Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 100 The mansion has been busy for several days in preparation for Escal’s birthday banquet, which is three days away.The Empress had declared her attendance early, and there were a lot of people who wanted to attend the banquet, so there was no shortage of things to take care of.All the servants who had attended the banquet rushed in and devoted themselves to the preparations for the banquet.“My lady, the gifts have arrived.”“Check the exact number and tell Merlin to pay the bill.”“Yes.”“They’re in the kitchen, being prepared.”“And the wine and champagne?”“Two hundred bottles were brought in this morning, and they’ll have the rest by tomorrow.”“Call the other breweries, just in case-.”“We’ve had enough alcohol.”Marquis Hallstein, who was listening to the conversation, spoke quietly.“The main character of the banquet is Escalium, and too much alcohol will only cause a ruckus.”“That’s enough alcohol. Go back to work.”“Yes.”I let the maid out and sighed.Marquises Hallstein, who was sitting in the drawing room watching the situation as they went back, smiled brightly.“Is it hard?”“That’s the thing about banquets. Before you do them, all you can see is what’s missing, and afterward, all you can think about is the mistakes you made.”“I know, right, that’s not normal.”I grumbled against the words of the Marquises Hallstein.Marquises Hallstein, who gladly rushed to the mansion at a request to help prepare the banquet, meticulously inspected the preparations inside and outside the banquet hall and mansion, like a well-known banquet expert.“Still, it was well prepared. But don’t stress too much, as long as there’s plenty of food and the flowers are colorful, it’ll be a success.”“Oh, I didn’t order flowers. I’m going to use ribbons instead of flowers.”At my words, the Marquises Hallstein put down the teacup.“Have you not ordered flowers yet? Go ahead and order flowers.”“I don’t need flowers….”“What do you mean? How empty it is without flowers. Come on, call the maid, quick.”Marquises Hallstein, who had pulled the string by herself, said to the maid who ran into the drawing room.“Go to Widworks’ flower shop, tell them my name, and ask them to send flowers for the banquet by tomorrow. It is a banquet attended by the Empress.”“All right, madam.”The maid, who had been called upon to run, looked at me and left the drawing room.Bewildered by what had happened in an instant, the Marquises of Hallstein asked.“Are you doing this to take care of me?”“Uh… I know how painful it can be because I have allergies.”“It’s okay if I don’t go near flowers. Last time there were few people, so taking care of it is a virtue, but it is good to prepare a banquet like this in general. That way there are fewer complaints.”The Marquises of Hallstein closed her eyes, saying it was a good thing to know even if it was late.“The Empress is not on the picky side, but Her Majesty’s aides will be sensitive. In many ways.”“Yes?”When she tilted her head at the strange nuance, Mrs. Hallstein continued.“The Marquis of Kensington wanted his second son to be engaged to Princess Adela.”“Ah…….”Even so, there was a sign that he didn’t like me for a long time.However, it was a very unfair look for me, who did not want them to get married.“Come to think of it, I know that young master, Marquis of Kensington, is the same age as Princess Adela, so it would be a good fit.”If you have such a good husband candidate right next to you, why do you bring in people who aren’t interested and make a big deal out of it?As I grumbled inwardly with displeasure, the Marquises of Hallstein, who had put down her teacup, looked intently into my face and asked.“It seems that Your Majesty the Empress is already thinking of Escalium as your son-in-law, but you don’t like it, right?”To a straight-forward question, I carefully selected my answer.“Actually, I’m a little surprised. She didn’t even discuss it with us, and Escal is only six years old, and there’s already talk of marriage.”“I know what you mean. It’s not the place, it’s the people.”“Ah… ”… Maybe there was no need to be careful.“Being the Emperor’s sire is honorable, but it is not a position of practical interest. They get a lot of envy, and they get a lot of checks.”“…….”“Perhaps it would be a different story if His Majesty had a powerful imperial sire.”The Marquises of Halstein were not in the Emperor’s favor, perhaps because she had come under fire for helping Helios in the Duchy of Eaton.I opened my mouth, keeping my guard up.