“You sure have it tough, Cain. It’s not appropriate for a king to attend the housewarming party of a baron, but given his reaction, he’s definitely going to show up. Do your best!” Duke Eric smiled and left the room with a wave.
Phew… It was just as Colan predicted. It’s a good thing I brought that invitation with me.
Colan had said that, while it would be extremely unusual, it was still possible for this situation to occur. He had advised Cain to bring the invitation along with him in his Item Box just in case. Colan truly was a capable butler.
Cain called out to the maid waiting in the corridor and told her that he was leaving. He got onboard his carriage and returned to his mansion.
He summoned Colan to the drawing room and told him what happened.
“…His Majesty will be attending? In that case, we will have to make ample preparations.”
“It was just as you said, Colan. I would’ve been in big trouble if I hadn’t brought that invitation along with me. Thank you.”
“His Majesty has a keen interest in you, Master Cain, so I thought this may be a possibility. I’m glad my advice was of use to you.”
“I’ll talk to Father about what type of food and drink to prepare. I’ll arrange for the chefs to come assist us as well.”
“Very well. I’ll also consult with Sebas and continue the other preparations.”
Thus, preparations for the housewarming party began.
The next day, Cain headed to Garm’s residence to tell him what happened at the palace. Garm was shocked by the news.
“What?! The king himself is going to attend?!”
The news the king would be attending his son’s housewarming party was naturally more important than whatever Garm was working on at the moment.
“I didn’t send out an invitation since only high-ranking aristocrats are allowed to directly invite the royal family to parties, but…”
Garm sighed and leaned against a chair.
“You did well. If you didn’t have an invitation for him prepared in advance, things would likely have ended up much worse. We can send our chefs and maids to assist you. Is there anything else you need?”
“It would be a lot of help if you could also lend me some of your knights. I don’t have any of my own. I could also use some help with the food and drinks. I can handle the utensils myself.”
“Okay. We’ll help you arrange that, then. If the king is coming, we absolutely cannot be lax in our preparations.”
“Yeah…”
The two could only sigh as they imagined the face of that willful king.
After Garm promised to help, Cain returned to his mansion. Colan gathered together the servants. They formed a line in front of Cain, who began to explain the situation.
“About the upcoming housewarming party. The king will be in attendance. This won’t be easy, but I hope you will all do your best.”
Everyone balked at Cain’s announcement. They had only signed up to work under a newly minted baron, yet they would have to host the country’s king at their first party. This defied all common sense—of course they were surprised. One of the maids raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“Why is the king attending Master Cain’s housewarming party…?”
Only Colan and Sylvia knew about Cain’s engagement with Telestia. Colan had almost fallen over in shock when he heard the news. Given what may happen in the future, Cain decided it made sense to reveal the secret to the rest of his servants as well.
“…Well. I’m engaged to the third princess, Her Highness Princess Telestia. It hasn’t been publicly announced yet. We’re planning to announce the news after I enroll in the academy and things settle down. Please keep this information to yourselves.”
“…”
“What?!”
The shocked shouts of the servants resounded throughout the mansion. It was definitely shocking news that the princess was going to marry an upstart baron. Cain could only smile at his servant’s reactions.
“Her Highness and Master Cain are engaged… Her Highness and Master Cain are…?” Unable to fully comprehend the situation, one of the maids was muttering to herself.
It took some time before the servants were able to collect themselves.
Everyone returned to their duties, leaving only Cain, Colan, and Sylvia in the living room, sitting around a table.
“We’ll need to purchase sufficient utensils for a guest list of this size. What should we do?” Colan asked.
“I’ll handle that. I’ll make sure we have enough cups, glasses, and plates as well.”
Cain was planning to use World Dictionary and Creative Make to conjure everything they needed. He believed he had sufficient mana and didn’t think shaping some silverware would pose a problem.
“Colan, please get in touch with Tamanis of Saracaen Company, and tell him to prepare some alcohol for us. Feel free to be specific.”
“Understood.”
After entrusting Coran with the arrangements, Cain headed to the great hall. He walked over to the table and began to condense mana.
“Speaking of famous glassware, the first to come to mind is definitely Venetian glass. I’ll look up how they’re made using World Dictionary, then make a bunch.”
The eating utensils used by nobles in this world were primarily made out of silver. Commoners usually used wooden eating utensils. Although glass did exist in this world, glassware didn’t—glass was mainly used to construct windows. Because it was a special occasion, Cain decided to recreate some of the glassware from his previous life here.
Using World Dictionary, he created multiple cups, wine glasses, and a large number of giant platters. He also prepared pairs of venetian wine glasses to present as souvenirs to each of the guests.
As he was working, Sylvia dropped by to check on him. She was enraptured by how beautiful the wine glasses lined up on the table looked.
Cain next moved onto forks and knives. The silverware popular amongst aristocrats had ornate handles, making it clear they were luxury products. Cain emulated that style. Cain told Sylvia to store away the finished utensils, but the process took longer than he expected. The maids were all as taken by their beautiful construction as Sylvia was and carefully carried each and every utensil away one by one, as if they were incredibly precious.
Several days later, after Cain had created sufficient place settings, he started to think about the menu.
“Since we’re holding a party, I’d like to prepare something that will shock everyone.”
Cain brainstormed ideas based on his favorite foods from his previous life and wrote down their recipes. Although some ingredients weren’t available in this world, there were enough similar seasonings that he could recreate many of the foods he remembered.
Once he’d finalized the menu he met with the chef to go over the unfamiliar dishes.
As he looked at the list of recipes Cain had prepared, the chef’s eyes began to sparkle. He told Cain that as a chef, learning about unfamiliar cuisine brought him great joy. After repeated trial and error, they managed to recreate satisfactory versions of the dishes, one after another.
The greatest beneficiaries during this period were the servants, as they served as taste-testers. They feasted on exotic new dishes every day, food that even aristocrats hadn’t had the opportunity to taste before. The moment Cain entered the kitchen, Sylvia would immediately rush over and wait nearby.
The two-month period before the date of the party passed in the blink of an eye.