Eventually, Pipi shook its tail feathers. As Pipi flew over and landed on Rosette’s shoulder, there was a faint scent of herbs.

“Did you find them all?”

“Good job.”

Rosette put the leaves Pipi had selected into a small pouch nearby and closed the tin case lid.

She put the tin case Joshua had taken out back into the display cabinet.

“Let’s go then.”

Rosette returned to the reception room with Joshua along the way they had come. On the way back, Joshua quietly whispered again.

“If Her Majesty asks what you saw, just say you looked at the library. There are all the books you might know, so just make up some book titles.”

“Yes.”

“Then go in first.”

As the two entered the reception room, Ophelia, who had been chatting amicably with Isabelle, smiled brightly.

“Rosette, did you enjoy your tour?”

“Yes!”

“What did you see?”

“I saw the library.”

“The library?”

“Yes!”

Rosette sat down in a chair and smiled brightly.

She was worried about what to say if Ophelia asked “What did you see there?”, but fortunately she didn’t ask for details. Instead, she asked something else.

“It seems you like books.”

“Yes! I love them very much!”

“Then why don’t you come read with me from time to time?”

“Is that allowed?”

“Rosette.”

Isabelle called out reprovingly at Rosette’s naive question. It was even “Rosette” instead of “Rose”.

Rosette tensed up.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

As she pressed her lips together and watched cautiously, Isabelle said to Ophelia:

“I know the Imperial Palace library has more books than anywhere else, but we can’t take up Your Majesty’s time.”

“Take up my time? Not at all. I would rather enjoy spending time together with you. Don’t you agree, Rosette?”

“Me too!”

Rosette exclaimed brightly without thinking, then lowered her voice upon seeing Isabelle’s stern expression.

“I would like to, but…”

“Then it’s settled, isn’t it?”

At that moment, Joshua, who had been waiting quietly, lightly kicked Rosette’s foot under the table. It meant to hurry up and act according to the plan, regardless of the library.

Startled for a moment, Rosette soon realized his meaning and mumbled:

“But Your Majesty, I would like to drink tea too.”

“Tea?”

Ophelia asked with a smile.

“Rosette.”

Isabelle called her name again.

‘I know this is improper too, elder sister.’

But they had no choice if they wanted to find clues about the poisoning. Rosette muttered reluctantly:

“Yes, tea.”

“This has caffeine in it. Are you sure you still want to try it?”

Rosette mumbled as she watched Ophelia pick up the teapot:

“I want to choose a new tea. By myself.”

Isabelle put her hand to her forehead, but Ophelia showed no sign of displeasure.

“Is that so? Well then, what kind of tea would you like?”

Joshua, who had been listening quietly, chimed in:

“The young lady has been having trouble sleeping lately, I hear.”

Me? Rosette’s eyes widened.

Isabelle also asked quizzically:

“Is that true, Rose?”

“Well, um…”

Rosette looked at Joshua’s expression and nodded.

“Yes.”

“It must be growing pains. That happens when you’re in a growth spurt. As it happens, I’ve been having trouble sleeping too, so I have a few teas that are good for sleep.”

Ophelia gave some instructions to her lady-in-waiting.

Soon the lady-in-waiting brought five tin cases. Among them was the problematic navy blue tin case that Joshua and Rosette had seen earlier.

Ophelia opened the tin case lids herself and handed them to Rosette.

“Try smelling them. I hope you find a scent that suits you among these.”

Exchanging glances with Joshua, Rosette chose the navy blue tin case.

“I’ll take this one. It has a sweet scent that makes me feel good.”

“Oh? That’s one of my favorites too.”

Joshua interjected again:

“I’ve never seen this tea before. Was it a gift?”

“Yes. Grita gave it to me as a gift.”

“Grita – isn’t that the lady-in-waiting who came recently?”

“Oh, you know about her. It hasn’t been that recent though – it’s already been half a year.”

“I see.”

Joshua smiled meaningfully.

“Then this Grita would be better at brewing this tea, wouldn’t she? Why don’t we ask her?”

“Shall we?”

Ophelia rang a bell. After a moment, Grita entered.

“You called for me, Your Majesty?”

As she bowed, curtsying, she flinched for a moment upon seeing the navy blue tin case on the table.

She quickly composed her expression, but Rosette, who had been watching her closely, realized:

‘That person is an accomplice.’

Joshua must have made this unreasonable request to Rosette in order to confirm this.

“Could you brew this tea for us?”

“This tea?”

“Yes. The young lady has been having trouble sleeping lately, apparently due to growing pains.”

“I… Understood.”

Grita answered somewhat reluctantly, then began preparing to brew the tea. Rosette could guess what she was thinking.

