“Anyway, I’m glad she likes it.”
Sergey smiled proudly.
Ever since that first St. Nicholas Day at Count Newt’s house, Sergey couldn’t forget the way Elaine looked at the doll the little girl in the house had.
Rather than feeling envious or jealous, it was a vague feeling of sadness. It was a look of admiration and resignation at the same time.
‘So, as my first St. Nicholas Day gift after becoming Sergey, I wanted to give her that doll.’
‘Much better than what that little girl got!’
‘I left it to a skilled dwarf craftsman, so it will be much better than something made by a human.’
It was a little strange to tell the dwarf who asked about the doll design to make it ‘black hair and blue eyes’, but even if it was a doll, he didn’t want to see Elaine holding a blonde doll.
Because he kept thinking about that guy Lark, who was Elaine’s first love.
Anyway, it was worth the trip across the continent to the dwarven craftsman, as Elaine seemed to really like the doll.
“Okay! The gift seems to have been a success, so now it’s time to throw a party that everyone would envy.”
Sergey was talking to the demons who were his servants for today.
The plan was to make Elaine the main character of the day so that the other nobles would not be able to carelessly ignore her.
If the heir to Count Lindell treats her with courtesy and sincerity, the quick-witted and astute nobles will act as if they have completely forgotten that Elaine is an illegitimate child.
‘If I give it that much space, Elaine will be able to live with that human affection she spoke of…’
‘I still didn’t understand exactly what that was, but it was something Lancer hadn’t had, and I wanted to make sure Elaine had it in abundance.’
And that day, at 7:00 pm. A mysterious and extravagant party was held at Count Lindell’s house.
With only forty invitations sent out, it was the talk of the town, to the point that they were considered a measure of a powerful family, and there was fierce competition behind the scenes to become the partner of the person receiving the invitation.
After all, it was a party hosted by Sergey Lindell, who both the Crown Princess and the Prince have been desperately trying to get into.
Even so, no one could have expected such an ecstatic party.
“Oh my god! The hall is so big!”
“Look at those flowers. Where on earth did they get them in this winter?”
“I was amazed from the moment I entered the mansion gate. It was the first time I saw a garden so perfectly maintained even in winter. Did you see the ice sculptures erected in the garden?”
“Those decorations on each candlestick, surely they aren’t all made of crystal? No matter how I look at them, they don’t look like they’re made of glass.…”
“Maybe it’s a crystal? I’ll bet my emerald mine that the gold leaf used to decorate those pillars is real gold.”
Some pretended not to care for the sake of maintaining their dignity, but most looked around the mansion with greedy eyes.
‘Of course, you’ve never seen a party like this. It’s a party prepared by the Demon Tribe with magic.’
Standing on the railing of the second floor, Sergey smiled smugly down at the crowd.
Part of him wanted to prepare for more surprises, but he had stopped at that point, following Hubert’s advice to avoid offending the imperial family’s pride.
The people followed the servants’ instructions to the dining room where the banquet was to be held, and as they disappeared into the dining room, Hubert, who had come closer, whispered.
“Master, it’s time for the party host to appear.”
It was finally time to go and achieve the purpose of throwing that party.
Sergey slowly entered the dining room where everyone was seated, releasing a small amount of the dragon’s characteristically strong aura.
“Oh my god!”
“Wow….”
The guests, mesmerized by the dragon’s aura, looked towards Sergey without realizing it and let out a low exclamation.
It had only been a year or two since he had appeared on the social scene, and in that time he had shed his youthful appearance and exuded a charisma that was hard to believe for someone so young.
Her blue eyes sparkling between her sleek black hair showed no trace of the nervousness that comes with standing in front of so many people, and his beautiful appearance exuded an almost arrogant confidence.
Sergey, standing at the head of the table, nodded his head slightly in greeting as everyone’s eyes turned to him.
“Welcome to Count Lindell’s house, all of you who have accepted our invitation! We have tried to prepare for your special occasion, but we are not sure if we will be able to meet your expectations. We hope that you will make happy memories and leave. May this day be filled with blessings for St. Nicola!”
