55

Elena, who did not feel he was worthy of answering, ignored him and turned her eyes to Sian.

"Did you have anything to say?"

"…"

Instead of answering, Sian stared at Elena. As the silence became longer and awkward, Sian uttered words that had nothing to do with the point.

"I invite you. For dinner."

"What?"

Khalif and Elena blinked at the unexpected suggestion, asking back reflexively. And that's how an early dinner for the three unplanned people was arranged.

‎

Elena and Khalif paid a visit to the single dormitory that was reserved for the direct line of the imperial family. The dormitory was similar in size to Elena's single dormitory, but it was too poor to accommodate the Crown Prince, the leader of the empire. Expensive paintings and decorations were nowhere to be seen, and the furniture looked old.

'Now I'm here.'

Elena's gaze deepened. Elena and Sian's dormitory was located across the main street from each other. If it weren't for the trees blocking their view, their lives would be exposed.

In her past life, Elena's attention had been focused on Sian since her days in the academy. What Sian ate, how he slept, and how he lived were all that mattered in her world. Maybe it was from then on. The interest that had started in Sian had been favored and transformed into a futile attachment and love.

"There's nothing special, but eat it. It won't taste bad."

Caliph and Elena faced each other across the dining table, based on Sian that sat at the top. The maids brought out dishes from the kitchen. It was soup, salad and steak, but the level of the food was much lower than the menu Elena usually ate. It was the same for Khalif. He had come with high expectations since it was a meal the Crown Prince had invited him to, but even at a glance, the quality of the meat was not good.

"Hold it."

Sian cut the meat first and ate it, while Khalif and Elena also grabbed knives and forks. Khalif cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and munched on it. He knew it. It was edible, but the gravy wasn't that excellent.

'Was it this bad? The financial situation of the imperial family.'

During her time as queen, Elena was personally supported by the Grand Duchy. Otherwise, she would not be able to cover the extravagant costs of maintaining her dignity. For this reason, she had no interest in the finances of the imperial family and always thought that they were rich. However, when she arrived here, she found that the financial situation of the Imperial Family seemed much more serious than she had expected.

"Does it taste good?"

"Of course! It's so delicious. It's chewy and soft-boiled, and every time the juices spread out, it's so fascinating."

The Khalif even complimented the chef on his disappointment, lest he be found out. His gaze turned to Elena with a blank nod.

"What about you?"

Elena, who was asked, put down her fork and chewed the food in her mouth tightly and swallowed it. Then she picked up her napkin, wiped her mouth, and answered.

"It's too much to say, but it's definitely a delightful dish."

"I see."

Sian no longer asked about the taste. Instead, he paid attention to Elena's eating. While eating a steak with poor meat, she did not make a single chewing sound, and more than eight forks and knives were used naturally to suit their purpose.

"You always show new looks."

"Me?"

Elena looked up to see if she was talking about herself. Sian continued, staring at Elena with a peculiar indifferent look.

"Sometimes you look weak like a deer."

"…"

"Sometimes you behave more gracefully than the imperial family."

Elena missed it. She realized that the etiquette that had been implicitly infiltrated attracted Sian's interest. She rebuked herself for her rashness, but the water had already spilled.

"Was your name Khalif?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"This year's graduation class. So, have you thought about your career after graduation?"

To Sian's question, Khalif answered clearly with a very nervous expression.

"Yes, I made a good connection and found a job that fits my aptitude. I have to prepare my dissertation and I am so addicted to it that I am afraid I will not be able to graduate in a timely manner."

"It's the right thing to do. I wonder what it is."

"I'm doing work in art."

Elena glared at Khalif, who answered politely. She was displeased with the act of amplifying Sian's interest by talking about things that he didn't have to say. There was no way he didn't know that, but Khalif ignored it and talked.

"Actually, Miss Lucia here recommended it to me. I don't know if you know this, but I'm getting a lot of help because she has excellent knowledge and insight."

Elena glared at Khalif as if to kill him for his constant stream of useless words.

'Please, that mouth.'

However, Sian's attention had already been paid to Elena.

"I knew you had a sense of art, but I didn't know you had a good eye for it."

"Your Highness, these are the words of senior Khalif in an attempt to lower himself. You do not need to listen to them."

