Chapter 357 After Tea Gossip
Nngggh~ Sweets are the best~
The princess and I enjoyed a really nice tea time together and of course, there\'s only one result after we had our fill of sweets.
Gossip!
"Oh! Did you know, brother Lucius seemed to have taken two girls as part of his harem? I heard the two girls were both sisters!"
"I\'m assuming it\'s not someone by the name of Koatia?"
"Hmmm? I dunno who that is~ But I don\'t think it\'s her… What about big sister? Are you going to join brother Lucius\'s harem?"
"Ufufufu~ I\'m sorry but I have no plans to join someone else\'s harem~ I\'d much rather have my own~"
"Woooow~ Big sister must be really awesome!"
I scratched my cheek, "Eh? I don\'t think I\'m that great though?"
Princess Tiara pumped her fists in front of her chest, "No! Big sister must be awesome! I was told that only really awesome people can have harems like brother Lucius!"
That must be how they taught her about harems I guess?
I smiled at her, "What about princess Tiara?"
"Mouuu… I already said to just call me Tiara!"
"Mmm… But it feels a little discourteous to do that though…"
She shook her head, "It\'s alright! I want big sister to call me by name! Pretty please?"
"Guh… Alright. What about Tiara? Are you planning to make a harem too?"
She shook her head, "Mmm… I was told that I most likely can\'t have one."
"Eh? Why not?"
"Mmm… I dunno? Papa said that most people who approach me would want to eat me so I can\'t have a harem."
Err… I guess that\'s their way to teach her to be wary of strangers? And to potentially avoid getting kidnapped by those people who would use her to summon a demon?
"Mmm… Is that why you were afraid of us the first time?"
"Umm… A little bit."
"And you don\'t think I\'ll eat you now?"
"Ehehe~ Big sister gave me cookies! There\'s no way you would eat me if you gave me such nice cookies!"
I don\'t even want to comment on what\'s wrong with that line of thinking…
Oh well, it\'s not like I\'ll actually eat her anyway.
"So how is life inside the palace? I\'ve always been curious about how princesses live~" I asked, changing the topic.
"Mmm… I think it\'s nothing special? I\'m still studying right now so I have a lot of teachers who would come and teach me a lot of things! But… I guess it might be a little lonely sometimes…"
"But don\'t you have your servants and your siblings? You do spend time with them right?"
She shook her head, "I only have a few servants and most of them don\'t talk to me unless necessary… My brothers and sisters are also usually busy so I don\'t see them outside of important events… The only one I would talk to normally is Aria."
"I\'m guessing you don\'t get to go outside the palace either?"
"Nope. Papa and Mama said that it\'s too dangerous for me. Mama said I\'m too pretty so there would be many people who would try to eat me if I went out on my own."
"And they didn\'t mind you coming to my place?"
"Ehehe~ That\'s because it\'s big sister! They all said that if it\'s big sister, it will be fine! That\'s why big sister is awesome!"
I wonder why our family was not considered one of the possible suspects that might use the princess to summon a demon?
Something tells me that I\'m better off not knowing why…
"I didn\'t really do anything though?" I insisted.
"That\'s not true! It\'s because of big sister that I was allowed to get out of the palace for the first time! I even got to see so many interesting things on the way here! And big sister\'s house is so beautiful! You even gave me so many cookies!"
Technically, it was the maids who gave you the cookies though, but I guess now isn\'t the appropriate time to point that out.
"Mmm… I feel that this might be a little too late to ask but… How old are you actually?"
"Hmmm? I\'m fourteen!"
Oh, so she\'s the same age as Katsuki.
"Eh? Then you\'re actually a year older than I am," I told her.
She blinked at me, "I\'m… Older than big sister?"
I gestured to myself, "I may look like this but that\'s only because my body matured faster. I\'m not really that old yet."
I had to mentally add \'in this World\' at the back since that was the truth.
Princess Tiara was now looking really confused as she mumbled to herself, "Big sister is younger than me? Then that makes her little sister? But… Big sister is big sister? Big sister can\'t be little sister?"
I giggled, "Tiara can call me whatever you want though."
She brightened up, "Then big sister is still big sister!"
I\'m not that particular about age anyway so it\'s really not a big deal. Plus, it\'s a little weird to see someone looking younger calling me her little sister.
"Princess, it\'s time to go," Aria spoke up from behind the princess.
Both the princess and I looked up to realise that the sun was already beginning to set. I guess we both lost track of time since we were so engrossed in our sweets and talk.
Princess Tiara pouted, "Mouuu! I don\'t wanna go back yet!"
"I\'m afraid you must, Princess. Do you remember what the King said when you left?"
"Ugh… Fine…"
Hmm… I wonder what he said? Maybe it\'s something along the lines of \'reach home by X time or she will be eaten by some bad people\'?
I won\'t be surprised if that was really the case.
The princess got up from her seat before curtsying clumsily at me, "I will have to take my leave first, big sister. Please invite me again if I am not a bother."
I stood up as well and curtsied back, "Don\'t worry, Tiara, I have enjoyed my time with you. If you\'d like, we could make this a weekly or bi-weekly affair?"
The princess brightened up, "Oh! Can we?! I would love that big sister! Can we, please?"
That last question was directed at Aria whom inclined her head at her, "I\'m afraid you would have to seek the King and Queen\'s approval for that, Princess."
"Alright! I\'ll go talk to Papa and Mama! Don\'t worry big sister! I\'ll make sure to convince them! Then we can have cookies again!"
"Fufu~ I\'m already looking forward to it~"
I then nodded at Katsuki who would serve as their guide back to the main entrance of the mansion, showing them the way out.
That left me on my own as I sat back down to finish my tea, only to hear rustling from behind me as soon as I did so.
No way?! Don\'t tell me it\'s an assassin here to kidnap the princess?!
I quickly turned around, prepared to fight off whoever it was only to realise it was Odeta, Delmare and Lisa.
Were they really hiding behind the bushes this entire time?
"The princess was really cute, wasn\'t she?" Delmare asked while being carried on Odeta\'s back.
The Amrap let out a bark of laughter, "Wahaha! She certainly was! But I think sister Aster is still cuter!"
Even Lisa started giggling, "Ehehe~ Our Aster is always the cutest~"
Come on, I\'m already in the body of a grown up young lady, it\'s obvious that the princess is the cuter one here!
But I decided that I\'ll just ask the bigger question here, "Were the three of you really hiding behind the bushes this entire time?"
Odeta grinned, "Of course! How else am I supposed to protect sister Aster if I\'m not close enough to rush to your side if something happens?!"
Delmare waved her hand at me, "No need to worry Aster, we were having our own picnic over there. The maids were also serving us tea as well."
Oh, so while I was having tea with the princess, they were also having their own tea time on a picnic mat behind the bushes.
Awww… I wouldn\'t have minded joining them on that though… Oh well, maybe next time!
"So it seems like nothing happened with the princess? Maybe that prophecy isn\'t going to happen until several years later?" I suggested.
Lisa shook her head, "The Royal Sage had seen it happen while the princess is still young so it\'s definitely before she matures. In other words, it might even happen tomorrow for all we know."
Delmare sighed, "I sure hope that it doesn\'t happen though… She seems like a really nice girl. I don\'t want anything bad to happen to her."
Odeta laughed, "Maybe we can suggest to them to let her come and train with me! If she\'s strong enough, she wouldn\'t need to worry about such things anymore!"
I grinned at them, "Alright, I think that\'s enough about the princess, how about all of you join me for some tea at least?"
Of course they accepted my invitation~ Tea time really is the best~