Chapter 371.1: Things to Prepare (Part 1)
As the New Year’s banquet approached, everyone became busy.
Armand was still sitting in his office at the knight order. Today, his task was to organize the documents on his desk.
He needed to handle all the paperwork related to household and New Year planning and make sure the knight order’s arrangements were flawless before the banquet.
Busy among the piles of files, he suddenly realized that Carle’s worry might have been right.
Normally, he felt okay, and he even dared to say he was “almost fine.” But once he really got busy, he felt a hundred times more tired than usual.
Maybe his body really wasn’t fully recovered.
Even just handling the high stacks of papers made him feel weak. His head began to ache, and the air in the office felt suffocating.
But if he opened the window for some fresh air, the cold wind would blow in and make his head hurt even more. So he could only endure it, comforting himself that it would be fine once this period passed.
Although he felt uncomfortable now, his health was generally improving. He just needed to work hard and push through.
For now, it was only a bit of exhaustion and a headache, no fainting, no nosebleeds. So it still counted as normal.
This time, the banquet’s arrangements were a bit different. It seemed that because this was the old King’s first banquet after returning to the public eye, most of the soldiers were stationed near the ballroom.
Places like the back garden and the royal chambers had very few knights. The main focus was on protecting the King. It seemed the old man was being very cautious this time.
This banquet would be far grander and more important than the last one. It was the old King’s rare chance to make an appearance, and many people would definitely use this opportunity to flatter him.
After all, even sick, he was still the reigning King. His authority was above both princes, and the two princes were currently locked in a heated struggle with no clear winner.
Betting on a fifty-fifty chance with the princes was riskier than siding with the King, who held real power in his hands.
Armand, of course, hated this kind of occasion the most. He even suspected his headache might be from thinking about the banquet too much.
Those politicians spoke fancy words that seemed to make the other nobles happy. But in truth, the nobles who laughed along were only pretending.
All that smiling and nodding at meaningless words was just to make the nobles think they were currying favor with someone important.
In the end, they would still be used as tools, and the unlucky ones wouldn’t even know how they died when the scheming turned against them.
The political world was like this now. Whether it was private tea parties among the ladies, banquets at someone’s home, or a major event like this, everything was filled with deception, schemes, and interests.
Someone like Armand, who didn’t care about these things, obviously didn’t fit in. He was like an outsider, always clueless and never interested in gossip. He knew that even if he listened, he wouldn’t enjoy it.
From the mouths of those old men, the only things he would hear were either fake compliments or sincere insults. Armand liked neither, so he simply never joined their conversations.
“If possible… maybe I’ll sneak out again.”
Thinking that, Armand idly spun his pen.
The last banquet had fireworks, and of course, this New Year would be even livelier. The performances and the snack stalls would all be far better than that meaningless banquet.
For nobles and politicians, a large banquet was a massive information exchange. But for someone like Armand, staying at the banquet was less enjoyable than buying some snacks in the commoners’ district and watching the performances from a tree.
And most importantly, Armand didn’t plan to stay there long. He didn’t even want to go in the first place, let alone linger.
From Evelia’s words earlier, Armand could tell that the Second Prince definitely needed her to do something. That was why he had told her she must attend the banquet.
So for Armand, his main goal at this banquet was to keep an eye on Evelia and make sure nothing happened to her.
His plan was simple, wherever Evelia went, he would follow. Bringing her to the party would already signal that their relationship was unusual.
If she was really called away, he could follow under the excuse of looking for his partner. If someone tried to stop him, he would just use his usual line, “The Crown Prince is looking for me.” No one would dare block him after that.
In short, his only job at the party was to watch over Evelia.
Not only was Armand busy at the knight order, but the manor was also lively and bustling.
The New Year was near, and so was Armand’s birthday. The manor was full of activity.
Some were decorating, some were cooking, some were shopping, and others were giving instructions.
It wasn’t just the servants and maids, even the knights assigned to guard the house were busy helping out.
The knights often felt lucky to be stationed at Armand’s manor. Not only was the environment good and the benefits generous, but the treatment was excellent as well.
Armand was always kind to people, so whenever he had something good, he shared it with them directly.
In less than a year of working here, the servants and knights had already received plenty of benefits, whether supplies or bonuses.
The old butler also distributed resources fairly according to everyone’s position. Because of that, the manor always had the warm atmosphere of a big family.
Armand was not the kind of person who liked to compete with others, and naturally, the people working under him were the same. They didn’t care to compete or show off about anything.
But sometimes, in the circle of maids, just being a servant in Armand’s manor was already something they could brag about, like getting a stable and prestigious job.
Evelia was busy with the maids, helping decorate the venue, while also listening to them talk about what kind of gifts they would prepare for their lovers.
Last time, she had heard someone talk about “offering herself” as a gift, but between her and Armand, there really wasn’t much she could give.
She thought about giving him a child, but Armand wasn’t really ready yet. Besides, last time their “good moment” was interrupted by Rachel, the “child” in question.
So suddenly, Evelia felt like having a child didn’t sound that meaningful, and it was troublesome as well.
As for things like fancy jewelry, Evelia gave up on that idea too. She didn’t think Armand would like something like that.
After all, he was a man who didn’t even wear any decorations. How could he like something so flashy?
It could be said that Armand wasn’t lacking money at all. Not only was his salary high, but he also had his own savings. He simply had no need for expensive items.
So Evelia hit a dead end again.
The maids’ ideas were nice, but gifts for lovers were different for everyone. Each person’s preference and needs were different.
What Armand wanted was clearly different from what the maids’ lovers would want, so their examples were completely useless for her.
Once again, she had made zero progress.
She had been happy before because she now had her own birthday. But in the next moment, she was thinking that maybe she should forget about her own birthday for now, what was she supposed to do for Mr. Armand’s gift first?
“Mom?”
Just as Evelia was feeling troubled, Rachel, who had gone to the manor’s back garden to pick some flowers and plants to make potions, happened to see her sitting on the stone steps. Rachel quickly stuffed the things she had picked into her imprint, startled.
“Rachel?”
Evelia looked up and met Rachel’s flustered eyes.
Because of that night, every time Evelia saw Rachel, she couldn’t help but think about the time she was interrupted, which always made her feel a little displeased.