Chapter 11: Tea Party and the Prince’s Calculations

On the day of the tea party, in order not to burden Rosa, only four young ladies with whom she had childhood connections were invited to her home.

Immediately, gossip flourished in social circles.

“I’m going out with Lord Ralph next time.”

“Well, congratulations, Miss Poppy. That’s wonderful news!”

Ralph was a noble young man about whom Poppy had harbored feelings for a long time. Rosa sincerely congratulated her.

“Oh no, we haven’t talked about engagement yet.”

Poppy blushed.

“By the way, I heard that Miss Eliza of the Viscount Tyler’s family has decided on her engagement,” said the information-savvy Ella.

From there, rumors continued to spread without end, one after another. Information about what happened in the social circles while Rosa was absent quickly gathered.

Who was engaged to whom, which friends had become lovers, and so far, there were no major scandals in the social circles?

Ultimately, the rumor Rosa wanted to confirm that Prince Alex and Ellen were dating seemed to be nonexistent.

If such a thing had happened, everyone would have come to tell Rosa first. After all, they were her close associates.

However, in the original story, the fateful encounter between the heroine Ellen and the hero Alex had already taken place, and they had quietly started dating. By the way, their meeting was a typical one in this kind of manga—when the prince rescued Ellen from ruffians during an inspection of the commoners’ area.

Since then, Ellen has been taken in by the Moreau family, and the two had a fateful reunion at a ball.

In her past life, Rosa loved such cliché developments. In fact, she still liked them quite a bit. If a dazzlingly handsome blonde and blue-eyed guy appeared to rescue her in times of trouble, it would be a one-way ticket to falling in love.

While Rosa indulged in her fantasies, the topic among her friends shifted to a royal ball that would take place two months later. They were excitedly discussing trendy dresses and the gentlemen who would escort them.

Rosa suddenly recalled the episode where Alex and Ellen had a secret meeting in the rose garden during that ball.

Her role as the villainous Rosa was to separate the two, who were secretly dating due to the scars Ellen received from a horse, and have Ellen settle with her fiancé. However, Rosa, recalling her past life, was not engaged to Alex.

In the manga, when Rosa learns of the secret meeting between Ellen and Alex, a commotion ensues.

This tea party with her carefree friends became a stimulus for Rosa. She recalled precious memories from her past life and felt relieved.

At the tea party held in the rose-filled garden of the mansion, Rosa handed out bath bombs and tea sets to her friends, who looked at them with curiosity.

Later, Rosa received a thank-you letter. The bath bombs were quite well received.

“Ah, they’ve been praising me since we were children,” Rosa said.

The problem was that only her entourage, servants, and family had tried them.

(Helena is honest, but she might be biased towards family… No, that’s unlikely.)

Even in her current life, Rosa, who loved baths, wanted to spread the word about bath bombs. It felt like a mission in this manga world she was reincarnated into.

—

“Good. Miss Croitzer, you seem to have recovered quite well,” Alex said, wearing a faint smile.

He had visited Rosa the day after she hosted the tea party, under the pretext of a casual visit. This was not Rosa’s private room but the salon, and Rosa had fully recovered.

“Yes, I’ve completely recovered, so there’s no need for you to go out of your way to visit,” Rosa said with a smile, firmly declining.

“I feel responsible for your injury,” Alex said, his blue eyes wavering.

However, Rosa knew at this point that Alex was already drawn to Ellen. If she hadn’t remembered her past life, she might have clung to those words.

“There’s no need for you to feel responsible, Your Highness. It was just that the horse happened to be in a bad mood. No one is to blame. It was just my bad luck,” Rosa said with a smile.

By this time, the pain in her wound had subsided even when she changed expressions, and with some makeup, it was hardly noticeable.

Indeed, Ethan was a skilled healer. It was surprising that he could heal such a large wound. However, Rosa didn’t care since she had no intention of marrying him anyway.

More than anything, she wanted her father to give her permission to go shopping soon. Of course, with the family’s money.

“By the way, I heard you hosted a tea party recently.” Alex suddenly brought up the topic.

Rosa blinked in surprise. She had completely forgotten about him, preoccupied with other thoughts.

Even though it was an unofficial tea party and only childhood friends were invited, the information spread surprisingly fast.

“Oh, who told you?” Rosa asked.

Alex didn’t answer Rosa’s question; he just smiled.

“I wish I had been invited too,” he said in a tone that couldn’t be discerned as a joke or sincerity. Rosa didn’t understand his true intentions.

“It was just a gathering of friends, as usual,” Rosa casually said.

“Oh, did Miss Moreau attend?”

“Eh?”

Rosa opened her eyes in surprise. She didn’t understand why Ellen’s name was coming up here.

“No, did Miss Moreau come to visit you? She’s a close friend of yours, isn’t she?”

As Rosa and Ellen were not particularly close, Rosa felt puzzled. After all, who would claim that Rosa and Ellen were close friends?

At that moment, Rosa thought that maybe Ethan had conveyed this information to Alex. After all, Ellen had visited before Ethan came for treatment.

“No, I only invited young ladies with whom I have had connections since childhood,” Rosa said.

Among her numerous entourages, they were all childhood friends.

If the Croitzer family were to fall, their families might also be implicated. It was quite a serious matter. Rosa thought about the upbringing of these friends, picturing their kind faces.

“Yes, Miss Moreau must have felt lonely,” Alex continued.

“Huh?”

Rosa twisted her head in confusion. She didn’t recall Ellen showing any signs of affection, and her visit was surprising in itself.

Alex probably knew from the start that Ellen wasn’t invited.

(Was he here to blame me for not inviting Ellen? Does he think I’m excluding Ellen? But, in the first place, Ellen doesn’t belong to any faction.)

“Your highness, are you close to Miss Moreau?”

Rosa felt a slight suspicion that Alex might be probing the movements of the Croitzer family. It was like Rosa’s intuition.

After all, in the manga’s ending, the Croitzer family would be ruined, and it wouldn’t be strange if some preparation was already underway at this point.

(Maybe they’ll be implicated by the royal family? Father is always confident, so maybe I should warn him to be careful around others.)

Rosa pondered.