Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit-Chapter 125: Siblings(Part 2)

"I don’t know about this...I feel pretty awkward, maybe we should just leave and say we were busy or something," Muttered Ravella apprehensively.

"Tempting, but we probably shouldn’t reject an invitation from the literal Queen of the nation. And flaking after accepting would be even worse. I mean, I doubt we’d get in trouble or anything, but still," Replied Raven reluctantly.

It was the 2nd of May, 1919, around 4 PM in the evening. A couple of days ago, Lyra had sent out invitations to all the Royal siblings, including Raven and Ravella, for a tea party to be held at 4:30 PM today.

The twins had tried to think of ways to get out of it, but couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t sound like a contrived excuse, so ultimately decided to bite the bullet and just get through it.

"Well, at least this is a good opportunity to put on this cute outfit...it’s kinda too fancy for casual hangouts, and it’d probably be rude to wear something too simple to the castle. So, there’s that positive, at least," Sighed Ravella wistfully.

She was wearing a dark purple dress that wrapped around her neck with a low back, the bottom of the back of the dress longer than the front, with a black sash tied around her waist in a bow over her right hip.

She’d also let her hair down, put on makeup and had golden earrings on, with a gold necklace draped around her neck. She also had black heels on, which she’d practice walking in yesterday, though she was still a bit unsteady in them, having never worn such high heeled shoes before.

"Speak for yourself...I’ve never felt more uncomfortable. These trousers have zero flexibility, I feel like it’ll rip if I stretch my legs too much. Same with this shirt, I can’t even lift my arms up that high, or it’ll get untucked, plus the fabric feels irritating against my scales. And these shoes, my toes feel like they’re being squished, not to mention this tie, it’s kinda stifling. Also, this hair gel, my head feels uncomfortable with my hair slicked back like this, and I have to keep my sense of smell dulled because of the smell, it’s-...," Vented Raven irritably, as he uncomfortably adjusted his tie.

"Yeah, I know, you’ve been complaining about it this whole time. You could’ve just worn something more comfy if it’s that bad," Ravella cut him off dryly.

He was wearing a pair of black trousers with a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt that was tucked in, along with a black tie and black dress shoes. His hair was pretty unruly and hard to tame without the use of any product, so he’d used gel to neaten it up.

"No, Celia picked this out for me, so I had to wear it. And, I mean, I don’t hate the way it looks, but it is pretty uncomfortable," Sighed Raven in response, before glancing back as he heard a pair of footsteps approaching, a familiar figure coming into sight.

"Hey there, you two," Rione greeted them with a smile.

He was dressed more casually, with light brown cargo trousers, a white polo t-shirt tucked in, and a pair of white and blue, laced sneakers.

"Huh...maybe we overdressed," Remarked Ravella in bemusement.

"Hm? No, I wouldn’t say so. If anything, I’m quite underdressed...I’m not particularly fond of formal clothing, so I opted for a more comfortable option," Admitted Rione sheepishly.

"Maybe I should’ve done the same and-...well, I guess there’s no point in dwelling on it. Let’s get going," Replied Raven, briefly considering teleporting back home to get changed into something more comfortable, before deciding against it.

"Yes, we’ll get an earful from Jules if we aren’t punctual," Nodded Rione in agreement.

The three of them then made their way to the castle, getting there before too long and were greeted by a guard, who led them into the building.

They made their way through the castle, before stepping out through an open, sliding glass doorway, into a neatly maintained garden, full of flower beds and a large gazebo set up in the middle, a spread of snacks and sweets laid out on the table.

Lyra was seated at the head of the table, with Siele and Jules seated on either side of her, and four empty seats.

The three of them approached the gazebo and sat down, Rione slumping back in his seat and making himself comfortable, while the twins felt more awkward and nervous.

"Welcome, I’m glad you could all make it. Please, make yourselves at home and relax, there’s no need to be tense," Smiled Lyra warmly.

"Uh, yeah, thanks for inviting us," Nodded Raven politely.

"By the way, isn’t Krest coming?" Inquired Rione, as he glanced at the last empty seat.

"Tch...he’s supposed to," Muttered Jules with an annoyed look on her face.

"Calm down, it’s not as if he’s late yet, it’s just that everyone else arrived early," Pointed out Lyra as she gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"I suppose..."

