Chapter 384 Unexpected Situation
"After this, the Grandchester family will be stopping by the Arbal residence, right?"
"Yes. I heard from Lady Grandchester and Lady Orson that the Lady of Duke Arbal will be helping with Ms. Sara's birthday party. The Sophia Merchant Guild will also fully support this."
Just before the tea party in Jasmine dresses ended, Victoria spoke to Sophia. In reality, there wasn't much that needed to be discussed. The arrangements for Sara's birthday party were almost settled among Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Victoria. Rather, they had ended up leaving most of the necessary preparations for the day to Victoria.
There was a reason for this situation.
At first, Elizabeth and Rebecca wrote a letter to Victoria about Sara's birthday party. They were worried that the Marquis Grandchester's house in the capital might be too small for all the guests.
Of course, Victoria quickly replied, saying that the Arbal family would offer their other mansion for the party. They would also handle the setup and food. This mansion, once a royal villa, is large and has beautiful gardens. It was given to the first Duke Arbal when he became independent from the royal family. The current Crown Princess and Victoria's sisters also had their debutante balls there.
When Elizabeth received this letter, she was shocked and hurried to Maiden's Tower to confront Sara.
"Sara, what did you do to the Lady of Duke Arbal!?"
"I didn't do anything, okay?"
"There's no point in hiding it. There's no way the Arbal family would lend that venue if you didn't do something. They've never lent it to anyone other than relatives and the royal family."
"Even if you say that... I think I just stayed quiet. I only played the piano and violin a little."
Rebecca, who was listening to Sara, suddenly understood.
"So, what did Sophia do?"
"Uh... that's..."
"If you don't want to get into trouble later, it's better to just say it. The Lady of Duke Arbal has met both you and Sophia, and it's obvious that you two are related."
'Well, I don't think they're the same person.'
"Um... Duke Arbal's younger brother captured by a golem in the Sophia Merchant Guild."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Rebecca and Elizabeth looked at each other and tilted their heads in the same direction at the same time.
"Um, in the middle of the night, Lord Lysander of the Marquis Celcius family came to the main store of the Sophia Merchant Guild with a bouquet."
"Oh, I see. He came to confess to Sophia and got caught as a suspicious person, right?"
"Speaking of which, Lord Lysander didn't participate in the hunting tournament because he was unwell."
"Yes. So, to protect the honor of the Marquis Celcius and Duke Arbal families, we handled it discreetly and asked Lord Lysander to leave quietly."
'Thinking about it makes my head hurt...'
"But I can't believe that the Lady of Duke Arbal would act just for that. There must be more to it, right?"
As expected, Elizabeth wouldn't easily accept it. This shows how experienced she is in social situations. Sara admitted it honestly.
"Lord Lysander didn't just confess to Sophia; he proposed to her."
"A third son suddenly proposing to a common merchant he just met!?"
"Sure, Sophia is beautiful, but if he were a noble, he would probably invite her as a mistress first, Liz..."
"Do you really say 'mistress' in front of an 8-year-old girl?"
""Seriously!""
"At least can't my mother treat me like a child?"
"The one who always ruins that is you, Sara. I've pretty much given up on it."
Rebecca placed her hand on her cheek and sighed deeply.
"Enough with the jokes for now. What's important is what Lord Lysander did. It could affect future social events. I wish you had told me earlier."
"I'm really sorry. I was busy during the hunting tournament."
Elizabeth cut into Rebecca and Sara's conversation without hesitation, bringing the topic back.
"Lysander had debts from gambling. That's why I think he wanted to marry a rich wife. He probably thought that if he married Sophia, he could access the money from the Sophia Merchant Guild. His family didn't know, but the total amount of his debts is even more than Uncle Edward's."
"So, Lysander pressured Sophia to marry him, but refused, right?"
"That's right. By the way, when Sophia turned him down, Lysander said, 'How rude for a commoner merchant girl!' If I married that kind of man, I would not only be asked for money but also looked down upon because of the status. It's chilling, isn't it?"
"That's definitely true."
Sara's comment made Elizabeth nod in agreement.
"That's why we politely asked Lysander to leave, and I reported this to Marquis Celcius and Duke Arbal in a letter."
"So, the debts are no longer a secret. That's why Marquis Celcius forced Lysander to go home."
"Yes. After that, Sophia was called by the Lady of Duke Arbal."
"Maybe she wanted to talk as a woman?"
"That could be it. Actually, Lysander got into debt at a shady gambling house. He was apparently very drunk."
"Isn't that a crime?"
"That's a close call. Gambling itself isn't illegal, and even if there was cheating, you can't pursue charges unless you can prove it. But if there are many victims like Lord Lysander, the situation changes."
