3. The Prince’s Party is Here!

3. The Prince’s Party is Here!

And so, the day of the crown prince’s arrival had finally come.

Even though their country had lost the war, they were still guests of the state and accordingly were entitled to a welcoming party—although since the whole of Flür wouldn’t be celebrating, the city of Rozhe itself would be going about their business as usual. Even the welcoming party itself would only include a small portion of the country’s highest officials.

And of course, the house of Fisalis was invited. There was no way we wouldn’t be. We were one of the premier aristocratic families in Flür, after all!

To quote Mr. Fisalis: “They’re causing trouble just by showing up. Since they’re going ahead with this despite the fact that they’re not wanted here, there’s no need for the whole country to welcome them.” He was really salty about it!

One morning, Rohtas, a few of the maids, my in-laws, and I were seeing Mr. Fisalis off in the foyer.

“I’ll be working at the palace all morning, so you need to come with my parents later, Viola.” Since he’d be working as usual, he was in his full uniform. Even his appearance at the party would be for work. He was part of the royal guards now, and his “cover job” was protecting important people. He’d probably be assigned to one of the royals.

By the way, his uniform was super handy—he could wear it at formal occasions too!

“All right.”

“Since my father is here to represent the Fisalis duchy in my stead, I’ll probably be focusing on my work. But I’ll be dropping in to see you when I have time, so you need to stay with Mother and Father until then, okay?”

“Okay.”

He explained it in a way that was easy to understand. I should be fine with my in-laws, anyway.

“Mother, Father, please take care of Viola.”

“Don’t worry, just leave it all to us!”

“Yes, we’ll take care of everything.”

Even Mother and Father Fisalis confidently accepted the job of being Viola-sitters. That whole bit was probably why they were actually here seeing Mr. Fisalis off for once.

“I’ll be going then.”

“Have a good day!”

After giving me a big hug, he set off for work, looking back over his shoulder reluctantly a couple times.

“I’ve heard that the Aurantians should arrive after noon. Then, they’ll have a meeting with His Majesty before a banquet. After that will be the evening welcoming party, so that’s when we’ll be heading out. All you need to do is stick close to us.” Father Fisalis explained how our day would go as we stood around once Mr. Fisalis had gone.

“All right.”

That meant that we’d be leaving around dusk, so we had loads of time. Until then... Yep, I’d probably be in the hands of the Spa Squad.

We then went our separate ways until it was time to leave; my in-laws headed to the cottage while I retired to my own room. And just as I’d predicted, the Spa Squad proceeded to polish me from head to toe. After that, Stellaria and Mimosa did my make-up and hair perfectly. Social Mode Viola was now ready for action!

And of course, a new dress had been made for me before I knew it. Part of me wanted to cry about adding yet another new dress to my wardrobe, but I’d already assured myself that I was just doing my duty as a first-class aristocrat. Also, I had absolutely no recollection of getting measured again, so this new dress was probably the same size as the last one. Well, it doesn’t really matter, since it’s not like anything actually important got any bigger.

Tonight’s dress was made in burgundy to match Mr. Fisalis’s uniform. He was a royal guard now, after all! The royal guard wore burgundy, special ops wore navy, and the frontline troops wore dark green. Oh ho ho, I can remember all that now!

The dress was new, but the jewelry I wore was the same “Viola Sapphire” stuff as last time. I still had to advertise our gemstones, after all. And of course, I had my ring too☆ Mr. Fisalis had been hoping we’d have some “Viola Eyes” (yes, that really was the name for the highest quality ones~ And yes, it was horrifically embarrassing~) by now to make some new jewelry out of, but unfortunately none had been dug up yet.

“You look perfect again today, Madam!” Mimosa said, looking quite satisfied with herself. She was right—my reflection looked like an entirely different person! My maids always did such a great job.

“Yes, you look lovely!”

“Show that foreign princess you’re the only wife Master will ever need!”

“You won’t lose, even to royalty!”

“You’re invincible!”

“Uh... I’m just going to a regular evening party...”

