Afterword
Hello! It’s been a while. I’m Satori Tanabata. Thank you very much for picking up this book. It’s been about a year, but I hope you’ve all been doing well. I myself have been doing well.
This may be a sudden question to ask, but do you know what afternoon tea is? It’s the thing where you have small cakes and sandwiches that come on a three-tiered stand. Of course, the snacks come as a set with some tea.
I’m sure anyone who enjoys stories about villainesses can conjure a detailed image of this activity in their mind’s eye, but I feel like there aren’t as many people who have actually seen an afternoon tea, and even fewer who’ve actually partaken of it. I’m also someone who’s never had afternoon tea before, and I’ve only ever seen illustrations of villainesses engaging in the said activity.
First of all, I’ve never even had tea (aside from green tea) that wasn’t from a tea bag. I believe there are a lot of people like me. I drink coffee made with actual grounds at cafés, and I drink loose-leaf green tea made in a traditional pot every day, but I’ve never had any other kind of tea in loose-leaf form.
Oh, but I’m sure that some of my readers are people who go to afternoon tea with their friends sometimes, find the tins of tea cute, and even buy the tea on a regular basis. If you’re one of those people, please read the following statements from a position of absolute power, and be lenient in your judgment.
Because of my aforementioned complete lack of a relationship with non-green teas, I write about them with the same amount of understanding as things that don’t exist, like magic and dragons. There was a point in the first volume where Yumiella kept drinking poisoned tea without realizing it was poisoned, and I think I would be the same. I would just think, “This authentic tea has such a stimulating flavor,” and I wouldn’t notice the poison. There’s only a small difference between Yumiella and I: while she would end up fine after drinking the poisoned tea, I would foam at the mouth and die.
I must admit that I do think it’s a bit neglectful of me to not have had proper tea or afternoon tea while being an author of a villainess series. I should take a stab at it...
That thought led me to seek out places that have afternoon tea service, and I found a hotel that held said services in their lounge. A hotel lounge...? Could I go somewhere like that on my own? I asked a friend, and he responded, “A lot of people wait for others there, so it’s totally fine to go on your own. I was supposed to meet someone from a dating app, but they flaked, so I ate cake by myself and then went home.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to the latter half of that message, but the point was that it seemed to be okay to go on my own.
During my years in middle and high school, when I was at an impressionable age, I had admired the dark knights who could say, “I work alone,” without being embarrassed, and as a result I don’t mind going out on my own. I go out to movies, Japanese barbecue, and even the aquarium on my own.
And so I set up a plan to enjoy an elegant tea service like a noble lady at the hotel lounge. Smart readers would expect a write-up of my experience to subsequently follow...but I haven’t been able to go yet. I don’t have anything else to say about this topic.
I thought about finding a way to experience an afternoon tea service around when the first volume of this book came out, so it’s been on the back burner for about three years now. That’s the kind of person that I am. My wisdom tooth in the bottom left part of my mouth hurts from time to time, but I’m the kind of loser who keeps putting off going to the dentist.
Still, I’m interested in the tea service, and I’d like to go sometime soon. I hope I can share my experience having proper tea in the afterword of the next volume. If I make the declaration here, maybe I’ll be more likely to put it into action.
Act 5 was the Eleanora volume so there were extra illustrations of her by Tea. Between the scene in the closet with Yumiella and her declaration to the prince, Eleanora’s friendships and romance both had some progression in volume five.
Between the release of the previous volume and this volume, the second volume of the manga adaptation has gone on sale. Patrick made his official appearance. The second volume was also released as a special edition that came with a drama CD. It’s a lively story about investigating the seven wonders of the Academy. Also, there’s a voice comic available on YouTube.
Everything is currently available to purchase or watch, so if you haven’t yet, please check it out.
I apologize for leaving my thanks to everyone until the very end. To my two editors, who are always taking care of me; to the illustrator, Tea; to the proofreaders and everyone involved in the publishing of this book; and to everyone who continues to support this series—I truly thank you.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login