"Right, the private rooms, you said you have to be a member of IP what is this?
"IP is the conglomerate under Miss name. The name is Imperium Pacem. We have 4 types of memberships, one of the is exclusive to employees while the other three you can join paying a fee once a month or pay a sum to have the membership for 3 years. Here is the catalogue explaining the advances of all of them"
Looking at the catalogue I can see that more than half of people present will be signing the platinum membership, after all one of the seven arts that all noble must know is to flaunt his status in a discreet way. Although foolish I am one of the people who will become a member.
"How do I become a member?"
"You need to have an account at the Royal Bank. Are you interested sir?"
"Yes, what are the procedures?"
"Why don't I guide you first for the room of your choice so that I can show you the contract you have to sign and explain how it works?"
"Sure, the noblemen room"
"This way My Lord"
Guiding me to enter one of the rooms, once Abraham opened the door I was once again shocked with Lady Cecile insight. You could see that every detail of the room was well thought. The people that arrived before me were already seated in some couch or table, I can even see some of them in the balcony sitting under a parasol smoking cigars and reading the newspaper. They looked like they frequently came here. It gave such a familiarity that one could integrate to the environment easily.
"Lord where do you want to seat?"
"Somewhere close to the bookcase"
"Please follow me"
Guiding me to a table relatively close, he pulled the chair for me and gave me a hard paper that had the products offered at Temone.
"Do you want to drink or eat something sir?"
"I will get what you suggest for me, surprise me"
I know this is a little unfair to him, but I want to test just how good is their service. But not even changing his face, Abraham answer me with the same polite smile he has since we begun to talk
"It will be my pleasure sir. I hope you can feel at home, if you desire we also provide robes and slippers so that you can feel fore comfortable, do you want some?"
So that's why I saw some people using robes instead of their tuxedo or suit, I thought it was a new trend. Well let us emerge in the feeling that Lady Cecile want us to feel.
"Please I want both of them"
"Sure, some other employee will deliver them to you. I will be back shortly with the contract, the tea and appetizers. If you excuse me."
Bowing to me my waiter who seemed to have a better education than my son, went swiftly but elegantly out the room.
Fumu~ should I see what books did Lady Cecile chose for us?
Looking at the titles in the first bookcase my mind was so happy that it stopped working for sometime.
These books were all books that I always wanted to read! From where do I begin? Maybe this one that is about the theory of Markivelius or this one that is the compilation of stories about the creation of our kingdom. As I was behaving like a kid that just receive the toy that he wanted I heard someone calling.
"Viscount Alby, here is your pair of slippers and your robe, do you want help to dress them?"
Looking at me, and giving me the pair of black slippers and a dark red robe, was a cute girl dressed as a maid. She poise herself as the same grace and gave the same polite smile as Abraham.
"Thank you, it will not be needed. But what will happen after I use this robe and slippers?"
"Well, if you're a platinum member you will have your exclusive robe and slippers. They will be embroidery with your name so that we can identify its yours. If not the robe and slippers will be washed and used at a later date by a random client."
"I see"
"Do you need anything else Lord?"
"No, you're excused"
"Thank you My Lord, I wish you a pleasant visit"
Bowing she left.
Taking the Markivelius book and sitting at the table I chose, I took out my tuxedo and shoes and put the robes and slippers.
Fumu~ truly comfortable.
As I was reading the third page I Abraham came back.
"Sorry to interrupt you Lord, but here is your tea and appetizers. Also this is the contract"
As he put down I looked towards the tea that I never saw and the appetizers with a beautiful but unfamiliar shape.
"Could you please introduce what you brought"
"Sure. This tea is one of our exclusive black teas the 'Earl Silver'. It has a citrusy flavor from the bermount fruit. The natural sweetness of Earl Silver it's perfect to pairing with many afternoon tea sweets, like scones, that was I brought them. Scones are a pastry that the Miss came up with, she suggests to eat them with jam, so I brought strawberry jam and jubi jam. I also suggest to put a bit of milk on your tea"
"Milk is it? Sure"
"Excuse me sir. Please taste it. I hope it will be to your taste"
*gulp* holy sh*t who would have thought that milk will make that much of a difference. And the scones with jam perfectly match the tea with milk. It's sweet enough that you don't get sick of it.
"You truly surprised me Abraham, thank you"
"It's my honor that you enjoyed the tea I made sir"
"Well, let me read the contract"
I see, so every month the bank itself will withdrawal from our account the money and deposit on the IP account. Then they'll send a report saying the accounts that payed the fee. All the members will have an lilium emblem that will have your account number.
"I have two questions, instead of paying from the bank can I pay 30 gold coins here directly? An what if I lose my lilium?"
"Yes you can, but should provide us some type of identification. The number in your lilium will be the number of your choice. And if you loose the lilium you should bring your contract and a form of identification so that we can provide you the right membership."
"I see, I want the platinum membership. I will pay now the 30 gold coins."
I signed the contract and gave it to Abraham.
"I will deliver your emblem shortly"
"Thank you"
Not paying more attention to Abraham anymore, I became fully absorbed in the book I was reading and my tea.
Hmm... I think I may come here every day. After finishing 3 chapters, Abraham came to me and told me that the room would be closing soon.
As I looked outside I could see that the sky was dark and the moon was up. I was so absorbed in my reading that I didn't felt the time passed.
Because my cup was never empty or the tea cold, I didn't got distracted and was allowed to be fully absorbed on my reading. What a wonderful experience. And I could see that were 10 or so nobles in the same situation. As I received my emblem and payed my consumption, I heard some nobles saying that they think that the Crown Prince came with his lover, but surely he was not so stupid to come to his ex fiancée opening with his new flame right?
As I thought so and made my way to the exit, I saw Lady Cecile again greeting all the guests that were leaving. She was as impeccable as I saw her in the morning. Is she truly human?
"Oh Viscount Alby, How was your stay? I hope you could relax a bit and enjoy your day"
"Oh Lady Cecile, it was truly wonderful. I must compliment you for the impressive collection of books you gather and the excellent service that your employees gave"
"Hoho. Thank you very much, did you liked the products that we offered?"
"Oh my, how could I not? It was my first time trying them but I loved. I was wondering if you pretend to sell the tea for home making?"
"I'm glad that suited your taste. As for our tea blend, the next time you visit you can ask for the waiter the blends available for buying, and he will show the ones that are in stock. Oh I see you became a member of our IP family, welcome!"
"It looks like someone is calling me. I beg your excuse Viscount, I hope you can visit our other stores in the future as well"
"Sorry for taking your time Lady Cecile. I will surely visit. Have a nice night"
Bowing to the amazing little Lady, I walked to my carriage thinking that tomorrow I must bring my son to submit an application to work for the most noble and beautiful flower of the society.