With a Warp, Kristina appears at the entrance hall of Count Weiz's manor. Wearing a beautiful red ballgown dress with flower embroidery made of golden thread, and perfectly done makeup thanks to Rose.

  Speaking of Rose, when Kristina asked via Message weather she should take servants with her or she should come alone, she was told that it was up to her. Thus she decided to bring Rose, her precious lady's maid, along.

  "You aren't here as a guest, just stand behind me quietly and make sure to observe. Make sure to pay attention, it would be good for you to memorize any important parts of the conversation, so, if I forget some detail, I can ask you about it later."

  "Yes, my lady!" Rose promptly answers.

  Honestly, Ernst might have been the better choice for this, since his intelligence is 100, but he's busy dealing with the village right now.

  A young looking maid appears, from her ears one they can instantly tell that she's an elf. This is the first demihuman I have seen so far outside of my manor, so I imagine they must be quite rare, so how does Count Weiz have one as a maid...? Well, I can just ask him about it later.

  The elf bows before speaking: "If you would follow me, I may take you to where the tea party will be taking place."

  Tea party, huh...? I wasn't informed that it would be a tea party, but I guess that's basically a meeting in noble terms, specially noblewomen, so I should have assumed that was what was going to happen. Although, tea parties are supposed to be an afternoon event, so it is kinda late for one...

  "Please, lead the way," Kristina answers.

  Me and some of the other players, mostly women, from Daemonia have actually roleplayed many tea parties before, so I don't feel completely unprepared, but... this is the first time with actual nobles, so I still feel a bit anxious.

  The elven maid takes Kristina to a moderately large courtyard, in its center lies a gazebo. Inside it there's a table at which an elderly woman is sat, her demeanor is soft and her dress is a casual yellow tea gown. Beside the woman, stands a human maid currently filling her lady's cup with tea.

  Arriving at the gazebo, Kristina curtsies, bending her knees and bowing her head while holding up the skirt of her dress. "I am Kristina Sanguis, Lady of Nacht manor, it's a pleasure to be meeting you," in most stories I read involving nobility, it is those of lower rank that must introduces themselves first, hopefully it's the same here.

  "I'm Baroness Theresia von Weiz, it's also a pleasure to meet you. My nephew has told me plenty about the meeting you had yesterday, but I would like to know more about you."

  Kristina smiles. "I would be happy to clarify any questions you might have."

  "I'm glad to hear, but before that, please take a sit," Theresia gestures to the chair opposite of her, which also happens to be the closest one to her guest.

  With a gracious nod, Kristina takes her seat while Theresia's maid fills her a cup of tea, "I must admit I'm a bit surprised we are having a tea party at this time, since, at least where I'm from, those are usually held in the afternoon."

  "It's the same here, I just thought that you might not have had many opportunities to have a tea party without having to hide your face and body, since they are mostly in the afternoon."

  "Your concern is much appreciated, although most tea parties I would have were indoors with curtains closed, so I didn't actually need to worry about the sun." Honestly, even under direct sunlight, I could survive for at least 20 real life minutes back in Vera Phantasia, assuming I had full hp. Not sure how that translates to this world, so it's better for me to be careful.

  "Since you are from a different world, I imagine that there must be many differences between our cultures and rules of etiquette."

  "Yes, I also believe so," although I haven't noticed anything too weird so far.

  "I used to be a tutor on etiquette before I inherited my position as baroness, I could teach you some during my free time."

  "I would gladly accept such an offer!"

  "Good, good, but be warned, some would say I may be quite harsh with my criticism when teaching."

  "That's no problem, I have defeated enormous armies and slain countless beast, I can handle some criticism."

  "Bragging about military achievements might be fine if you are having a tea party with female knights or other people of the sword, but most women won't be interested in talking about that. You should always keep in mind your interlocutor's interests."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Kristina nods. "I will keep that in mind going forward. Me and the other women of Daemonia would often discuss military tactics during our tea parties," mostly about army composition, "mage only is where it's at," one of them would always say, "no, balance is necessary, 25% skirmish, 25% infantry, 25% cavalry, 25% mage is the way" another would soon reply...

  Damn, I kinda miss talking to them, I wish that they had been transported with me to this world... Will I ever see them again...? I always wanted to live in a fantasy world, but I didn't think that I would have to do so without my friends...

  Many memories flash in an instant in her her mind, Emilia recognizes the situations in them from the times she had tea parties in Vera Phantasia. However, the environment, the lighting, all of it looks too real to be in-game.

  In one of those memories, one of her friends says she has to leave early because she has a meeting scheduled with someone, but Emilia remembers that what had actually happened was that her friend said she needed to leave because her pizza had arrived. Similar changes appear in many of the other memories. Out of character moments seem to have been "fixed".

