Chapter 39: Troublesome Master

After opening the giant door, I expected to see a party. However, I was met instead by a long line of servants. Not wanting anyone to notice my disappointment, I continued walking forward. Don’t ask me where we were going, though; I was simply following the red carpet laid down in the middle of the hallway.

As I walked along the hallway, I noticed that the line of servants seemed endless. The only explanation I could come up with was that the servants of other nobles must be mixed among them.

I then remembered my own home. There were only ten servants there: four maids, one butler, one gardener, two cooks, and two guards.

Huh?

What were their names again? Did I ever know them? Hmm… well, that’s not important, so let’s forget about it.

“We’re almost there, Lumina-sama. Once you see an open door, please don’t stop walking. Not until you are greeted by someone.”

Emilia whispered some instructions to me.

“How do you know what to do and I don’t?”

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“It was taught during class, Lumina-sama. However, I’m pretty sure you weren’t paying attention.”

“Well, I was doing something else. By 'something else,' I mean I was busy writing. Also, I knew more things than what was being taught to us, and I never would have dreamed of throwing a party.”

Emilia started massaging her temple. I knew what this meant: I was a very troublesome master. Why did she do that? I don’t remember doing anything troublesome to warrant such a reaction.

I continued to ponder the reason, and before I knew it, the long line of servants had ended. I was now walking through a gathering of nobles. I could see some people talking and some even eating. Since Emilia told me to keep walking, I ignored them and continued on.

I also searched for the delicious-looking foods laid out on the banquet table. There were many cuisines I didn’t recognize. For a while, I made a mental list of targets, but all those plans were blown away the moment I saw a long line of multi-layered cakes.

Narrowing my eyes, I licked my lips and decided that this would be my first order of business.

I also noticed some children with their parents in my line of vision. The child in the middle of them looked familiar. By the way, the child was crying, and the complexion of his parents looked quite pale. However, they weren’t important; they were just insignificant compared to the food. I was used to those kinds of reactions, so there was no need to pay them any special attention.

“Welcome!”

After a while, a man with white hair and a fancy red suit greeted me. His build was quite average, and his height seemed to be around 185 cm.

Since someone had finally welcomed me, I stopped walking and stood in place. I then placed my left foot back, raised the hem of my skirt, and bowed. Since I was wearing a small top hat, my bow wasn’t very deep.

“Thank you very much.”

“I don’t need your thanks, Lumina.”

Oh, it’s been a while since I wasn’t called with a ‘-sama.’ I wonder why I feel all tingly inside.

“How did you know who I was?”

This was an important question for me. Why? Because I was meeting this man for the first time. If someone suddenly called out your name, wouldn’t you find it creepy?

“From the people who followed you. Also, from the reactions of some of the nobles who met your gaze.”

Met my gaze?

Hmm… I was only searching for food, so I don’t really remember meeting anyone’s eyes. Also, the only people following me were Emilia, Liza, and the others.

Do they know each other? Or was it from their clothes? Well, they were pretty good friends with Fate, so maybe they do know each other.

Well, for now, I’m a bit curious about what he meant by the reactions of some nobles.

Since it was bad manners to turn my head, I turned my body around, and the spectacle greatly overwhelmed me.

The number of people who attended the party was more than I had expected. I estimated them to be over five hundred. Also, looking closely, I could see some children who seemed to be around nine or eight years old. It seemed that third and second graders were also attending the party.

What’s more, there were also some ten-year-olds who weren’t my servants. Though I’m not good with people, I was pretty sure that all of the fourth to sixth graders became my servants. However, it was a fact that there were some children who lacked the dark color in their eyes and hair edges, which are traits of being my servant.

It was also important to note that these children seemed quite close to those who had the traits of my servants. Were they friends?

Well, that’s not important. It’s not like it’s the end of the world or something. Since this was a party, there would always be some party crashers.

…

As I continued to look around, I noticed some people who looked really pale and were trembling. They were positioned at the outer edges of the hall.

Looking more closely, I discovered that almost all of the nobles positioned at the edges were pale, while those in the inner circle were calm and collected. However, some of their children, who had black edges on their hair, were crying.

It looked quite comical and funny. So funny that I almost laughed out loud. However, since I was standing in front of them, I wasn’t allowed to do that. As a result, I opened my fan and covered my grinning mouth with it. As for my eyes, they became even more narrow and sharp. I did these actions so that nobody would notice my emotions.

“If you’re talking about their reactions, then I don’t see what you mean. And if you’re talking about companions, I can only see my servant, Emilia, Liza, and her friends.”

The man made a small smile and nodded his head.

“I see. Well, I expected as much.”

“Since you already know my name, I don’t need to introduce myself. However…”

The man was shocked by my statement and then calmed down in an instant.

“I’m quite surprised that you don’t know my name. That’s not important anyway.”

The man bowed slightly and introduced himself.

“I am Gerund Amethyst, the father of Fate Amethyst. In the past, I was a merchant who was granted a rank in the royal court. My position is that of an Earl.”

Amethyst… Amethyst… doesn’t ring a bell.

However, he’s an Earl? I wonder why an Earl would welcome me.

