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“After that, Father asked me to send out a memo to the staff updating them on events this coming month. I did so through email— and then he berated me for not sending out a physical memo! In front of the whole office!” Ferdinand finished in a rush.
Beside him, Felix snorted. “The hell is wrong with email?”
Ferdinand threw up his hands. “I do not know! He said I need to “stop forcing new technology down everyone’s throats”. Email is not new technology! Whenever I attempt to improve how things are done in his company, he pushes back. Publicly!”
Spring wind flew around and between the pair as they walked through town. It was Friday afternoon and, with the weekend fast approaching, there was a giddiness in the people around them. Not in Ferdinand, though. Nice as the weather was, his mood remained sour.
Luckily, Felix, one of his best friends, never demanded giddiness from Ferdinand. He was the perfect person to have around when you needed an ear. Felix rarely gave workable advice, in Ferdinand’s opinion, but he was a good listener.
“I don’t know why you even stay in that company,” Felix said, following Ferdinand around a corner. “The money seems good but it can’t be worth all the shit you put up with.”
“It is the family business,” Ferdinand pointed out.
“So what? If you’re not happy, you should just leave. I did.”
It was tempting some days. Like today. As much as Ferdinand had plans to improve his father’s company, he wondered if it was worth the stress. “I have always dreamed of… Well, that is not important. I cannot just quit.”
Felix heaved a sigh. “I’m only in town today, Ferdinand. What’s your dream?”
“It is childish. Do not worry—”
“I won’t worry. I just want to know so I can tell you if it’s better than what you’re doing now, which it probably is.” Felix smirked. “Is it to join me at the Faerghus Weapons Museum? I could use the help, and I trust you with the older swords more than I trust Annette.”
“Tempting,” Ferdinand admitted, “but no. Ah! Here is just the place I need!”
They stopped in front of a shop with large windows and a set of double doors edged in royal blue. Beside the steps leading to the door was a lavender sign that read Thyrsus Teahouse . Below the words, a staff wound with ivy and leaves had been intricately painted. Ferdinand gestured. “ Thyrsus is my go-to for when work is a terror!”
Felix sneered at the sign. “Is this the place Lorenz and what’s-his-name opened?”
“His name is Ignatz. Oh do not make that face!” Ferdinand pulled Felix up the steps. “Lorenz is out of town this weekend doing research for new tea leaves, I promise you will not see him.” When Felix still didn’t look pleased, Ferdinand clasped his hands together. “Please have tea with me? Tea always cheers me up, and tea with a friend is even better.”
The sneer fell away. Before Ferdinand could celebrate, an impish smirk took its place. “That’s it, isn’t it? Your secret dream is to open a tea place too.”
“I—”
“I knew it. You’d be great at it, you know. You’re obnoxiously friendly and never shut up about tea. It’s perfect.”
“It’s silly!” Ferdinand objected. “I do love tea but that hardly qualifies me to open my own shop!”
But the smirk remained. “You should do it. Trust me, nothing is more satisfying than leaving your old man high and dry.”
It was true that Felix had been much happier since leaving his own father’s company some years back. But still Ferdinand shook his head. “Let us drop it for now. I shall treat you to some Almyran pine needle tea and—”
The rest of the sentence, as well as Ferdinand’s budding good mood, fell away as he entered the teahouse. There, at a table near the back corner, was Hubert von Vestra.
His ex-boyfriend.
Ferdinand nearly turned around right then and there— even as a voice nagged at the back of his mind about pride and nothing letting one person stop him from getting his favorite tea— but Felix leaned past him and saw someone else.
“Is that Bernadetta?” Felix’s voice was filled with concern. Another look indeed revealed a purple haired girl across from Hubert. She was hugging herself and looking miserably down at the table. If it were anyone else, Ferdinand might have made a crack about Hubert’s presence doing that to people. But it was common knowledge in their friend group that Bernadetta had long conquered her fear of Hubert.
Ferdinand followed Felix over to the table. The teahouse was not terribly crowded. He spotted Leonie, one of the employees, chatting leisurely with a woman with blue hair and tight braids. Ignatz himself was behind the counter and he waved as Ferdinand passed. Both wore dandelion yellow aprons with green leaves stitched beside their name tags.
Hubert spotted them first. He scowled at Ferdinand, ignoring Felix entirely. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question,” Ferdinand countered. “You hate tea.”
“Hey,” Felix greeted Bernadetta, ignoring Hubert in turn and sitting at the table.
Bernadetta sniffed, not looking up. “Hello.”
