Suddenly, Merilyn's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Lady Floyen?"

I glanced at Max and replied, "Okay. Then let's go eat cake together."

Instead of responding, he smiled at me as I stared blankly in return, unsure why he was doing so. "There's something around your eyes," he commented.

Thinking that my makeup was smudged, I reflexively took out my handkerchief, when he suddenly snatched it away from me. I turned towards him, dumbfounded.

"You better get your head screwed on straight now that I won't be around. Don't stand around absent-mindedly and keep your guard up."

Frankly, it was pretty ridiculous for him to be saying such things to me, as he was someone who lacked knowledge about worldly affairs. When I was about to tell him to mind his own business, he continued speaking.

"We'll go eat cake together when I get back. Also… don't turn your attention to anyone else while I'm away." With those final words, he jumped out the window.

'He just said what he had to say and left again.' I watched as he left, then closed the window. 'Well, he'll be back in a few days. Everything will be fine.'

I was about to go out as planned, when a sigh escaped my mouth. "Merilyn, I'm sorry about this, but I think I'll stay home instead." For some strange reason, I had lost my appetite and didn't feel like eating anything. I slowly closed my eyes as an intense fatigue overwhelmed me.

* * *

"Lady Jubelian!"

I jolted awake at the sound of someone calling my name. When I opened my eyes, I found that I wasn't in my room.

.

'Ah, I dozed off at Rose's tea party.' Perhaps it was because I haven't been sleeping well lately, but oftentimes, I would stare off into space and eventually doze off. When I looked around, I could see Veronica looking at me with a pout.

"Wake up, Lady Floyen. You fell asleep in the middle of a conversation."

It had already been two months since I had passed the test to become a member of the tea tasting party. I had attended four tea parties since then, and had become quite close to the other members.

'My father has been quiet lately, and there's still no news from Max…' I had no idea that 'a while' was going to end up becoming two months. Maybe this was why everything around me felt calm.

"I'm telling you, Sir Nathan was slapped in the face by his fiancée, Lady Swan."

"Oh my goodness. Why?"

"I heard that he was seeing Lady Swan's cousin behind her back!"

… I guess it wasn't all that quiet. At any rate, the important thing was that my father wasn't interfering with my relationship with Max these days. Moreover, I didn't have a clue if my blind date with the crown prince had been cancelled or not, but there hadn't been any mentions of it since he had returned to the capital.

'Should I be glad about this?' I wondered as I took a biscuit and put it in my mouth. The saltiness of the biscuit made the sweetness much more prominent in flavor. 'Max would like this.' Unlike me, the other members were chatting away without sparing a glance at the biscuits.

"Her Royal Highness' coming-of-age will be soon," someone noted at that moment. I stopped eating and began to focus on the conversation.

'Is her coming-of-age ceremony already in about a month and a fortnight?' Originally, I was going to be slapped at the banquet by the royal princess for grabbing a lady's hair and causing a scene. I was to become the first victim of Beatrice, the royal princess known to be direct and straight-forward. 'Well, as long as I stay like this, I think things will be okay. Mikhail has been quiet as well,' I thought, when I heard an excited voice.

"That's what I'm saying. I'm already wondering what kind of dress I should wear to the banquet."

"You'll be at risk if you dress up too fancily. If you end up catching the crown prince's eyes, then…"

"I'm scared just thinking about it."

'Alright. I should dress as plainly as possible that day as well.' With this thought in mind, I waited for the tea tasting party to conclude, when the door burst open and someone rushed into the drawing room while making a big fuss.