Chapter 85
The first person I visited for preparation was the chef.
As soon as the chef saw me, he abandoned his cooking utensils and rushed over. His fierce face softened, and his lips twitched.
In a way, he was quite easy to read.
“Welcome! Grand Princess!”
“Hello. I came because I have a favor to ask. Can you help me?”
“Of course! But first, allow me to check something.”
The chef gestured to the cooks in the kitchen. Upon receiving his signal, the cooks moved in unison to search the surroundings.
After thoroughly checking behind trash cans and sinks, the cooks lined up and reported.
“After checking, it seems Young Master Tristan is not here!”
“Behind the windows?”
“No one is there.”
“Good. Still, just in case, put away the expensive equipment.”
I smiled awkwardly at the chef’s anxious expression.
There was a rumor in the mansion that Lucas or Tristan would appear wherever I went. The chef apologized with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve had certain experiences.”
“No, I understand.”
Inside the kitchen, burn marks were visible everywhere. Some cooking utensils were left broken and abandoned.
The aftermath of what the documents called the “Muffin Incident” was devastating.
The chef, now confident that Tristan was not nearby, breathed a sigh of relief. Shortly after, he brought me warm cocoa.
“Since you’ve come to visit, you should have something to drink.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, please wait a moment! It wouldn’t be right for a chef to send away a cute guest without offering something.”
“Then muf… no, cookies please.”
The chef quickly baked chocolate cookies to my taste. While eating the cookies, I briefly explained why I had come.
“You want to hold a party that your family can enjoy together?”
“Yes. If it’s about money, I’d like you to use what I have here.”
I took out the money pouch that Heishar had recovered for me. The pouch of gold coins that had been taken by the slave traders had safely returned to my hands.
He had thrown it to me one day while in wolf form.
“If this goes missing, even the Grand Duke would be suspicious.”
The cooks’ eyes glazed over at the shine of gold coins in the pouch.
Feeling somewhat apologetic about what Tristan had done, I was prepared to hand over the entire pouch. However, the chef only took a few gold coins and placed them on the table.
“This is enough for ingredients. If you tell me specifically what food you need, I’ll prepare it.”
“I do have something in mind.”
“A cake with this… Indeed, it can be made this way too.”
“I think those two will like it.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll prepare everything by the time you need it!”
After getting the chef’s confirmation, I went to my next destination. After securing the food, the next step was to obtain supplies.
A veteran who had hosted tea parties many times was in the room.
“Sen, do you have any decorations or props for hosting a party?”
“Is it for a doll tea party?”
“For something more official.”
After hearing my plan, Sen enthusiastically gathered other maids.
Since only the two who would be the main characters of the party needed to be kept in the dark, I didn’t stop Sen. The maids eagerly budgeted for the party.
Perhaps trained by several doll tea parties, their planning skills were excellent.
“A good party needs an excellent venue!”
“Should the color of the props be blue or red?”
“We also need to think about which flowers to use for decoration. If anyone has an opinion, please share.”
Several flowers were proposed, and purple saffron was finally selected. The color of the props was decided to be purple to match the flowers.
The maids planned to make the props for the stage themselves.
“Since it’s a small party, how about using origami for the props?”
“The Grand Princess can also participate in making the props.”
I, who had imagined a truly simple party, was taken aback. I tried offering gold coins from my pouch as thanks, but the maids refused.
“Working for the Grand Princess is our pride.”
The maids, burning with enthusiasm to make this the happiest party possible, mobilized their connections to increase their helpers.
“Please leave the heavy lifting to us!”
From other servants and attendants working in the mansion.
“Providing a venue? I believe I can help with that. I’ll keep it a secret from His Grace, the Grand Duke.”
The strict butler who managed the mansion willingly agreed. Even the young nobleman who had become the Grand Duke’s new assistant volunteered his talents.
“My father was the one who planned the welcome party for the Grand Princess! Don’t worry about anything.”
So he was the cause of the cat-eared Grand Duke incident!
Behind the confident young nobleman stood an old man. He was Tristan’s magic instructor, whom I had only heard about.
“I’ll cooperate if you tell Young Master Tristan to… ahem, continue lessons with me even at the academy.”
It seemed his passion for teaching a genius had won over his pride. The knights who had attended the doll party also flocked in, promising their help.
“No one knows what Lucas likes better than we do, so you can leave it to us!”
I appreciated everyone’s enthusiasm, but it was becoming a bit frightening. Could we keep something of this scale a secret?
Despite my concerns, with so many people gathered, progress was swift. During the short time until the knighting ceremony, the farewell party was coming together.
