‘But that doesn’t mean I can let that man get her heart.’

He was a coward who wasn’t able to confess his love to the woman he loved. She said he had been so kind and sweet, however being kind to a woman you like is only natural for a man, unless he is a madman.

Even Edgar, who was famous for being arrogant and selfish, had been desperately trying to do something for her and win her heart.

He really regretted not putting up the act way before their first meeting. If he had done that, she would have been thinking he was a kind and nice gentleman by now.

He patted on her back. His warm gesture made her stop crying and trembling. That change made him feel happy and proud. It was really amazing how he could feel such feelings just because of one person.

‘There are people who betray love without feeling guilty at all.’

However, you are too good-hearted. You should be more selfish.

Edgar had to resist the urge to whisper that.

***

Next morning, some relatives sent a message asking to come to visit in the evening to apologize.

Words had spread overnight about how Lord Zilehan had paid for what he had done and how Edgar had threatened him. They just couldn’t stay still as they feared they might be sentenced to the same fate.

“Then they should get an appointment with Edgar. Why are they asking me?”

“They want to apologize to you.”

Rubica’s eyes widened at hearing Carl’s reply. As he was under strict orders from Edgar to keep his mouth shut about Zilehan, he couldn’t explain more.

“But it’s bothersome…”

“Should we kick them out?”

Rubica got a little annoyed at thinking about what happened yesterday. Lord Zilehan had been able to make that fuss only because he had those followers. Moreover, as soon as he was kicked out, they said they had nothing to do with him, and now they wanted to apologize.

‘If I kick them out today, they will come back tomorrow.’

However, if she accepted their apology, they could think she wanted to befriend them and keep visiting. She really didn’t want that. How was she supposed to make them stop coming? Then, she recalled tea, one of the reasons for yesterday’s fuss.

“Carl, when they come, take them to the reception room and give them tea instead of coffee.”

“What? But Your Grace, tea is extremely rare.”

Carl, who was a great admirer of tea, was clearly thinking tea was too precious to be given to those people. However, Rubica was having completely different thoughts.

‘If they start thinking they must be tortured by drinking that bitter drink to meet me, they would never come back.’

However, Carl would be shocked if she said what she was thinking. Instead, she decided to use his love for tea.

“Carl, don’t forget that I announced that I was going to enjoy tea instead of coffee yesterday. If it ever happens again, we must tell them the tea is for me. And to do that, we must show them that I do drink tea.”

“That makes sense. You are right.”

The butler easily agreed when Rubica said it was all for Edgar.

“And, um, you once explained to me about ‘tea meeting’, right? Don’t you think this can also be a tea meeting?”

“Tea meeting?”

Carl immediately got excited, and Rubica remembered how his eyes had twinkled as he explained about the tea meeting. She smiled as brightly as she could.

“Yes. Wouldn’t it be nice if many people start liking tea through this? If more people get to enjoy tea, more merchants will import it. Then, it would be easier to get good tea for Edgar.”

However, she was thinking it was not going to happen. Most of those relatives would find drinking tea painful, just like she had.

“You are really… thoughtful.”

However, Carl, the tea lover, was completely bought by this.

***

Carl was completely fooled by Rubica and did his best to make sure everything was prepared perfectly. And such eagerness tended to make people puzzled.

“My lady, you cannot drink it like that.”

Carl warned a lady who tried to gulp down her tea.

“You should enjoy its scent first and then drink it slowly.”

Carl was passionately lecturing them about the tea, just like what he had done to Rubica, who currently was trying really hard to not laugh. Not telling him what she was really thinking had been the right choice, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been this enthusiastic.

“Tea isn’t just a drink to quench your thirst. It has the whole nature in it. The energy of the land…”

Everyone’s face turned darker and darker as they all listened to Carl’s endless explanation and took a sip of tea. Well, tea was nothing more than a strange drink that tasted like grass to those who never tasted it before. And now, it was getting really hard for Rubica to not laugh.

“Indeed, it smells so good. I can see why you enjoy it.”

“Thank you for letting us know about such an elegant hobby.”

They were so good at lying, but Rubica pitied Carl looking so proud at their compliments.

“I am going to serve tea to all the guests from now on.”

“Oh…”

Some couldn’t handle the sad news and moaned. Rubica could immediately see they wouldn’t come looking for her again. However, there were many types of people in the world and at least one person out of ten tended to like what everyone else hated.

“It smells so good. It feels like we are in a forest full of trees.”

Rubica was really shocked to hear Elise saying that. The girl seemed to truly enjoy the tea.

“It’s like we are out in the garden taking a stroll, even though we are inside.”

“I can’t agree with you more. The pleasantness of enjoying a hot cup of tea in winter cannot be compared with anything.”

Carl happily agreed with Elise, but one of the relatives disturbed their pleasant talk.

“But, um, as for mana quartz…”

However, there was no need for Rubica to stop him. Carl poured out tea for the man and fiercely glared at him.

“You must have only pleasant conversations while having tea. Unpleasant conversation and discussion about profit only bring quarrels and disturbs the taste of the tea.”

Rubica cheered in her mind as she hadn’t known tea came with such advantages. As long as she had that drink, she didn’t have to be accused by people.

“Invite good people, have a pleasant conversation, and have tea. It’s a really good culture.”

Elise agreed with Carl out of her heart while smiling brightly, which didn’t happen often. Carl looked at her enjoying the scent of the tea with happiness.

“Yes, Ms. Solana. In the East Empire across the desert, people drink tea in the morning and evening. When inviting friends to have a tea meeting, they take extreme care in having solemn clothes. It must be far from greed, but not shabby, and must harmonize with…”

While listening to Carl, Rubica was suddenly enlightened. She looked around. The relatives were smiling, but it had to be torture to them.

‘But no one is objecting to Carl.’

The reason why was simple. They simply didn’t know. They didn’t want to bluff and be humiliated, so they did as Carl said. They even stopped talking when Carl said they couldn’t talk about such things.

‘That dress!’

She thought of the dress made with royal blue fabric and silver knots. It had no jewels on it, but it was beautiful. It had something in common with Carl’s explanation.

‘Khanna said people wouldn’t accept it as it was too new, but what if I say people wear such dresses during tea meetings?’

The East Empire was known to be ruled by dragons and few people knew about the country and its traditions. Although goods made there were good and of high quality, they could be replaced by goods of the Kingdom of Sharman. Plus, no person in Seritos wanted to hear about a land where a dragon ruled over humans.

‘They will all believe it.’

Why didn’t she think of it sooner? She looked at the clear and yellow liquid in a cup in front of her. It smelled of grass and its taste was kilometers away from her liking, but the drink had infinite possibilities.

‘I should host tea meetings and invite ladies who care about fashion and would gladly embrace such dresses.’

Of course, she wasn’t going to offer only tea like she was doing now. She was going to make tea as thinly as possible, decorate everything with pretty flowers, bring music, and put juice, fruits, and desserts that can be enjoyed instead of just having tea on the table…

‘I will not invite even one of these people, but I will make sure it is totally amazing and unforgettable.’

So, Rubica decided to start having tea meetings, but she didn’t know her meetings were going to shake the whole kingdom. Her goal was not to promote tea. She just wanted to introduce a dress that was too pretty to be forgotten like that. That was all.