Published at 14th of December 2022 09:10:35 AM

Its finally here today is the day of Helens soiree

I was very depressed today. I dont care about Helenes soiree itself. Since its Helene were talking about, she probably initially wanted to call me alone to a place where there the only other guests were members of her faction, who would then all laugh at and shame me. Then Ludwig asked her about it and ended up inviting himself, and I theorize thats why the scale of her evening party exploded in the blink of an eye.1

No matter how much I asked Christa about it, she wouldnt tell me, but I came to that conclusion while I had Isabella and Helmut doing various investigations on House Bayen.

It would have been fine if I had been made to participate in the Helene factions party by myself and made of a fool of while I was alone. Anyway, the harassment that Helene thinks up is nothing more than childish bullying. Ive experienced having drinks thrown at me several times since my social debut. People around me made fun of me, laughed at me, made my dress dirty, and bullied me like that at parties. Its not like Im worrying about something like that now.

And again, the problem is that Ludwig overheard and invited himself. It seems that Helene sent out invitations here and there after that to make her cover story consistent, but since I was the first invitation and a witness to Helene and Ludwigs conversation then, I can guess the timeline.

Its quite clear Helene sent out invitations much later than mine. You only needed a little bit of digging before you realize that. And normally, you would invite me at the same time as the other guests or I would be later than them. Because of my relationship with Helene, theres no way she would make me the first to receive an invitation to a party she was hosting.

Because of all these circumstances and the fact that she was suddenly in a panic to prepare for the evening party, Helene didnt originally intend to hold an evening party of this size, but Ludwig said he would be participating, so it turned out like this, I suppose.

And now Christa, who couldnt bear to see it fail, moved independently to help Helene, which is probably why she ran to Caanza for help. We got to that point while Isabella and the others were looking into it, and after various twists and turns, we made it so we were only working with Christa, personally.

If Caanza lends a hand at this evening party, it is a given that various problems will arise in the future. Its especially easy to imagine what Duke Bayen will say later. So we need to make sure there are no flaws here. The groundwork and evidence are sufficient, so we wont suffer any damage.

If the Bayen Duchy doesnt do anything, the contract will just end without any problems, but if by some chance they do something we planned for, well react accordingly. I still dont know what will happen, but Id like to think that the members of House Bayen arent that stupid.

Aside from that, what makes me depressed isnt anything related to Caanza, House Bayen, or Helene. I dont care about Helenes bullying and her minions, and that Caanza is catering for them, so theres nothing to worry about. What makes me depressed is

Miss Flora, Katharina said, His Highness Ludwig has arrived.

Haah I sighed. Im heading out now

I made one final check of myself in the mirror before leaving the room. Yes, what makes me depressed is that Ludwig is accompanying me at this evening party.

I have agreed to team up with Queen Elisabeth and Margarete to annul my engagement to Ludwig and propose Margarete as a replacement wife. No, the other two didnt say so clearly, but if they didnt object when I said that, they probably agreed.

Even so, this Idiot Prince who doesnt read the mood said that he would come to pick me up at the evening party today and have me ride with him in his carriage.

Well, hes my escort, so it might be logical to go with him, but I dont think its necessary to go that far. If we meet randomly at the venue and walk together for a short while, thats enough. Why do you have to pick me up at home in your carriage, drive to it with me, and go home with me? Ludwig is the cause of my depression.

A carriage was parked at the entrance. The crest of the royal family is accompanied by a crest dedicated to the crown prince. He came in a carriage that stands out again no matter what I wanted to quietly make myself a wallflower, but this would attract attention from our surroundings Im trying so hard not to stand out, but this idiot Ludwig ruined it all.

Flora! This outfit suits you very well. Youre beautiful, Ludwig said.

Fuhn! Even a Country Girl can dress up and transform herself like this.

Why is Rutger riding in the carriage with us, in the seat across us?

Thank you very much, I said. Well then umm I glanced at Rutger.

Ludwig immediately sensed my intention. In all honesty, he said, I was going to pick you up by myself but then Rutger found out, he got tangled up with me and I failed to shake him off, so I was compelled to take him with me. It was supposed to be just the two of us, so forgive, me Flora.

