Party Invitation part. 1

Ryan fell silent upon hearing his master's question.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"Um, I don't think I'm alright," Aliester replied with a strained tone. He even muttered to himself, "I thought being a widower with a child would be easy. Now that I think about it, I was never lonely even though I had never dated anyone before I died."

"I think I have a mental disorder."

"Besides that, I have to consider Magdalene's feelings. She is so small, too small to be a child without a mother."

"Oh, Helene, why did you leave your young daughter and your husband, who has now become an idiot because I have possessed him?!"

Maybe in Aliester's eyes, he wasn't doing anything strange, but to his butler, Ryan, he was acting very oddly.

"Your Majesty, I believe you are starting to feel unwell. You must have hit your head when you took Princess Magdalene to the knight training grounds."

"You know that I am a very insensitive person," Aliester said weakly. "I'm trying to be kind and be a good father. Hic…"

Ryan couldn't deny it—he knew what kind of person his master was. As a king, even when Queen Helene passed away, he had hidden his grief.

But Ryan also knew that something had changed in his master's behavior.

"In the past, he never left his study unless it was for meals."

"Everyone thought His Majesty didn't want to see Princess Magdalene anymore because she reminded him of the late Queen."

"But now, I feel that a parent is still a parent. Even someone as rigid as His Majesty can feel lost when questioned by his own daughter."

Even though that was what Ryan thought, he still acted as a proper servant.

"Your Majesty, I don't think you need to worry. Besides—"

Knock…

Knock…

Knock…

The sound of knocking brought back some normalcy, at least enough for Aliester to regain his composure.

"I have to look dignified so I don't embarrass the real Aliester," he thought.

Ryan opened the door, revealing a female servant carrying a luxurious silver tray. On top of it was an envelope with a seal.

"Sir Ryan, an invitation has just arrived," the servant announced.

"An invitation? From whom?"

The servant hesitated, clearly reluctant but obligated to answer, "Earl Ventela. Lord Pascua Ventela sent one of his aides to deliver this letter to His Majesty."

"Again?"

The maid looked troubled. "Um, this might be inappropriate, Sir Ryan... but hasn't Earl Ventela been sending these letters ever since the late Queen's passing?"

"So you noticed as well."

"Everyone thinks the Earl is trying to win His Majesty's favor. We all just want His Majesty and Princess Magdalene to be close again, like before."

Ryan fell silent. He understood what the servant meant.

"I see. Thank you," Ryan said, taking the letter and closing the door. He walked over and handed the invitation to Aliester.

"Your Majesty, a letter from Earl Ventela."

"Earl… Ventela?" Aliester looked calm, but inwardly, he was puzzled. "Who on earth is Earl Ventela?"

"I have no idea how close he was to the real Aliester."

Aliester glanced at Ryan, who seemed unusually serious. "What's up with him?"

As he eyed the letter on his desk, Aliester asked Ryan, "What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

Ryan paused for a moment before answering.

"This is probably the fifth or sixth letter sent by Earl Ventela, Your Majesty."

"What?!" Aliester grabbed the letter in shock, noticing the emblem of a wolf with two crossed swords behind it.

He opened the letter and read its contents. The handwriting was elegant, and the paper was even scented with perfume.

It was an invitation to a ball—a particularly special one, as it was directed at the king himself.

Interesting. A mere Earl inviting the ruler of the kingdom to a party instead of the other way around was highly unusual.

"This is obviously suspicious," Aliester thought. "I've read enough comics and novels to know this is probably some kind of social maneuver."

"He either wants to use me as bait to gain favor, or he has another agenda. But honestly, I have no idea how close Earl Ventela was to the real Aliester."

"Maybe I can ask without making Ryan suspicious."

Aliester casually pushed the letter aside and asked, "Does Earl Ventela send these letters every time he throws a party? Does he host them every week?"

"Is that supposed to be one of your new jokes, Your Majesty?"

"...?" Aliester froze. "Wait… What? Did… Did I say something wrong?"

"This is bad!"

Ryan didn't seem to notice Aliester sweating nervously. Trying to stay cool, Aliester forced a laugh.

"A—ahahaha, what do you think? Was my joke good? I'm trying to be humorous for my sweet daughter. Haha… hahaha…"

It was an extremely forced laugh to cover up his mistake. Ryan simply sighed and said, "I'm glad to see that you still have a sense of humor, Your Majesty. Usually, you burn these letters without even reading them."

*Thud.

Aliester felt like he just had a heart attack. "Don't tell me I just messed up, and now Ryan suspects that I'm not the real Aliester?!"

"Noooo!!!"

Sweat trickled down his forehead, but thankfully, Ryan didn't notice. Regaining his composure, Aliester played his role once again.

"Ahaha, I don't want to be so heartless for Magdalene's sake. So, what do you think about this letter?"

"I don't believe you should attend, Your Majesty."

"Hmm? Why? Has Earl Ventela changed?"

Ryan replied, "He was never close to either you or the late Queen. But after Her Majesty passed away, he frequently sent gifts of condolence."

"Also, he often visited the palace with his daughter, Lady Bernadette, under the pretense of checking on Princess Magdalene and, of course, Your Majesty."

"But a few months later, he began sending invitations to parties."

"At first, you read one of them, but since they started arriving every two weeks, you began burning them without opening them."

"This is just my humble opinion, Your Majesty, but I believe there is an ulterior motive behind his actions."

"I see," Aliester responded, though his mind screamed, "I don't understand at all!"

Aliester fell into deep thought. What could be hidden behind this invitation?

After a moment of reflection, he finally pieced it together.

"By bringing his daughter to meet the real Aliester after his wife's passing, wealthy nobles usually aim to make their daughter the new queen."

"So, Aliester must have already figured that out. That's probably why he burned all these letters."

"And like an idiot, I just opened this one. Great."

"But that doesn't matter. This invitation is for a party at the Ventela estate, and I think… I shouldn't attend either. I need to maintain the image of the real Aliester."

"Besides, I don't want to get involved in politics when I still don't understand anything about this world."

Aliester calmly placed the letter into a drawer, smiling confidently.

"I understand. Consider this letter as if it never arrived. I won't be attending the party."

"Haa…" Ryan still seemed puzzled but smiled slightly at Aliester's decision.

---

Meanwhile, at the Ventela estate…

A nobleman dressed in fine clothing sipped his tea, enjoying some sweet treats on the table.

Across from him sat a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and an extravagant appearance. Her expression carried a hint of arrogance, but there was no denying her beauty.

"Father, has the letter been sent to His Majesty Aliester?" the girl asked.

"It has. But I'm not sure whether His Majesty will come this time."

"I won't allow another failure, Father. If His Majesty refuses to come, why don't we invite him directly?"

"What do you mean, Bernadette?"

"We can visit the palace and insist that His Majesty attend the ball in person."

The nobleman set down his teacup and smiled.

"I think that's an excellent idea. I like it. If he doesn't send a response within three days before the party, we'll pay him a visit and politely ensure that he attends."