After calming down my maids (they were breathing very heavily for some reason), my in-laws and I headed to the party. We were directed to a reception hall that seemed kind of deserted—probably because only a small portion of Flür’s aristocracy were invited, instead of every single one of them. The only nobles invited were those with the rank of earl or higher, and only three or so of the most important members of each house (plus their immediate families), which made it a pretty cozy event.

Apparently the reasoning for the limited guest list was because fewer attendees meant they would need fewer guards. Though the Aurantians were basically uninvited, they were state guests all the same, and thus security was tight to make sure nothing untoward happened.

Now that I think about it, my father is technically an earl. Are my parents here? Although, since attendance isn’t mandatory because the event just isn’t that important, they probably wouldn’t come.

The orchestra was playing an elegant waltz, but nobody was dancing yet. Everyone was too busy greeting everyone else.

“Good evening, Miss Viola.”

“Good evening!”

While I was following Mother and Father Fisalis on their greeting rounds, I casually glanced around to see who was there. Miss Iris and the three other girls noticed me, quickly coming over for a chat. My parents might not have shown up, but these girls definitely wouldn’t miss an event like this, with their perfect party attendance record... Ahem! I should probably keep my mouth shut!

“Good evening Miss Viola, everyone.” After they’d headed over, Miss Verbena also popped in to say hello.

Seeing that I’d been surrounded by friends, my in-laws told me they’d be close at hand and headed off to chat with some of their acquaintances. Mr. Fisalis was specific when he told me to stay with his parents, but we’re in the same room, and I’m surrounded by people I know. I should be fine, right?

“Good evening, everyone. His Majesty and the royal guests haven’t arrived yet, huh?” I asked, looking at the empty visitor’s seats. Maybe they were still eating.

“My brother Celosia said that they’d be here in a while.”

“I wonder what the Crown Prince is like...and the Princess as well.” Everyone had been glancing towards the entrance in anticipation, but Miss Iris’s eyes turned towards me in concern as she spoke.

“Yeah, I really wonder. Ah, by the way, Mr. Fisalis and I had a proper talk about the whole thing, so everything’s absolutely fine now!” I rushed to smooth things over.

“Oh, I see! I knew Duke Fisalis would handle it!” Miss Iris said, smiling in relief.

Had I really looked awful enough for the girls to worry this badly...? I tried my best to smile. While I was busy regretting my social skills...

“Ah, they’re here!”

Right in time with Miss Krokusse’s quiet announcement, the chamberlains in front of the door bowed reverently, announcing in a clear voice, “His Majesty the King and His Highness the Crown Prince of Aurantia have arrived!” Verbena and the other girls decided to move somewhere they could get a better look at the guests, and they ended up pulling me along with them. The spot they chose was, to my amazement, right up close to the guests themselves.

...I guess trueborn noblewomen don’t hesitate to get front and center, whether it’s the guest seats, or any other super visible spots! My favorite spots are still near the walls, though.

The chamberlains opened the double doors with a heavy creak, and in walked the king of Flür, accompanied by the crown prince and princess of Aurantia. After they were inside, the queen of Flür and the other royals followed.

“That’s the crown prince and his sister?” I asked Miss Verbena, who had moved up right beside me.

“Yes,” she answered with a nod.

My first impression of the crown prince was that he was...burly. Yes, burly. He was probably around the same height as Mr. Fisalis, but way wider. Like, two...no, two and a half times as wide, maybe? Mr. Fisalis was slender but still well muscled from his training, but the crown prince... Hmm, plump wasn’t the right word—maybe rugged? Like he had biceps on top of his biceps? He wasn’t overweight, but he looked like he certainly loved his muscles.

His manly—maybe too manly? Brutish?—Ahem, his manly face was different from how people looked here in Flür. Most of the people here had slim, fresh-looking faces, but in contrast the crown prince’s face was square, with thick eyebrows and heavy dark eyes. He was just defined all over. Maybe it was just because Aurantia was a warmer country, but he seemed to have a tan that made his features look even more chiseled.

