Chapter 177: High Society Debuts Are Difficult! (7)

Chapter 177: High Society Debuts Are Difficult! (7)"My, there are so many beautiful women this year.""Indeed. Especially that pink-haired woman over there, isn't she magnificent? I hear she's a princess from the Marduk Empire. Doesn't she look like a blooming pink rose?"

Salome was speaking fluently in front of people.Her voice was sometimes passionate and sometimes delicate like a wildflower.With her beautiful appearance and a somewhat dangerous aura like thorns, she quickly gained popularity among the crowd, almost becoming the star of the day.Of course, even Salome had a rival.

"I think that woman over there is also wonderful. Look at that exotic woman with black hair. Doesn't she look incredibly stunning in her dress?"

Someone pointed to a corner of the banquet hall.There was quite a crowd gathered there, and in the center was a black-haired woman in a dress, fidgeting nervously.

It was Cariote.

"......"

Cariote stumbled like a cat frozen in midwinter. People approached and spoke to her a lot, but all Cariote could say were exclamations like "I see" or "Indeed."But it couldn't be helped.Right now, Cariote was struggling in a corset and dress she had never worn in her life.

Swoosh—I pushed through the crowd.Cariote spotted me and kept trying to express something with her eyes and gestures.Probably asking for help for a moment.

"Excuse me."

I escorted Cariote like that and stepped out onto the balcony.Bang— Poppoppop—Only on the balcony, where fireworks were brilliantly exploding and decorating the sky, did Cariote finally let out a deep sigh as if exhaling her held breath.

"How can they wear such uncomfortable clothes every day? The nobles are even stranger than I imagined. I must look strange too."

"It suits you well, actually."

I complimented her honestly.Cariote dressed femininely looked quite good.Being tall and slender, she'd probably look good in anything.

I asked.

"Are you really going to compete with Salome in some kind of vote?"

"Yes. Cecily and Hina must be arguing with each other in the annex too."

Cariote snorted.

Would Cecily and Hina be fighting each other in an invisible social arena?No, that didn't seem likely.In my opinion, those two would have already made up.Or maybe not.

"But it's impossible for Hina or Cecily to be chosen as this year's little princess, right? Wasn't it predetermined that Princess Neva would be selected this year?"

Cariote asked.I nodded appropriately because I had picked up some information while wandering around the party.

"That's what I heard. Apparently, there's a high chance that Princess Neva of the Valuntari royal family will become the adopted daughter of Princess Ordor? The Ordor Kingdom has no heir other than Princess Ordor."

Princess Ordor was too frail to move around freely.So she couldn't get married and had no children, so she decided to adopt?It was a story put out by Princess Ordor herself.She said she would adopt the child with the most votes among the little princesses or little princes chosen at the children's party.

"I hear there's a strong possibility that the princess from the neighboring Valuntari Kingdom will be adopted."

From the start, the Ordor royal family and the Valuntari royal family were cousins, so it made sense for Princess Neva to be adopted.No one would oppose it.So naturally, everyone would try to manipulate the votes.Of course, children like Naru, Hina, and Cecily probably wouldn't care about such things.

"Still, it was Cecily who sang about wanting to debut in high society. Cecily should handle that on her own. So, how do you feel, Cariote, as Cecily's mother?"

"...I still prefer the outdoors to places like this. My little sister always used to whine about wanting to debut in high society, but...."

Cariote seemed to be thinking about her little sister.Come to think of it, there was information that Astarosa had been spotted in the Ordor Kingdom.I had a feeling she might be near this social gathering.I asked.

"What will you do if you meet your little sister? From what I've heard, it seems your little sister made a big mistake towards you. Are you planning to eliminate her if you meet?"

"No, I want to reconcile. After all, we're family. No matter what she's become, that fact doesn't change. Of course, I didn't want to admit that before, but..."

—Meow

Whoosh—

"Ugh, how did you figure out that my Molumolu-Chikorita is a grass type?! Hang in there, Chikorita!"

"Ah, Miss Naru's Molumolu is fiercely pushing back Young Master Maximus's Molumolu-Chikorita! If this continues, Miss Naru's Molumolu will achieve 5 consecutive wins!"

"Naru's Molumolu is especially strong! How on earth can it learn such powerful techniques with training? It should be the same Molumolu as mine! What's the secret!?"

"I heard they use something called an evolution stone? If you feed a special stone to Molumolu, it can learn unique skills."

"Naru! Battle with me next! My Molumolu, Boostie, will be very strong! The first Molumolu champion will be me and my Molumolu, the one and only king Boostie!"

—Meow

Strange things were happening.

"What is this?"

Where had the social gathering Brigitte knew gone, and why were colorful Molumolus having battles?The sight of numerous children holding their Molumolus in their arms, lining up to have matches with Naru, felt surreal.

"This isn't the social gathering I knew."

Just as she was frowning, wondering how this had happened.

"It's fun, isn't it? Apparently, they have the Molumolus residing in the children battle like that. It's the most popular game among children these days."

"Y-You startled me!"

Brigitte let out a yelp.She hadn't expected anyone to speak behind her.When she turned her head, she saw a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes beautifully reflecting the moonlight and fireworks. There were small wrinkles at the corners of her mouth, but they only made her look more alluring.

"Could it be that you're the Princess of Ordor!?"

"That's right."

"How are you outside... More importantly, how did you sneak up behind me?"

"I had the opportunity to learn about stealth from a great teacher. People think I've never left the palace, but that's not true."

It was surprising news.At the same time, it was slightly worrying.

"Shouldn't you be at the banquet hall, Princess? It's your birthday party today."

"You've also left the banquet hall, haven't you? It's not really fun, is it? Even if you gather people from all over the world, it's still a boring and tedious festival in the end. Don't you think so?"

Brigitte didn't know how to respond to the Ordor Princess's words.Then the Ordor Princess said:

"Perhaps the winner of that Molumolu tournament will become my adopted daughter. I originally planned to adopt the little princess chosen by vote, but doesn't it seem like the situation has changed in many ways?"

"Adopted daughter..."

Brigitte looked through the window at Naru's performance.If Naru becomes the Molumolu champion, does that mean she'll become the Ordor Princess's adopted daughter?Does that mean Naru might one day become the queen of the Ordor Kingdom?It was an unbelievable story!