The day of the dinner party with the King and Queen came.
I was polished up by Clara and the court ladies, and together with Freed went inside a large dining room.
The dining room is big enough to accommodate dozens of people, it"s completely different from the dining room for a small number of people I usually use.
In front is the portrait of the King and Queen. Hanging next to it is Freed"s portrait.
Looking up at the ceiling there"s a banquet of creator G.o.ds painted there, hanging in the center is a huge chandelier. At the walls are elaborate food sculptures.
Stepping for the first time into this large dining room, that"s also used to warmly receive foreign royalty or visitors, I took notice of the two people who had come here earlier.

"Esteemed Uncle!"
"Freed, are you well"

The man who started talking to Freed is the Royal Prince I had met before, Lord Garay. Next to him is his wife, Lady Sarah.
Despite getting dizzy from his appeal of an elegant adult male, I casually noticed that despite being royalty, Lord Garay didn"t take a wife other than Lady Sarah.
The story of him being a devoted husband is famous, perhaps he"s renounced his right to polygamy similarly to Freed.
I exchanged greetings with Lord Garay and Lady Sarah who came here, and took a step back.
I had thought so before too, but Freed and Lord Garay are on good terms. They look just like brothers. Today too they are enjoying a friendly conversation.

"The rumors about you reached even me. You seem as infatuated as ever"
"I lose to Esteemed Uncle. I want to follow Esteemed Uncle"s example. Where"s Ernest today? I haven"t seen him recently"
"I didn"t bring Ernest. Recently his magical power has been disturbed. I"ve left him in the territory… Unfortunately, he"s running out of time. He"ll be engaged and married to a suitable princess soon"
"I see…"
"I can"t afford to have a repeat of Andre. His partner will be carefully investigated"
"… It"s better that way, isn"t it"

As Freed returned the words with a slight delay, Lord Garay patted his shoulder while laughing.

"What, you still worry about that? It wasn"t your fault. Andre"s resentment is completely unjustified"
"I don"t worry about that. It"s in the past. I have Lidi now"
"Looks so to me. I"ve heard the story that you caught her and don"t leave her side even for a moment"
"It"s the same for Esteemed Uncle, isn"t it. More importantly, by all means I would like to learn the secret to keep a relations.h.i.+p harmonious for a long time"
"Aah, that is…"

Freed and Lord Garay continued talking. It was a very interesting talk, but there was no way I could force myself into it.
Lord Ernest who came up in their talk is the younger brother of Andre, whom I had seen before. He hasn"t married yet.
Since Andre couldn"t obtain the King"s Flower he was cast away from royalty, so Lord Ernest became Lord Garay"s actual successor.
While obediently standing back, I took a fleeting glimpse at Lady Sarah.
Yup… It"s a rare chance.
I should interact with Lady Sarah here, even if a little.
Thinking so, I thought about striking a conversation about something.
But, just when I was about to address her, the King, Queen, and the concubine Lady Helene entered the room, crus.h.i.+ng my plans.
Everybody quickly bowed to the King, Queen, and that concubine.
Annoyed, the King stopped it with his hand.

"Everybody here is family. There is no need to humble yourself"

Saying that he signaled to not stand on ceremony.
Then he suddenly called out to Freed and Lord Garay.

"Freed, Garay, we have to talk. Come here"
"Yes" "Yes, Esteemed Brother"

Both of them went to the King"s side.
Now that I got left alone I thought of taking the chance and talking to Lady Sarah.
However, when I looked at where she"d been at before, Lady Sarah wasn"t there.
When I looked around to see where she"d gone, I saw her happily talking with the concubine Lady Helene near the entrance.
It appears they have a friendly relations.h.i.+p.
They seemed to be talking livelily, so I"d feel sorry to disturb them.
Then, when my gaze wandered about searching for what to do… by some coincidence my eyes met the Queen"s.
Staring at her amber eyes I solidified for a moment… then bowed in a fl.u.s.ter.
No matter how much I"m told to not stand on ceremony, there"s the minimum etiquette.
Hearing the rustling of clothes I understood the Queen came here.
As I stood still with my head lowered, I heard a voice from right next to me.

"Raise your face"
"Yes, Queen"

While deep down nervous about it being our first conversation, I raised my face.
Before my eyes was the Queen.
The Queen, who wore her hair high up was very beautiful, enough that I became captivated despite being a fellow woman.
While I was admiring her bewitching foreign beauty not seen in Wilhelm, for some reason the Queen observed me from head to foot without hesitation.
Feeling like there was something like pity mixed in her gaze, I became extremely uncomfortable.
Even though it"s basically our first meeting, why must she look at me with those eyes.

"Umm, Queen…"

What might it be. I was about to ask that, but the Queen was faster.

"Are you troubled about anything"
"Huh? Umm…"

At a loss for words, I was unable to immediately reply to the sudden words she directed at me.
The Queen further said to me, in a whisper so that the acquaintances around wouldn"t hear.

