Celebrity Lady - Chapter 36

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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 36
“What is this?”
“An invitation to a Social Gathering opening in two weeks. A party where the thoughtless young nobles and noblewomen of Jedo throw money around while bonding, you know.”
“Ah, I see. I’ve never been myself, though.”
Lark pondered for a moment, then let out a soft exclamation and asked.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t Lizbet go to one of these last month as well?”
“That’s right. She attended for the first time last July.”
“Did you go too? You must have seen Lizbet there?”
“Of course. We’re quite close, actually.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Lark chuckled in surprise and opened the invitation card.
You are invited to the August Social Gathering.
‘1 Silver’
—Hosted by Ricky
“1 Silver?”
“To attend the party, you need two things: an invitation card and a gift for the host. The ‘1 Silver’ written there is what the host hopes the guest will bring.”
Lizbet must have received an invitation from Ricky as well.
“Her Highness the Crown Princess must have received one too. I imagine the gift she was supposed to bring was a Pharma Crystal.”
“What?”
Lark’s brow furrowed.
“They’re asking her to bring a national treasure to the party?”
“She can’t possibly bring a national treasure. It was a deliberate request for something impossible to obtain. It’s a way of inviting someone out of politeness when you’d actually prefer them not to come—sending an invitation that ensures they’ll have to decline.”
Lark went rigid.
‘I haven’t exactly made much of an appearance among these circles, so it’s hardly surprising they wouldn’t know me.’
The existence of the gathering itself isn’t particularly secret. Nobles meet regularly to foster camaraderie, and there are dozens of such gatherings on Jedo besides this one.
But unless you’ve been attending for a long time, you can’t possibly know the specific unwritten rules or the subtle discrimination that governs these affairs.
“… Is Lizbet being ostracized among the nobles?”
After a long pause, Lark asked, his expression darkening.
“Hmm, no. Not quite ostracism. What nobleman would dare exclude the royal family? It’s just… a bit…”
I scratched my cheek as I deliberated, then hedged.
“… difficult, I suppose.”
Of course, the truth was somewhat different.
In fact, Lizbet had taken a shine to Ricky at first sight and had been showing him affection steadily, while Ricky found her attention burdensome. Yet Lizbet persisted in pursuing him relentlessly.
‘She’s been desperate to attend the party because of Ricky.’
That was the truth, but there was no need to inform Lark of such details, so I held my tongue.
“In any case, Her Highness’s real objective was to attend the party, not to acquire a national treasure, so bringing her something she can actually give should suffice.”
“But, young lady.”
“Yes?”
“How did you know I would ask about Lizbet? How did you come prepared with this? You… ah!”
Lark laughed and clutched his head.
“That’s right—you must have foreseen the future. I asked a foolish question.”
“Well…”
That wasn’t quite it.
It was simply a matter of good timing.
“But beyond that, I was hoping Her Highness the Crown Princess would attend this Social Gathering. I had been preparing this invitation specifically to give to her.”
“Hmm? Is this invitation meant for you? Can you bring someone else’s invitation?”
“The invitations don’t have a specific recipient’s name written on them, so it doesn’t matter. Since the hosts often request extravagant gifts, this prevents problems later. The host distributes them directly.”
“I see.”
Lark’s eyes, fixed on the invitation, grew slightly cold.
Having heard only how guests were invited, he seemed to have grasped the fundamentally aristocratic nature of this party.
“Well, I’m grateful. But if you give this to her, won’t you be unable to attend yourself?”
“Me? Well, since the host is Ricky, who’s basically family, getting another invitation is hardly difficult.”
I smiled at the apologetic Lark to assure him there was no need to worry.
* * *
The moment I arrived home, I headed straight for the twins, when Wisht, standing beside me, sent a Telepathic Communication.

I shrugged and continued.

I scoffed.
My memories of Lizbet, the Fifth Princess, weren’t particularly fond.
‘Just as Lubet trailed after Cedric, the Fifth Princess followed Ricky around like a shadow.’
Kind Lubet felt a strange kinship with Lizbet, who was nursing an unrequited love, but Lizbet herself was another story.
She always hoped Lubet would come whenever there was a gathering of nobility, and she clung to her side constantly.
Why?
‘Because Lubet made her look a bit less chubby standing next to her.’
The heavyset Lizbet lacked confidence in her body, but when Lubet was beside her, she seemed to breathe a little easier.
And that wasn’t all. She even used Lubet as a courier to deliver dozens of love letters to Ricky.
In any case, even well into adulthood, the memory of her acting like a thoughtless young lady was vivid.