No, no Im actually thankful that Im not alone with you. But I cant say that Im happy its Rutger with us. Just having two escorts, its unusual, but its even more unusual with the Crown Prince and the Prime Ministers Heir, two people who are or are closely related to royalty.

And now what should I do with two young men who are my two escorts, crammed into such a narrow carriage? I havent learned manners with two men escorting me, have I?

Dont look at me too hotly, Country Girl. Prince Ludwig is here, too, Rutger said quietly, so only I could hear it.

Huh? Was it when I looked at him, wondering why he was here? I wouldnt call that a heated gaze because I was looking at an annoying pest. Am I crazy? Is this what that phrase means in this country?

It cant be helped if were like this, Ludwig said. Lets head out right away.

Sire the coachman said.

And with that, the carriage takes off. I was embarrassed and wanted to ask what to do if there were two escorts in the carriage with me, but we just looked at each other. In the end, before we got there, the two split into my left and right sides, and I was in the middle. Id never done it before, but after that, I have no choice but to perform it perfectly in front of the crowds.

As expected, we were the center of attention when we arrived at the venue. The idiot Rutger ignores customs and enters the venue as a trio, the idiot Ludwig takes us in a conspicuous carriage to begin with, and on top of that, theres no way I wont stand when Im being escorted by two members of the royal family and relatives.

No matter how hard I try to be just a face in the crowd, all my efforts will be in vain with just these two around me. In the end, I have no choice but to keep my distance from them both.

Flora!

Mikoto and Alexandra, too, I said.

And while we were being stared at during our entrance, someone called out to me. Naturally, as a member of the Royal Family of Del, Mikoto was sent an invitation and Alexandra also had an invitation for some reason.

I can get why Mikoto was invited. If you had foreign royalty at your evening party, it would be a considerable amount of publicity. If you fail, it will cause significant damage, but if youre confident and pull it off, theres all the reason to invite them.

However, I was honestly surprised that even Alexandra was invited even though she was the highest among the counties. But if you look at the participants, it makes sense. Houses that dont have very status among the nobility are also called to the festivities.

Im guessing here, but when Helene first thought about inviting me alone, the rest would be filled up by people from her faction. Of course, there are members with low family status. It would be impossible to call only the lower ranks of ones own faction without calling the lower ranks of other factions. In order to balance the numbers, it seems that a considerable number of invitations were sent out, even to those in the lower ranks of nobility.

As a result, the scale of this party has snowballed and has become this large. I guess Helene had to send out invitations to House Lingerburg, too.

Your Highness Ludwig, Your Lordship Rutger, I would like to have a little chat with the other ladies, I said. Thank you for escorting me so far.

Its a good thing that Mikoto called out to me, as now I have an excuse to break up with them. Otherwise, Im going to end up stuck with these two and being stared at the whole night.

I see Ludwig said. Well, there will be times when ladies have to chat with one another. I will see you later.

If someone bothers you and tries to ask to escort you because you seem to be alone, tell me right away, Rutger said.

Neither pursue it too deeply and simply left. Its probably because they understand that its not good manners for a man to mix in with ladies talk. Besides, there are many nobles waiting to greet Ludwig and Rutger. Theyll be starting their Greetings Hell now, I suppose.

You saved me, Mikoto, I said.

Its for your chastity, Flora, Mikoto said. Its only natural.

What was that about whos chastity?

I was surprised when I heard about your situation from Katharina, Flora but but I guess its true, isnt it? Alexandra said.

So even you, Alexandra I said.

The five of them already know from Katharina that I dont want to marry Ludwig. The reason Mikoto called out to me was probably to create an excuse for me to leave those two. By the way, Alexandra still lives in the Carruthers Residence, but she came to the venue earlier today in a different carriage.

Mikoto, Alexandra, and I become wallflowers watching Rutger and Ludwig in the distance being actively approached by high-ranking nobles.

I can feel the glimmering eyes on me, but no one approaches me to talk. There were people who just greeted us normally but never asked me to dance.

I dont think theres anything wrong with Mikoto or Alexandra, by family status or appearance why is no one approaching us?

