The best way to avoid mixing with people is to stay busy.
I was someone who really hated being busy, but I had no choice if I wanted to avoid awakening the deep subconscious memories about me sleeping within the aristocrats filling this place.
I kept my conversations short and served as many guests as possible in that brief time.
Should I be thankful? There were quite a few guests who were not aristocrats here. The parents or siblings of commoner students. They managed to get in after passing the academy’s strict identity checks, so they couldn’t be treated like ordinary commoners.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like people were looking at me strangely. No, some aristocrats even showed blatant relief when I passed by without bothering to speak to them.
The situation hadn’t been fully revealed yet, but from what I could see, it was a situation where the ‘Emperor’ was countered and another emperor took his place. The high nobility couldn’t help but be tense, as we could support either side; they just didn’t know which.
Honestly, if I hadn’t been surrounded by the noble children with Alice—my friends—there could have been a near-rebellion in such a situation. The existing emperor was abruptly ousted for whatever reason, and foreign forces were involved. In a way, the empire’s prestige was openly shaken.
If, at that time, Winterfield hadn’t held its troops firmly, and if Lindbergh hadn’t held onto its neutrality, and if the only heir of Crowfield wasn’t by my side… I could only imagine what the imperial nobles would have thought.
Plus, there was that gryphon I rode on.
In such a situation, if I had to interact with the emperor or show off a gryphon, I couldn’t really complain if I hesitated.
“Hoo…”
After dealing with a wealthy commoner, I returned to the kitchen and let out a small sigh.
Most commoners knew I was a princess, so they were a little scared of me, but that particular commoner, knowing that I was ‘the target’ and being somewhat acquainted with either his daughter or me, was a bit clingy.
“Baker is quite impressive.”
Alice said with a somewhat astonished expression as I barely finished the conversation and returned.
Before I arrived, Alice had been stuck in conversation for quite a while, so it made sense.
That person seemed to have come in calculatingly from the moment they entered. Deliberately drinking tea and eating dessert at a speed that seemed to be timed for when Alice or I would pass.
“She seems a bit different from Lily.”
“Well, she is an entrepreneur. Even if she feels scared inside, she often has to overcome that fear to seize opportunities.”
“Is that really a fearful look?”
Alice looked again at Lily Baker’s father, who was sitting leisurely with his wife and enjoying tea time, without a hint of fear.
“…Perhaps they are naturally fearless, which is why they managed to rise to where they are as commoners. Perhaps Miss Baker inherited her character from her mother.”
In reality, Mrs. Baker was glancing over this way, worried that her husband might be overstepping etiquette.
“Why the change in words?”
Alice replied with a chuckle.
Seeing me shrug my shoulders, it seemed she felt a little reassured. It appeared that her earlier remark about ‘you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to’ was somewhat of a hollow comfort.
I suppose that if I didn’t enjoy the school festival properly, I would have been worried too. Plus, since the actual person was genuinely enjoying themselves, it might feel awkward.
… I overreacted earlier.
I needed to be cautious while talking with the guests, but nonetheless, it was quite enjoyable. While having to hurry around and work was slightly bothersome, chatting with close friends in the gaps was enjoyable, and it truly felt like I was at a ‘school festival.’ Thinking back, I hadn’t properly enjoyed the festivals in high school or college either.
In high school, the festival was just a day with slightly shorter classes, and in college… well, I didn’t like drinking much. I was known as a wallflower in my department.
I didn’t even have any interest in celebrities, so I never went to concerts featuring invited singers.
So, being here with friends like this… wasn’t bad at all.
“Hah… why are there so many guests…?”
While Alice and I were talking, Mia slid into our conversation.
It was something unthinkable back then. Mia speaking up first and wearing a maid outfit to part-time at a café. Though this is a bit much to call part-time.
“That’s because opportunities to receive service from noble young ladies like us will be rare in the future. Plus, given it’s a place where their sons or daughters are present, it’s only natural they would show up.”
Indeed, I noticed quite a few people briefly chatting with their daughters or sons, who were doing another job instead of serving. Everyone had happy faces as they laughed.
Noble children grow up as nobles from the moment they are born. While it might seem like a family doesn’t have affection for each other if they only create stories like that, seeing happy faces in person feels different.
“…”
Indeed, it was a distant topic from the three of us here.
I heard that Count Crowfield’s wife didn’t come today. From how Mia was keeping quiet, it seemed that if it wasn’t her, she might have been planning something using that incident as a stepping stone.
Mia was hesitant to talk about it, but maybe we should have a good conversation about it later. If there’s anything I can help with, I want to.
“… By the way, the food made by the kids is quite tasty. It seems to lack something compared to what’s made in the café, though.”
Realizing she had misspoken, Alice awkwardly shifted the conversation.
“Of course, it has to be tasty. It’s a menu using the Velbur-style recipe I brought.”
And the one who saved Alice was not Mia, who was nearby, but Charlotte, who happened to pass by.
Though it might be described as ‘just happened to,’ I wondered if she truly just happened to pass by. Among the nobility and royalty I saw, Charlotte was quite clever, so maybe she timed it on purpose.
“Aren’t we supposed to refrain from interfering with the children’s decisions?”
“But it’s also not right to ignore those who asked for help.”
In response to my question, Charlotte held her chin up proudly and spoke confidently.
“The imperial folks tend to lack culinary skills.”
That wasn’t entirely untrue.
The Empire of Aetherna was inspired by England, and of course, ‘tea time’ also existed just like England.
I heard that thanks to the existence of tea time, even desserts flourished in England, so there was little chance of being one-sidedly edged out in this regard. True, parfaits are Velbur desserts.
“… Are you saying that because you can cook?”
Exactly.
Nobles or royals hardly ever had to cook for themselves. Unless they completely fell into decay and needed to live like commoners, which was highly unlikely.
“…”
At Alice’s comment, Charlotte briefly looked speechless, but soon regained her confidence.
“Well, since I needed to pass on the recipe, I at least know how to do it now.”
“…”
Alice narrowed her eyes at Charlotte’s words but chose not to say anything more.
“By the way, are we just going to keep wasting time here? Others over there are diligently moving around. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to not work just because we’re royalty?”
“We were about to get back to work anyway.”
Truthfully, I wanted to hang out a little longer.
But Charlotte was right. While no one could question us if we didn’t work, that didn’t mean negative feelings wouldn’t arise. No matter how much we intended to do the work with a half-playful heart, if some were working and some were playing, discontent would inevitably grow.
“I’ve rested enough—”
However, just before Alice could tell me it was time to work again,
“H-Her Highness.”
Someone approached us first.
It was a boy from our class. Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be here for work.
With a startled face, looking half-astonished.
“What’s the matter?”
Though he faced us, his gaze was mostly directed at me, so I answered on behalf of everyone.
“Could you look over there?”
The boy pointed to the window, behind which we were standing.
“…”
Following the boy’s hand, my gaze turned to—
… right outside the first-floor window, a gryphon was sitting and peering into the classroom.
Wait, there should be a flowerbed outside with expensive flowers planted, right?
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