Tea Party

"Thank you all for coming here today."

Kalina sat at the head of a long garden table that was piled with elegantly arranged snacks and aromatic tea. She had arranged for the tea party to be in the estate's large greenhouse, which was warm from the sunlight that shone through the glass panels. Seated at each side of the table were three young ladies, each looking more uncomfortable than the next.

"Ah, yes," they responded, not daring to make eye contact with Kalina and keeping their heads bowed.

'This isn't it.' Kalina thought. 'It's like I'm talking to a group of baby rabbits.'

"As you may know, there are many harsh rumors about me, and...although I am from a Ducal family, I don't have any...friends my age," Kalina said, resorting to acting pitiful again.

As expected, it worked. The ladies slowly raised their heads and exchanged glances. Before coming here, their parents had warned them to not say anything and agree with anything Kalina demanded. They said that she was a spoiled brat that could drive their family into ruin if anyone upset her.

But seeing the nervous thirteen-year-old girl in front of them, they didn't believe what they had heard.

"That's...if Lady Kalina wants it, then..." a petite brunette girl spoke up. She looked around fourteen and had a charming, sweet voice. She was the only daughter of Count Willick, Holly.

The other ladies followed along and nodded, eagerly turning towards Kalina.

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"Have you ever been to the capital, Lady Kalina?" The daughter of a viscount asked Kalina, who had been staying silent while the girls conversed about their experiences.

"Yes? Oh, I haven't." Although Kalina was a high ranking noble, in her past life, she had preferred to remain in her family's territory. When her engagement to Heinrich was decided, she had briefly visited the palace in the capital to pay her respects, but even then, she never left her chamber. It was also the place where her life ended. She didn't exactly have good memories of the place.

"I heard they hold big festivals and balls," another girl gushed. The girls at the tea party were all countryside nobles that stayed in their territories and only attended small local gatherings. They all dreamed of traveling to the capital and marrying an influential man.

Of course, Kalina didn't intend on marrying anyone in this life and was determined not to let her engagement to Heinrich happen again.

'I'm only still alive to get my revenge,' Kalina thought. 'I'll worry about the future when I get there.'

"You'll get to debut at the annual masquerade ball in a few years," Kalina smiled as she reminisced about her past debut and what a disaster it had been.

"Oh, but we're just countryside nobles," Petunia said. "We can't be compared to the nobles in the capital who are so dignified and..."

'Not for long,' Kalina thought as she watched the ladies' begin looking dejected.

"Don't worry, everyone, you have me. I'll make sure no one looks down on you!" Kalina exclaimed. "After all, we're friends, right?"

Six smiles returned to the girls' faces.

"Of course, Lady Kalina!"

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The rest of the tea party was spent wandering through the Ephraims' huge garden, which the Duchess sometimes cared for personally when she was stressed. The sight of seven lovely girls walking arm-in-arm down a path surrounded by colorful flowers made many servants turn their heads to watch in awe.

Duchess Ephraim had returned from an outing and went to find Kalina. Before, she had been greeted with crying or screaming from her daughter, but today, all she heard was tinkling laughter coming from outside.

"Is that Kalina?" she asked the butler, who came up to her and bowed.

"Yes, the young lady invited a few of the daughters from nearby noble families over for a tea party."

"Ah, that was today?" Duchess Ephraim remembered Kalina saying something about holding a tea party a few days ago, but she had been busy with business affairs and forgot about it.

The Duchess walked to a window that had a full view of the lush green garden. She watched Kalina playing with the other girls and felt a pang of tenderness in her chest.

She loved Kalina with all of her heart, and would do anything to see her daughter happy. Kalina had grown up spoiled, so she often threw tantrums, but the Duchess couldn't bear to lecture her and see her sad, so she gave her whatever she wanted.

Then, a few weeks ago, her daughter suddenly woke up and acted like a whole new person. Of course, she was happy that her daughter seemed to have matured, but these days it seemed like she had a lot on her mind. She also refused to confide in her mother.

The Duchess didn't push it further but she still felt worried. It eased her mind a little to see Kalina looking so cheerful with girls her age. She pressed a hand to the glass while Kalina laughed at something a girl said.

"I hope she will always be able to smile like this."