Tea Party

Five young ladies sat around a table inside a gazebo. The gazebo was situated within a flourishing garden with many plants and shrubs blooming with colorful flowers and trees bearing fruit.

The four young noble ladies drank tea and nibbled on sweets while chatting and laughing at each other's stories. Sometimes they gossiped about rumors circulating in the noble society.

As you may already know, one of the young noble ladies is Rosaline von Montampes. She was there as a guest invited to a tea party hosted by the 2nd daughter of Count Ronald Hepburn. That daughter was Lady Flora Hepburn, a 12-year-old noble lady, one year older than Rosaline.

Flora was one of the guests at the New Year's Ball at the Montampes manor. It was there that Rosaline became acquainted with Flora, and the latter wanted to use the tea party as a chance to befriend Rosaline and gain a connection to the prestigious Montampes ducal house.

The other three guests were distinguished noble ladies from Viscount houses and a Marquis house.

Standing outside the gazebo are the servants of each of the noble ladies. Most were knights stationed around the garden, wearing glamorous armor emblazoned with the symbol belonging to each noble ladies' house. Some are maids coming to and fro, bringing more refreshments to fill up the empty plates and teacups of the noble ladies.

Only one person was very different from these knights and maids—a young butler wearing a blindfold. He was stationed right next to the gazebo, directly behind where Rosaline was sitting.

One of the noble ladies was finally overcome with curiosity and asked Rosaline.

"Lady Montampes, if I may ask. Why does your personal butler wear a blindfold? Is he perhaps... blind?" The noble lady inquired with a posh exuberance.

Rosaline glanced at the noble lady. She quickly remembered what Luka told her before entering the Hepburn manor.

'Rosaline, if they ask why I'm wearing a blindfold tell them I'm blind. The entire kingdom knowing that you're a Blessed One already attracted too much attention. If it ever comes out that there are two Blessed Ones in the Montampes duchy, you, me, and everyone else back in the manor will be in trouble. You understand?'

Remembering Luka's advice, she answered.

"Yes! I found the poor boy in the capital. He was starving and quite thin and was blinded by some loathsome delinquents. I took pity on him and asked my father to hire him as my servant."

The other noble ladies were in awe at her story. They were inspired by her kindness. Picking up a random blind child on the sidewalk isn't something a noble normally does. If only they knew that this story was another scenario Luka told Rosaline.

But one noble lady wasn't impressed.

"Hmph! So what, are you going to pick every little street rat you can find, 'YoUR LAdySHIp'?" She mocked Rosaline and added emphasis on the last words of her sentence, subtly showing that she doesn't respect Rosaline's position.

Rosaline turned her attention to the girl that disrespected her. The girl was Heather von Bainbridge, the 3rd daughter of the Bainbridge marquis household.

Rosaline smiled gently and politely responded.

"That would be ideal, but not realistic. While I know that it is not possible for anyone in the world to save and protect all those in need, I wanted to at least save one child around my age. And for that, I am grateful to my father for permitting me to use our fortune to save his life."

The rest of the noble ladies squealed in delight. They felt like they have met a saint.

Heather was speechless. She failed in provoking the child of the political enemy of her family's ally. Heather decided to stop poking the fire.

Meanwhile, the blindfolded Luka smirked after hearing Rosaline's response.

Luka was listening in. Monitoring Rosaline to prevent any slip-ups and potentially embarrass herself and her household. So far, Rosaline has been doing quite well.

Just then, a voice whispered in Luka's ear.

"Hello there!"

Luka was startled, but he kept his cool and didn't jump like a scared cat.

'What the fuck was that? I didn't 'see' anything with Wind Sense. No one was beside me. Am I hallucinating?'

Luka shrugged and decided not to think too deeply about it. He thought he was just hallucinating. The stress from the continuous training with Weiss and the recent mercenary fiasco was surely taking its toll.

The socialization of the noble ladies continued until dusk, that is when Flora clapped her hands, excited for what was to come.

Flora Hepburn looked at her guests while a bright smile and said, "As all of you should know, our territory is currently having a festival. The month of Aeolus is the month where the spirits of nature will bless us with their presence. I, the daughter of Count Ronald Hepburn, would like to invite you all to see the spirits with me tonight on this beautiful evening!"

Rosaline and the other guests' interests were piqued. The main attraction of the festival is finally at hand.

They all stood up and left the gazebo. Flora lead them to the center of the garden, followed by each noble ladies' respective servants.

Luka was just right behind Rosaline. He was feeling something strange. As if someone similar to family was about to appear. The wind was calling out to him.