  If these are from the "real" Vera Phantasia, then they are Kristina's memories... So, she misses them too... She can feel herself becoming teary eyed as the memories keep flowing into her mind.

  Theresia caresses Kristina's hand, "Franz told me you are from another world and that you can't go back, it must be hard for you. I was honestly doubtful of such story at first, but seeing the look in your face now, I see the sorrow of a woman who lost a home she can't ever go back to... I'm sure of your story's veracity now."

  Kristina just looks down and, after a minute of mutual silence, Theresia continues to speak: "Back to teaching, showing vulnerable emotions when with people you deeply trust is fine, but you should be careful with people that might try to use your vulnerabilities to attack you."

  Kristina nods, "Understood..." That's even true on Earth, I guess...

  "Anyways, I apologize for souring the mood," she turns to the maid beside her, "Could you bring us some cake, please?"

  "Yes, ma'am," Theresia's maid answers before swiftly leaving to fetch some cake.

  "Is there any other advice you have for me right now?" Kristina asks.

  "Yes, you are quite overdressed for an informal event such as a tea party."

  "Well," I wanted to dress to impress and it seems I might have overdone it. However, "I wasn't aware this was going to be a tea party in the first place."

  "Hmm... Then the fault lies at least partially with my nephew for being unclear. You should use a ballgown when going to a formal events, such as a ball."

  "Right, it's in the name..."

  "In the name...? What do you mean by that?" Theresia asks, sounding confused.

  "Oh, sorry, I forgot we speak different languages."

  "Different languages?"

  "Yes, we can only understand each other thanks to the translation ring I'm wearing."

  "Ah," the confusion vanishes from her face, "I believe our kingdom's diplomats use the same sort of magical device, but I never seen it used before, if you hadn't told me we weren't speaking the same language I wouldn't have ever known..."

  "The reason I said 'it's in the name' is because the word for ballgown in my language includes the word for ball within itself."

  "I see... Anyways, don't get me wrong, it's better to overdress than to underdress, but still it's best to aim to dress at a level appropriate for the situation."

  "Alright, I think I got it. How well-dressed should I be for the princess's birthday party though?"

  "If you truly wish to use the party as a way to reach the royal family, then you must dress as good as you possible can. Unless you do all possible to distinguish yourself, nobody will care for a mere Lady of the Manor."

  Kristina nods in understanding and Theresia continues, "Although, you may find more trouble from being a vampire than from being low of rank. Nobles of the north, including the royal family, tend to be more religious and superstitious than the ones in the south, they are also less accepting of non-humans." So, we are in the south...

  "Well, I am human, so that last part shouldn't be an issue..."

  "They wouldn't see it that way."

  Theresia's maid arrives with cake and serves both ladies.

  Kristina starts to eat, but soon Theresia interjects: "Don't lean forward, maintain your posture as you bring the food to your mouth."

  "Yes, ma'am," Kristina quickly straightens her back.

  "Elegance must be present in all of your movements."

  Kristina nods, a bit of anxiety showing in her face, this is hard.

  "There's no need to worry, you are doing fine. In fact, as much as it shames me to admit this You are already surpassed my granddaughter."

  "And what's the age of this granddaughter? I imagine she must be way younger than me."

  "She just turned 20 this year... You don't look a day over 20, but from what Franz told me just the time you spent ruling as a noble was already more than that. Is it true then that vampires do not age?"

  "Indeed. One of the best perks of vampirism, I must say. In truth, I'm actually 51," while my mental age is 32, since I have the mind of Emilia not of my character Kristina. Well, I was often called immature for my age, so my mental age might actually be even lower...

  "That does indeed sound appealing, to be beautiful forever."

  "While age can be seen in one's appearance, it does not make them any less beautiful. After all, isn't wine at its finest when it's aged?"

  "Oh, my... I didn't take you to be a charmer, Kristina."

  "I was merely repeating words I heard before from an acquaintance," more specifically, a count in Daemonia with the username "GrannyLover67".

  "Either way, I think you should save charming words for men you are interested in."

  "I'm not interested in romance," she replies, both as Kristina and Emilia.

  "Why?"

  She was about to answer as Emilia and say that it's because she's tired of getting rejected, but in an instant a memory appears in her mind. So vivid is it, that she can smell the blood. the burning wood and the ashes. "I lost the only man I ever loved long ago," she answers as Kristina.

  "I see... My condolences."

  After they both finished their cakes, Theresia speaks. "Now, there are some more serious matters I would like to discuss with you," she gets up from her chair, "if you would please follow me?"