Chapter 848: She Wasn't At The Party
Interestingly, all the names I drew from the box were my female schoolmates which seemed to disappoint the boys a lot.
Not like I was intentionally avoiding them anyway so they can only blame their bad luck for this.
The princess also got a dance as well and she was obviously really enjoying the dance I had with her.
I was actually a little surprised that I didn\'t get to dance with Odeta and the rest, either because this thing really wasn\'t rigged and it was purely luck or that they didn\'t even put their names in the box in the first place.
I guess for them, they could just choose to dance with me whenever they wanted without needing to wait for my next birthday.
My final dance was ironically with Aeta who seemed to be really awkward about it when I approached her.
I didn\'t miss the fact that she kept peeking at Delmare who was somewhere behind me and as much as I wanted to look behind to see Delmare\'s reaction to her but I thought that would make it more awkward so I refrained from that.
She was also a noble so she knew how to dance and I didn\'t need to worry about her stumbling around or stepping on my foot.
Yes, that happened to me with two of the girls but I didn\'t mind since I understood that they weren\'t used to dancing and it didn\'t hurt me anyway.
But still, without fail, both of them fainted the moment they realised that they stepped on my foot despite me trying to reassure them that it was fine.
For now, I concentrated on Aeta and spun us around the hall while the music played in the background.
She leaned in a little close to me while we danced, "Umm… Is this really alright, Aster? I think I would be hated quite a lot after this…"
I tilted my head at her, "What do you mean? Who would hate you?"
"You know? Umm… Delmare for example?"
"I don\'t think she would hate you for this though? I also danced with her before."
"Ah, so it\'s true that she\'s really part of your harem? I mean, it\'s practically confirmed but not really by you so far… I thought it might just be her crushing on you and not something official…"
I decided not to confirm nor deny it and just spun her another round before pulling her back to me.
"Mnnggh… You really are… Something, Aster…" She muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean how you\'re able to so easily and flawlessly attract people to you… It\'s honestly quite scary, you know? And you\'re not even relying on your position to do this as well."
Hmmm? I think she is talking about how people like Delmare and even Lisa would gravitate towards me.
I shrugged, "I don\'t think I did much though? They just came to me I guess…"
She frowned slightly, "No… That\'s… That\'s not what I meant. Wait… Aster… I mean… Lady Aster, do you not realise how beau--"
The music stopped and Katsuki suddenly appeared to separate us, "That is the end of the dance, Mistress. It is also the end of the party so if you would give your closing speech?"
Aeta took a step forward, "Wait, I just want to ask--"
Katsuki turned to look at her, "What do you want to ask, Miss Aeta?"
She froze before shaking her head, "No… Nothing… Nothing at all."
Aeta then quickly curtsied before retreating away, making me a little confused by how she was acting.
Katsuki turned back to me with a bow, "Mistress, if you would?"
I then looked at the crowd that had gathered in front of me, obviously waiting for my address.
Ugh, I didn\'t even prepare for this but whatever…
I cleared my throat, "Ahem… Thank you for coming to my party everyone. I really hope that you\'ve enjoyed your time here and I\'m glad that you have taken the time to attend this party. I\'m glad that I have come to know friends like all of you!"
Ok, that\'s all I\'ve got. I don\'t know what else to say, ok?!
"She says we\'re her friends…"
"I\'m friends with the heir of the Nilm Family…"
"Wow…"
Err… I\'m not even going to comment on that since they\'re going to have their memories wiped about it after this anyway.
The people then started being guided out of the hall to leave the mansion.
Lisa and the others did not follow them but they did not notice, leaving me behind with the girls including the Queen and the Princess.
"Fufufu~ Does the private party start now?" The Queen asked.
Eh? Private party? What is she--
Before I could even finish forming the thought, a portal suddenly opened underneath me and I found myself falling through.
The last sight I saw were all of them looking at my falling form in surprise and reaching out their hands to catch me but it was too late as I fell through the portal.
I almost started to panic until I realised Katsuki was the only one who stood still without moving so I quickly realised what was going on and stopped panicking.
Sure enough, when I fell through the portal, I found myself falling onto the lap of someone that had obviously been waiting for me to appear.
"Ara, ara~ Happy birthday my little one~" Mother giggled, slowly pulling me to her embrace.
"Mommy…"
I don\'t know why but I suddenly felt relieved to see Mother there that I let myself be pulled into her hug and melted into her embrace.
"Ufufufu~ Did you have a nice party, my sweetest child?"
I nodded while my face was stuffed in between her boobs, "I did, Mommy… I kind of wished you were there though…"
"Ara, ara? Did my little one miss Mama that much?"
"Mnnn…" I muttered, enjoying the warmth of Mother\'s embrace.
She started stroking my head with her hand while she rocked herself back and forth.
"There, there, my little one~ You don\'t need to feel lonely~ Even if the world were to burn and the Gods themselves turn their backs on you, Mama will always be by your side~ Whenever you need help, whenever you feel that things are too hard, just think about Mama ok? Mama will definitely come rushing to you!"
"Mmmm… But I wanna be strong too…"
"Ufufufu~ You\'re always strong, my little one~ Mama has always been proud of you~ You came to this World on your own and you fought for yourself to stand on your own feet instead of just depending on others to do everything for you~ How can you not be strong?"
"I still needed help though… Katsuki… Odeta… Delmare… Lisa… Emilia… Tiara, Levianne, Justinia, everyone at the mansion and also Mommy… Without everyone, I would not be where I am today."
"Fufufu~ Isn\'t that fine, my dear? Even having people support you is also part of your strength. If you were to ask any of them about whether they regretted being with you, I would dare to say that they would not think so. In fact, it works both ways as well, my little one~ Would you consider yourself to be part of their strength too? Or do you think they are wrong for thinking that you are also part of their strength?"
I looked up at her, "No… I want them to believe in me too…"
"Fufufu~ That\'s right~ That\'s why there\'s nothing to worry about~"
Mmm… I guess I\'m just being sentimental after seeing so many people around me today that I felt a little bit mentally overwhelmed.
As though realising this, Mother picked me up in her arms in a princess carry and I realised that we were in an actual room instead of a tent this time.
Heck, the room was even quite lavishly decorated too.
I guess they were currently staying in an expensive inn or a noble family\'s manor for the night but before I could ask Mother about it, she had moved out of the room and into the hallway while I was still in her arms.
"I think what my little one needs is a nice bath with Mama, wouldn\'t you agree, my sweetest child?"
I blinked at her, "Erm… Right now?"
"Ufufufu~ Of course~ That way, Mama can also give you your present as well~ Now come along~ Mary has already prepared the bath for the both of us~"
I mean… If the bath is already prepared and you\'re carrying me there, do I even have a choice? Enjoy new chapters from mvl
I will have to admit that having a bath right now does sound nice though… And Mother\'s arms are so comfy~
Just letting myself indulge in this a little bit wouldn\'t hurt, right?