Hubert also shook his head because Sergey got ‘St. Nicholas Day’ was wrong, but the people were too distracted by Sergey’s appearance to notice his mistake.
Everyone just clapped their hands excitedly, and at the same time, neatly dressed servants poured water into one of the glasses placed in front of them.
Everyone waited for the host, Sergey, to announce that dinner was starting, but he nodded to someone without even thinking about raising his glass of water.
“Huh? That girl…!”
“Oh, that’s right! That’s the girl. The one from Count Newt’s family… .”
Everyone just followed Elaine with their eyes as she approached the table without finishing their sentence.
Elaine, who had been told in advance about the party and dinner that day, went to stand in the empty seat next to Sergey, trying hard not to look down at the ground.
Elaine was dressed in a white saint’s robe, but thanks to Emily’s dedicated care of her skin and hair since before the debutante, Elaine seemed to shine. Several people in the room, including Sergey, could almost see a halo around her.
“This is our family’s chaplain, Saint Elaine, who will be leading the pre-meal prayer.”
Sergey’s introduction caused people to double-check Elaine’s position.
‘Sergey Lindell, who is said to be unwavering in the least to the temptations of women, seems to be quite fond of that young lady.’
‘I don’t think he’s going to take her as his wife, but it seems like he’s planning on having her as his mistress at least….’
‘Who would have thought that Newt’s ugly duckling would have captured Sergey Lindell’s heart!’
Even if they snorted and sneered inwardly, Count Lindell was a great noble who the imperial family was paying attention to.
People greeted Elaine with bright smiles as if they had been attracted to Elaine from the beginning.
And Elaine knew exactly what was going on.
But the best she could do now was to pray in a calm, unwavering voice.
“Let us begin to pray.”
When Elaine took out the rosary she had been given by Sergey, several nobles sitting near her noticed that it was a very expensive rosary made of onyx and sapphire beads.
It wasn’t something Elaine could afford on her own, as she was the poorest in her family, so it must have been something that Sergey gave her.
And what’s more, it’s a rosary made of black and blue gems.
‘You spit on it and said it was mine.’
‘They just haven’t announced it yet, aren’t they already engaged?’
People clucked their tongues inwardly at Sergey’s blatant affection, but they also gathered their hands together and bowed their heads obediently, preparing to pray.
But as Elaine began to pray, they discovered that it wasn’t just luck or romantic circumstances that had led her to become the Count of Lindell’s personal Chaplain.
“Those who have gathered here today are God’s people who give thanks for all that has been done in God’s name, and they are warm-hearted neighbors who bless one another in the name of St. Nicholas, who followed God’s will and became the light of this world. May the gracious food that God has given to them be…”
Her prayers, which continued uninterruptedly in a pure voice, made even those who had been indifferent to her sit up straight.
Elaine’s prayer was not a formal prayer from the scriptures, but a free prayer, and even among experienced chaplains, there were few who prayed with such fluency.
It was truly a skill befitting the position of a ‘chaplain.’
“…And I pray in the name of Bara that the blessing of St. Nicholas may descend upon all children and their parents on this earth.”
As Elaine finished her prayer, everyone around the table looked up and recited the last verse.
They all had to admit that their impression of Elaine had changed a little.
“Now, let’s begin the dinner!”
As Sergey, who was looking around at everyone, announced the start of the dinner in a refreshing voice, the door leading to the kitchen opened wide and a splendid array of food began to come out one after another.
The main dishes included a whole chicken roasted to a golden brown color and a whole pork roasted for a long time with seasoning, and fresh raw oysters were served neatly arranged in the shell on a bowl filled with ice and snow.
Tomato stew with beef was placed on white, concave plates in front of each guest, and baskets of freshly baked bread were placed here and there in the middle of the table, emitting the scent of butter.
In addition, baked potatoes, mushrooms, cheese-topped biscuits, jam-topped cookies, and fruits that are hard to find in winter filled the gaps on the table.
The dining room was soon filled with mouth-watering smells, and Sergey skillfully cut through roast pork and roast chicken, drawing exclamations from the guests in particular.
As each person’s plate was filled with meat and baked potatoes and their glasses were filled with fine wine, the atmosphere became even more cheerful.
* * *
