47

This is because it was an impromptu answer that she had never heard from Sian in the past.

"The water is boiling."

"Yes? Oh!"

Surprised, Elena tried to grab the silver kettle reflexively, but was surprised by the heat transmitted at her fingertips and pulled away her hand. Her hand was tingling because it was so hot.

"Are you all right?"

"Fortunately, I don't think I burned myself."

"I'll do it."

Sian rolled the silver kettle around the canvas on the desk and put it down under the brazier.

"I'll do it now. You asked for a cup of tea, didn't you?"

Elena, who had never made a mistake in her life, quickly had the silverware handed to her and poured the hot water into the tea tube. The purpose was to cool the water at the most appropriate temperature for the tea leaves she had brought today, but also to keep it at that temperature.

'What an ironic thing. I can only make tea after I become someone else.'

Sian, a past emperor, loved to drink tea. He especially liked the deep taste and aroma of the black tea from the Eastern Continent, which was offered to him from across the sea. In order to make tea for Sian, Elena learned the tea ceremony. In the tea ceremony, she tried to put her heart and soul into it for Sian, rather than a false and vain sense of propriety in the word mindfulness.

When they tasted the tea that Elena made herself, they all praised it. They even often said that she was a specimen that ladies in the social world should learn from.

Once, was it? He didn't even look at it. Even the mixing of words was contemptible, but the tea party was too much. But now that the couple's relationship has been cut off, and they were completely strangers, she couldn't believe they were having tea together for the first time. She wondered if there could be a greater contradiction and disharmony than this.

"Did you learn tea ceremony formally?"

"It's a basic thing that a lady should know."

Sian sat silently in his chair watching Elena. The process was near perfect, from the minor preheating process, to the high and low water pouring, to the scattering of the tea leaves, to the process of dumping the first water.

"Here you are."

Elena offered a glass of pure and deeply fragrant tea water. Sian, who took the cup of tea elegantly, first enjoyed the tea with the incense, and tasted the deep depth of black tea with tea water. Although the tea water had cooled but was still hot, he did not drink it aloud.

"…"

What is this? Elena looked at Sian's reaction with a bit of nervousness.

"It's amazing."

Sian's first words, when he tasted only two sips of tea, were admiration.

"Does it suit your tastes?"

"Did you say tea ceremony was a basic skill?"

"Yes? Yes, I did."

"What a humbling remark. It's a deep taste that I've never tasted in the palace before."

"…!"

Sian lavished praise on each sip of black tea. He also quickly offered an empty cup of tea as if he were proving that it was not a pretense.

"Can I have another drink?"

Elena filled the empty tea cup with a half-way face. Sian savored the black tea in an elegant and disciplined manner in accordance to tea ceremony. He really wouldn't be able to do that if Elena's tea didn't fit his taste. It was noticeable that he enjoyed the tea very much.

'You're lying, aren't you.'

Elena couldn't believe the current situation. In her past life, she went mad to attract Sian's attention. But he didn't give a single glance. As if such a past life was a lie, Sian praised Elena by drinking black tea. When Elena kept blanking out, Sian asked.

"Won't you drink?"

"Oh! I'm going to drink it now."

Elena poured tea water into a teacup and sipped. Despite the tea that was personally brewed with her favorite teacups and high-end black tea, it was hard to tell whether it went into her nose or mouth.

'That's enough. I don't have a grain of regret left with this.'

Elena wanted to thank God if there was one. By treating Sian with her own tea, she was able to let go of her lingering feelings.

Ah, Elena, who felt relieved, raised her chin. She had the courage to look into Sian's eyes, which she had never looked straight into.

'May the Empress be happy.'

She wanted to wish him happiness now because the time she loved him was more precious compared to anything else.

The tea in the multi-pipe ran out of water without a break. She didn't bring a lot of black tea leaves in the first place, so she couldn't make more.

'How long are you going to be here?'

Sian did not turn until the tea water exposed the floor. The awkward silence was prolonged because there was no subject to continue the conversation. Whether such discomfort was her exclusive property, Sian left behind and took a leisurely tour of the studio.

"Senior is very late."

"I see."

"…"

Elena closed her mouth at the silence that came back. It was not easy to continue the conversation to the extent that it seemed like this person was a wall.