***
On the day of the knighting ceremony, Lucas climbed onto the platform with a nervous expression.
Including him, five knights would undergo the ceremony this year. The Grand Duke channeled his magic into a pre-prepared short-range teleportation magic circle.
When the Grand Duke removed his hand from the magic circle, a large cage covered with cloth appeared.
“You must kill the prepared magical beast within the time limit.”
“Yes!”
The knights pledged on the platform to follow the regulations of the ceremony. Among the adult knights, Lucas in his uniform stood out the most.
‘I wonder how this will go.’
The knighting ceremony in the capital was conducted through duels. I had heard there were regional differences, but the basic method of proving strength was the same.
“Tristan, you said the knighting ceremony isn’t dangerous, right?”
“Yeah. Just think of it as an enjoyable event and watch comfortably.”
“That’s a relief then.”
If it were as Lucas had described, there wouldn’t be a problem. It was much more moderate compared to the capital’s method of dueling with senior knights.
But would the ceremony in the North, famous for its high standards for knights, be easy? I had a feeling there might be more to it than what Lucas had said.
The Grand Duke stood in front of the cage and looked around at the knights gathered in the square.
“The condition for this knighting ceremony has been decided as the Crimson Bear. Settle it within the time limit.”
As soon as the Grand Duke finished speaking, the knights removed the cloth covering the cage.
As the black cloth fell away, the beast inside the cage was revealed. The large beast, which dwarfed five or six people, was definitely not something that could be called an “animal.”
‘That’s a magical beast!’
Magical beasts were inherently ferocious creatures that preyed on humans.
“Shouldn’t we stop this?!”
Tristan pulled my arm as I tried to stand up in panic.
“Liat. What do you think knights practice before the knighting ceremony?”
“Obviously, they memorize the ceremonial rituals.”
“That’s for ‘normal’ cases. Did you see any such tedious procedures in the ceremony you just witnessed?”
Now that he mentioned it, there hadn’t been any proper ceremonial rituals. Only the close family members of the knights were gathered to watch the ceremony.
It was quite different from the capital, where all nobles would watch in a colosseum-like arena. I recalled how Lucas had been returning exhausted every day and asked Tristan.
“Then what was he practicing?”
“That right there.”
Tristan spread his fingers toward the bear-like magical beast in the cage.
“For the past few days, he would have been learning that magical beast’s patterns and attack methods, and devising ways to kill it.”
Despite seeing the magical beast in the cage, the knights showed no sign of agitation.
They looked at Lucas, who stood at the front, having formed ranks as they had practiced beforehand. Logically, it would be right to stop this, as the magical beast would be challenging even for trained knights.
“In the North, the knighting ceremony takes place when a knight has proven their qualification. It has nothing to do with age or experience.”
“So it’s based on ability.”
“Yes. Brother is receiving the knighting ceremony because he can do it.”
“The strongest knight order in the Empire…”
I recalled the nickname given to the Grand Duke’s Black Lion Knights. If I intervened now, it would be disrespecting Lucas’s efforts.
‘I should trust Lucas.’
Even experienced knights were reluctant to face a Crimson Bear. Lucas’s expression was grave as he had to kill such a magical beast within the time limit.
“Everyone, draw your weapons!”
At Lucas’s command, the sound of swords being drawn was heard.
The sword energy emanating from Lucas’s sword was stable in form. It seemed that reducing his obsession with strength had a positive effect.
Magicians cast barriers to prevent any impact on the surroundings.
“Watch carefully. You’ll see why brother is called a genius.”
Seeing Tristan’s relaxed expression, I also eased my tension. In the worst-case scenario, the Grand Duke, who could behead the magical beast, was watching this ceremony.
Grrrr!
The cage door lowered, and the trapped magical beast emerged.
“Cover the right side. I’ll draw its attention!”
Lucas shouted briefly as he raised his sword and aimed for the beast’s flank. Sliding into the beast’s reach, he targeted its legs.
“Grrrr!”
“Chrono! Right side!”
Just as the magical beast was about to strike Lucas with its paw, another knight who had been standing by brought down his sword. Other knights watching admired the seamless coordination.
I understood why Tristan had said it would be fine.
‘They all trust each other.’
Since Lucas had been active in the knight order early on, all the knights participating in the ceremony seemed familiar with Lucas’s attacks and directions.
At this rate, they would fulfill the ceremony’s conditions without issue.
One knight who had been carefully observing the magical beast’s condition muttered.
“Something seems off about its condition.”
The magical beast, cornered by Lucas and the knights, had its eyes turn red, and its entire body swelled. It was a sign that the magical beast was about to self-destruct.
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