As expected, Mylene woke me up at the crack of dawn.

After washing until my whole body was squeaky clean, I returned to my room to find Millie and Bella waiting in front of my door. 

 They dressed me in a gown, adorned me with all sorts of expensive accessories, and put a lot of effort into styling my hair.

Being naturally blessed with a pretty face, I looked quite presentable when all dressed up.

Even with just lipstick applied, my face looked more vibrant than usual. 

 After they sprinkled some glitter on me, I went downstairs alone, and Father and my two brothers looked at me with surprised eyes. 

 “Hmm. I heard you ordered a dress from the boutique, and you chose well. We’ll visit the Count’s residence, have a light lunch, and then the heads of households will have business discussions. During that time, you all will stay in the reception room with the other young nobles. And the party starts in the evening.” 

 My brother Rubert and I nodded at Father’s words.

Brother Bershua wore a familiar expression, having attended such parties many times before. 

 We boarded the carriage, and it began heading toward Count Debussy’s residence. 

 After the carriage had been traveling for some time, it gradually slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop.

As soon as it stopped, the door opened with a clunk.

What we saw was a middle-aged man, presumably the butler, bowing to us. 

 “Thank you for visiting Count Debussy’s residence. I will escort you.” 

 We got out of the carriage with the escort of the mansion’s staff and were guided into the purple-decorated castle.

Unlike Duke Posilia’s mansion and Marquis Masipacius’s residence, which were said to be the most splendid in the Empire aside from the Imperial Palace, Count Debussy’s castle was decorated with a modest and clean feeling. 

 However, this doesn’t mean that Count Debussy’s household was poor.

While Count Debussy’s ancestors had failed in every business venture they attempted, the current Count Debussy was quite sharp-minded.

Though he shared his ancestors’ lack of business acumen, he had extremely quick instincts. 

 You could say he had the ability to quickly and accurately judge what to acquire and what to sell.

……Though he couldn’t run businesses independently because his other abilities were too lacking.

Father had received quite a lot of help from Count Debussy’s quick judgment, so he shared management of businesses with him. 

 So the modesty of this castle’s interior simply reflected Count Debussy’s nature, being too scared to spend money due to his ancestors’ influence.

However, since it was clean and had interior design rarely seen in normal noble residences, I looked around the castle with some interest. 

 Even nobles can’t avoid becoming beggars if they spend money recklessly.

There were several families in the Empire famous for their extravagance, and quite a few of them ended up completely bankrupt about 15 years later after carelessly throwing around and spending money. 

 “Lunch will be served in the reception room. The dining room is a bit too small to accommodate all these noble guests.” 

 The man presumed to be the butler explained various things while guiding us through the interior, then gradually came to a stop.

Soon the doors opened, revealing the inside of the reception room.

Unlike the hallway, the reception room was decorated rather lavishly. 

 As we entered the reception room, the nobles who had arrived before us all stopped their conversations at once and looked in our direction. 

 “Marquis Masipacius and his children have arrived.” 

 The people briefly tilted their heads at the unfamiliar sight of me and brother Rubert, then soon smiled and approached the Marquis to greet him.

Brother Rubert, clearly uncomfortable with the crowd, hesitated before retreating to the very back, while brother Bershua received people’s greetings with a familiar air. 

 I also followed along, smiling as I received the nobles’ greetings.

Incidentally shielding the fidgeting brother Rubert behind me was a bonus. 

 That brother definitely couldn’t handle any job that involves being in front of people. 

 After receiving their greetings for quite some time, the Marquis, noticing brother Rubert’s poor expression, excused himself from the endlessly chattering people up front, and only then were we able to enter the reception room properly.

Though people still watched us even after we entered the reception room, no one approached us while we were preparing for the meal, so brother Rubert’s expression seemed to improve somewhat compared to earlier. 

 “How are you going to manage later if you freeze up like that in front of people?” 

 Brother Bershua spoke to brother Rubert, who was gradually starting to relax.

