Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil - Chapter 26

From the day after I met Grand Duchess Crawford, I sent invitations to other nobles in turn.

“Isn’t ten people too little?”

“Because they have companions, it’s not ten, but twenty. That is enough.”

When asked by Mary if it was too small for the Duke of Antemion’s birthday banquet, she shook her head.

With the exception of those who were even involved in the Baron Rockefeller case, there were not many nobles to invite in the first place, as I searched for people who could help Helios and Escal.

In addition, Viscount Espenser’s advice was that internality is more important than size, and if there are too many guests, it is easy to neglect others, so I thought I would do my best within the scope I could handle.

“Everyone is eager to get invitations. What if they curse behind your back for not being invited?”

“If they want to do it, do it. Right, it would only hurt your mouth, so what?”

When I answered with a bittersweet answer, Mary strangled me again.

“Why don’t you just invite a few more people instead? Originally, a banquet is fun when it’s noisy.”

“Never mind. It’s not a pleasant banquet anyway.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

I turned to look at Mary.

“Mary you, who begged you to send an invitation?”

“Madam is only so quick to see when this happens….”

“Huh, who is it? Aren’t you going to say the right thing?”

“… Greta.”

“Who?”

“You know, Viscount Evelyn’s kitchen maid. The girl with her brown hair and freckles.”

“Ah.”

I couldn’t remember exactly who it was, but I knew immediately what Mary meant.

Viscount Evelyn, that is, my current parents, seemed to have conveyed their sadness through Mary.

I understand the feeling of sadness that they couldn’t be invited to their son-in-law’s birthday, but I couldn’t help it.

Viscount Evelyn hates Escal terribly, and Marquis Melks won’t stand still if my parents are there.

I’m sorry to both of you, but a family fight can’t ruin an important event.

“It’s not a comfortable place, but I’m afraid that they might end up getting upset after coming here for nothing. Sooner or later, I will set up a separate seat for my parents.”

“I guess it is. Reputable nobles will all come, and they will be upset if they hear anything bad.”

Mary muttered sullenly as if she understood.

“Yes. Tell Greta that we’ll see each other with the family soon.”

“Yes.”

I tapped Mary on the shoulder and raised my hand towards Merlin, who stood afar off.

Recognizing my hand signal, he quickly approached me.

“Let’s set the table like this.”

Merlin looked at the banquet preparations I had given him, and said cautiously.

“It looks like the flowers are missing, madam.”

“Oh, I’m not going to decorate with flowers.”

“Wouldn’t it look so empty without flowers?”

“The Marquis of Hallstein has a severe hay fever. You can’t invite the guests and give them an allergy.”

Merlin groaned as if he didn’t know it. I added, pointing to the paper in his hand.

“I’m going to make flowers out of paper instead.”

You have to be careful with food allergies, but there is no way to avoid pollen allergies.

But, as Merlin said, no flowers at the banquet is like missing cheese from the pizza.

After deliberation, I decided to decorate the table with paper flowers instead of real flowers, inspired by Helios’ proposal.

“What do you mean by making flowers out of paper?”

“Right. I will decorate the table by folding flowers out of paper.”

It may not be as beautiful as the wisteria flowers fluttering beautifully inside the pavilion, but it will still be enough to match the assortment.

“I drew the folding method on the attached paper. I’m sorry to bother you, but please.”

Merlin, who seemed to be a bit perplexed, soon regained his composure, like an experienced butler.

“I will do as you say. Do you have any more orders?”

“What is written there is enough. If there’s something missing, I’ll tell you later.”

“All right.”

****

That afternoon, Viscount Espenser visited the mansion.

I interrupted Viscount Espenser on his way home from class and asked to have a conversation.

“What else can I do for you?”

“I wonder if Escal is doing well.”

“Much better than you think…”

Well then, our Escal is a genius.

With a happy smile, Viscount Espenser’s expression hardened for a moment.