‘She must be uncomfortable giving it to me, but relieved that honey wasn’t added.’

But Joshua’s plan didn’t end there. He gestured to Grita with his chin.

“You sit down too.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Why don’t you explain what kind of tea it is while we drink together?”

“How could I possibly…”

Grita was flustered, but Ophelia welcomed Joshua’s suggestion:

“Yes, do join us. It would be nice for you to greet the young ladies on this occasion as well.”

Unable to refuse Ophelia’s words, Grita brought a chair and sat between Isabelle and Rosette.

“Then excuse me, Your Majesty.”

Ophelia smiled and introduced Grita to the three children:

“This is my lady-in-waiting, Grita. Come to think of it, she’s quite young. You’re twenty this year, right?”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

“When the two young ladies make their debut in society, make sure to look after them well.”

“Yes. It would be my honor.”

Grita diligently engaged in conversation as she began brewing the tea. She put the problematic tea leaves into a large teacup big enough for five people and poured hot water over them.

“Steep it like this for about 3 minutes. You can steep it longer too. This tea doesn’t become bitter even if steeped for a long time.”

“I see.”

Joshua, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, suddenly instructed the attendant waiting behind them:

“Bring some honey before we drink.”

Grita reacted before the attendant:

“H-Honey? Why honey all of a sudden…”

Rosette answered that:

“Because I like sweet things. I want to drink it sweetened.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t you add sugar? This sugar is also precious, imported from the southern empire.”

“Give her honey, not that.”

Joshua was adamant.

Even in the brief moment the attendant went to fetch honey, Grita was visibly anxious.

By that point, Ophelia sensed something was off and asked:

“Grita, what’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“No, Your Majesty. I’m just feeling a bit unwell.”

“Oh dear. I shouldn’t have called you then. Why don’t you go rest?”

Grita swallowed hard as she looked at Rosette.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll stay here.”

At that point, the attendant returned with the honey. Grita, her face noticeably paler than before, asked Rosette again:

“Um, young lady. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer sugar? Sugar is usually added to tea rather than honey…”

“I prefer honey.”

“I… Understood.”

As even Isabelle began to look suspicious after Ophelia, Grita reluctantly added honey to Rosette’s teacup. Then she placed a strainer over the cup and poured the tea.

The tea leaves were caught in the strainer as only the liquid tea filled the cup. The color was a soft yellow, like the full moon.

Rosette carefully stirred the tea with a teaspoon, mixing in the honey. Then she slightly turned her head to glance at Joshua.

He was watching Grita’s reaction with a stern expression.

‘I wonder how Grita will react?’

Not everyone dies from eating kish tree leaves with honey.

But Rosette was still just a small child. There was a high chance of something bad happening. Even if she didn’t die, there could be aftereffects.

‘I think I understand why His Highness is doing this.’

He must be testing Grita’s conscience.

Circumstantially, Grita was likely a spy in the Empress’s palace. Joshua wanted to see if Grita would stop eight-year-old Rosette from drinking tea that might kill her.

‘I doubt someone who tried to kill the Empress would suddenly grow a conscience, but…’

Rosette picked up the teacup with mixed feelings. Pipi chirped anxiously in her ear:

Rosette, do you really have to drink that? What if I didn’t remove all the kish tree leaves?

Rosette, don’t drink it!

‘It’s okay, Pipi. I trust you. And…’

His Highness won’t let anything happen.

I’m sure His Highness will do something.

Just as Rosette gathered her courage and brought the teacup to her lips:

“Wait.”

Joshua firmly pressed down on Rosette’s hand holding the teacup, lowering it. The cup clinked loudly as it hit the saucer.

“Before that, I’d like to hear your tasting notes. Why don’t you try it first?”

Grita’s body trembled at his words.

“M-Me?”

“Yes. You gifted this tea, after all.”

“I’m fine…”

Grita looked around with a pleading expression.

‘It probably won’t kill her 100% if she drinks it, but she must be uncomfortable.’

Rosette glared at Grita with fierce eyes.

‘She didn’t do anything even though I almost drank it.’

Rosette had wondered if Grita might be in a similar situation to her past self.

She thought maybe someone had forced her to do this.

But to not stop young Rosette from almost drinking it?

In Rosette’s heart, Grita was already branded as a bad person.

“What are you doing? His Highness is personally asking you.”

Isabelle, who had roughly grasped the situation, folded her arms with a chilly expression. Even Ophelia sensed something was off and said nothing.

Joshua took direct action. He carelessly poured tea into a cup without even using a strainer, then added a generous amount of honey and gave it a quick stir.

“Drink it.”

Now it was a complete command.

“I…”

“I said drink it.”

Joshua smiled crookedly.

“Is there some reason you can’t drink it?”