How About a Refill? ~The Elegant Tea Party of the Grand Witches~ - Chapter 22

The Oblivious Young Miss

“This is quite serious…”

Inside the rose garden of the royal palace, there was a small medicinal garden with the manor of the Witch of the Capital, Beatrice.

Beatrice was in charge of making medicine for the royal palace in this manor which was also called the Medicine Box of the Royal Family. Beatrice stumbled out of the mixing room and took out the crystal ball from one of the shelves lining the walls. She cast the magic to call the person she wanted to talk to.

{What? I was just about to put the pot on the stove}

The woman who answered callously was the Witch of the Forest, Valeria.

“Something serious has happened! You need to come quickly!”

Valeria was surprised at her urgency which was unusual for Beatrice who always remained calm.

{Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?}

“… I’m having withdrawal symptoms.”

{…What?}

“I’m having a serious… Robin withdrawal syndrome!”

{… What!}

“It’s so sneaky to have him to yourself! I want to see Robin too! Ah I miss his smooth squishy cheeks!”

{…I’m gonna hang up}

This exchange continued for a while, and finally Valeria gave in to Beatrice’s stubborn requests and they decided to have a tea party with the Grand Witches and little Robin.

“Isn’t sister Millie coming today?”

“Oooh! I’ll call her right away!”

At Robin’s brief question, Beatrice decided to summon Miriam. She pulled out her wand and made the teleportation magic circle.

As the dawn colour light faded, Miriam appeared on the spot with a bright smile and a dessert fork in her hands as if she was about to eat something.

“…”

Miriam’s face fell suddenly.

“Ooh~ perhaps my timing wasn’t good…?”

“This is the worst timing!”

Miriam retorted as she gazed at the fork with tears in her eyes.

“I was finally able to get it… the limited edition ‘Torta al Limone’ from the pasticceria… it’s made from candied lemons harvested only during their season, and dough crusted with walnuts and other dried fruits… whaa!”

“Wow that sounds delicious.”

Ever since her stay with Valeria, Miriam had been involuntarily summoned by the witches countless times.

There was never an advance notice. At first, both Miriam and her family had been shocked and flustered at the sudden appearance of a magic circle, but had finally gotten used to it after it happened for a few more times. They would usually send her back home on a carriage so there was no need to worry anymore.

“Well I would have brought some with me if you notified me properly…”

Robin rushed over to the tearful Miriam and clutched her hands in his.

“Don’t cry, sister Millie. I asked them to call you. I’m sorry.”

Looking at the sad face of Robin, Miriam felt he looked like a cute little puppy. She tightly hugged his small body.

“It’s fine! It’s not your fault!”

“I learned how to make pancakes from sister Lea so I’ll make them for you sometime. Then you can forgive me, right?”

“I forgive you! Thank you, Robin! It’s so cute of you to comfort me!”

She pinched Robin’s cheeks as she said so.

“Ahh! You’re so sly, Millie! Robin, come here! I have a lot of delicious sweets!”

Beatrice called Robin over and started fussing over him as he sat down next to her.

“By the way what happened with you and Emilio, Millie? Any developments?” Miriam tilted her head at Eleonora’s question.

“Prince Emilio has been treating me really well. He accompanies me to my house every day, sends me flowers and writes to me often… Maybe because I’m the little sister of his close friend? Although we’re just friends, I feel a bit sorry for having him go to such lengths for me.”

“What do you mean!? You guys aren’t in love with each other?”

“I also thought you liked each other…”

At Eleonora and Valeria’s confused faces, Miriam also felt confusion settle in.

“No, I don’t have anything in particular with Emilio. Of course, we both share similar worries and thoughts, so we’re like one and only kindred souls to each other, but that is it. I’m sure Prince Emilio also thinks the same.”

At Miriam’s declaration, Eleonora and Valeria turned their backs on her and started whispering to each other.

“Hey, how can this girl be so oblivious? Is it possible not to notice even a little when she’s being courted so obviously?”

“I feel bad for Emilio. Haha.”

After all, every time Miriam was summoned by the witches Emilio would rush to escort her back home on his carriage. Each time, he would give Miriam a bouquet of flowers, a letter, or sweets that Miriam liked. And each time, Leonardo would glare at him as he did so.

Although Emilio himself always said Miriam was a ‘dear friend’ it was quite obvious that he liked her. However, it looked like Miriam didn’t understand his intentions, not even a little bit.

“Hey, Millie. Don’t you think Emilio likes you?”

At Valeria’s inquiry Miriam gave out a laugh as she said, “Surely not!”

“Emilio should be with a more suitable person! Yes, like my sister, for example… I’m too plain for him…”

“She really doesn’t know anything. Poor Emilio.”

The three witches looked at each other and silently sent their condolences to the First Prince, Emilio.