“…I don’t even know if he can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“I’m saying this because I think your expectations are too high.”

I have high expectations for Escal.

If anyone hears it, they’ll think I asked him to turn Escal into an Einstein.

“Don’t be burdened. He’s six years old now, so what if he can’t study? All he has to do is be nice and healthy.”

“If you think so, there is no need to worry.”

Viscount Espenser explained in a softer tone.

“He just started studying, but he has been able to focus and learn quickly, so he has almost caught up with the progress of his peers.”

“Thanks to the Viscount who taught him well.”

“This week, instead of going out, we are focusing on etiquette education. Master Escalium is polite, but the manners of the nobles are unnecessarily strict.”

Oh, I see.

I was only concerned with the clothes Escal would wear on the day of the banquet, but I guess Viscount Espenser had in mind Escal’s manner, who would appear in front of people for the first time.

Once again, I thought that Escal had met a really good teacher.

I smiled faintly and took the box from under the table and handed it to Viscount Espenser.

“What is this?”

“An invitation to Duke Anthemion’s birthday banquet. Will Viscount attend it, too?”

Viscount Espenser looked at the box and frowned.

“Did I not tell you? Invitations should be given only to a very small number of nobles.”

“Yes. You’re the last person. The owner of the tenth invitation.”

“Why do you include me in the only ten people? Someone more important than me…”

“You are the most important person, right?”

I asked with a face that I didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“Who is more important than the person who is teaching my child?”

“Isn’t it enough for me to see you in class?”

“No. You have to brag to people. Our Escal, are learning under such a great teacher.”

Viscount Espenser, who was listening to me, looked at me with a strange expression.

Convinced that it must be a positive sign, I immediately demanded an answer.

“Would you like to attend?”

“I don’t think you’ll need my advice, madam.”

Viscount Espenser smiled and picked up the box.

“See you at the banquet.”

“I hope you have a safe trip.”

I smiled brightly and saw Viscount Espenser off.

****

“Whoa, I’m going to die…”

After struggling all day preparing for the banquet, I barely returned to my room after the sun went down, and I just fell on the bed.

Most of the work was left to Merlin and the employees, and I had a ton of work to do, I just needed to keep track of progress.

‘The hard work should be worth it.’

Last but not least, all invitations to Viscount Espenser were sent out, but only three announced their intention to attend.

Others are just watching to see if Grand Duchess Crawford will be present.

From what I saw with Madame Floren, some of the nobles who received the invitation had commissioned costumes for the banquet, so it doesn’t seem like they didn’t want to attend, but it was true that I couldn’t relax until the day of the banquet.

If I do it wrong, we may end up having to eat the food we have prepared for ourselves.

“Lena, I’m here… What are you doing? Are you sleeping without taking your clothes off?”

Helios, who opened the door suddenly, looked at me lying long on the bed and asked. I got out of bed with a puzzled look on my face.

“Helios, when did you come? How about a meal?”

“I already ate. What are you doing? Are you sick?”

He anxiously placed his hand on my forehead. I grabbed his hand and shook my head.

“I’m not hurt. I was just resting.”

“If it’s hard, just quit. You don’t have to hold banquets or anything like that.”

I tried so hard not to show it.

Helios, who is exceptionally sensitive to my condition, grasped my physical condition like a ghost.

If I say it’s hard here, He’ll tell you to throw away the banquet and everything else.

“It’s not very difficult. I put so much effort into this banquet that I say that I’m disappointed.”

“Why did someone who said it wasn’t hard lost so much weight?”

“What do you mean by losing weight? I tried on the dress I wore again today, but it was tight because I gained weight.”

“That dress, you can buy a new one.”

“How much is it for a dress? It’s better for me to fit my clothes than to fit the new clothes with my body.”

Then Helios wrapped his arms around my waist and whispered.

“Okay, I don’t want you to shrink as much as my fingernails.”