Your Highness. I had to deal with an emergency at the guild and it took longer than I expected."

"What kind of emergency if I may inquire, Sir?"

I looked at him curiously to know what kind of problem he solved this time but his expression changed.

"I cannot disclose any information concerning the guild I'm afraid but so you know, it was something I did my level best to handle, my lady."

He smiled at me seeing that I looked disappointed by his answer and tried to cheer me up.

"An old château had been found containing six hundred bags of opium hidden inside and there was no one who seemed to own the place. There was no sight of any worker there when the investigators searched around."

"How did they come across the house?"

"An anonymous person reported the issue and we did our research. As you know, our guild does not only deal with financing but also investigating and gaining and sharing information. We investigated and still looking for the owner of the place."

I didn't understand why a large number of bags were found in the house with no owner and no sign of workers. If a house is old and empty, then that would come to be concluded as a hideout for illegal trade.

"Have you ever considered that the opium that was found could be someone's illegal business and the old house was his or her hiding place or some sort of warehouse? I mean, look at the brighter side, opium is illegal and can only be sold at the black market in that large quantity. we use only a little amount on medication and remember there are levies and everyone is aware of that including the emperor himself."

"You are quite correct, my lady, but as you have said, it is banned in our empire and that large amount should be at the palace storage because of levies as you mentioned. The royal advisor agreed to distribute a little amount to the people because―"

"Because of how addictive the substance can be most especially when it is chemically processed to other narcotics."

Heinley listened to me chatting as he took a sip from the cup of tea Andrea had poured for him. He seemed to be enjoying his drink as he looked at the tea and took more sips.

"If you have no clues, Sir Heinley, then maybe I could help you come up with something that you hadn't thought of."

"And what may that be, my lady?"

"Have you considered delegating that task to someone else? Someone who has deep ties to the black market and has no qualms about breaking the law?"

"I'm amazed, my lady. You are truly one of a kind."

"Why is that?"

I tilted my head in question.

"Your knowledge is truly remarkable and I am glad you know how to handle such heavy information. Apparently, no one in the empire knows of this not even the emperor. You are the first."

He smiled at me and added,

"This tea is so delicious. What does it contain if I may ask?"

What a sly character. Digressing the topic like a pro. I decided to give him more points for that so I played along.

Both Andrea looked at each other and smiled. She was skilled at preparing tea and always knew how to choose the best ingredients for each time of the day.

"I have no idea, Lord Heinley. Why don't you ask the one who made this instead? I'm sure you'll be pleased by her answer like I will."

I said pointing at Andrea who stood beside us startled by what I had done. She never expected me to do such a thing and her expression was priceless. I planned to tease her for that the whole week after that.

"My lord…I…My lord…I…"

I almost laughed at her seeing how nervous she was becoming. She looked like she was going to faint.

"It's okay Andrea. The lord won't bite you, so, speak up."

"This afternoon, I made green tea because...well, it contains caffeine, which will give both you and my lady a little energy boost. I could have made peppermint tea for you, but given how busy you must be, green tea would provide you with more energy to complete your tasks efficiently."

"Well, it's to my liking. Miss Andrea, I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, and I learned a few things from Heinley. I had no idea we had so much in common, and the more he talked about work, the more I liked him and didn't want him to stop. If only we had the entire day to ourselves.

*******

"Heinley, my boy…you're back."

"Good evening, mother."

"How was the Grand Duchy princess? Was she to your liking with her sophisticated attitude? Heinley, did you manage to capture her heart already? Why won't you say something?"

A chair flew across the room and slammed against the wall, but Heinley ignored it and continued on his way to his quarters. He was sick of being asked the same question every time he returned home from work.

"Didn't you hear what I was saying, boy? You stupid ungrateful bastard, I can tell you've developed a bad attitude since you moved in here. Nobody wanted you, not even your father. I had to beg him to let you stay because you didn't have any other options."

"Mother, you're inebriated. Let's talk in the morning when you've calmed down."

Heinley tenderly cradled the woman's shoulders and turned her around to return her to her room to rest. She was inebriated and untidy. Her addiction to booze and drugs had become such a habit that everyone in the empire was aware of it.

He gently placed the woman on her bed and gently shut her bedroom door from outside.

"Brother."

As he was about to enter his quarters, he was interrupted by a sweet voice. An ivory teal-eyed girl stood nearby, watching him try to hide his anguish from her. She was just eleven years old and adored her older brother. "Please forgive me, brother. I accidentally heard what my mother said to you…I didn't mean to intrude in your conversation."

Heinley just watched the girl talking and managed to fake a grin. He loved her as well.

"Adults tend to argue all the time, Antoinette. You shouldn't apologize for that."

"But..."

"How was your day, dear sister? Have you eaten anything?"

Antoinette puckered her lips, her arms crossed as she approached her brother. They seemed to have a very close connection and that made them talk freely with each other.

"I am not a child anymore big brother."

"I know, Antoinette…so, I will be honest and tell you that I'm okay if that is what you're worried about. Life can't be called life without a little bit of drama."

He said jokingly and they both ended up laughing. They headed to the dining area and ate dinner together as he told her about his meeting with Eliana whom her sister secretly admired.

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