Chapter 95: All the Sungrades
While she was the fifth Lady of the house, she was the oldest one, someone older than both the patriarch and the First Lady.
And while her daughter was the second youngest lady of the house, she was also older than Sam and Able.
Only three years younger than Blaze, the young lady and her mother had arrived much earlier than the other guests.
They weren’t out there greeting the crowd, they were inside right now, with Ana and little Mime, looking after them with Lady Leha.
She already told them everything that’s been happening in the house these past few months.
The two of them had gone to their homeland on a different continent after many years for the first time.
She wanted to show her daughter how the people there lived compared to how they were here... especially as beastfolks.
The racism was too tame within the empire and seeing in the Sungrade city, it was almost absent.
The different races, be it the beastfolks or the dwarves, all lived harmoniously in this city.
However, things were very different outside of this nation, and out of this continent, things were completely different.
People like them were slaves.
And as tough as it was for them, she had shown her the reality of how their kind was treated by the others.
"Meow~."
{ "Hehe, you’re so fun~!" }
"You’re fun as well, Miss Cat!"
Well, both the ladies were playing with Felix right now, enjoying the company of a mystique.
In the entire house, Sam only had memories of these two ladies looking out for him on certain occasions.
Perhaps it was out of pity or perhaps something else. But whatever the case may be, he knew he needed to treat the two well.
"Mother Zo! Mother Zo! You’re only playing with Felly!"
"Oh no no. I was just listening to her fun story, you see."
Felix was telling them about the time they met the Guardians.
They were certainly charismatic entities that she looked up to, so listening to a creature’s perspective of those beings was a new thing for her.
"Let’s go play as well."
"Yes~."
Lazy Zoana was looking after these children and Felix was helping them.
Additionally, she had the help of Leha and her daughter.
For the children, it was always pretty fun to play with a creature that resembled a cat more than the normal humans, but these little ones weren’t afraid of her.
Even though her face looked like a beast, her hands were paws with dangerous claws, and even if she wasn’t like them, the children, and the members of this family loved them.
Considering how Sam was looked down upon and shunned by the people just for having blue hair, they should have been ostracised even more.
But, ever since the patriarch brought her into this house, he has made one thing clear: she was a Lady of this house.
Treating her any differently from the other ladies was the same as going against his authority.
So, people did not dare do anything foolish when it came to them.
And while doing so, they revealed their true emotions towards them, those different from them humans.
She knew they were putting up an act.
However, these children were not like them.
They weren’t disgusted by her. She was cool in their eyes.
Mariabell, their big sister, was the same as well. She looked more human-like than her mom since she was only a half beastfolk, but she looked so pretty they just couldn’t help admire her beauty.
It was a fact known in the entire kingdom that the second youngest lady of the Sungrades was blessed by the goddess of Beauty.
Her cat tail was one thing, but they never failed to get attracted to her cat-like ears.
She was adorable and she had pretty red feline eyes similar to her father’s while her cyan green hair were the same as her mom’s.
She was as adorable as Alex and as charming as Lady Mililian.
"Oh? Seems like everyone’s having fun here." Sam arrived here right after he dealt with the Serulian patriarch and the other guests that wanted to chat with him.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiiiish...
He did not have the time to entertain them all when he had to help his elder sisters and Lady Zoana get ready for the celebration.
He had prepared a surprise dress for them all, dresses that he had procured from one of the finest tailors of this world.
"Sammy~!"
"Big brother~."
Both Maria and Alex ran up to him and hugged their brother, simply too happy to see him even though they had seen him just earlier.
He left Nyx and Felix here but it seems like that ungrateful bird vanished off to somewhere else once again.
He was going to scold him when he finds him but thankfully, it seems like Felix handled things on her end.
"You two seem cheerful, huh?" It was Alex’s birthday tomorrow and with much difficulty, he had prepared a special surprise for her.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiiiish...
There was going to be a banquet tonight so they still had many people to deal with.
But family came first for him.
If he was not going to see them for a long time anyways, he wanted to leave as someone that they have positive feelings for.
"I saw Ian on my way here, he seemed surprised to see me out there."
He picked up the little girl and urged the other ladies to get ready to leave.
They needed to go upstairs.
"I called the other ladies there as well so while they finish their business, we should get you ready first, right?"
He was going to help them all personally. Thankfully, they will not mind his insight on fashion from the future.
"Brother! Brother! I want to help you all get ready too!"
"And for that, you’ll have to be ready before everyone else, no? If you aren’t ready, little lady, how would you help all of us?"
He didn’t know where his father went but knowing him, he would be back when it’s time.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiish...
For the time being, Sam was holding the fort.
There were many important guests here in the sungrade once again, but there weren’t as many guests as there were during the Proof of Worth.
The state of the empire was one thing, but the distance from the central lands was another thing that brought the number of their guests down.
’But that’s for the best.’
They had more breathing room with less people.
He had done what he could to make this celebration as memorable as possible.
"Chirp?"
He was just about to leave with the ladies when his little white bird, Nyx, flew in from the open window.
"Chirp chirp."
He looked around the room, thoroughly analysing each past of this place.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish...
"Chirp!"
"Nyx?"
It seemed like he had caught onto something after a while and he started running around the room, finally running outside with a guest of wind.
Sam wanted to catch that little troublemaker but he didn’t have the time.
For now, he left the little bird alone to whatever he was doing, and went up to the upper floor of the castle with the ladies.
He had called the boys up as well, so after the ladies were done, he would help them get ready as well...
’They aren’t as familiar with social gatherings as me to begin with.’
As the one with more experience with these things, he was going to enhance their looks and charms, preparing them as heart stealers of the new imperial ears.