Elena quickly praised Khalif and tried to pull herself out. She made a fierce eye contact with Khalif, warning him not to talk nonsense anymore.

"You're so modest. I'm even more interested in the depth of your learning."

Oh. Elena's head was throbbing because she kept getting things tangled. Since Sian had already shown interest, there was anxiety that he might try to confirm it in some way.

"How do you feel? Let's talk more about this."

Sure enough, Elena's prediction was right. This situation was uncomfortable because Elena did not want to be involved with Sian for a while.

"Your Highness, I am…"

As soon as Elena tried to express her refusal, Khalif stepped in.

"How can she refuse to do that, Your Grace? Lucia, are you okay? We're free today."

"Ah… ah."

Elena clenched her teeth in anger at his attitude of accepting as he wished, rather than abruptly cutting off his words. Even though he certainly noticed, why on earth are was he so stupid today? The reason for the recklessness was not known, so she was even more feverish.

Eventually, the three moved to the drawing room. Elena stabbed Khalif in the waist with her elbow as she walked behind Sian, who was ahead. It was loaded with quite heavy power, perhaps because it was emotional.

"Cough."

Elena whispered softly to Khalif, who frowned in pain.

"What's wrong with you today? Let's go quietly when we're done eating. What are you talking about!"

"His Highness wants it. And you didn't notice?"

Elena narrowed her eyes and glared at him and made remarks of warning.

"What do you think? I'm begging you, please stop this. I can't take much more of this."

"Look at this. Don't you think this is good for you?"

"So you're trying to make me happy?"

Elena couldn't hear the answer to the questioning. Because she arrived in the drawing room.

"Wow, look at the books. It's like there are thousands."

Khalif looked at the books filled with the walls of the drawing room and admired them. There seemed to be more than a thousand books, but considering that this is the reception room, not the library, he could see how much Sian lived with books. The three people sat relaxed on the spacious sofa. Then Sian looked at Elena and opened his mouth with difficulty.

"When I see you, I think of it."

"What?"

"Can you give me a cup of tea like that?"

"… Tea?"

Elena was quite embarrassed by Sian's request. Give him a cup of tea. It was a sudden request that would be embarrassing for him as well. Sian was also embarrassed to bring up these words, so he gave a false cough.

"I can't forget the scent and the deep taste."

"…"

"Is it a difficult request?"

When Sian asked again, Elena, who had been half asleep for a moment, quickly came to her senses.

"No. If you can prepare tea leaves, tea, and hot water…"

"Hey."

Sian told them to bring them out. The servants brought them in the blink of an eye whether they had been announced in advance or had already prepared them.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's enough."

Elena checked the tea leaves first by opening the sealed box.

'The tea leaves of the second order.'

It was better compared to some products, but compared to the tea leaves, which are mostly used by the aristocrats, the scent and taste of the products were much lower.

'Let's not count the quality. The tea is more important.'

Elena examined the tea leaves carefully. She was able to bring out the full flavor of the tea even with medium quality leaves, as long as she knew how dry and fermented the leaves were. The temperature of the water was just right, and the preparation was perfect. And it was no exaggeration to say that no matter how good the ingredients were, the deep flavor and profound aroma of the tea was immediately dependent on the person making the tea. In that sense, Elena's tea ceremony was close to perfection, as she had made tea from her heart dozens, if not hundreds of times, for just one person.

Gululu.

Elena recommended filling an empty cup with tea water.

"I see."

Sian, who tasted the first donation, exclaimed.

"Even with the same tea leaves, it has such a deep taste and aroma."

Sian stopped talking. Using his sense of smell and taste, he focused on deeply savoring the tea Elena brewed.

"Wow, I think I know a little bit about why people do tea ceremony."

Unintentionally, Khalif was amazed at Elena who made the tea. He decided that he should cancel the idea that the tea ceremony was a sham, a pretense for the aristocracy. Elena, staring at Sian enjoying tea, repeated it in her mind.

'I hope this tea will be the last one today.'

Because she didn't want any more bad relationships. Elena smiled sadly, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past.

"I have a lot of questions for you today, my lady."

"For me??"

Sian openly pointed to Elena and asked.

"You said your father is the head of one of the continent's leading commercial houses."

"Yes."

"How is it? You see, the current flow of money within the empire. Does it feel normal to you?"