It Seemed My Fiancé Hated Me, So I Distanced Myself—But for Some Reason, He Complained - Chapter 41

“I see. As expected of the maids I selected.”

Prince Lucas said with satisfaction while looking at the list and tea set.

Then, turning to face me directly, he said with a mischievous smile:

“Clarissa, why don’t we have a tea party together, just the two of us?”

“With Your Highness?”

“Yes, I think it would be good practice.”

Saying this in a bright voice, the prince used his communicator to call a different maid than Camila and the others, ordering her to bring tea and sweets.

The maid who arrived pushing a cart quickly set up the table. Urged by Prince Lucas, I took my seat.

The pleasant aroma of the tea the maid poured wafted softly through the room.

“You said ‘competition’ so it surprised me, but I was lucky to be able to have tea with you, Clarissa.”

Prince Lucas, sitting opposite me, said with a cheerful smile while clasping his hands near his chin.

“Well, that’s… thank you.”

Not knowing how to respond to the prince’s happy expression, I simply expressed my gratitude. The prince laughed as if amused.

“But speaking of practice, I’m not very knowledgeable about tea parties either. I often have opportunities for formal dinners, but…”

Prince Lucas said while tilting his head, holding his teacup.

His unpretentious attitude made me relax.

“Well, I see. Indeed, I don’t have the impression that gentlemen frequently attend tea parties.”

“Young ladies often have tea parties, don’t they? Did you used to have them often too, Clarissa?”

“I’ve hardly ever participated. After all, I’m the Cinderella of the family, so there was no one who would invite me.”

“Hmm, I really can’t accept that rude nickname. Who on earth came up with it?”

Prince Lucas furrowed his brow and made a troubled expression.

I didn’t really care about the nickname, but I was happy that Prince Lucas was getting angry on my behalf, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

Prince Lucas looked at me with an expression that seemed unsatisfied, but eventually relaxed his expression as if catching my mood.

Then, returning to his usual bright expression, he said:

“Well, since we both don’t know much about tea parties, why don’t we just talk about whatever we like this time?”

“I’m sorry. Despite being a young lady, I don’t understand tea parties properly.”

“Haha, why are you apologizing? I don’t know either. I think we can talk about anything. We don’t need to worry too much about etiquette – we can just talk about things the participants are interested in.”

Prince Lucas said in a light tone. I hesitated, wondering if that was acceptable for a competition, but when Prince Lucas said it so casually, my tense heart strangely relaxed, so I decided to take him up on his offer.

“Then, I’ll take you up on that.”

“Uh-huh. Since we have the chance, I’ll answer anything you want to ask, Clarissa. Is there anything you’d like to know?”

Prince Lucas asked this cheerfully.

Things I want to know about Prince Lucas. There are many things I’m curious about, but when actually asked, nothing immediately comes to mind. I found myself puzzling over what to ask.