In this event, there are many Houses with the same status as Lingerburg. If you think about it normally, its likely that there will be a lot of suitors for someone like Alexandra, who is cute and has the perfect prestige among the counts. Well, if you knew the situation of House Lingerburg, it might be difficult to talk to them

The same goes for Mikoto. Shes actually the Princess of the Demon Country, but here shes supposed to be a member of the Kingdom of Dels Royalty. Even though she looks cute, no one tries to pick her up, but is this really the way its going? Mikoto has a bit of a rough personality, but you cant know that unless you talk to her, and no one has done that just yet.

No I think its better if the two arent picked up by strangers, right? Rather, if the two of them were picked up by some guy and asked to dance, I might just punch him and be their dance partner instead.

But its strange that two people who are so cute and beautiful cant arent approached at all. Is there something I dont know about?

Hey I said, Mikoto and Alexandra, youre both very beautiful and cute, and you dont have any escorts, why hasnt anyone approached either of you?

I couldnt resist asking. If you dont understand, best to ask.

Haa are you serious, Flora? Mikoto groaned.

Princess Mikoto Flora is that sort of lady Alexandra said.

The two of them looked at me as if they were feeling sympathy for some dumbfounded, stupid child. In the end, they didnt explain why we were the only ones left alone.

The evening party wasnt very exciting for much of its run. But, thanks to Christa popping up somewhere between the middle and the end, it was a huge hit from then on. Both crepes and pudding were extremely popular and they both rapidly dwindled.

Good evening to you, Lady Flora.

And to you as well, Lady Margarete, I said.

After the crepes and pudding were served, Margarete arrived with Ludwig and company. All three of them seemed to be eating pudding. Of course, those two would be.

Now that Ive seen Your Highness since a while ago I said, Youve eaten a crepe earlier already, and isnt that your third serving of pudding? If you eat too many sweets, you will get fat, wont you? And youll also get ill. As with you as well, Your Lordship Rutger.

The crepes and pudding Christa brought out were not well-received at first by this crowd of nobles. These two took the initiative to start eating it in front of everyone, so the rest followed suit, and it worked out well.

Its very like Lady Flora to be so concerned about the health of both of them, isnt it? Margarete said. I didnt even think that far

Huh? Umm? I went.

And for some reason, Margarete mock cries. I have no idea what she means by this.

Theres no wonder people in this world dont yet understand diseases caused by excessive sugar intake, obesity, and so on. I just understand that its better to be careful about that kind of thing because I have modern knowledge.

Flora! Ludwig said. I can feel the weight of your concern!

No, no, Your Highness, Rutger said, she was talking to me.

What are you saying?! Ludwig snapped. She addressed me first, didnt she? You were just a follow-up, Rutger.

And now the two of them seemed to be fighting. As the squabble seemed to be growing worse, Margarete and I took a few steps away from them.

I havent had the chance to introduce you to each other, I said. This is Lady Margarete von Greif.

I am Mikoto Vandenlissen, Mikoto said. Nice to meet you.

I am Alexandra von Lingerburg. It is a great pleasure to meet you today, Lady Greif Alexandra started.

She goes on for a while. So long this rigidity and formality is the same as ever. Well, as a member of House Lingerburg, shes been rigorously trained for many years to not shame the family, so I guess this is just unavoidable.

All this aside, Im surprised Lady Flora introduced me first, and not Princess Vandenlissen, Margarete said.

Ah! Thats right Normally, it would be polite to introduce the highest-ranking person first. Thats why its normal to start with Mikoto. There should be no such thing as putting off the introduction of royalty from a foreign country.

If such an exceptional thing is allowed, its only with relatives. Relatives dont have to be blood relatives, by the way. Just someone close to them still counts.

For example, even if the other party that youre introducing your group to is of lower rank than you, the newcomers should be introduced first, and then in descending order of your group, from the highest social status.

In other words, from the current exchange, it is nothing less than showing that Margarete is an outsider and the three of us are quite close.

There is nothing to worry about if Margarete finds out about it here. If we had talked a little bit here, you would have noticed it right away. But that doesnt mean its okay to be careless. It seems I was a little careless too. Thanks to Margarete, I was also taught what I should be careful about from now on.

From now on, I would like to be a part of this circle, Margarete said.

Right? Mikoto said. I think we need to cooperate moving forward.

In short, they were showing they were comrades in breaking my engagement with Ludwig and Margarete marrying him instead.

After this, the four of us worked hard to exchange information until the party was over.