Seeing that Father didn’t stop brother Bershua’s behavior, he seemed to agree with those words.

Brother Rubert just scratched his head embarrassedly at those words and picked at the food in front of him. 

 As the simple lunch began and we were about to have dessert, the reception room doors opened once again.

The nobles who saw the people entering through those doors were surprised and began whispering among themselves. 

 “Duke Posilia and the Young Duke have arrived.” 

 Even Father and brother Bershua, who had been focused on their books, turned their surprised gazes toward the door at those words. 

 “Duke Posilia came…? Father, Duke Posilia hasn’t attended these parties for nearly a year, has he?” 

 “……Well, Duke Posilia is still a member of this gathering. Though he’s always skipped these parties and social gatherings with the excuse of being busy.” 

 Hmm.

Come to think of it, while I’ve had many conversations with the Duchess, Grace, and Young Duke Delion……

I don’t think I’ve ever spoken with the Duke himself.

He’s quite taciturn, and true to being the Marchioness’s husband, he has a strong results-oriented personality — while he’s excellent at making money, he doesn’t have the personality to be loved by people…. 

 Duke Posilia and the Young Duke walked into the reception room under everyone’s gaze.

Unlike when we arrived at the reception room, people couldn’t easily approach the Posilia family members.

They sat down and, refusing lunch, began talking about something with serious expressions.

Since they spoke in voices barely above whispers that only they could hear, it was impossible to know exactly what they were discussing. 

 Father also kept glancing their way as if concerned about them. 

 “But Father, why did the Posilia family, who rarely attend parties, suddenly attend this one?” 

 Bershua asked Father in the lowest possible voice. 

 ……You call that a question?

If you’re asking why someone would attend a gathering of businesspeople they rarely participate in, what other reason could there be besides starting a new business? 

 And Father’s thoughts seemed to align with mine. 

 “They must be planning to start some new business. What other reason would there be for attending a gathering of the Empire’s top businesspeople?” 

 At those chiding words, brother Bershua nodded and returned his attention to his book.

Soon after, the butler opened the door and announced loudly. 

 “The heads of households, please follow me.” 

 Hearing this, Father put down the book he was reading and left the reception room with the other heads of households, saying he’d be back.

Eventually, only the young ladies and gentlemen who had accompanied their fathers remained in the reception room.

The awkward atmosphere didn’t last long, as they quickly began moving about busily to find their close friends, as if used to this situation. 

 There were exactly two tables that they avoided as if there was a barrier around them.

First was the table where Young Duke Posilia sat, exuding ‘I’m serious right now’ with his whole body after attending for the first time in a while.

And second was our table, the Masipacius family’s table, though I didn’t know why. 

 Brother Rubert must have been curious too, as he carefully poked brother Bershua’s shoulder with his finger. 

 “Brother, why aren’t other people talking to us?” 

 Brother Bershua answered while keeping his eyes fixed on his book. 

 “There was someone who said something that upset me during a conversation before. I got annoyed and told Father about it, so we ended our business with their family and kicked them out of this gathering. After that, no one would talk to me.” 

 Are you bragging about ruining someone else’s family business? 

 Hearing this, brother Rubert mumbled “Ah… I see…” and then just awkwardly rolled his eyes around.

After sitting quietly without talking to anyone for about thirty minutes, a group of men approached our table.

They plopped down familiarly next to brother Bershua, who was reading his book. 

 Feeling uncomfortable with them, brother Rubert carefully moved to sit next to me. 

 “Hey, Bershua. Been well?” 

 ……These faces look familiar. 

 “Ah, you’re here?” 

 Brother Bershua put down the book he was reading and greeted them warmly. 

 “Belsanne, did you finish your levitation magic assignment?” 

 Ah, Belsanne.

Only after hearing one of their names could I remember who they were.

Belsanne, Voltu, Signet.

The three who were desperate to hurl all sorts of insults at adult me.

I remembered thinking I should at least remember their names since it was amusing how they tried to criticize me with their empty heads.