Soon, Duchess Alistair, the hostess of the tea party, sent a servant to inform them that it was time for the tea party to begin.
The children were taken back to the garden the tea party was being hosted in and led to their seats. The seats were given according to their positions and status.
According to hierarchy, the Grand Duke who was the brother of the King, was supposed to sit at the head of the table as he had the highest status at the tea party since the King, his brother was not present.
But because he wasn't the host, he sat at the left side of the host, his wife and children taking the seats next to him. Alistair, the hostess sat at the right side of the host, Maxim Anton, who was her husband, with their children beside her. The other nobles also took their seats.
After a short speech from Maxim, the tea party officially began and conversations were continued. Servants walked around the table serving snacks and filling teacups. This time, Aristia added the sugar into her tea herself. She also didn't forget about her brother who was beside her.
Aristocrats engaged in small talk around her, craftily sending out words with hidden swords and poison laced tongues.
Aristia listened with half interest and half boredom to the same method of noble currying favour from people of higher statuses. No one could tell that she was listening as she was staring at the tea and snacks placed in front of her.
She was about to turn away from the conversation when she heard an interesting piece of news from some gossiping nobles.
"I heard that Marquis Oswalt brought back a child. I wonder if that's true." Aristia turned to the person who spoke.
Aristia matched the features with those she was told about in her history class; Strawberry blonde hair and light green eyes. It was a countess; Eleanor Splane, the wife of Earl Cedric Splane.
"I heard the child is already five years old." It was a Viscountess who had orange hair and golden brown eyes; Svetlana Essylt, wife of Viscount Leonard Essylt.
"A Mistress?" Another noblewoman spoke.
"Oh, poor Marchioness." Viscountess Amelia Everett spoke with pity, one hand over her mouth. She was the mother of Vasily and there was a close resemblance between them. Though, she had cerulean hair and pink eyes.
[Oh, a cheat?] Aristia thought when she analyzed the conversation.
Little mention of Marchioness Oswalt was present in the book. The Marchioness got married to the Marquis at sixteen years of age, and the Marquis twenty one. She was currently twenty three, while the Marquis was twenty eight.
Aristia tried to think of any additional information the book had provided but she couldn't. Instead, she focused on analyzing what she had heard.
So, the child being five years old already either meant that the Marquis probably had an affair two years after they had gotten married, or he already had a mistress before his marriage and only managed to impregnate the mistress two years into his marriage, that is, when the Marchioness was eighteen years old.
Aristia discreetly looked around and guessed that the Marchioness in question was probably not present at the tea party.
As she looked around, her eyes stopped at a noblewoman with yellow hair and yellow eyes.
[Hmm... I'm surprised her hair doesn't make her look like a rotten vegetable.] Aristia thought.
The lady was pretty. In fact, every aristocrat in this tea party was handsome and pretty. There were just different levels and types of beauty.
Coincidentally, the noblewoman opened her mouth to speak just as Aristia had that thought.
"The Marquis needed an heir and the Marchioness could not give him any." The woman, Duchess Matilda Winston, said elegantly.
[What the hell did this lady just sputter? She just spouted a whole mouthful of rubbish.] Aristia thought incredulously.
Now she had a change of heart.
[It would have been better if her hair made her look like she had a rotten vegetable on her head.] She grumbled inwardly.
"What do you mean, Duchess Matilda?" One of the noblewomen asked.
"The Marquis needed an heir, which the Marchioness failed to provide." Duchess Winston replied.
The Duchess didn't need to say more as they all understood.
Wasn't the Duchess saying that since the Marchioness couldn't give birth to a child for the Marquis, he had to resort to keeping a mistress or impregnating another woman outside in order to get what he couldn't get from the Marchioness?
While some agreed with the Duchess, some didn't. But regardless, none said a word.
Aristia wondered, [What if the Duke was the one who cheated on the Duchess? Would she still be sitting and saying this calmly right now? Her husband could even be keeping a mistress even with their child, who knows?]
[But I'm not sure about the Marchioness situation. After all, she could be a supporter of this, maybe she gave her consent. She could have even been the one to make the suggestion so that her husband would have an heir.]
But that was highly unlikely, as which woman would consent to or even suggest that her husband sleep with another just for the sake of having a child?
And the fact that the Marchioness didn't even attend the tea party as she was probably sorrowful, or just feeling humiliated, convinced her the more.
Aristia would have also thought that the Marchioness couldn't be blamed for her inability to give birth to a child, after all, the Marquis could be the problem, if the Marquis hadn't had a child from another woman.
Soon, the conversation shifted from the topic of the Marchioness to other topics of gossip.
***
After the tea party, Aristia bid farewell to her cousins and boarded her family's carriage as they all left the Anton estate to return home.
Once they arrived at the mansion, the family separated in different directions. Aristia walked to her room to take a bath with Alaric, as had been the usual occurrence.
Aristia had actually convinced herself that it wasn't a big deal for her to take a bath with Alaric. She was even becoming used to it.
[It's not like it's my body. Besides, it's a child's body.] She shrugged.
How did she manage to convince herself?
It was very simple; anytime it was time to take a bath, she'd be reminded of the triplets; Andy, Summer and Mae. They took all their bubble baths together, splashing water around and playing with their rubber duckies.
They made messes, but they had fun. So much so that Aristia's parents always said that they were a thousand times more childish than she'd ever been as a child, as Aristia had always been mature for her age.
After Aristia and Alaric were done with dressing up, they changed into their night clothes and got into bed.
Yup. Alaric sleeping in her room was also a regular occurrence. He even suggested moving in but Aristia firmly rejected it and even threatened him that they'd stop bathing and sleeping together if he tried it.
Even his cute pout couldn't change her mind. A girl needed her personal space, after all. Ahem. Even though she was just five years old at the moment.
***
In a mansion in a certain fief, a woman was staring out of the window at the starless sky...