Is he the owner of this castle? Well, that sounds plausible; he is an Earl after all.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I would like to thank you again for welcoming me and for allowing us to hold a party in your castle. Also, though it may be rude, may I ask why someone of your standing allowed a party of this magnitude to be hosted in your humble abode?”

Haaa~ Formal speaking really is a pain. I’m only doing this because I didn’t want to be rude.

“Ah, don’t speak formally. Since you’re my daughter’s master, there’s no need for that.”

Eh?

“Also, this party is no big deal for me. You’re the person who gave hope to my daughter. Ever since she was enrolled at Farlingstad Magic Academy, she became really depressed.”

I have a servant who’s the daughter of an Earl? Who?

“It’s thanks to you that my daughter started smiling again. According to her, you were the one who introduced magic to her, and because of that, her dream of becoming a magician became possible again.”

“Papa! What are you doing? Please stop embarrassing me in front of Lumina-sama!”

Out of nowhere, a familiar voice was heard. Gerund and I twisted our necks to the direction of that voice. The owner had red eyes and straight twin tails. She wore a pure white dress laced with golden threads. Moreover, the clips on her twin tails had a snowflake-like design. It was Fate.

Eh? Did she just call Earl Gerund ‘papa’?

“Please stop talking to Lumina-sama and announce the start of the party! Can’t you see that I might be punished by Lumina-sama if you delay it any longer? Also, it’s quite rude to the guests.”

Fate stood between me and Gerund. Unlike her usual attitude during our tea parties, she was quite strong-willed. I became curious if this was her real character.

“So start the ceremony already, Papa.”

So Fate was an Earl’s daughter… Wait, wasn’t she a merchant’s daughter? So why is she an Earl’s daughter?

… No…

I must be imagining things. Fate introduced herself as a merchant's daughter. If I remember correctly, her father specializes in wine.

“But I still haven’t given your master my thanks.”

“You already did! I heard you!”

“… Okay, I’ll start it.”

He didn’t call her Fate, so that means she isn’t Fate. The Earl’s daughter only looks like Fate.

“Wait here for a moment with your Master, Fate.”

Oh, come on! Why’d you have to drop her name at such a time? Did you guys plan this?

“Un…”

Gerund took a step forward.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I, Earl Gerund Amethyst, am glad that you all have arrived here safely. As you all know…”

While he was giving his speech, I observed Fate from head to toe. Noticing my gaze, her face became red, and in a small voice, she said:

“I’m sorry I went ahead

of you, Lumina-sama. I wanted to come here with you, but because Papa sent some servants to the dormitory, I wasn’t able to do so. I’m sorry. What’s more, Papa even delayed his speech so that he could talk to you. If you’re angry, please don’t punish me now, but punish me later, okay?”

I only know one person who wanted to be punished by me. Though we only interacted for three days, we became quite close. Moreover, every time she committed a small error, she would ask me to punish her. If you’re thinking that I punished her, you’re wrong. I didn’t punish her because she was my friend. However, now that I know she is an Earl’s daughter, my decision to never punish her became even stronger.

“No, it’s fine. I’m not inconvenienced by it or anything.”

“Is that so?”

Her face became sullen and the mood around her grew really dark.

“… Let’s hear a few words from our children’s master, Lumina Chis Chem-sama!”

Applause*

Eh?

I looked around with a confused expression and found Emilia and Liza throwing signals at me (with their eyes) to stand beside Gerund.

Since the fire in their eyes was quite intense, I absentmindedly walked towards Gerund. That’s when I noticed. I was standing on a stage in front of over five hundred people.

My feet started trembling and my head became dizzy.

Since everyone was waiting for my reply, the banquet hall was completely quiet. In an attempt to mask my stage fright, I moved my head from left to right and then back to the center in slow motion. When I saw the rows of cakes in the background, I suddenly realized something.

This was only an introductory party, so it’s okay if I just say a few words. Also, the fewer my words, the faster I can eat those cakes. Let’s worry about Fate being an Earl’s daughter later.

I swallowed my saliva and opened my mouth.

“Good afternoon everyone, I am Lumina Chis Chem.”

A servant came in and placed another cake on the side. Seeing that, I formed a seductive smile as I sharpened my gaze at the cake and imagined myself eating it.

“I’m your children’s master. If you’ve got complaints, talk to me later.”

I then made a curtsy and walked back to Gerund.

He stared at me with an expression of awe and excitement. He wasn’t moving a muscle. However, because I wanted to taste the newest cake that was brought, I urged him with a smile to return to the stage.

When he deciphered the meaning of my smile, he coughed a few times before saying:

“Then let’s deepen our bonds at this party and support Lumina as she creates a new faction in the Royal Court. Since she’s still young, I shall perform the duties of the leader of the adults in her stead and solidify our position. Though we number few compared to the four families, I believe that with Lumina as the leader of the children, we can expect great things in the future.”

Since I was focused on the cakes, I didn’t catch most of what he said. However, I managed to hear that he was the leader of this gathering and that he would solidify his position in the royal court due to this gathering.

Well, he’s an Earl, so it’s expected that he’ll use any means to strengthen his political power. So, I’ll forgive him.

“Let’s make a toast for the future of our children and commence the party to celebrate the founding of this faction! Cheers!”

““““Cheers!””””

Cheers for the cakes!