'I can't do it anymore.'

Unfortunately, she thought it would be better to go back after this today.

"I don't think I'll be able to see him today… So I'll come back next time."

Elena wanted to escape the awkwardness as soon as possible, so she hurriedly put the tea sets in the basket and prepared to go back.

"Your Grace, I'll be on my way first."

"Where are you going?"

Sian asked, looking at Raphael's canvas hanging on the wall.

"… The library. I have to stop by."

She had to go to the library for the disguise, and she had to come out with May to bring out the tea ceremony set. By now, she would be working outside the academic institute, so they planned to return to the dormitory together in time for her return. That way, Anne's doubts could be avoided.

"That's great. I'm on my way to the library, so let's go together."

"T-together with Your Highness?"

Elena asked back. She was embarrassed when he asked him to go with her after even showing her nuance.

"Is there a problem? I remember seeing you for the second time in the library."

Sian embarrassed Elena with his numb stare and speech. That's why Sian was difficult because he kept acting out of common sense.

"Are you going to stand there?"

"That's…"

Elena blurted her words. She didn't want to accompany him if she could help it. It was uncomfortable, and she wanted to stay quiet as if she didn't seem to be there while disguised as Lucia if possible.

'If we go outside like this, I'll get attention.'

Sian was the future emperor, the Crown Prince who would lead the empire. Naturally, any woman he spoke a word to had to come up in people's mouths. Elena didn't want that. Ren alone was too much for her to handle, but if others stared at her, there was a chance she would have to stop pretending to be Lucia.

"What's wrong? Do you have anything to say?"

"…"

"Or let's go."

Elena followed Sian out of the room without pausing to protest against his urging. As they walked side by side out of the annex, the eyes of the students, both male and female, were drawn to them.

"Look over there, it's His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Who's the woman next to him?"

"I've never seen her before? Are those real glasses… even though they look so tacky?"

"Yeah, it looks like a sudden drop. No matter how much of an academy it is, that girl needs to be pulled out a bit."

The situation that Elena feared quickly became a reality. Unlike boys who just stop out of curiosity, female students were eager to undermine whoever it was if they did not receive the attention of Sian and couldn't become empress.

'You said the empress suffered a lot when she was in school. This is why.'

The look in the eyes of the female students who were glaring at her as if they were trying to tear her down made her laugh out loud. Humans really are cunning, aren't they? If she revealed herself to be Lady Veronica, those who couldn't even look her in the eye would only look at her now and try to eat her.

'I can ignore them, but the problem is Ren. I hope we don't bump into each other.'

In the meantime, she had no chance to run into Ren because she traveled to the western annex on a road that nobody used anymore. However, on the way now, students went the most, and it was crowded. There was no choice but to have a higher chance of bumping into Ren.

"Your black tea was very delicious."

"Thank you for the compliment."

While walking toward the library, Sian praised Elena as if the deep taste of black tea did not go away.

"That's why."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Can I have your tea again next time?"

"…!"

Elena stared at Sian saying the following, but didn't know how to answer. Every word and every action Sian said right now was confused with the appearance in Elena's memory. Eventually, Elena couldn't answer Sian's request until she reached the library.

"Well, Your Highness, I'm off…"

It was time for Elena, who wanted to wrap up this uncomfortable trip as soon as possible, to say goodbye.

"What kind of combination is this?"

Elena's face was darkened by the unexpected sound of him coming in. She turned her head in the hope that it wouldn't be, and there stood the worst man. It was Ren.

"Does our freshman have talent? It's not anyone else, but Your Highness."

Ren looked at Sian and Elena alternately with a grinning face and mocked them. It was not an action to take in front of Sian, the future heir to the throne, but this madman didn't seem to have thought of that. The worst that she had feared had come true, and Elena's mouth grew impatient.

"Hello, Ren. I see you again."

"Who are you?"

"What?"

"Why is it so hard to find your face."

"Oh, it's kind of weird, isn't it? The academy is a bit wide, so…"

Elena, sweating around, could easily infer that Ren was looking for her with just a few words of conversation.

'What should I do?'

Ren alone was a formidable opponent, but Sian was right next to her. She had to get out of this situation wisely, but she had no idea how. Under such circumstances Sian, who was alienated, opened his mouth.