"I have heard Freed forces you to do something terribly unreasonable despite you being only his fiancée. If it becomes too much to endure, come stay with me. I can at least shelter you"
"… Eh"

I needed several seconds to understand the meaning of her words.
And, the moment I understood, I could tell my face turned red in a twinkling.
Because, what the Queen is talking about is in other words bedroom matters with Freed.
But, I don"t understand why she suddenly brought up that subject.

"Q, Queen? Umm, no…"

While stuttering, I was frantically thinking about how to answer her, when the Queen"s expression turned bitter as if she clicked her tongue.
Her precious beautiful face got ruined.

"Every single Wilhelm man is nothing but unequalled. With the reason that it is necessary to produce a successor, they are in heat from morning to evening. They do not think about our circ.u.mstances. Only you can protect yourself. Do not hesitate. If it gets tough, visit me at any time. I can at least drive my single son away"
"Y… yes"

I have no idea how we came to talk about this.
I don"t understand the meaning, but seeing the Queen"s menacing look, I nodded to the best of my ability.

"As a fellow Wilhelm Princess Consort, I understand how painful it is very well. It is truly a misfortune that you caught my son"s eye"

I could only be rendered speechless as the Queen"s words continued.
I finally get the gist of it.
Eeeh? She"s unexpectedly sympathetic of me!?
I don"t understand what I should answer her with this unexpected development.
Especially since until now I"ve heard nothing but favorable opinions about Freed, it"s too much.

"You cannot escape once you catch a Wilhelm man"s eye. You poor thing. To have the King"s Flower forced on you without even waiting for the bridal night… When I first heard of it, I thought my heart would stop"
"Ha, haa…"

The Queen tightly grasped my hands.
She looked hard into my eyes, then dropping her gaze started apologizing in a remorseful voice.

"Because he had not displayed that aspect until then, I had been foolishly relieved. At the occasion I heard it, I thought that he indeed is the King"s son… Truly, I feel apologetic towards you…"
"Esteemed Mother"

While I was so surprised to receive an apology from her as a mother that I couldn"t get my voice out, my waist was suddenly pulled.
At the same time, The Queen"s hands separated from mine.
Of course, it was my fiancé, Freed, who did that.

"Friedrich, it"s you. I am still talking to princess…"
"Esteemed Father is calling you"

"… It is His Majesty who said to not stand on ceremony at the beginning. I could just ignore it"

The Queen standoffishly turned her face away.
Incidentally looking at the direction Freed came from, there was a figure of the King staring here.
―――― No, not here. The King"s gaze was only directed at the Queen.
The King"s figure as he fixedly watched the Queen looked just like a man deeply in love with her.

"Esteemed Mother"
"… I understand. Well then, Princess Lidiana. You can trust what I said a while ago. We share the same position of Princess Consort, I believe we will reach mutual understanding on many matters. I invite you to the next tea party. Let"s talk at that time"
"… Yes"

Saying what she wanted to say, the Queen resolutely raised her head and headed back to the King.
But her expression was different from a moment before, it was tight and cold.

"Lidi, has Esteemed Mother said something strange?"
"Not really, we only chatted"
"I see… Then it"s fine"

Freed"s eyes looking at the Queen were cold.
His eyes alone show he doesn"t have a good impression of his mother.
The Queen too, I couldn"t quite grasp what she thought of Freed…
If I had to say, I felt like she was only worried about me.
And then there"s the King.
Without looking at the concubine, his eyes are only following the Queen.
Certainly he didn"t want to take the concubine?
Else why would he ignore her and only chase the Queen?
I don"t understand anymore.
… Honestly, just what are the relations.h.i.+ps in the Royal Family here.

"Sorry for leaving you alone. It"ll be soon the time for dinner, so take a seat"
"Ah , yup"

Prompted by Freed I sat on the prepared seat.
When everybody took a seat, food was brought in.
First were appetizers.
Head Chef"s specialty, bacon and spinach quiche, was lined up.
While I was eating it, I thought.
Come to think of it, aside from the first greeting, ultimately I didn"t get to know Lady Helene.
I held back not wanting to ruin her happy talk with Lady Sarah, but I wish we could have talked.
Reaching that point I gave up on thinking.

… Well, I could talk with the Queen today, so whatever.

She was a little intense, but she doesn"t seem to be a bad person.
The Queen is my mother-in-law, so I would be grateful if we could establish a friendly relations.h.i.+p.

"A tea party, huh…"

A tea party organized by the Queen.
It sounds considerably tense, but I cannot not go.
I"m also concerned about the actual relations.h.i.+ps with Freed and the King, during it I may obtain information to help me decide on how I should act.
Tea parties are a place for high-grade information gathering.
I don"t like socializing, but it"s also for myself. I decided to do my best.

"Lidi, you don"t have to worry about my Esteemed Mother"
"… Ah, yup"

Freed sitting next to me muttered those few words.
His voice is awfully cold.
After all, something must have happened between them in the past.
Of course, it"s not the atmosphere to ask that, so I held my tongue.
… It"s his real mother.
She didn"t seem to be a bad person going by what she was saying, if possible, I would like for everybody to get along.

"Lidi?"
"No, it"s nothing"

As I fell silent, Freed called out to me in an uneasy voice.
While I nodded that I"m alright, I renewed my determination that after all I should do my best at the tea party.