Chapter 79
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Birthday Preparations
Philomel decided to prepare most of the things needed for her birthday banquet herself.
"Though I said come as many as you want, how many will actually show up?"
Above all, she wanted to treat those who truly cared for her with heartfelt sincerity.
The venue was set for the Southern Palace garden.
If it were a casual tea party, that would be one thing, but for a non-royal to hold a formal banquet in the imperial palace, she needed to file an application.
To rent the garden, Philomel visited the person in charge with her application form.
But the attendant waved her off, telling her to use it as she pleased.
"Goodness, if I quibble over this with Lady Philomel, I'll be the one getting an earful!"
Still, procedure was procedure, so she placed the form in the attendant's hand.
Soon after, permission to use the venue came through, along with approval to borrow items.
Philomel opened the Southern Palace storeroom and pulled out the necessary supplies. Since there weren't many, she planned to carry them herself, but the palace servants rushed out to stop her. In the end, she accepted their help with preparing the items and cleaning.
But she couldn't prepare the food herself. She had never even touched cooking utensils before.
"I'll learn someday," she resolved, heading to the kitchen.
Harrison, the former owner of the [Rainbow Patisserie] and now the imperial head patissier, greeted her.
When Philomel offered to pay for the formal banquet pastries, Harrison jumped in protest.
"Nonsense! Who do you think got me this position here?"
He had become much more polished since their first meeting.
"I heard you visited our shop, Lady Philomel. Sadly, I don't remember it, but thanks to you, I didn't end up on the streets and made it this far."
At the time, she had borrowed Jeremiah's necklace to change her appearance, so it was no wonder he didn't remember her.
Harrison insisted on providing apple pies and various desserts for free.
The situation was similar for the other foods for the banquet.
No one would accept Philomel's money.
"Why is everyone refusing when I'm offering to pay...?"
Unable to get her way, Philomel trudged back to her quarters.
Was she some kind of greedy opportunist for eagerly accepting gifts from Emperor Justis?
In any case, she decided to write the invitations herself.
Philomel sat with a list of invitees beside her and penned each letter by hand.
Melinda, Lady Etwal, Lady Godrif, and the other young ladies who had confirmed through them.
There were about ten guests in total.
And Nassar...
"Should I invite him?"
With only young ladies as the other attendees, she worried he might feel out of place.
Still, there were no young men among her acquaintances close enough to invite.
"But not inviting Nassar would be..."
The image of his moist puppy-dog eyes gazing at her kept floating into her mind.
Besides, lately, he visited the Southern Palace more often than even Melinda, always with some excuse or another. Deep down, she didn't mind.
"He'd definitely be upset if I didn't invite him."
In the end, she finished the invitation to the Averyden estate.
Some even hoped for a personal invitation.
"No invitation for me?"
"...Tower Master Rguin, you're coming too?"
"Don't worry, I'll bring a proper gift."
No, that wasn't the issue.
Since the dragon egg incident, Philomel hadn't received any gifts from him at all.
"But whatever..."
It would be fine.
Philomel wrote him an invitation, earnestly instructing him to come only after everyone else had left.
And so, Philomel's birthday banquet was finally just one day away.
She busily hurried through the preparations. She had thought there wouldn't be much to do, but there were surprisingly many details to attend to.
Once she finished decorating the tables with flowers by late afternoon, there was nothing left to touch. Compared to the banquets she had hosted as a princess, it was modest, but in Philomel's eyes, it looked beautiful.
"All done!"
Philomel gazed contentedly at the finished outdoor banquet hall and shouted.
Now she just had to wait for tomorrow.
But that night, mysterious shadows gathered in the Western Palace garden.
One of them, wearing a sinister smile, spoke.
"Ready?"
The other shadows nodded. Soon, their magic reached out toward the outdoor banquet hall Philomel had so carefully prepared.
The day of the birthday banquet dawned.
Philomel woke up a bit later than planned. She must have been exhausted from throwing herself into the preparations the day before.
After hurriedly getting ready, she left checking the venue to Jeremiah and headed to the Southern Palace main gate to greet the guests.
