It seems that Illness-san had already made some preparations, as she quickly returned, pushing a cart loaded with a complete set of tea items.
[Speaking of which, do you often make your own original blends, Illness-san?]
[That’s a difficult question to answeeeeer. For exampleeeee, when I serve tea to Milady and Kaito-samaaaaaa, I would adjust the tea to suit your taaaaaaste. Howeveeeeeer, I’m not sure if you could really call thaaaaaat an original tea blend.]
[Ah~~ Indeed, it’s really difficult to draw a line between arrangements and original creations.]
Defining the boundary between arrangement and original blend is indeed difficult. If one sets out with the intention of creating their original blend, I think it can be considered an original blend, but when it comes to making minor adjustments to suit a person’s taste, it would be difficult to clearly draw the distinction between them.[What about those you normally drink yourself?]
[I don’t reeeeeally make any changes to what was sold in the markeeeeet. I doooooo like drinking tea, but it’s not like I have any special preferenceeeees.]
[Fumu. By the way, what kind of tea do you personally drink , Illness-san?]
[There aaaaaare some nobles who don’t like it because they think it’s cheeeeeeap, so it isn’t often served in the mansiooooon. Howeveeeeeer, I do like flavoured teaaaaaa.]
[Ah, I also like tea with fruit flavors. It may not be the same as classic black tea, but that kind of tea is good too.]
Flavored tea, which involves adding various aromas and flavors such as fruits, flowers and spices to black tea, is considered by some as a heretical, unauthentic black tea since it incorporates factors other than tea leaves, but I quite like it.
Apple tea is also a kind of flavored tea, and I personally like apples, so I’m a little happy when I found it.Among my acquaintances, Rosemary-san drinks flavored tea particularly often. In Rosemary-san’s case, she mainly likes tea flavored with flowers, and the tea she serves me always has some kind of flowery aroma. In contrast, I suppose Jutia-san would be more of an authentic tea drinker? I haven’t seen her drink flavored tea that much.
Ahh, speaking of which, the tea Camellia-san brews also has a unique calming aroma, so maybe that is also flavored tea? If there’s an opportunity, I’ll ask her about it.
[Incidentallyyyyy, I’ve also prepared flavored tea this tiiiiiime.]
[Fumu, based on Illness-san’s image…… It would have roses in it?]
[Oyaaaa? I see you’ve guessed it riiiiiight. Yes, it’s just for the fragraaaaance, but I’ve used a sliiiiiiight amount of rose.]
Watching Illness-san prepare the tea with a smile, I found myself smiling as well. Illness-san adding the scent of roses to her original tea blend certainly was just like her…… but more than anything else, there was something that made me happy.
That is, in her original tea blend, “Illness-san’s preferences” are properly reflected. With her personality and skill, she could have prepared a tea blend that perfectly matched my tastes, but at least this time, it didn’t seem like she did that.
I don’t know how to say it, but I’m embarrassed to express it again…… but somehow…… this is quite a rare opportunity to learn about Illness-san’s preferences, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing Illness-san’s preferences in tea.
As I was thinking along those lines, it seemed that Illness-san’s preparations were complete, as a teacup was placed in front of me.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [For some reason, when it comes to Illness, there have been occasional hints that even Kaito might be subtly conscious of Illness as a romantic interest. Feeling happy to know her preferences…… I feel like if there’s some kind of opportunity, I’m afraid things could get even sweeter……]
