“If you’re going to say pointless things, go back to sleep.”

“No, but…”

Velia quickly covered Prince Khaled’s mouth with both hands and pressed down.

“If you say more, I won’t let you off.”

Prince Khaled nodded as if he understood.

Only then did Velia slowly remove her hands.

But Prince Khaled didn’t stop.

“So what was good?”

Unable to hold back, Velia picked up a pillow and threw it at Prince Khaled.

(This is a time marker.)

It was the first time the Prince’s palace had ever been this noisy.

Even when Velia had just arrived and caused a great scene with Prince Khaled, it hadn’t been this loud. But now, there were many people coming and going, and the palace felt very lively.

“Put that over there.”

Velia directed people bringing in tables and chairs one by one.

The garden was a beautiful sight with all the blooming flowers.

She had postponed it for a while, but finally decided to have a tea party here.

It was time to keep the promise she had made to the ladies about inviting them to the palace.

It was a little late, but she couldn’t help it, she had been busy.

“Ah! That’s not here; it needs to go there.”

Flowers for decorating the tables had also arrived one by one.

Maids brought in dishes and arranged them.

“How are the desserts coming along?”

Velia stopped a maid heading back to the kitchen and asked.

“The chef said earlier that there are no issues. Even the additional requests you made are all well underway.”

Relieved, Velia smiled.

The invited guests would be arriving soon.

It was the first party she was hosting since arriving in the empire, and she wanted it to be as perfect as possible.

“Is everything going smoothly?”

Having finished preparing for his outing, Prince Khaled came out and spoke to Velia, who was in the garden.

“Yes, everything is going well.”

Velia answered immediately, without a moment’s hesitation.

That seemed somewhat surprising, and a glint appeared in Prince Khaled’s eyes.
Being usually cautious in all matters, Velia seemed strangely unworried today.

“Worried? Need some help?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Velia firmly declined his offer.

Prince Khaled somehow felt disappointed.

“Is there really nothing I can do to help?”

“No, there isn’t. Didn’t you say you were busy today?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Prince Khaled kept getting a weird feeling, as if he had become completely useless.

So he procrastinated on leaving and began pestering Velia.

“If you wish, I can stay with you.”

“I told you, it’s really fine. Please go.”

“…”

Velia knew why Prince Khaled was so insistent.

He had heard about her previous encounter with Princess Canterlip at a tea party and was somewhat concerned. But she was really fine.

“Don’t worry, Khaled. I’ve done this many times.”

In her past life, even if abandoned by the emperor, Velia had been the empress.

As a consort, and later as an empress, she had hosted countless parties.

Because the emperor didn’t love her, she had carefully organized each event to ensure no hitches.

‘I haven’t wasted that time.’

Therefore, Velia could confidently say that her preparations now were perfect.

Because she had prepared with all her might, not just routinely.

At the sight of Velia’s confidence, Prince Khaled hesitated to speak and closed his mouth.

Then he smiled warmly.

“Alright. You’ll handle it well. So I won’t worry.”

Seeing the urging expression of a nearby aide, he knew time was really tight.

“Tell me how it went this evening.”

“Of course.”

Prince Khaled gently kissed Velia and said his goodbye.

“I’ll be going, then.”

“Take care.”

Velia saw Prince Khaled off and did a final check.

“Good.”

It looked like there would be no problems.

Velia entered the room with a satisfied face.

She also had to prepare to greet her guests.

‘I must impress, given that this is a tea party in the imperial palace.’

Since Princess Canterlip had yet to enter the palace, this was Velia’s first tea party at the imperial residence. So she needed to set the stage in advance.

“Your Highness, all is ready.”

The maid finished the light makeup.

Velia approached the mirror to examine her face.

She was very pleased.

“Thank you.”

She stood up and wore the dress she had prepared earlier.

Today’s dress was light apricot, chosen to exude authority while maintaining a warm atmosphere.

It was made of overlapping layers of two different shades of apricot fabric, looking lovely yet elegant.

The skirt of the dress was studded with tiny gems that would glitter softly under garden sunlight. Added to that were the necklace and earrings that Prince Khaled had gifted her. It was perfect.

“The carriage is coming in.”

“I understand. I’m going out now.”

Velia’s eyes hardened.

The battlefield she was heading to was not just a simple tea party.