How About a Refill? ~The Elegant Tea Party of the Grand Witches~ - Chapter 4

The First Prince’s Worry

Emilio Vittorio Beget Avilier was the First Prince of the Kingdom of Avilier.

Having turned 19 this year, he was set to be inaugurated as the Crown Prince as soon as he decided on a fiancee from an influential family.

Unfortunately, however, he couldn’t decide on a fiancee.

Although he had been introduced to several candidates at various tea parties or balls, there was hardly any progress with any of them.

He knew the reason quite clearly.

It was the man who always remained at his side as his personal aide. That is, it was due to Leonardo Farina Aurelio Caparoni’s exceptional good looks. 

Leonardo was the eldest son of Marquess Caparoni, which was one of the most powerful families in the kingdom. He was well-known as the heir to the Marquess, not only among the nobility, but also among commoners, for his elfish beauty.

On top of that, he was among the elite class that worked for the next King. And, he had turned 21 this year which was the prime age for marriage. This, along with the fact that he still hadn’t decided on a marriage partner, made him the perfect target of marriage-minded ladies.

It wasn’t as if Emilio was bad looking. Rather, he had a clean and tidy appearance; he always looked smart, and gave off a favourable impression. He was gentle and considerate with a diligent personality. He also excelled in martial arts. However, his overly neat appearance would become sober in the eyes of others as soon as Leonard, with his extraordinary good looks, would come to his side. It never left a lasting impression on people.

To his chagrin, Leonardo always accompanied Emilio to the tea parties and balls he went to as his close aide. As a result, the much more handsome aide would always attract all the attention, and Emilio would go unnoticed.

Perhaps it was due to this, Emilio didn’t prefer things that were too beautiful. Of course he trusted Leonardo, who had been visiting the castle to be his playmate since they were children. He had been one of his close friends in front of whom Emilio could let down his guard even before he became his close aide. But that’s another story.

Leonardo always bragged about his younger sisters to everyone around them. Emilio had gotten the impression that the two ladies must be beautiful to the point of sickness if they took after their parents. It was because of this that he had never felt like meeting them even though both of them had been brought up as potential fiancee candidates.   

“By the way, today is Her Highness’ tea party, right? Mother and my two angels had been preparing since morning. I wonder if it’s okay not to show up?” The aide recalled while they were walking down the corridor after the meeting. He was talking to the Prince walking in front of him.

Leonardo, according to Emilio’s wishes, treated him with a carefree friendly manner when they were in private. 

“The tea party. I still have some work left to do today. And my head has been hurting for a while now. I’ll pass.”

The First Prince, Emilio, who had attended countless balls where his presence was overlooked, was feeling exhausted right now. Especially mentally.

The Witch of the Capital had told him a few days ago that his persistent headache also stemmed from this mental exhaustion. 

He understood very well that he didn’t have the same brilliance as Leonardo. But he didn’t know what to make about not leaving a lasting impression on people as the prince of the kingdom.

He knew it was his duty as a member of the royal family, to decide on a fiancee and get married. However, whenever he saw the young ladies going after his friend like predators hunting down a prey, he felt reluctant to do so. To be honest, he wanted a break.

“I see. Well, today my little angels are also attending. It would be terrible if someone fell in love with them. They’re still too young to have suitors; getting married is out of the question. If someone dares press their hand I’ll chop him up!” Leonardo said while tightening his grip around the sword tied to his belt. Emilio didn’t know if he was serious or joking, but seeing Leonardo made him put on a strained smile.

“I-I see.”

Leonardo’s eyes always lit up when he talked about the sisters he seemed to adore. Emilio was amazed at his words, but he worried that the sisters would marry quite late if they have such an older brother. 

If he remembered correctly, the older sister was 19 years old, the same as him, while the younger one was 16. It wasn’t an unusual age for an aristocratic lady to get married. In fact it should be the time to start deciding on a marriage partner.  

“I’ve heard quite a lot about your sisters, Leo. I understand your concern, but wouldn’t this cause them to delay getting married?”

The Caparoni household was famous in society for their beauty.

Starting from the head of the family, the wife, the eldest son, and down to the two daughters, everyone in the family was said to have exceptional good looks. Although no one had ever seen the youngest daughter as she had a weak constitution, it wasn’t hard to imagine what she looked like when one looked at her parents and siblings. She should be like the rest.  

Suddenly, Emilio realised something. Hadn’t Leonardo said “my angels”?

“By ‘angels’, you mean your youngest sister is also present today? I heard she has a weak body, will she be alright? It seems as if she hasn’t attended any tea parties or balls before.” 

Leonardo made a strange face at Emilio’s words.

“Everyone says so, but my cute angel, Millie isn’t sick. And she has attended quite a few parties and balls. She usually accompanies the family wherever they go, yet why does everyone say they’ve never seen cute Millie?” 

“Is that so? Then what about the rumour that the youngest daughter of the Marquess is a frail ephemeral beauty who’s so sick that she never had a debut, and can’t get out of bed?” 

“Apart from the part about her being an ephemeral beauty, everything else is false. I have no idea why such a rumour has been going around.”

The daughter of the Marquess who isn’t seen by the people around her even when she is supposed to be there. In a sense, she really was an ‘ephemeral beauty’.

Emilio’s interest was piqued since he had experienced the same thing himself. But Leonardo would be displeased if he asked him to meet his beloved sister. He immediately decided it was a hassle, and put the matter aside.

Thinking about it had made his temple throb with pain. Creases appeared between his eyebrows.

“Leo, I’m sorry but my head won’t stop hurting. I think I’m going to go get some medicine from Lady Beatrice.”

“Are you okay? Are you going to stop by before going to the office?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“All things considered, today’s meeting was rather long. The new religion that has suddenly gained power everywhere… I have a bad feeling about it.” 

“There is no noticeable movement so far. Besides, there are a lot of other problems… really, will this headache ever go away?”

Maybe it was because of the long meeting, but the headache today wouldn’t stop. He decided to head to Beatrice’s residence to get some medicine from her.