“Who do I have to kill?”
“W-What?! No one!”
“You sure? You look like you’ve been crying.”
Bernadetta covered her face and scrunched in her chair, looking impossibly small for an adult woman.
Ferdinand looked to Hubert and narrowed his eyes in question. Hubert dropped his scowl, wordlessly agreeing that there were more important things at hand than their bickering. “I found her down the street in distress.” Hubert explained, his tone was all business. “This place was close and I knew it was quiet, so I brought her in to calm down.”
“What happened?” Ferdinand asked.
“She won’t say. I have barely gotten a full sentence from her.”
“And she is unharmed?”
“As far as I can tell.”
Ferdinand sat across from Felix on Bernadetta’s other side. There were often jokes about which friends Hubert and Ferdinand “got in the divorce”, as Dorothea always phrased it— but Bernadetta remained one of the few people largely unaffected. She still went with Hubert to the local botanical gardens and invited Ferdinand to craft fairs.
It pained Ferdinand to see her this way. Putting aside his quarrel with Hubert was well worth it in favor of tackling this issue. “Bernadetta,” he began gently, “do you want one of us to take you home?”
Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head rapidly. “I can’t go there. Not now. Maybe not ever!”
“You do not have to! I was just—”
But it was too late. Bernadetta slid from her seat until she was under the table. There she curled in on herself and groaned into her knees.
Felix scooted back his chair to look down at her, then leveled a look at Ferdinand. “Any other great ideas?”
“Yes, actually.” Ferdinand stood and crossed to the counter. The blue haired girl giggled at something Leonie had said. Leonie’s cheeks turned pink as a result. Ferdinand flashed her a thumbs up as he passed by, which she returned surreptitiously.
Ignatz perked up at Ferdinand’s approach and leaned over to check out their table as the situation was explained to him. “Poor Bernadetta,” he said at last. “What can I do? I have those cake pops she likes. Lorenz hates them but he’s not here to disagree.”
“Excellent idea! I also wanted to place an order for tea.”
Ignatz clicked open a pen and pulled out a notepad from his apron. “Go ahead!”
“You can’t seriously believe you can solve everything with tea.”
Ferdinand ignored the voice behind him for now. It sounded irate and mildly incredulous, which was most unhelpful at this time. “I shall need two Almyran pines and a honeyed-fruit— Hm…” He looked back at Bernadetta for a moment. “Actually, make that an Albinean berry blend, with a good amount of sugar. And a cinnamon tea, if you have any.”
With a nod, Ignatz got to work. He had not once touched the register but Ferdinand opened his wallet and stuffed his largest bills into the tip jar anyway. Now he could turn to Hubert, crossing his arms. Hubert was posed much the same. “Yes, I do think most of life’s problems can be solved with tea. I did not see you doing much better,” Ferdinand added.
Hubert’s expression darkened. “She was a blubbering mess when I came across her. I dare say I was doing just fine.”
“Exactly my point! Attacks like this leave her drained afterwards. Something sugary and familiar will help more than either of us could.”
Hubert still did not look impressed, but he also did not press the point. Instead he sighed. “She doesn’t want to go home,” Hubert restated.
Ferdinand sighed as well, leaning back against the counter. “No, apparently not.”
“That can only mean this is linked to Sylvain somehow. But she hasn’t had anxiety about their relationship like this in years.” Hubert put a hand to his chin. “What could have happened that she’s afraid of her own boyfriend?”
“And if it is an issue with Sylvain, why is he nowhere to be found?”
They pondered these questions in silence for a bit. The sounds of Ignatz preparing their drinks melded with the soft chatter of Leonie and the blue haired woman. Felix’s attempts at conversion with a clammed up Bernadetta wove in and out.
Finding his mind running in circles, Ferdinand looked up at Hubert. It had been around six months since they had seen each other properly. Hubert was largely unchanged; same asymmetrical haircut, same dark coat, same cheekbones. Not that Ferdinand had expected that to change, per say, but… “You look well,” he ventured.
The regret was instantaneous. Hubert fixed him with a raised eyebrow. Ferdinand cleared his throat and none-too-subtle checked on Ignatz’s progress.
The bell over the door chimed as more customers came in. Hubert took Ferdinand gently by the arm and pulled him aside so the newcomers could line up before the counter. He kept his hand on Ferdinand’s arm as he replied, “You look exhausted.”
Ferdinand snorted. “Overworking is your department.”
“You need more sleep than I do.”
“Is that—”
“It’s not an insult, just fact,” Hubert interrupted. “I can only assume this means you have yet to leave your father’s company?”
