“It seems like it’s time…”

“That’s right. I heard it would be confirmed within a week and they’d come out from the imperial palace to confirm… Are you sure you really passed the exam?”

Her innocent question was quite offensive from my perspective.

Of course, it was natural for Ileana to have such doubts.

Claire hadn’t shown interest in healer work before, and it’s hard to believe she passed the exam after preparing for barely two weeks.

Having worked as a pharmacist for years, I thought it would be easy, but many fail the healer exam due to the sheer amount of material to memorize.

So Ileana couldn’t fully believe my claim that I passed.

“Of course. I probably did the best on the exam there.”

I did so well that I practically flattened the exam proctor’s nose.

‘Surely they wouldn’t withhold the license just because I embarrassed them? If not that, why haven’t they contacted me yet!’

“If Claire gets a healer’s license, can we boast about it to other nobles?”

This reaction was unexpected, since she had opposed me taking the exam before, saying true nobles shouldn’t have jobs.

‘Is she just trying to make me feel better?’

“Ileana, didn’t you oppose me becoming a healer before? Saying having a job lowers a noble’s dignity.”

“Still, it’s an exam that’s difficult to pass even with all that studying. And even if you get the qualification, you don’t have to make it your profession… Anyway, it’s something to be proud of.”

“Thank you.”

“Actually, some noble ladies will be visiting soon. I’m planning a tea party in the garden. We should proudly announce it there. You’ll join us, right?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“It’ll be fun. Especially Lady Monica, she’s so eloquent that it’s a pleasure to listen to her stories.”

Lady Monica… I could easily recall who she was. She was the one who spun tales about Ian and me at the last banquet.

“Ah… I think I met her at the last banquet. She did seem to have quite a way with words…”

I would have been intrigued by her stories too, if Ian and I hadn’t been the main characters.

She had a talent for weaving interesting fantasies even about things that never happened. If she hadn’t been born a noble daughter, she could have made a name for herself as a minstrel or novelist.

“She really tells such interesting stories. That’s why she’s so popular. Some people even complain that parties become boring if she can’t attend due to personal reasons. Fortunately, we’re acquainted, so she agreed to come to this tea party.”

‘Of course, being good with words also means she’s likely a source of rumors.’

While she handles stories well, she also tells tales that didn’t happen, which could trouble someone, but it seems there haven’t been any major issues yet.

‘It’s not malicious, so I can’t really say anything, but it would be nice if she were more careful…’

“I’m thinking of serving Kenial tea with lemon muffins at the tea party, what do you think?”

“Sounds delicious. The Nancy roses in the garden are blooming beautifully, they might make nice table decorations.”

“That’s a good idea. The flowers are large and vibrantly red, so even a few stems would create a splendid effect on the table.”

We were planning the tea party together when a maid announced a visitor.

“A chamberlain named Simons from the imperial palace has arrived. He says he’s here to escort Lady Claire regarding the healer’s license exam.”

At the maid’s words, Ileana and I exchanged glances and tilted our heads.

“Didn’t they say they’d just bring the license? Is it normal to summon people to the palace when they pass?”

“That’s right. It’s the first I’ve heard of them calling someone directly. In any case, we’ll need to prepare.”

“Couldn’t we go just like this? We can’t keep Chamberlain Simons waiting since he came in person.”

“We need to dress properly for a visit to the imperial palace. Don’t worry. It’s not like attending a banquet, so it won’t take long. Luckily, I have a suitable outfit. I was planning to have you wear it for the tea party, but…”

“Then… we should hurry.”

There was a considerable gap between Ileana’s idea of “quick” and mine. I thought we’d just change clothes, but she redid my makeup and hair too.

I felt bad for keeping Simons waiting, given his age and poor joints, but Ileana grumbled about the rudeness of not giving prior notice. Still, she seemed pleased that Chamberlain Simons had come for me personally.

“Sending the Crown Prince’s chamberlain directly must be a gesture to make up for suddenly summoning you to the palace. Chamberlain Simons doesn’t move for trivial matters. So make sure you receive a proper apology from him.”

I nodded in response to her words.

“So I should receive an apology from Crown Prince Ian, right?”

Since Simons had come, it must surely be Ian who summoned me, so I thought I should get an apology from him. I was planning to give Ian a hard time over this.

‘I haven’t completely forgotten how he nearly killed me with that Ficus fruit last time! I’ll give him an earful until the red rash from then completely disappears.’ I was thinking this when Ileana exclaimed in shock.

“Absolutely not! You can’t ask royalty to apologize directly for something like this. The same goes for nobles. They rarely apologize in person for most things. The Crown Prince’s chamberlain will apologize on his behalf. Even that is just a formality.”

“Chamberlain Simons is going to apologize when he didn’t do anything wrong?”

“His duties include apologizing on behalf of his master.”

“…”

I was surprised that such a thing existed and looked at Ileana with a shocked face, but she looked at me with an expression that said, ‘You’ve forgotten even these basics.’

According to her explanation, it’s rare for nobles to apologize directly even to each other.

Of course, when there’s a big difference in rank, a lower-ranked person might apologize directly to a higher-ranked one, but even that is uncommon unless the mistake is truly significant.

“But if you did something wrong, wouldn’t it be better to apologize directly…”

“That would be insulting. It’s something that could damage one’s honor. Young lady, you must never apologize first anywhere, understood?”

Is an apology such a big deal? Even now, since Ian suddenly summoned me to the palace without prior notice, he could just say ‘Sorry for the sudden call!’ and that would be it.

Are the tongues of nobles and royalty half-paralyzed? They can’t even say sorry?

Come to think of it, Ian, being royalty, apologized to me quite well. In fact, he would say ‘I’m sorry!’, ‘I’m bad!’, ‘I made a mistake!’ and cling to me crying even for trivial things, making me feel guilty instead.

Of course, every time that happened, Chamberlain Simons would glare at me angrily, but I thought I was being scolded for pinching Ian’s cheeks because he was cute, not for receiving an apology from royalty as a commoner.

“But really, you can’t apologize? For example, if at a banquet I accidentally spilled a dark-colored drink like grape juice… let’s say on Lady Monica’s dress. Should I just stand there without apologizing?”

“…While such things shouldn’t happen, in that case, you should just give a slight bow and leave the scene.”

“Just like that? Wouldn’t Lady Monica be furious?”

“Of course she’d be extremely angry. Especially if it was an important banquet. But there’s no choice. Later, you’d have to send a servant to apologize, and keep sending gifts until she accepts the apology. Of course, it won’t be easy. It’s quite a big mistake… It would be quite costly.”

“Instead of just apologizing and solving the problem, you have to make it bigger and then keep sending gifts to resolve it?”

“There’s no choice. Sometimes people even go bankrupt trying to apologize… Don’t worry. Our family’s finances are sufficient, and if we’re short, we can ask my family. But it would be best if such things didn’t happen at all.”

I nodded forcefully while trying to clear my dazed mind and said,

“Absolutely. I won’t walk around carrying drinks. No… that’s not the point, anyway, I shouldn’t create any situation where I need to apologize to anyone.”

“Nobles prioritize maintaining dignity above all else.”

While thinking that they might ruin their household trying to maintain that dignity, I nodded. By the way, it must be tough for servants too. The master causes trouble, but they have to apologize.

Ileana said that sometimes when apologies aren’t accepted, servants kneel and apologize on behalf of their masters.

Of course, she said that for minor issues like today’s sudden summons, it would be resolved simply with a request for understanding rather than an apology, but I couldn’t really focus due to feeling uncomfortable.