"I see the picture now. Sophia got the information about the gambling house, right?"
"I've made a list of the organizers, participants, and possible accomplices and handed it over."
Rebecca and Elizabeth stared at Sara with shocked expressions.
"You didn't ask for anything in return for that information?"
"I just gave it to them. I didn't want to get too involved, and I thought it would be smarter to have a favor owed to me."
"I see. Now I understand why the Duke Arbal family is being so helpful to you, Sara."
Elizabeth made a sour face and lightly rubbed her temples with her fingers.
"Sara... the Duke Arbal family will probably try to bring you into their fold."
"That means they're really after Sophia, right, aunt?"
"That's right. But I don't think they'll rush into a marriage arrangement. Even though you'll soon be a Viscount's daughter, your status is still commoner. At least until you become the adopted daughter of Rob and Revi and they see how you are treated, normal noble families won't make a move."
"Even if I become the adopted daughter, I've declared that I will live separately in Maiden's Tower, so people might think we're not on good terms."
"That would likely reduce the number of nobles wanting you as their main wife."
In short, the women of Grandchester believed that Victoria was unlikely to suddenly make Sara a candidate for her son's wife. Therefore, they concluded that it would be safer to give the Duke Arbal family a chance to repay Sophia's favor, and they decided to go along with Victoria's proposal.
However, when Victoria saw the guest list created by Elizabeth and Rebecca, she sent back a list with double the number of people. This meant the event would be bigger than expected, which would also increase the budget. Just as Elizabeth and Rebecca were thinking about politely declining, a letter arrived saying that Prince Andrew wanted to attend. Moreover, it included an official letter from Duke Arbal, stating that the Arbal family also wanted to help cover the costs.
Elizabeth and Rebecca felt frustrated. It was unusual for the Crown Prince's eldest son to attend a commoner's birthday party even though she is the granddaughter of Marquis Grandchester. Even Chloe, the daughter of the Young Marquis Grandchester, wouldn't have such an extravagant celebration.
Reluctantly, they asked Sophia and Sara to write letters to Victoria. Sophia's letter mentioned that the Marquis Grandchester family and the Sophia Merchant Guild would cover the party costs, and they wanted the Arbal family to pay for the expenses. In contrast, Sara's letter suggested that the party should be smaller, as a big event wasn't appropriate for her at this time.
Of course, the letter from Duke Arbal officially states that Marquis Grandchester has declined. However, Duke Arbal's reply suggests that they will scale down the event a bit and charge the costs to the Marquis Grandchester family, but they want to handle everything else themselves. It's likely that the costs will be significantly reduced.
"I can't believe Lady of Duke Arbal is targeting Sophia like this."
"No, Revi. She's after both Sophia and Sara."
"But Sara is still a commoner, and even if she becomes my adopted daughter, she'll only be a Viscount's daughter."
"What are you talking about? She's the granddaughter of Marquis Grandchester, has connections with the Sophia Merchant Guild, is incredibly beautiful, and has a lot of magical power. Of course, many noble families will want her."
"...Aunt, aren't you exaggerating my setting?"
"I'm not exaggerating; it's the truth, Sara. Honestly, she probably think skills in piano and violin don't matter at all."
"That's a shame. I thought I was showing off enough talent to be invited by His Highness the Crown Prince Gerhart to come to Roisen."
Rebecca let out a deep sigh.
"Sara..., I thought you wouldn't be able to hold back, so I wanted to make you seem special enough that no ordinary noble family would dare to interfere, but it seems I failed."
"Revi, I think it's more like she went too far than it being a failure. Sara's ability exceeded your expectations, right?"
"Yes. No matter how special she is, I don't think the Duke's family would take in commoners."
"Revi, you're too soft on that. Well, you are a special woman yourself."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you say Sara is over the top, then Revi, you're pretty bad too. You have magic like a saint, you're blessed by fairies, you're incredibly beautiful, and you're being taught directly by the queen."
"I won't deny that, but honestly, when I'm in front of Ms. Sara..."
"I get how you feel. No one would expect a dragon to be in the Grandchester family."
"It feels strangely like I'm being praised by mother and aunt."
""I'm not praising you!!""
As a result of these exchanges, Sara's birthday party was mainly organized by the Duke Arbal family. By hosting a tea party with many noblewomen in Jasmine dresses, the Duke Arbal family showed a closer relationship with the Marquis Grandchester family. This could suggest that Sara is seen as a potential bride for the Duke Arbal family. Proposing to her might lead to conflict with the Duke Arbal family.
And before Sara even realized it, she was being elevated to a person of great influence in Avalon's social scene.
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