Vol. 5 Ch. 1: For the Future Yet to Come

Serendia Academy has several curricula that ordinary schools do not offer, including some unique to the nobility.

One of them is a "Tea Party" class taken exclusively by the girls.

For noble young ladies, a tea party is not simply a pleasant time spent chatting. It is a venue for socializing where their refinement is judged by how well they entertain their guests and conduct themselves as guests.

In Tea Party class, they are thoroughly drilled in proper etiquette before moving on to practical exercises.

The practical exercises take the form of a tea party held in the courtyard.

Four or five girls from the same year form a group and sit at one table. Each of them brings tea, and they evaluate one another's selections.

The pastries alone had been specified by the teacher beforehand. In other words, the exercise began with preparing a tea that would pair well with them.

The students had to prepare their own tea leaves for the class, though most young ladies simply had their servants buy them.

However, Monica did not even know where she ought to buy tea, so after agonizing over it, she decided to ask Isabelle Norton, the self-proclaimed villainess, for help.

When Monica visited Isabelle's room, Isabelle happily invited her to sit down and prepared black tea and pastries for her...