“I think Your Majesty was troubled by the work of Duke Eaton. The Crown Prince has also been appointed, so now he can put his mind at ease.”“Well, I’m not sure what people will think of a crown prince who hasn’t even been crowned.”There was a sharp tone in the words.While the capital was buzzing with the monster riots and the awarding of Helios’ medals, the Emperor appointed Prince Frederick as the Crown Prince without ceremony.Because people are deeply worried because of the monster, it was a justification to reduce them.However, in reality, when the ceremony is held, there will be a lot of talk about Prince Frederick for a while, so it was reasonable to think that the ceremony was omitted to block it.“I’m sure he didn’t want his only heir to be in the spotlight.”“That’s why you should have been more assertive, otherwise people would have believed your suspicions to be true.”The remarks of the Marquises Hallstein were not outrageous. I hid my surprise and changed the topic.“I know that the Marquises Hallstile was in charge of the preparations for the ceremonies, but I am sorry that it was canceled.”“I am not sorry at all. If the ceremony had continued as it was, we would have been in trouble again.”“What happened?”“I got a call a few days ago that traces of a monster had been found in the territory. We hurried down to the estate to find out what happened to it.”“A monster?”I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected story.The Emperor, who had been attacked by monsters in the hunting ground, gave an order to investigate and report the movements of the monsters in each territory.Knowing that the monster disturbance was the work of the Emperor, I thought that the Monster Investigation Order was merely a trick to hide the truth of the incident.Is it really time for monsters to appear, apart from the Emperor’s scheme?“I don’t think anything has been confirmed yet. Since our territory is close to the Duchy of Eaton, there is a possibility that it may be a monster that lives there.”“Ah… okay.”“So I think I will be attending Escalium birthday banquet.”“Yes.”As I waved my hand in response, the Marquises of Hallstein smiled and stood up.“You’re busy preparing for the banquet, we have been sitting for too long. I’ll go back.”“I’ll take you to the carriage.”I left the drawing room with the Marquises of Hallstein.As soon as I left the door, I heard a loud roar.It seemed that Escal was practicing swordsmanship with Baron Hazel.Marquises Hallstein, who was waiting for the carriage, walked towards the sound.“Ha!”“Again.”“Ha!”“Relax your wrists, be strong.”“Yes!”As if he had gained more strength, Escal’s movement of swinging his sword became bigger and faster.Mrs. Hallstein, who was watching the training closely, furrowed her eyebrows and asked me.“Who is that pink-haired kid?”“She is Baron Hazel’s granddaughter.”“Ah, that child….”Marquis Hallstein curled her eyes.Was Tiaris’s existence known that far?As I stared at Tiaris with a bad feeling, Baron Hazel, who noticed the presence, stopped training and pointed this way to Escal.Escal put down his sword and ran towards us.“Hello. I’m Escalium.”Escal boldly greeted us. Marquises Hallstein asked affectionately.“It’s been a while, Escal. It’s a hot day, isn’t it hard?”“No. It’s not hard at all.”“Really? Well, that’s why you have faced that terrifying monster.”Pride rose on Escal’s face after receiving the praise. She rolled her eyes and spoke to him.“You are very strong and handsome. the Empress would covet you.”“You’re flattering.”Madame Hallstein grinned as she faltered in her words, as if she were afraid the child might understand.The coachman with the carriage pulled up to the front door. Marquises Hallstein got into the carriage.“I must be going,” she said, “I have enjoyed myself today.”“Be careful going in.”“I’ll see you at the banquet.”  ***** Escal was living the happiest days of his life these days.Unlike previous years, when his birthday had slipped by without him realizing it, the gifts in the hustle and bustle of birthday preparations had taken him off guard.“What is this?”Escal’s eyes widened as he opened the large box brought by the Marquises of Hallstein.Inside the box was a wooden soldier doll.There was a large spring on the back of the soldier doll, which swung the sword held by the soldier doll.“Wow.”It was an elaborate movement that could not even be compared with the puppy doll that Princess Adela gave him.After playing with the doll for a while, excited by his new favorite gift, there was a knock on the door.“Brother, can you play with Tia?”