"I prepared today's banquet hall myself, so there might be some shortcomings."
Guiding the guests toward the garden, Philomel said sheepishly.
Fortunately, they all said they were looking forward to it.
Half joyful, half embarrassed, she entered the garden.
"Now, this is where today's banquet will..."
Philomel's words cut off midway. Her yellow eyes trembled aimlessly as she took in the state of the venue.
The guests gasped in surprise, swallowing their breaths. Because the outdoor banquet hall Philomel had prepared herself...
"Oh my, it's so beautiful!"
"Lady Philomel decorated this herself?"
...had transformed into something breathtakingly gorgeous and splendid!
"What in the world happened?!"
Philomel had no idea.
From the garden entrance, intricately carved ice sculptures greeted the guests.
"It's real ice!"
"How is it not melting in summer?"
"Maybe it's enchanted? It's so refreshing anyway."
There weren't just one or two ice sculptures. Sculptures in various forms—angels, animals, abstract shapes—adorned the garden everywhere. The summer heat was cooled by the chill emanating from them.
That wasn't all. The garden was bursting with flowers in full bloom.
The young ladies admired the floral displays surrounding the banquet hall.
"The chrysanthemums are blooming so prettily."
"Huh? But chrysanthemums bloom in autumn, don't they?"
"Yeah, why are there chrysanthemums in midsummer?"
"Everyone, azaleas—spring flowers—are here too!"
The flowers had forgotten the seasons and gone completely wild.
It was suspicious no matter who looked.
Philomel decided to trace the origin of the ice sculptures first.
"Ice, huh..."
She could easily guess who was behind it.
"Where is that guy?"
She whipped her head around looking for Jeremiah, but the culprit was nowhere in sight.
He was surely waiting nearby to protect her, but he was hiding remarkably well.
"He's probably striking a pose up in a tree or something."
As Philomel scrutinized the trees, Nassar's admiring voice reached her ears.
"It's magnificently beautiful."
He stood before the ice sculpture at the center of the garden.
Philomel gasped upon seeing it.
"Jeremiah, even for you, this is too much!"
Her likeness gazed down like a goddess overseeing all creation. It was the only human figure and seemed to have the most effort put into it.
Placing something like this in the most prominent spot. Everyone would surely think she was a hopeless narcissist.
Nassar, seeing Philomel, said,
"Of course, it can't compare to the real Lady Philomel."
"Haha... Thank you for the kind words."
Did this guy need his eyes checked?
"Anyone can see it's prettier than me."
But Nassar Averyden had a way of turning even such stock phrases into heavenly praise. His jewel-like red eyes brimmed with conviction.
Philomel blushed slightly, her cheeks turning pink from embarrassment.
"Meow."
At that moment, a cat squeezed between them.
The young ladies' gazes focused on the cat at the sound of its cry.
"So pretty! I've never seen such a cute silver-furred kitten!"
"Her fur is so soft."
"What's that in the cat's mouth?"
It was the invitation Philomel had written for Rguin.
"She brought an invitation just like us."
"Too cute!"
Beaming smiles spread among the young ladies.
"Enjoy yourselves, everyone. I'll be right back."
Philomel swiftly scooped up the cat and darted behind the building.
Confirming no one was around, she addressed the cat.
"Tower Master Rguin! What in the world is going on?"
The cat averted its gaze and scratched its cheek with a hind paw. When she kept glaring, it innocently tilted its head.
Philomel sighed at the brazen display.
"No helping it. What's done is done."
The guests were surprised but seemed delighted. And upon closer inspection, the banquet hall was more splendid, but the basic layout was exactly as she had arranged it.
Philomel tapped the cat's forehead with her finger.
"You did this to make me happy, right? Thank you. But next time, give me a heads-up. I was startled."
"Meow."
The cat let out a pleased short cry and gestured toward the sky with its chin.
Looking up, Philomel nearly fainted in shock. In the clear blue sky floated enormous cloud letters.
"Happy Birthday, Phil."
She shook Rguin vigorously and shouted,
"That's way too much! Quick, before anyone sees—erase it!"
Truly, this family's birthday celebrations were over the top.