Even without an invitation, the princes expressed their intention to attend.

The nobles typically refrain from attending events not hosted by the royal family, but either because the emperor is bedridden and nothing is visible to them, or they were quite explicit.

‘The party for the princes or my birthday party, I can’t distinguish anymore. At this point, it might be an inherent trait passed down from the Sindrome family.’

Even without an invitation, the princes expressed their intention to attend.

The nobles typically refrain from attending events not hosted by the royal family, but either because the emperor is bedridden and nothing is visible to them, or they were quite explicit.

‘I heard they are adept at attracting the ‘neutral faction’ of the grand nobles to their side, but it’s quite absurd to start feuding over someone else’s birthday party before it even begins. Meanwhile, the quiet empress has now taken some action.

“Isn’t it that you bear a grudge against the empress for the recent incident? You openly rejected the Ninth Princess’s proposal, didn’t you?”

At Sack’s words, Giben stuck out his tongue.

“You don’t know anything. She hated me from the beginning.”

“Could it be that she disliked you even more now?”

“If I had accepted the Ninth Princess’s proposal, wouldn’t she be lying in bed before the emperor? Well, it’s better for me if we both go to the afterlife side by side.”

Sack panicked and looked around.

“Well, please be careful with your words!”

“Do I have to watch my mouth in this situation?”

The empress presented the issue as the ‘safety of the princes.’ Rather than prohibiting the princes from attending the birthday party, which would be a more effective way to protect them, the empress came up with the ingenious idea of completely surrendering the palace as the venue for the birthday party.

And the unfortunate thing for Giben was that from his perspective, there was no reason to reject this ingenious idea.

The imperial order was practically coercive.

Moreover, offering the palace as the venue for the party meant more than just showing favor. The media was already eagerly covering this fact.
Refusing this would not be a good sight, even from an outsider’s perspective. Moreover, with various sanctions against demons and magicians becoming more severe, there was no need to incur disadvantages by openly rejecting it.

“There’s no reason to refuse, so it’s better to comply.”

“…Sigh.”

It’s already tiring. For him, birthdays were not a pleasant day. It was hell.

Why should a party be held regularly every birthday, leaving behind only stress, fatigue, and enormous costs in the laborious process?

A party that the host doesn’t want. For him, it was just a business dealing with the valuable customers of demons and the family.

But now, adding the princes’ struggle for the throne to the mix would make it very chaotic.

It would be the best place and event for the princes who are adept at seducing people from various noble factions, regardless of the noble or imperial faction. It was inevitable that he would be irritated by the invisible power struggle.

Moreover…

“I don’t know why the Seventh Prince wants to attend with some ulterior motive. He should have already established a foundation.”

“That’s right. Hasn’t he always openly shown hostility towards the master? I didn’t expect him to express his intention to attend a private event that is not an official schedule.”

“If only the Seventh Prince didn’t attend, the empress wouldn’t have caused such a ridiculous trouble.”

“Isn’t it possible that the Seventh Prince, being a smart person, intentionally planned this situation?”

“If that’s the case, it’s really chilling. Using my mother to trick me…?”

Giben stuck out his tongue and threw himself onto the sofa.

Although a mountain of work piled up to be dealt with, he felt that he couldn’t handle it with this mood. He needed some time to refresh his mind, even if only for a moment.

“By the way, it’s a big problem. Even if the young lady hasn’t learned palace etiquette, even if she learns it in a hurry, can she follow it well?”

“As long as she doesn’t collapse, it’s fortunate.”

The venue has changed to the palace, and if the princes attend, he might not even get a wink of sleep.

The venue is a problem, but the fact that the Seventh Prince is attending is quite troublesome.

Why now? Is it just a coincidence that he is showing different behavior from usual?

Giben squinted his eyes for a moment and then closed them.

Party preparations are progressing perfectly, but there are concerns about some variables deviating from the plan. Can he safely finish that day without any major incidents?

Vague but certain anxiety loomed ahead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The next day, the palace’s unprecedented ‘treatment’ towards Giben adorned the pages of newspapers, causing a sensation throughout the country.

And Riley dropped the freshly baked bread she was about to eat.

“…Palace etiquette?”

“Yes, since we don’t have time, we plan to start today. Come right after your academy lecture is over.”

Upon Mrs. Sophia’s words, Riley stared blankly at the ceiling, blinking her eyes.
Even with the stress of academic studies, and on top of that, learning palace etiquette? Moreover, royal etiquette…?

But is it possible, Mrs. Sophia?

There’s less than a week left until the birthday…?