After opening the giant door, I expected to see a party, However, I was denied. On the other hand, I was welcomed by a long line of servants. Since I don’t want anybody to notice my disappointment, I continued walking forward. Don’t ask me where we were going though; I’m only following the red carpet that was laid down in the middle of the hallway.

Along the hallway, I noticed that I still haven’t seen the end of this line of servants. The servants of other nobles must be mixed among them. That’s the only possible explanation.

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

Huh?

What were their names again? Did I ever know it? Hmm… well, that isn’t 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 a person.”

Emilia whispered some instructions to me.

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

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

“Well, I was doing something else and by something else, I was busy writing. Also, I knew more things than what were being taught to us and I never would’ve dreamed to ever throw a party.”

Emilia started massaging her temple. I know what this meant; it meant I was a very troublesome master. Why did she do that? I don’t remember doing something troublesome to elicit such a response.

I continued to think of the reason and before I knew it, the long line of servants had already ended. Instead, I was now walking in the middle of a gathering of nobles. As proof, I could see some talking to others and some were even eating. Since Emilia told me to continue walking, I ignored them and continued on.

I also searched for the delicious looking foods that were laid in the banquet table. There were lots of cuisines I didn’t know. For a while, I continued to make a list of targets in my mind, however, they were all blown away the moment I saw a long line of multi-layered cake.

Narrowing my eyes, I licked my lips and decided to make that place as my first order of business.

I would also like to note that there were also 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’re just bugs if you compare them to food. I was already used to those kinds of reactions, so there’s no need to pay them any special attention.

“Welcome!”

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

Also, since somebody had finally welcomed me, I stopped walking and was now stood in place. I then placed my left foot back and raised the hem of my skirt and bowed. Since I was wearing a small top hat, my bow wasn’t that 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?”

For me, this was an important thing to ask. Why? It’s cause I was meeting this man for the first time. If somebody suddenly called out your name, won’t you find it creepy?

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

Met my gaze?

Hmm… I was only searching for food, so I don’t really remember meeting anybody’s eyes. Also, from the people who followed me? The only one who were following me were Emilia, Liza, and co.

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.

Well, for now, I’m a bit curious of what he meant by the reaction 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 more than five hundred. Also, looking closely, I could see some children who seemed to be around nine or eight years old. It seemed like the third graders and second graders participated in the party.

What’s more, there were also some 10 or so year old children that I wasn'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 on their eyes and edges of their hair, which were the traits of being my servant.

It’s also important that they seemed to be quite close to the children who possessed those traits. 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 that there were some who looked really pale and were trembling. They were positioned in the outer edges of the hall.

Looking closely, I discovered that almost all of the nobles who were positioned in the edges were pale and the nobles who were in the inner circle were calm and collected. However, the reactions of some of their children, that 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 stood in front of them, I wasn’t allowed to do that. As a result, I opened my fan and covered my mouth, which was grinning, with it. As for my eyes, they became even more narrow and sharp. I did those 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’ve expected as such.”

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

The man got 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 am 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.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

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 make a party in your castle. Also, though it may be rude, but may I ask the reason why a person of your standing allowed a party of this magnitude to be hosted in you humble abode?”

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

“Ah, don’t speak formally, since you’re my daughter’s master.”

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

Eh? Did she just call Earl Gerund as ‘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 only 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 you Master, Fate.”

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

“Un…”

Gerund walked 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 in 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. What’s more, every time she commits a little error, she would ask me to punish her. If you’re thinking that I punished her, then you’re wrong. I didn’t punish her because she was my friend. However, now that I know she was was ‘in fact’ 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 became really dark.

“… let’s hear a few words of our children’s master. Lumina Chis Chem-sama!”

Applause*

Eh?

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

Since the fire in their eyes was quite intense, I absentmindedly walked towards Gerund. Then, that’s when I noticed. I was standing on top of a stage in front of more than a five people.

My feet started trembling and my head became dizzy.

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

This was only an introduction party, so it’s okay if I just say a few words. Also, the lesser my words are, 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 was 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 urge him with a smile to go back to the stage.

When he decoded the meaning of my smile, he coughed a few time before saying:

“Then let’s deepen our bonds in 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 as the leader of the adults in her stead and solidify our position. Though we number few if we compare ourselves 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’ll 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!