To me, since I was so used to Mr. Fisalis and his beautiful face, the crown prince’s features were a bit too defined. I mean, yes, he was manly and imposing, but he was a bit different from what we in Flür considered attractive.

“...I’m fairly sure his name is Osmanthus val Aurantiacus, but Gaudy McChiselface seems to fit better...” Miss Verbena muttered.

“Pff!” I totally agreed (internally, of course), but what a sharp tongue!

And as for the princess, she was smaller than her brother and kinda looked like someone had squished her down from above... Ahem, um... I mean, she was a bit on the plump side. Her face closely resembled her brother’s, and I won’t go into any more detail than that. I can see exactly why Celosia was trying so hard to avoid having to marry her. I’m sorry.

Though she was already tiny and round, she had dressed up in a baby pink, super frilly dress, which made her look even more plump. Am I going on about that too much? Ever so sorry!

“Princess Orangé, was it...? Tiny, fat, and ugly...”

“Ah! Don’t say it like that!”

When Miss Iris, standing on my other side, murmured that, I quickly moved to stop her. Her tongue is just as sharp as Miss Verbena’s. Hm? Why didn’t I just say she was wrong? ...Yeah, um, the answer to that is obvious.

Man, my vocabulary is getting tested today. I can’t describe either of the visiting royals in a positive way. And between Miss Verbena and Miss Iris and their tongues, I was internally sweating.

“Duke Fisalis must have been shocked that someone like her had her eyes on him,” whispered Miss Columbine behind me.

“...”

“Must be a pain to have someone that’s so far from your type swooning over you,” Miss Verbena said sharply.

Wow, no mercy!

“But I never imagined Aurantia’s crown prince would look like that. How old is he? Do you know, Miss Verbena?” asked Miss Iris.

“I heard he’s twenty-eight. His sister should just be twenty,” replied Miss Verbena, tapping her finger to her lips as she thought.

Miss Verbena knows a lot. She’s got an answer for everything.

“Twenty-eight?! I thought he had to be well into his thirties!” Miss Nastersham cried quietly. Yeah, he did really look older than he was.

“Princess Orangé looks older than us, as well.”

“And that dress... Frills are so dated.”

“Aah, I’m so glad I went on a diet.”

“Miss Sati...!”

The girls were really starting to lay into those foreign royals, though when Miss Krokusse started to stare pointedly down at her own body, we all forced ourselves to smile.

Even Miss Iris, who had loved cute and frilly dresses, had recently started wearing a simpler look. You could see that was the trend just by looking around the room, so Princess Orangé’s dress stood out like a sore thumb. This trend isn’t my fault! It really isn’t!

I mean, the girls were right when they said both the color and design of the princess’s dress were way out of style. But the woman herself was smiling confidently, so she must have been really sure of herself. I see—her dress must be the height of Aurantian fashion! Probably!

I’d ended up just listening in on our group of unusually vicious ladies. This isn’t good. I’m having trouble figuring out what to say...

“Miss Viola, where is the Duke?” Miss Iris asked, seemingly just realizing he wasn’t around.

It had completely slipped my mind thanks to the Aurantians making such a big impression, but I hadn’t seen Mr. Fisalis since we came to the palace. There was someone completely different standing next to His Majesty in Cercis’s usual spot, and I didn’t see him anywhere. The person beside His Majesty might have been the Captain of the Royal Guard. If he was there, then Mr. Fisalis might have been organizing things behind the scenes as the vice captain. Also, I spotted Corydalis and a few other familiar faces here and there.

“Oh, he’s on the job today~ I’m sure he’s just behind the scenes somewhere. He said he’d drop by if he had some time, but I dunno.” It’ll be fine if I just spend my time chatting, right?

After that, I had a proper chat with the girls and even danced when I was asked. I really tried my best to socialize properly. Don’t you think I’ve grown a lot, since I’m able to do all that now? And of course, I didn’t forget to advertise our Viola Sapphires☆