Perhaps Xio's revelation about her younger brother had opened up the conversation. The ladies were no longer as reserved as before, and Miss Audrey, in particular, put her Spectator skills to work. After briefly gauging everyone's tolerance for the topic, she took a sip of black tea, using the motion to lower their guard before saying:
"Speaking of which, what kind of men do you all like?"
The question seemed rather direct, but for a tea party attended only by women, it was a perfectly orthodox opening topic.
After a brief silence, Melissa spoke tentatively.
"Well, I prefer someone who's good with his hands, preferably someone with some expertise in machinery..."
As she said that, Melissa suddenly noticed that everyone was looking at her strangely. She immediately blushed and defended herself:
"After all, having common interests is very important!"
"That's true, but what about personality? You might not care about money or status when choosing a partner, but character and personality are still very important, right?" Fors rubbed her head, beginning to wonder whether coming to this tea party had been the right decision.
"Personality... Someone more family-oriented, I suppose." Melissa hesitated before continuing:
"Someone who's good at managing a household would be best, because I'm not very good at that!"
"It sounds like your love life might be rather troublesome, Melissa..." Fors offered her assessment as tactfully as she could. Melissa immediately frowned.
"What about you, Miss Fors? What kind of man do you like?"
"Ah, well..." Fors regretted speaking up just now, but since the topic had reached her, and she had originally intended to gather some information anyway, she said:
"As for me, I like the type who looks a little scholarly and wears glasses, but has a rather fierce gaze. He should preferably be powerful, able