“It is my company as well. Or will be, one day.”
“Yes, one day when you will follow the path your father has made you and refined it to your liking but ultimately never do a thing for your own ambitions .”
Ferdinand wretched his arm away. “That was an insult.”
“If you find the truth insulting, I suppose it was.”
This was an old argument. The argument that had built up all throughout their relationship. The argument that had ultimately ended it. When Felix told Ferdinand to leave the family business, Ferdinand knew it was just an extreme opinion. Just the kind of advice you give when someone expresses dissatisfaction with their occupation.
From Hubert, it always sounded like a challenge. Leave his father, pursue his own interests, disregarding everything his family has worked generations for. As if casting aside a guaranteed position of power was a smart career choice.
He took a step closer, glaring up at Hubert. “What I do with my life is no concern of yours.”
Instead of looking even slightly intimidated, Hubert’s brows creased in what could only be disappointment. “Correct. Run yourself into the ground for all I care. Excuse me for thinking you may see sense one day.”
“Sense like betraying my father? Throwing away everything he has done for me?”
“If your father feels betrayed by seeing you go off to live your preferred life, he is not a person you should have in that life.”
“That—”
“Ferdinand! Order’s ready!”
They looked around. Ignatz waved to them, four cups of tea steaming on the counter and two cake pops in his hands. Leonie had returned to his side and was hurriedly taking orders. Fixing on a polite smile, Ferdinand took two of the cups and walked back to the table, leaving Hubert to wrestle with the other teas and both cake pops.
By smell alone, Ferdinand could tell which teas he was holding, so his first stop was Felix. “Anything?”
“No change.” Felix blew gently on his cup. “Try not to break up again right now, okay? Don’t need more stress over here.”
“We were not—”
“Sure sounded like your break up argument. You called me that day, remember? I know exactly what you fought over.”
Ferdinand huffed. “Be that as it may, we can hardly break up ‘again’ if we are not together in the first place.”
Felix conceded that by shrugging and standing up so Ferdinand had room to crouch down. Holding the remaining cup with both hands, Ferdinand offered it to Bernadetta. “Here,” he said softly. “Drink this.”
Bernadetta gave the cup a dubious look. “Will it make me disappear?”
“No, but it is warm and sweet.”
Visibly unconvinced, Bernadetta took the tea. She breathed in the fumes and the tiniest of smiles made its way onto her face. “My favorite…”
Ferdinand grinned. “Of course! Nothing but the best for our Bernadetta.”
Once again, he felt someone behind him— and a moment later, Hubert was kneeling under the table with them. The cake pops he held were coated in white royal icing. A little rabbit face and the outline of two big ears decorated the orb of cake. At the sight of them, Bernadetta let out a small gasp.
Hubert smiled and passed her one. “It’s chocolate inside, according to Ignatz.”
“It’s so cute ,” Bernadetta breathed in amazement.
“Will you be able to eat such an adorable creature?”
She frowned so fiercely and suddenly that Ferdinand had to hold back a bark of laughter. “Hubert! How could you say that!”
In answer, Hubert chuckled and took a bite of the other cake pop. “It’s easy once you start. I promise.”
“Hubert!”
Unable to contain himself, Ferdinand stood and hid a snicker behind his hand. It had been so long since he had seen these two interact. Their conversation often became very sibling-like. Ferdinand had missed experiencing it first hand.
Pushing away his sudden melancholy, Ferdinand picked up one drink and sniffed. Almyran pine needle. He took a sip before leaning down to tap Hubert on the shoulder. “This one is yours,” he said, holding out the remaining cup.
Hubert made a face as if Ferdinand were handing him hemlock. “I don’t like tea.”
“You like cinnamon tea well enough. Drink up. Everyone else is.”
“I don’t see why—”
“Take the fucking tea, Hubert,” Felix demanded flatly.
Glaring at Felix, and being glared at in return, Hubert accepted the cup. They spent the next while just drinking their tea. Hubert remained on the floor with Bernadetta while Felix and Ferdinand hovered over them. They watched Bernadetta finally eat her cake pop, listened as the new customers filled the teahouse with chatter, stole glances at one another. At one point a man their age with the beginnings of a beard and a single braid in his hair hailed Leonie and Ignatz like an old friend, causing the pair to burst into excited hellos.
The teahouse was as lively as ever, and it made Ferdinand happy to see. Lorenz had taken his dream and spun it into a place Ferdinand could experience for himself. A grand establishment that was a perfect blend of Lorenz vision and Ignatz’s homey touches. A place that took on a life of its own even as Ferdinand watched.
