I had expected Mother to be using that same method the entire time to teach me the Noble Etiquette skill but she told me that having practical experiences was important too.
Well… That translated to getting me invited to some noble daughter’s tea party who just so happened to be one of my schoolmates, though I’ve never really interacted with her before.
Of course, I was not going there as ‘the daughter of the Nilm Family’ but as ‘Aster who is also a daughter of a noble family’.
I questioned Mother how I was supposed to act in that case since the pretence of me being in authority should only apply while I was in the position of being a child of the Nilm Family. Surprisingly, Mother just told me that the lessons were also applicable to me even if I don’t claim myself to be one.
In her words, “My child is the most wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, cutest and greatest in existence not because you are a child of this family, but because of who you are~ There is no need for you to shy away just because you are not using this family name~”
I even pointed out that this arrogance would get me killed because I have no proper backing since I could be considered a nobody with just this
To that, she simply responded, “Ara, ara? My little one is most definitely not a ‘nobody’~ Have you forgotten my little one? You were literally favoured by the Gods themselves~ You have received benefits from them yes? That already means you stand above the others who have not~ If any of these little things wish to kill you, then just kill them first~ Ufufufufu~”
What kind of Mother would even tell her own child that?
The answer is the best Mother in this World of course~ So I gave her a hug and told her I love her very much.
I won’t say that she then went ahead to carry me to her room to cuddle me, I’m simply stating that it happened as a fact.
Putting that aside, I’m now on my way to the estate where the tea party will be held.
Of course, I did my homework and learned a bit about the noble family that I was attending the tea party of.
And by that, I meant I asked Katsuki about it on the carriage ride there.
“The Teloi House is a relatively old Viscount Family. Their ancestor received a noble title back when the Lehcarouc Kingdom was still at war with the Nekinumi Kingdom, the title being a reward for showing great valour in battle. The family is known for their swordsmanship training school that they run for Mercenaries and Dungeoneers.”
“Oh~ That’s cool~ What about their daughter?”
“Lady Julia Teloi, the family’s only daughter. She is two years Mistress’s senior in school and the same age as Mistress. “
“How is she related to our family for Mother to get me to their tea party? I don’t even interact with her that much in school,” I asked.
“Actually, their family has been trying to invite Mistress to a tea party ever since your last birthday. We have just been declining them in your stead, Mistress.”
Oh… So she’s one of those nobles who have been sending letters to me huh…
I’m sorry but I basically told Katsuki to just reject them all… My bad…
“So how many people would be there? I was under the impression that it would be a rather large party.”
Katsuki nodded, “It is normal for young ladies to host such parties with other noble ladies of similar rank, Mistress. Some might have several dozen ladies in attendance while others might just be private affairs. For Lady Teloi, I believe she meant for this to be a private event so there should only be a few other ladies attending.”
“Umm… Would it be a problem that I’m… You know… Not exactly a lady?” I asked.
Katsuki tilted her head, “Is Mistress not?”
I gestured to the area in between my legs but Katsuki only looked more confused.
There wasn’t really an easy way to say this so I just went ahead to say, “I have a dick, Katsuki.”
I just want to emphasise that it’s not like this was news to Katsuki, she has bathed me before so she knows that I’m a futa, not a female.
She tilted her head even more, “I am aware of that, Mistress. Forgive me, but I do not know what the problem is?”
Hmm… Maybe I should ask another question…
“Would there be other futas at the tea party too?”
“Ah. Lady Julia is a futa herself, Mistress. So if Mistress is concerned that you would be the only one, you need not worry about that.”
…
Oh…
I see now. At least this puts me at ease.
Right on time too as the carriage came to a halt outside a small estate in the Merchant’s District. It consisted of a three storey building with a small garden in front and a wall around its perimeter that was as high as I was tall. There was a road just big enough for a carriage to turn into the estate from the main road that led up to the main building itself.
Katsuki got off before me and helped me step out of the carriage where I found Julia standing at the doorway of said estate in a rather cute turquoise dress.
I need to mention that she’s thirteen and looked her age so she really did look cute.
She curtsied, “Thank you for accepting my invitation, Lady Aster. I hope your trip here from the countryside was an uneventful one and the city streets were not too difficult?”
I froze.
Katsuki also froze.
I am not stupid, I know a verbal jab when I hear one. The only thing was that I wasn’t sure if she meant to do it intentionally as an insult or if she had done it unintentionally because of her own upbringing in the city.
I stepped out in front of her and did my own curtsy as well, “Good day, Lady Julia. Thank you for inviting me to this tea party of yours~ I have to say that the trip here was indeed quite uneventful, thank you for asking.”
She smiled at me, “That is good to hear, Lady Aster. Do let me know if there is anything you are not accustomed to and I will do my best to rectify it as soon as possible!”
Even I could tell that this was a rehearsed line that she was just speaking from memory. At least I could see she had no malice towards me.
Judging by how she was acting, she truly did not mean to insult me with that earlier comment.
I’m going to assume that she has been living in the city her entire life and probably never went outside the city walls to see what it’s like outside, causing her to make the assumption that anything outside of it must be uncivilised or something.
I guess I can’t really blame her for being naive and maybe a little spoiled thirteen year old girl/futa.
“Mistress… I shall leave you here. If you require anything, please call us,” Katsuki bowed, intentionally emphasising the word ‘anything’.
She then left with the carriage, allowing me to enter the manor with Julia leading the way.
“This way, Lady Aster~ The others are already waiting for you inside~”
“Oh my~ Forgive me for holding your party up.”
“No need for that, I know that getting into the city from the countryside takes quite a while. I really admire Lady Aster for being able to do that while attending the school as a Special Class student!”𝔬𝔳𝓵xt.𝒞𝐎𝑚
This girl really is just digging a deeper hole for herself isn’t she? If I apply Mother’s lessons to her, she would be trying to act outside of her ability right now…
I kept my mouth shut as we ascended the steps to a balcony on the second floor where two other ladies had already seated themselves at a small table with cups of tea in front of them.
Unfortunately, I do not know either of the girls seated at the table. Both of them seem to be older than Julia by several years, maybe in their early twenties by my guess.
So that means this tea party only has four people attending including myself.
“Ah, So we finally get to meet the famed Lady Aster~” One of the ladies chirped, her hand patting at some invisible dust on her yellow dress. “It seems the rumours did you no justice.”
The other lady wearing green looked me up and down, probably inspecting the red dress I wore today before smirking, “I see that even a countryside noble family is able to afford good dresses as well.”
Oh… Another one? Is she the one who taught Julia about the countryside nobles or something?
I curtsied, “Good day ladies, I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage as I do not know your names?”
Julia stepped up enthusiastically, “They’re my cousins, Lady Aster. Lady Brita is the one in the yellow dress and Lady Sult is the one in the green dress!”
I was about to greet them again when Lady Sult stood up from the table and took a step towards me, “You shouldn’t have needed to bring her all the way here, Julia. Let’s not waste time, Lady Aster. You, me, outside. I’ll even let you pick the swords. Let’s go.”
Err… What the fuck?