55 — Chapter 55

Hurried by Mary, I head back to my room.

“Oh! You can see the ocean from the room, too!”

While I was gazing at the sea through the wide-open window, Mary forced me into the bath.

“You must change before dinner. Please hurry.”

That’s right—even at the Granger house, we change for dinner. It’s only natural to do so at the Summer Palace, too. Since I have lifestyle magic, drying my hair only takes an instant.

It’s just a single word: “Dry!”

“Please wear this.”

I didn’t recognize the dress Mary held out. It was a dress the Queen had prepared for me.

“It looks quite expensive. But wouldn’t it be better to wear this on a day when His Majesty the King is here?”

Mary hurried me along, saying it would be fine to wear it then as well.

“It would be rude not to wear it after receiving it as a gift.”

I didn’t wear pink much in my previous life. If anything, I mostly wore monotones, with maybe a bit of blue as an accent color.

“It suits you perfectly.”

Mary is incredibly biased in my favor. However, I think it actually does suit Patience. She’s not quite as skin-and-bones as she was in the winter. I’d say she’s looking rather cute.

I don’t want to put on flab, but I would like to gain a little more muscle. I’ll do my best with the swimming. I wonder if Princess Margaret will forget about the horse riding?

Hurried by Mary, I entered the room in front of the dining hall, but no one was there.
Geez, it’s too early!

I wanted to enjoy the palace bath a bit more leisurely. While I was grumbling to myself internally, Prince Keith and Prince Richard arrived. Oh, they look quite dashing. As expected of Princes!

Why is Prince Keith acting so bashful?

“Patience, when you’re dressed like that, you’re… well, passable.”

I thought he looked cool for a second, but his inside is still a child. Well, I have a soft spot for younger-looking boys, so I find even that childishness endearing.

“Keith, that’s rude.”

See, there goes Prince Richard’s reprimand.

“No, I understand that Prince Keith was complimenting me.”

I want to avoid Prince Richard getting into a bad mood before dinner. Even though I provided proper backup, Prince Keith is still muttering under his breath. Honestly, it’s because he won’t stop doing that that he ends up making his beloved older brother angry.

Oh, Princess Margaret entered the room at the perfect time. Prince Richard and Prince Keith stood up to greet her.

Look at that—Prince Keith can act polite when he tries. If he could just keep that up in front of Prince Richard, he’d get scolded much less often.

“Lady Margaret, you are very beautiful.”

Princess Margaret, who had taken a liking to her curled hair, had her maid style it beautifully. Her dress suited her green eyes perfectly, and it had a long hem. Ah, that’s right, she’s turning thirteen soon. During the day her skirts are below the knee, but in her evening finery, she looks every bit the lady.

“Thank you, and it suits you as well, Patience.”

Princess Margaret follows the rules of female society, too. When complimented, the rule is to compliment back.

“It is the dress I received from the Queen. I am very happy.”

Well, the dress is nice. But I’d be happier at home with my brothers. I mustn’t say that out loud, though.

The Queen arrived. Prince Richard and Prince Keith stood up, as did Princess Margaret and I.

“Now, let us eat.”

Since the King isn’t here tonight, Prince Richard escorts the Queen. Prince Keith escorts Princess Margaret, and I’m fine on my own.

Dinner makes me nervous. Even though I eat with Prince Richard, Princess Margaret, and Prince Keith every day in the high-tier dining hall (the salon). It’s the formal clothes and the presence of Queen Victoria that makes it feel so significant.

“I heard from Margaret that Patience likes fish.”

“Yes. In Romano, I rarely have the chance to eat fish, so I was delighted to be invited to the Summer Palace.”

Ah, it looks like Prince Keith is about to say he hates fish or something. Yes, lately my “Prince Keith Gaffe Sensor” has started working.

“Your Majesty, thank you for this dress.”

I thought to the Prince: Please, just keep your mouth shut. I can handle Prince Richard’s mood, but don’t make the Queen angry. At least not in front of me.

“It suits you well, Patience.”

With that, my participation in the dinner conversation ended. I’ll focus on eating for the rest.

The appetizer was—could it be?—a jelly made of shrimp and something like sea urchin. It’s delicious! This is sea urchin, isn’t it? Even “Googling” Patience’s memories doesn’t bring up the name. She’s never eaten it before.

“Patience truly eats with such gusto.”

I was complimented by the Queen… She didn’t mean she was appalled, right?

“Yes, it is my first time eating this, and I did not know such delicious things existed.”

Prince Keith happily tells me the name. He loves acting superior, after all. He’s such a kid.

“This pink one is Caleb Shrimp. This orange, fuzzy one is Horse-Dung Sea Urchin. The name is terrible, but…”

As expected, even Prince Keith noticed Queen Victoria’s stern gaze and shut his mouth. I’m not even thinking about whether “Horse-Dung Sea Urchin” has the same name as in my previous life or if it’s just being translated into the other-world language. I just love shrimp and sea urchin. I’d almost be willing to eat the urchin Prince Keith left behind.

The seafood soup and the fish poêlé were also delicious. These items appeared on the salon menu a few times in the winter, but as it got warmer, I stopped seeing them. Romano is inland, after all. Prince Keith left both his soup and his fish. Good grief.

It was a delicious dinner, but as usual, the dessert was subpar. But there’s fruit, so I’ll eat that instead.

“Normally, we would leave the gentlemen here and move to the salon by ourselves, but let us all go together.”

Ah, there was a piano (Hanon) in the salon, wasn’t there? I have nothing but a bad feeling about this.