“Um…”
All three of them zeroed in on Bernadetta. She was absently spinning the cake pop stick in one hand and clutching her half drunk tea with the other. “I-I’m sorry I caused you all so much trouble.”
Felix tsked. “Look, if you tell us what happened, maybe we can help.”
Bernadetta bit the end of the stick. “It’s embarrassing.”
“More embarrassing than hiding under a table?”
“Y-Yeah…” She gulped. “I did something mean to Sylvain.”
It was so far from the scenarios Ferdinand had been tossing around in his head that he blinked rapidly for a moment to adjust. Bernadetta was by no means perfect, but it was hard to imagine her hurting Sylvain in any way.
Felix, meanwhile, snorted. “So? I do mean things to him all the time.”
“But it was really mean! I ran away from him!”
“And why did you do that?” Hubert prompted patiently.
Bernadetta bit the stick harder, not meeting their eyes. Ferdinand crouched again. “Drink,” he instructed kindly, taking a sip of his own tea. Bernadetta mimicked him and took a long gulp herself.
Even Felix was kneeling with them now. The truth was at hand. All they needed was to keep Bernadetta’s courage up.
Heaving out a long exhale, Bernadetta began. “We were in the bookstore around the corner. He took me to the section where my next book’s gonna go once it comes out next month. And… well, he—”
The doors banged opened, sending a sharp note through the teahouse as the bell was smacked. Sylvain himself stood in the opening, eyes darting around the room, clearly out of breath. He spotted Felix and his eyes trailed over to—
“Bernadetta!” He charged forward, nearly knocking over an older man with a monocle. “Bernie, are you okay?! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Don’t you have your phone?”
Felix stood up between him and Bernadetta, halting Sylvain’s progress momentarily. “What did you do?” Felix’s tone was ice cold.
“This has got nothing to do with you.” Sylvain step sided Felix and got on his knees before Bernadetta. Ferdinand stood to give him room, as wary as Felix, ready to intervene if Bernadetta gave the slightest sign of distress. “Are you okay?” Sylvain repeated, voice slightly calmer but no less genuine.
“I’m fine.” Bernadetta slowly unfolded herself. She held her cup in her lap, not quite looking at him. “I-I’m sorry I ran away. I just got so overwhelmed and I wanted to get out of there but once I did, I realized how cruel it was to just run out like that and I freak out because you probably hate me now and—” She cut herself off with a whimper, ducking her head. “I’m real sorry.”
“Hey, no, Bernadetta…” Sylvain reached out and took her hand. Then frowned when he touched the chewed up cake stick. Hubert wordlessly snatched it away. Reaffirming his grip, Sylvain went on, “I don’t hate you. This is my fault.”
“Duh.”
Everyone ignored Felix.
Sylvain rubbed his thumb over her knuckles soothingly. “I thought I was being romantic. I should’ve known proposing in public was a bad idea. It just seemed like the perfect place, you know? In front of your books, in the same bookshop where we met, beautiful day outside.” The corner of Sylvain’s lip twitched. “If anyone was cruel, it was me.”
Ferdinand was still stuck on that detail about Sylvain proposing. And judging from Felix and Hubert’s expressions, he wasn’t the only one. Bernadetta, on the other hand, finally looked up at Sylvain. Her eyes were red and a few tears trailed down to her chin. “Maybe if— if it hadn’t been a weekend, no one would’ve been there and it might’ve been nice.”
“Next time, then.” Sylvain reached over to stroke her hair. “I love you.”
Bernadetta sniffed but a smile was forming amid the tears. “I love you, too.” She let herself be pulled into a hug, keeping a careful hand on her tea cup.
The moment felt so private that Ferdinand felt the need to avert his eyes. A quick glance around the teahouse revealed the display had not gone unnoticed. Some customers were sneaking glances and Leonie was blatantly staring. Ferdinand stepped around to block some of the view.
Felix, apparently not catching the same vibes as Ferdinand, leaned down to Sylvain’s ear. “Out in public ?” He hissed. “You really are an idiot.”
“I wasn’t thinking,” Sylvain defended in his own hiss.
“It’s like you’ve never met Bernadetta.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m texting Ingrid.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“P-Please don’t, Felix.” Bernadetta’s voice was small but her words were determined. “It’s so embarrassing. I don’t want anyone else to know.”
Felix rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement. Helped by Sylvain’s hand still in hers, Bernadetta got to her feet at long last. She turned a smile on Hubert. “Thanks for bringing me here. If you hadn’t found me, I’d still be crying on that curb.”
