Meiana chuckled.

“Lady Ariante, do you know why your tooth fell out?”

“It was so much fun! Bridgit spread a strange sauce between the bread slices. At first, it was fizzy, then salty, and finally sweet.”

What kind of sauce did she spread? Meiana glanced briefly at Bridgit, but she raised her head with a serious attitude.

“I can’t tell you even if you look at me like that, Meiana. That sauce is a magical secret sauce passed down through generations only to the women of our house… I swore to my grandmother never to reveal it.”

Am I an industrial spy? Meiana thought.

At that moment, Ivi, who had roughly washed herself and changed into new clothes as Meiana suggested, appeared. Veinti turned her head abruptly and, looking at Ivi’s neatly braided hair on both sides, showed a face as if she wanted to give a pointed remark.

Ariante also stared at Ivi with wide eyes, focusing on her like a rabbit caught at the entrance of a foxhole. It felt like all the nerves were taut.

“Who is it?”

Ariante said. Although the question was directed at Meiana, unexpectedly, Ivi answered before her.

“Hello, my lady. My name is Ivi. I’m nineteen years old. I’ll be the maid who will serve you from now on.”

Meiana held Ariante’s hand and said, “She’s a new maid who came to the east today. It’s her first time working in a place like this, my lady. Can you treat her well?”

Ariante, smiling, walked towards Ivi. Leaves were still tangled in her hair… Then, as if enjoying a sculpture, Ariante slowly circled Ivi. Ivi stared intently at Ariante, who was circling her.

“You might trip and fall like that.”

Ivi, who had been silently closing her mouth, said. Just as the words fell, Ariante’s shoe tip got caught on the hem, and she stumbled. Fortunately, she didn’t fall, but her body wobbled slightly. Ivi reached out one hand and supported Ariante’s shoulder to stabilize her.

A strange tension filled the air. Both Ariante and Ivi, without saying a word, stared at each other… Even Veinti, who would usually give a pointed remark, was brushing her lips inside, glancing and gauging the atmosphere.

Ivi gently exerted force to lift Ariante, then corrected her posture. Of course, not a single word was spoken.

Both of them stared at each other for a while, but without exchanging any words…

Even Veinti, who would have normally given a pointed remark, was hesitating, humming softly while looking for Meiana’s reaction.

Meiana responded, “It’s good to have a quiet Ivi, my lady, especially when Veinti is doing the job of ten people.
Then Veinti, as if she wanted to show firsthand what that “work of ten people” meant, began to complain loudly. Why is she only picking on me when Bridgit was so noisy when I went out earlier that my ears were ringing…

Meiana, listening to Veinti’s complaints with one ear and letting them pass through the other, spoke.

“I will help Lady Ariante bathe. Veinti, go to Mrs. Gemero and get the tea party invitation list. I’ve already told her, so if you just mention it, she’ll take care of it. Oh, and put the fallen tooth in a box. We’ll have to tell the Duke later.”

After muttering, Veinti sealed her lips, made a clattering sound with her footsteps, and went outside.

“Bridgit, could you teach Ivi where the cleaning tools are and the order of cleaning?”

“Of course, leave it to me. Oh, Veinti’s footsteps can still be heard. If someone hears it, they might think a bear has entered.”

The tea party list compiled by Gemero included not only families belonging to the Duke’s rank but also nearby families, with meticulous records of the ages of the household’s children and their reputations.

‘How on earth did she organize all this in such a short time?’

Meiana couldn’t believe her eyes and looked through the tea party list two or three times.

Ariante, who grabbed a piece of paper to use as an invitation, was excited. Without thinking about what to write or how to write it, due to the ink already staining the pen tip, she ruined one sheet, but she didn’t mind.

“Meiana, what do you think I should write?”

Meiana, tilting her head, said, “Wouldn’t it be good to keep it simple? Something like ‘I’ll be hosting a tea party, and I’d be grateful if you could come.'”

Then Ariante slammed the desk with her small hand.

“It’s no fun if you write it like that!”

“Then why don’t you say it, my lady? What would you like to write?”

Upon hearing the question, Ariante suddenly made an unusually serious expression, turned to face Meiana, sat down with her hands clasped on her knees, and even pretended to cough.

“Listen carefully.”

Meiana nodded, and Ariante suddenly put on a very solemn expression, as if starting a speech. Then, with considerable force on her forehead and the corner of her mouth simultaneously, she said.

“A tremendously fabulous, fun, and free tea party. Delicious tea and chocolate cake with seeds, amazing plum pudding provided. No participation fee. Extremely, extremely fun!”

Meiana’s mouth involuntarily opened wide. Ariante, with a very cheerful smile, looked at Meiana.

“How is it?”