The tea party Li imagined was British-style afternoon tea.

Because of that, she secretly steeled herself, believing that creating the right atmosphere came first.

Li asked the servants to gather materials and began by making furniture.

If it was going to be British style, then Victorian-style furniture was the obvious choice.

Incidentally, the often-confused Rococo style belongs to French furniture.

Victorian style is characterized by calm designs and chic, deep color tones.

Recalling memories from long ago, Li crafted furniture with elegant curves.

A table, sofas and single-seater chairs.

She even made silver teapots and spoons and porcelain inspired by bone china designs.

She also tried decorating them with patterns she remembered, such as Imari ware.

Because Li had little experience attending tea parties, she had not known this.

In the Amesverta Kingdom, there was pottery but no porcelain.

That was because the firing temperature required for porcelain is higher than that for pottery.

That was where Li’s synthesis magic came into play.

With a spirited “here goes,” she somehow made it work.

Combined with Li’s cheats, porcelain was suddenly born in the Amesverta Kingdom.

“These are really lovely.”

Her mother was all smiles.

Milky-white vessels painted with vivid red botanical patterns.

Their rims were decorated with gold, making them quite luxurious.

Naturally, Li also made sets for use within the ducal house.

She also made the three-tier stands that are practically synonymous with afternoon tea.

Sandwiches on the bottom tier, scones on the middle tier and cakes on the top tier.

That was the proper style.

Li is the type to be particular, but there was one thing she wanted to change.

Li is actually bad with cucumbers.

In the past, cucumbers were considered a luxury item in Britain.

As a result, cucumber sandwiches are the orthodox choice for afternoon tea.

However—

Li is bad with cucumbers.

That green, grassy smell hits her nose.

If she forces herself, she can eat them, but even then she sometimes feels nauseous.

Even just a tiny amount mixed into potato salad is enough to make her frown.

So that part, at least, she wanted to change.

Li had tried to overcome her dislikes.

But the wall that was cucumbers was too high.

So high that she eventually gave up on conquering it.

She wanted to stick to British style, but for Li, cucumbers were a no-thank-you.

That said—

In this life, Li had not once eaten cucumbers.

Even salads of raw vegetables were mainly leafy greens.

The only cucumber-like thing she encountered was pickled vegetables preserved in vinegar.

Those, Li could handle.

Because they lacked that green smell.

And so.

Li had no intention of checking whether cucumbers even existed here.

She simply decided she needed to come up with a sandwich to replace them.

After finishing most of the furniture and tableware, Li turned to planning the menu.

For cakes, she planned to center things around fruit tarts.

That part was fine.

For some reason, the Amesverta Kingdom was rich in cakes.

If the season allowed, she was even thinking of making Mont Blanc.

Scones would not be a problem either.

Jams and cream cheese to accompany them were already common on the table.

Which meant the real problem was the sandwiches.

Li found herself agonizing over a major issue.

In the end, after much trial and error, Li decided to make mackerel sandwiches.

Mackerel spoils easily due to the digestive enzymes it contains.

But this was a world with magic.

A method had already been established to freeze freshly caught mackerel and transport it to the royal capital.

Li had often made sandwiches using canned mackerel.

But if fresh mackerel was available, she could simply grill it.

And after working through repeated trials with the chefs, a dish she was satisfied with was finally completed.