Chapter 592

Debut Party (1)
○●○● Alizée

“Yes, your invitation has been confirmed. Please proceed inside.”

“Hmph! The nerve of you merchants! To keep me, a viscount, waiting this long!”

Ordinarily, a Silver-rank merchant holds authority equivalent to a count.
This time, however, Lily’s recognition places her on par with, or even above, a marquis.
These nobles can puff up all they like for now… but it won’t last.
All right, who’s next in line…

“The receptionist is you, Alizée?”

“Marquis Vardmoi!? You’re quite early, aren’t you?”

“I thought so as well, but my daughters insisted they had to taste the new sweets being served today as soon as possible…”

“If it’s about the sweets, Marquis, we could have them prepared for you another day, given our close ties.”

“What’s done is done. My wife, my daughters, and I are here. Please check us in.”

“… Of course. All confirmed. By the way, the new dessert really was delicious.”

“Wait, Alizée, you’ve already tried it!?”

“Ah, yes—just a taste test earlier.”

“Ugh, I can’t stand waiting! Let’s go, Father!”

“Mother, come on, hurry!”

“Stop tugging. Well then, see you later, Alizée.”

… That was unexpected.
I never imagined the Marquis’s family would arrive this early.
The others in line are starting to fidget now.
Hopefully, they’re not all here just for the desserts.

“Lady Alizée, my apologies for our delay.”

“Our sincerest apologies, Lady Alizée.”

“It’s quite all right. You’re just in time, Baron Oxit, Young Lady Moira.”

These two are among those Lady Lily was particularly concerned about.
We had sent an invitation to the Baron’s wife as well, but she had to decline due to other commitments.
Still, having these two here will certainly please Lady Lily.

“We were meant to arrive two days ago, but poor weather delayed us until today. We changed quickly and came straight here—please forgive the rush.”

“It’s no trouble at all. …Yes, your invitations are confirmed. Marquis Vardmoi and his family have already entered.”

“What!? Then we must greet them at once! Come, Moira!”

“Yes! Excuse us, Lady Alizée!”

And just like that, off they go.
Given how late they are compared to their original arrival time, I suppose it can’t be helped.
We’ve followed the customs of this kingdom for today’s event, but Lady Lily intends to abolish this formal structure next time.
After all, she won’t be counted among this nation’s merchants anymore.

After the high-ranking nobles finished checking in, it was finally time for the royal attendees.
Now then, how will this go, I wonder?

“Thank you for inviting us, Lady Alizée.”

“Your words honor me, Duke McFarlane.”

“… Hm? Hey, where’s Lily!?”

“Lady Lily is busy with the final preparations for today’s presentation, so she isn’t at the reception. Lord Sharon, is there a problem?”

“A problem!? The royal family graces a merchant’s presentation with our presence, and she doesn’t even come out to greet us!? Outrageous!”

As expected, this man understands nothing.
A glance behind him shows the King and Princess Rodenlight both shaking their heads—apparently not worth explaining right now.
Honestly, what a hopeless princeling.

“Hey, you! Fetch Lily at once—”

“Excuse me. Is there a problem here?”

A shadow suddenly appeared behind the shouting Prince Sharon—ah, that was a vampire’s teleportation magic.
Which means these must be…

“My apologies. Grand Duke Sazaby of the Darshe Principality, and Duke Bastaraf, I presume?”

“Indeed. I heard the girl my daughter guards is to become a leader of the world at last. I couldn’t let the occasion pass without congratulating her.”

“Just so, just so! I came to celebrate my tea-drinking companion, that’s all.”

The stern Grand Duke Sazaby and the genial, grandfatherly Duke Bastaraf—just as Plum described them.

“So, this is the right place for check-in?”

“Yes, indeed. I’ll assign an attendant to escort you to the second floor.”

“An attendant? Oh! One of ours!”

“It has been a while, Grand Duke Sazaby.”

“Ah, so you’re working for Lily now! I’d like to hear what sort of young lady she’s become. Well then, lead the way!”

“Y-yes, right this way.”

The Grand Duke strode off laughing heartily, while Duke Bastaraf followed, chuckling merrily, “Ho-ho-ho.”
Duke McFarlane and his retinue were left speechless.
Now, let’s get them moving along too…

“Excuse me, Lady Alizée. Is this the right place to check in?”

“Yes—oh! Master Kouro… Lady Kiri!? And even Lord Riku!?”

“The invitations sent to the Isles of the Eight Gods specified about two guests, so Kiri and I came.”

“Yes, and I must apologize again for the trouble we caused before. This time, I intend to offer all my blessings!”

“I’ll just share some updates about Kiblinki Saltas and the others she left behind.”

Their sudden arrival startled me, but I quickly finished their registration and had them escorted to the VIP seats upstairs.

“… Now then, the only ones left are the McFarlane royal family. Is everything in order?”

“Wh-what in the world!? Why are foreign dignitaries attending this event!?”

“Because they all have personal ties with Lady Lily, of course. So then, Lord Sharon—will you be entering or not?”

“Hmph! I’ll go see this spectacle for myself and watch her slip up!”

And with that, Prince Sharon finally entered as well.
Duke McFarlane and the young prince followed after him.
Princess Rodenlight had already entered earlier, so that makes everyone accounted for.

All that’s left now… is to make sure this party goes perfectly.

What do you think about this chapter?