As always, I'm terrible when it comes to keigo and n.o.ble talk, so please forgive me if things sound a bit….clunky. On that note, hope you enjoy the chapter~

Time pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye since the ball, until finally there was only one month left until my enrollment into the Academy.

My everyday life was kept quite busy from all the visits I had to make to the homes of the acquaintances I met at the ball.

Starting with Count Dorambald, Count Cardina, then Count Da.n.u.s; and then, Marquis Maelian and Marquis Dungley's houses, Marquis Philis' house, Marquis Rudolph's house, and then Count Telrose's houses, etc. etc………none of them were partial to any particular groups, and as I received invitations from them when I went to greet them that day, I visited all of them.

By going around in person, I would be able to see the relations.h.i.+ps of interest and power, as well as see how each house operates, in addition to their financial state. Furthermore, as I would be able to hear gossip from each house, it was quite beneficial.

Of course, as it was impossible to tell whether or not the gossip was actually true, I was listening to them while taking it with a grain of salt. 

Leaving that aside, in doing this, I was made to understand how sensitive the wives of n.o.bles were to information.

As expected, tea parties and b.a.l.l.s were essential places for acquiring information like this.

……in order to not cut off the connections that I had taken great pains to acquire, I would like to meet all of them one more time before I enroll in the Academy in order to deepen the relations.h.i.+ps.

Thinking that, this time I planned to extend an invitation from my end to bring all of them together at my home for an event.

However, designing an event was an extremely delicate matter.

The events organized by each individual house were places that spoke greatly regarding the organizer's taste.

If you hold a boring event, you run the risk of your guests leaving early, and following that, you'd have the stamp of [Someone who has bad taste] put on your head. Afterwards, you'll end up not even being able to gather attendees for your events.

……as such, I have been worrying about what sort of party to organize.

A ball……another house had already held one recently.

A dinner party……while it may lack in appeal, this may be the safest option.

As I thought about such matters, I carefully jotted down notes to keep in mind the sort of preparations I would have to make.

My memo paper ran out, and wondering if there was something to write on, I opened up my desk and took out a piece of sc.r.a.p paper from inside.

……when I opened it up, I found a contact address written on it.

It was the one I received from the singer Brittany when I saved her in that unnamed town.

Now that I think about it, I wonder what she's doing around now…….it was the moment I thought that.

Together with the sound of knocking on my door, Anna entered the room.

And then with familiar movements, she made tea and left it on my desk.

"Thanks, Anna………say, Anna. Do you remember the singer Brittany?"

"Yes, of course………now that I think of it, Mellice-sama. When I went out shopping in town previously, I happened to see the troupe that she is a member of."

"Heh……."

"If I can recall correctly, it was called the Étoile Troupe."

"The Étoile Troupe!"

I reflexively stood up and shouted.

Seeing my reaction, Anna blinked with surprise.

"That's a famous opera company! If I can recall, their new play was quite popular, right?"

It was a famous opera company that was a contender as the top troupe even in the Capital…….that was the Étoile Troupe.

I've heard that their new production was so popular that it was quite difficult to obtain seats.

"I know! That's it! …….let's try probing Brittany to see if she'd be willing to be part of the entertainment for the event. Thanks, Anna."

As a matter of fact, for events held in one's own home, there were cases where the organizer would invite an opera troupe to perform a single act, or have a musical performance by a musician.

Everyone has become quite tired of all the events being similar, so what type of event you were having is an important point.

…….I truly wanted to see the Étoile troupe's play myself, so I immediately started to write a letter addressed to Brittany.

And then, after preceding with the arrangements, I sent the invitations, and while I was continuing with the preparations, time pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye and the day of the party arrived.

I wore clothes from Madame Créjour and went to receive the guests.

As expected, I had some second thoughts about me being the only host, but as this was a lady's gathering, only I could partic.i.p.ate from the Anderson Marquis House.

Although I did drag Father out so that he could at least help with greeting the guests.

"Welcome, Countess Cardina."

He promptly greeted the invitee that came into sight.

"My……General Gazelle, how do you do? …….Mellice-sama, thank you very much for your invitation today. Have I arrived too early? I was looking forward to today very much, so I couldn't help but come early……."

"No, by no means. I do not know if it will be able to meet your expectations, but I have worked hard so that everyone will be able to enjoy themselves."

"Fufu, how humble…….even so, it's amazing. To think that you'd invite Brittany of the Étoile troupe! As expected of Mellice-sama."

Countess Dorambalt said in an excited manner.

"It was just by chance. I am also looking forward to seeing her performance."

I only found out after contacting her, but it seems that Brittany was the Étoile troupe's poster girl singer.

As expected, it'd be impossible to invite her…….is what I thought and had half-given up on it, but was unexpectedly told, "If accepting the Anderson Marquis House's invitation will allow me to be of use to Mel-sama", and Brittany accepted.

And as we approached today, Brittany was already on stand-by.

While I was thinking about how much even I was looking forward to hearing her sing, I was kept busy by the continuous stream of invitees that I had to greet.

And then, once everyone who had been invited arrived, the party began.

After exchanging farewells with my Father, I headed into the hall, where I became drunk from Brittany's voice.

She gave us an enthusiastic performance during the single act of the rumoured play.

Her voice was one that made you want to listen to it, with a beautiful tone and an overwhelming volume that made one wonder where in the world it came from, emerging from such a slender body.

And then, her singing voice filled with emotion drew you into the play, despite it only being a single act, you were able to empathize with it.

Once she finished singing, everyone gave a standing ovation.

……..thanks to her song, I felt confident that today's event was a success. All that was left depended on how I conduct myself during the tea party following this. 

I guided everyone to the salon as I had such thoughts.

"Brittany's singing earlier could be described with a single word: masterpiece."

Everyone seemed to be competing with one another to speak as that topic was brought up.

"Yes, yes truly! I unintentionally ended up crying."

"Apparently this is the first play with her as the leading actress…….she performed so well, it's hard to believe that though."

And then, as we enjoyed the tea, the conversation regarding Brittany's earlier song started to get heated.

"……now that I think of it, this semester Mellice-sama will be enrolling in the Academy, right?"

"Yes, that's right. That is why I may not be able to see everyone very much."

"My……that's unfortunate."

"It means the world to me that you would say that."

"Speaking of the Academy, this year Prince Edgar will also be enrolling."

"Yes, so I've heard…….that is why everyone is highly interested regarding the att.i.tude in the Academy this year."

"Especially so because Prince Edgar is not yet engaged after all……there are those whose hearts are aflutter, wondering whether or not he will fall in love with themselves."

"My, is that so? I did not know that."

I took it upon myself to play the fool as I gave an agreeable response.

"It cannot be helped, since Mellice-sama has such a dreamy fiancé after all."

"That is true. If I were younger, I wouldn't be able to help being envious of the fact that Rui-sama is your fiancé."

"My……."

Hohoho, everyone laughed together.

Such a harmonious conversation unfolded from beginning to the end of the party, and when it came time for everyone to go home, they all had satisfied smiles on their faces.

Like this, my first tea party, in which I was the organizer, was a success.