Standing up, Hubert offered her a small bow. “You are welcome. If it’s any consolation, I too would be uncomfortable with a public proposal.”
The words “I will keep that in mind” almost forced themselves out of Ferdinand’s mouth. He bit his tongue against them. They were no longer his to say.
He was saved from his struggle as Bernadetta handed him her nearly finished tea. “Thank you too, Ferdinand, and you, Felix. Sorry to drag you both into this.”
Ferdinand grinned. “I am just glad we arrived when we did! Please let us know if there are any developments.” He threw in a wink.
Bernadetta turned bright red. Sylvain laughed and looped an arm around her shoulders, though his face was flush as well. “Ready to go home?” he asked Bernadetta. She nodded gratefully, and the two left the teahouse.
There was a beat of silence as Felix, Ferdinand, and Hubert watched them leave. The customers returned to their chatter. Ignatz kindly reminded Leonie they still had orders to fill. Their friend let out a low whistle.
“Well.” Felix broke the silence, taking out his phone. “That’s that then. I’ll be right back, Ferdinand, I have to call Annette.”
Hubert glowered as Felix put his empty cup on the table. “Bernadetta just said not to tell anyone.”
“Yeah but I tell Annette everything. Besides, she’s only going to tell Mercedes— and we all know she’s a steel trap of secrets.” Not giving either of them time to object further, Felix walked out, already putting his phone to his ear.
That left Ferdinand and Hubert at the cup- strewn table. The atmosphere was so relaxed in the teahouse now that their own bubble of awkward energy felt almost like an intrusion.
“Thank you.” Hubert’s voice made Ferdinand’s head snap up. He hadn’t even realized he’d been staring into nothing. “For the tea. And for helping.”
Ferdinand cleared his throat. “I will not hear you ever question the power of good tea again.”
He expected Hubert to roll his eyes and dismiss Ferdinand’s claim. But instead, Hubert smirked. “How could I when I’ve seen it’s power first hand?” He set his cup on the table, and Ferdinand saw it was empty. “Ferdinand…”
Mouth dry, Ferdinand waited.
“Would you like to get coffee sometime?”
Ferdinand blinked rapidly once again before narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “You know I dislike coffee.”
“When prepared certain ways you like it fine. Besides, I owe you for making me drink tea.”
Even as he scoffed, Ferdinand was mentally checking over his schedule. Doing so was a hard dose of reality— the ethereal calm of Friday in the teahouse was quickly trounced by the thought of Monday coming around again in a few short days. And Ferdinand’s workload meant it hardly mattered in the first place; he would have to work through Sunday night to catch up on the tasks his father had assigned. No doubt more work he would later berate Ferdinand for doing ‘the wrong way’.
He faintly heard Ignatz call, “Claude! Here’s your tea.”
There was an answering, “Why do I smell vanilla?”
“Vanilla and honey are great in chamomile. Give it a taste!”
“Eh, alright. I trust yah.”
Leonie was back to chatting with that customer. The man with the monocle was telling a friend excitedly about the new research he was conducting. Two women stood out front, admiring the menu in the window with curiosity.
It was all music to Ferdinand’s ears. Thyrsus Teahouse had always dragged Ferdinand out of the lowest of lows. He came here, after work, nearly every other day.
Ferdinand looked at Hubert properly now. Maybe others would have missed the signs that Hubert’s invitation was anything other than nerve-wracking for him to put forth. Ferdinand didn’t miss a single one. “How about this time next Friday?” Ferdinand suggested, one hand in his pocket and the other around his empty cup. The very picture of casual. “By then I should have something big to talk about.”
Hubert’s pseudo-playful smirk bloomed into a full smile. “Is that so?”
“Yes. It is.”
“Very well then. See you next week. And…” Hubert held out the remaining cake pop, untouched since his initial bite. His expression softened even further. “Good luck, Ferdinand.”
Ferdinand took the cake pop. Their fingers brushed too briefly. “Thank you, Hubert.”
Then Ferdinand was alone in the teahouse. He sat at the table, noticing with amusement how displaced all the chairs had become. After a moment, he took a bite of the cake pop, overlapping Hubert’s mark. The action gave him a faint tingling sensation.
Pulling out his phone, Ferdinand hit a number in his recent calls list. “Hello? I’m glad I could catch you, Lorenz. How is the trip so far? Good to hear. Listen, I was hoping you could give me some advice— about how one opens a teahouse in this city…”