"Anyway...why don’t we get started? Please, help yourselves, we’ve got plenty to go around," Remarked Lyra, as she glanced at the twins and gestured to the snacks.

"Sure, thanks," Replied Raven, picking up a blueberry tart as Ravella reached for a chocolate cupcake.

"Wow, this is really good," Responded Ravella as she took a bite, the cake soft and spongy, with melted chocolate chips inside.

They began conversing, engaging in some polite small talk and pleasantries, but there was an air of awkwardness around them, the twins uncertain as to how to conduct themselves and interact with the Royals, and vice versa.

Every passing minute felt painfully, uncomfortably slow. Despite the amicable conversation, the ice was very much unbroken. And with the oldest of the Royal siblings yet to show up, nearly ten minutes past the time the tea party was supposed to begin, there was an added tension around Jules.

"That lazy ass...he better not have forgotten about this...," She growled irritably.

"On a somewhat related note, we should probably apologize for Tacitus...pretty sure you’ve figured out that he’s taking advantage of your command to create Summoning Spells to give himself a extra long break from his regular duties," Responded Ravella sheepishly.

"Well, yes, but at least he makes himself useful, he may whine and try to slack off at every opportunity, but he gets the job done when necessary. Can’t say that about our older brother, he’s a real-...," Began Jules, before trailing off as a pair of footsteps echoed out by the entrance to the garden.

"Go on, don’t cut yourself off on my account. Finish your sentence, sis," Remarked Krest dryly, a couple of bottles of alcohol in his hands.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Shot back Jules with a frown, as he walked over and looked around.

"Wow, talk about an awkward atmosphere, this a funeral or something? It’s a good thing I brought these," He grinned, as he held up the bottles and took his seat, which creaked slightly as he leaned back and set the bottles on the table.

"Isn’t that bit much? Those bottles are huge," Responded Jules disapprovingly.

"Lighten up, this is supposed to be a party, isn’t it? We should take it easy and have fun," He shrugged, before opening one of the bottles and filling up the teacups with the liquor as he added, "Tea’s just about the most boring drink there is, this should serve us way better."

"Why, you-...," Began Jules indignantly.

"It’s fine, I don’t mind at all. Frankly, things have been a little awkward, so alcohol isn’t a bad idea," Chimed in Lyra, as she placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder to calm her down.

Jules let out a slight mutter before leaning back in her seat with a huff, picking up a small biscuit with a bit of jam in the middle and tossing it into her mouth, chomping into it with a crunch.

"Oh, wow, this is some pretty high quality liquor, I’ve been meaning to try it for a while now," Remarked Rione, taking a sip from his cup as he picked up one of the bottles.

"I should admit, I don’t have a lot of experience with alcohol, so I can’t really tell the difference between this high quality stuff and the cheaper booze they serve at bars," Admitted Raven sheepishly.

"Me neither. I’ve tried a bunch of different drinks lately, but honestly, all alcohol kinda just tastes the same to me," Added Ravella, as she tried the drink.

"Hahaha, yeah, same here! I think it’s just a scam to try and get people to buy the more expensive ones. For me, so long as it gets you good and drunk, that’s all that matters," Chuckled Krest, as he chugged down the contents of his cup and refilled it.

"If that’s the case, then why do you have such top-shelf bottles? Also, maybe slow down a bit," Spoke up Siele in bemusement, as Krest chugged his second cup.

"Nah, I like to start off strong and then take it slow afterwards. Also, these bottles aren’t mine...father had quite a collection, I came across a whole shelf of booze in his room a while back, and figured I might as well take it since, you know, he’s dead. I stashed them in my room and kinda forgot about them until today, figured this would be a good opportunity to bring them out," He shrugged with a wry smile, as he refilled his cup again.

"Huh...I’m, uh, I’m not sure how to feel about that. Also, th-this is pretty strong," Stuttered Lyra, letting out a cough as she took a sip of her drink.

"It’s quite good though...I must say, it feels weird drinking alcohol out of a teacup," Remarked Jules, taking a swig and giving a slight nod of approval.

As they all drank and started to get tipsy, everyone began to loosen up and relax more, the awkwardness in the air steadily fading as the conversations grew more light-hearted and cheerful.