Chapter 836: Welcome To My Home
It's finally the day of the party and for some reason, I'm the one that's feeling nervous.
I looked outside my carriage at my schoolmates all gathered outside near the Waystone that was a short distance outside the city walls.
They don't know I'm in this carriage since there were curtains blocking the window and I was literally just peeking through a small crack behind the fabric.
Right now, Katsuki, Odeta and Delmare were outside making sure that everyone that was present had an invitation and there was a few more minutes before the appointed time for the meetup and we would then teleport everyone to the mansion.
Lisa wasn't here yet since she had to act like she was an invitee instead so she would show up later.
Looking at the number of people outside, I suddenly realised how many people were invited to this party of mine.
How many invitations did we even give out? It looks like there's at least a good hundred or so people outside the carriage right now…
I then noticed Katsuki doing a small wave in my direction, indicating it was time for me to show up. Enjoy new adventures from m-v l'e|-NovelBin.net
I let out a sigh before letting the curtain fall back into place.
Ok… This isn't my first time in the public light or even standing in front of a crowd, in this life or the last… So I should be fine.
I sucked in a breath before letting it out slowly, taking a moment to hype myself up.
I reached for the door and opened it, slowly stepping out of the carriage.
Most of the gathered students did not notice my presence at first since they were occupied with their own conversations but eventually someone turned back and saw me which prompted the others to notice me as well.
"Big Sis Aster! Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday Sister Aster!"
"Aster! Happy birthday!"
I managed to keep my cool and waved at them, "Thank you for coming!"
One of the girls came up to me, "I didn't know you were also a Grey Walker, Aster! You really can do everything!"
I shook my head, "No, no… You're mistaken, I'm not going to be the one to teleport you guys. There's someone else who will. I believe they should be coming soon."
As if on cue, a rather large portal opened up near the Waystone and a maid with her black hair tied in a ponytail stepped through the portal.
Wait… That's a portal that was created by Astromancy… Also, why don't I remember seeing her-- Oh…
That's 'Lina'... Or more accurately, it was Mary in her other form…
Wait… Why is she here? Isn't it supposed to be Felicia who would appear here?
'Lina' curtsied to the assembled crowd, "Good day everyone. By the order of our Young Mistress, I shall be teleporting all of you to the location of the party.
She then gestured towards the portal, "If you would, Young Mistress?"
What's going on here? Did the plan for the party change without me knowing?
Whatever, let's just go in and see what's going on first…
I stepped through the portal and I realised that it led to the front door of the mansion.
Oh my god… They definitely changed this on purpose…
I had wanted us to appear in the Waystone room so that I could just break the news to my schoolmates 'gently' and avoid a panic when they finally realised who I really was…
But to dump us right in front of the mansion… There was no way to do this subtly anymore…
The rest of my schoolmates stepped through the portal and started looking around in wonder.
Several of them started marvelling at the mansion and the courtyard but I noticed a few of them widened their eyes in shock as they saw the mansion.
I'm guessing the latter recognised who the mansion belonged to and were wondering if we had teleported to the wrong place.
As though to prove my point, one of the girls came up to me, "As… Aster? Wha… What are we doing here?"
I didn't get a chance to answer her as the doors of the mansion suddenly burst open and what appeared to be half of the mansion's servants rushed out to form up in front of us.
Err… Not gonna lie… I actually have no idea what's going on now because I did not plan any of this…
Behind me, my school mates had looks of fear, surprise and for a select few, interest as they clearly thought this was part of the party.
Despite appearing out of nowhere, all the servants remained standing in front of us without saying anything, waiting for everyone to walk through the portal.
One of the boys couldn't take the silence and cried out, "Why… Why are we at the Nilm Family's mansion?!"
That set off the others as pretty much everyone changed into panic mode.
"Nilm Family?!"
"Wait… That Nilm Family?!"
"The one that everybody is scared of?! That Nilm Family?!"
"Why are we here?! Are they going to kill us?!"
Oh geez, calm down everyone… Err… Mary where are-- Eh?
I saw Mary in Lina's disguise standing beside the portal, the Head Maid giving me a bow before closing the big portal to create another portal that she hopped into before disappearing.
Really? You really just came all the way here just to do that? Something tells me this was Mother's idea…
Ok, I guess I should calm the situation down first--
"Welcome home, Young Mistress!" All of the servants in front of us suddenly shouted, lowering their heads in a low bow.
Seeing that I was standing at the very front of the group, there was no question as to who they were talking to.
Ughh… I guess we'll just have to rip the bandaid off at this point…
"U… Unnn… I'm home."
The students nearest to me turned to me in shock, their eyes as wide as saucers.
I turned back to face them and found all eyes were currently on me.
I took a moment to clear my throat before speaking, "Ahem… Well… Welcome to my home, I guess? Allow me to introduce myself again, I am Aster Nilm, the Young Mistress of the Nilm Family."
There was silence for a good minute or so as everyone processed what I just said.
I also realised that Katsuki, Odeta, Delmare and Lisa were standing at the very back of the crowd, probably so that they could watch the entire thing from there…
Now I'm sure that they also had a part to play in this surprise change.
"I… Insulted the Young Mistress of the Nim Family?" A soft voice drifted to my ears.
I turned in the direction of the voice to realise it came from Aeta, the girl who tried to 'steal' Delmare from me.
"I fought against the Young Mistress of the Nilm Family?" Haddock whispered next, his face going completely white.
Beside him were the other boys of his party and their faces were also just as white as their leader's.
Huh… I'm actually surprised that they knew who the Nilm Family were considering the fact that they aren't really from around here.
But yeah! Watching their reactions to this news was the reason why I wanted to invite them here! And the looks on their faces is so worth it!
That seemed to set off the rest of the group as each of them started crying out as well.
"I… I'm classmates with the Young Mistress of the Nilm Family?!"
"I was personally taught by the Nilm Family's heir?!"
"I sparred with the Nilm Family's Young Mistress?!"
"No… No, no, no… I tried to hit on the Young Mistress of the Nilm Family?!"
"I fapped to her?! I'm so dead!!"
Err… Ok, so what the heck were the last two that I heard over the crowd?
I don't remember anyone hitting on me while I was in school so whoever that was… I think you were mistaken…
And whoever went ahead to use me as your fap material… Err… Ok? I guess I'm flattered that I look attractive enough for you to do that but I did not need to know that…
I coughed to get their attention, "Ahem! I know this is a surprise but all of you don't need to worry! We're all just here to attend my birthday party! You can just treat me as normal and just enjoy the party!"
The looks they were giving me clearly told me they would not be able to do that any time soon.
I giggled, "Ehehehe~ You guys really are funny~ Anyway, thank you for coming to the party today! Let's all enjoy ourselves here, ok? Let's go!"
I turned back and led the way towards the mansion, the servants parting to arrange themselves into two rows to welcome me home.
Peeking behind me, I found them still standing at where they were, all of them unwilling to move.
Ugh… This might take more than a moment for them to recover I guess…