The Villainous Young Lady Would Even Risk Her Life for Her Beloved ～ Her Fiancé, the Prince? By All Means, Please Be Happy with the Heroine! - Chapter 1.23

For a villainess, tea parties are an inescapable event.

Tea parties and formal gatherings serve as the perfect battlegrounds for a noble rival to humiliate the heroine. If the heroine is a commoner, the villainess can exclude her due to her low status, invite her only to scold her for her lack of manners, or mock her for her unfashionable appearance.

But at present, there was no heroine. That meant I simply had to host a gathering to showcase my family’s prestige—entertaining a group of ten-year-old girls. Me, a former twenty-six-year-old!

“Ugh, tea parties are such a pain!”

“Painful or not, you will attend.”

Eliza, as always, left no room for argument.

The garden was in full bloom with roses. Every year, our family hosted a tea party during this season. In terms of scale, it was closer to a garden party than a simple tea gathering. The restrictions imposed by the Ice Stone Disease had long since lifted, leaving no more excuses to avoid hosting it.

“Mother could host it instead…”

“Of course, Lady Sasha will host one as well, but yours is a separate matter.”

“Wait, I was joking! You’re serious about this?!”

“Despite her busy schedule, Lady Sasha still makes time for a tea party?”

Tea parties, to me, were like those loud, extroverted barbecues—I wished only those who wanted to attend would have them!

“…The invitations were already sent out yesterday. Some responses may arrive as early as today. Prepare yourself.”

“Uwaaah! What if no one comes?!”

I wouldn’t mind being ignored, but inviting people and getting no response would be humiliating! Just imagining it was painful.

“Oh, my lady! Were you truly worried about such a thing? There is not a single noble lady who would refuse your invitation!”

“Really?”

“Of course! You are the eldest daughter of the Duke of Flores and the fiancée of the First Prince!”

Maria’s cheerful reassurance reminded me—I did have some impressive titles.

“I forgot, since neither of you ever listen to me or show any restraint around me.”

“Fufufu! But that is exactly how you prefer it, isn’t it?”

Maria answered with a confident smile, and even Eliza allowed a rare smile to show.

“Lydiana! Father’s coming home!”

Luca burst into the room, slightly out of breath.

“His ship has already docked!”

Following behind him, our younger brother, Roddy, came running in.

“Everyone! Have you all been well?”

“Father!”

Roddy and Sophia threw themselves into Father’s arms. His arrival was three days earlier than expected, and the entire household was in an uproar. The mansion was filled with joy.

Father had brought back an abundance of goods. The servants were busy unloading and unpacking them.

“Lydiana! You’ve grown even more beautiful!”

It had been a while since I last saw Father. His hair was slightly longer, but his usual warm, crinkled smile remained the same.

“I brought what you requested!”

“Really?! Which one?! Which box?!”

I was thrilled! Almost as happy as I would be seeing Lord Finley!

Father looked a little startled by my excitement.

“Was it that important to you? But Lydiana, it may not suit your taste.”

His voice carried a hint of concern.

“That won’t be a problem! It suits my soul!”

I hurried toward the kitchen, Luca following close behind.

“Excuse me! I need some space!”

In the large kitchen, I spread out the items Father had brought back. The cooks, understanding the excitement, kindly made room for me.

Miso, soy sauce, rice, pickled plums, green tea—oh, I was overwhelmed with joy. There was even kombu, dried bonito flakes, and shiitake mushrooms! These items felt completely out of place in this world, yet they shone like treasures before me.

“What are those?”

“The very things my soul has been craving.”

Luca examined the items curiously.

I quickly had a tea set prepared and began brewing tea. After letting the freshly boiled water cool slightly, I poured it over the tea leaves.

“Ahh… this aroma…”

“It’s different from black tea.”

I took a sip, making an audible slurp. The servants around me looked startled, but I ignored them. Just for today, I would allow myself this indulgence.

“Ahh… pure bliss…”

Yes, this was happiness. This was the taste I had been longing for. More than anything, I could feel my heart being comforted.

“Ugh.”

Luca made a small sound.

Then, he silently dropped a sugar cube into his cup.

“Wait… what?!”

“Huh?”

The green tea was too bitter for Luca, who wasn’t used to it. But sugar…? No, as long as he enjoyed it, that was what mattered.

“It’s nothing.”

“Lydiana, don’t tell me you’re planning to serve this tea at the tea party?”

Luca asked, looking slightly concerned.

“Of course not. That would be a waste.”

To me, black tea also had a fair amount of bitterness, but serving something unfamiliar to a group of children wouldn’t yield great results.

“Everything I’m serving this time is standard fare.”

There was no need to stand out. Everything I provided would be of the highest quality, so no one would have any complaints. I had no intention of using my knowledge as a reincarnator to “overwhelm” anyone (not that I had ever succeeded in doing so).

“But since you’re hosting, why not serve something unique?”

“No way! I’m saving that for the right moment.”

I had already introduced a few sweets based on my past life’s knowledge within the estate, but I hadn’t revealed anything publicly yet. As a villainess, I didn’t know what might happen, and I wanted to keep some weapons in reserve for when I truly needed them.

“Come on, don’t hold back! I want to try them too!”

Even after leaving the kitchen, Luca continued to pester me. He must have really wanted to try the sweets I had mentioned before.

The one field where I could easily outshine others in this world was food. Particularly sweets—I had a feeling I could effortlessly dominate that market.

The novel had depicted various confections, but they were mostly pies, baked goods, or chocolate. As far as I knew, this world—or at least this country—had a limited variety of sweet treats.

(Even though sugar is plentiful…)

Despite the strong tea culture, tea-time treats seemed bound by tradition, with little room for innovation.

“My lady, the first responses have arrived!”

Perhaps because she had sensed my anxiety that morning, Maria handed me the letters with a bright smile.

“There are already so many. It seems everyone is looking forward to it!”

“See? Everyone has high expectations for the Flores family!”

As I checked the names on the envelopes, I spotted one from Lisa Calvina. And another from Clara Jenner—the wretched woman who had mocked my father at the last tea party and provoked me into causing a scene.

(Please be declines! Decline! Decline! Decline! Decline!)

I prayed fervently as I slowly opened the two envelopes.

“…They’re coming.”

Why?! I know I invited them, but why did they accept?!

“Well, of course! It’s an invitation from you, my lady!”

“But if I hadn’t invited them, that would have been a problem too, right?”

“That’s correct!”

Lisa, as expected, would undoubtedly find something to criticize. And as for that vile Clara, I was the one who felt awkward about facing her. The current me couldn’t help but think I had overreacted back then.

“‘I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of tea party Lady Lydiana will host.’”

Luca read aloud with an exaggerated tone.

“See? She’s picking a fight!”

Where was my gentle, soft-spoken little brother from the original story? He had completely transformed into the entitled younger sibling of a duke’s willful daughter!

“Y-you’re reading too much into it!”

“Oh, come on! You know exactly what she means. It’s Liza we’re talking about!”

That brat never learns. No, should I call her persistent? I supposed that was a kind of strength…

“Come on, come on! This means you’ve got to step up your game!”

“Sigh… Fine. I’ll think about it.”

I couldn’t afford another outburst. I had to make my moves carefully.