Altair Sheffield walked along the path holding a parasol, cursing inwardly as she went, "What was George III thinking? Does that man have bubbles for brains? Holding a hunt in the middle of summer—doesn't he know what the temperature is like right now?"
..."Altair, over here."
After entering the large tent, Altair heard someone calling her name. Looking toward the sound, she saw Heather Grant waving her over.
When Altair reached the table, she saw that Heather Grant had already produced a deck of 'playing cards' and said, "Come and play a few rounds of 'Fight the Evil' with us."
Looking at the 'playing cards' in her hand, Altair felt a helpless urge to laugh.
Back then, Roselle Gustav had plagiarized everything and claimed it as his own invention. If no one knew the truth, it would be fine, but if someone did, he'd become a total laughingstock.
Fortunately, she had the foresight not to change the names when she 'borrowed' things; whoever designed it got the credit, avoiding any future exposure.
At the same time, she was very curious to know if 'Klein', two and a half years from now, would come looking for 'them' when he saw those items and the designers' names... "A nine."
"A ten."
Since she had nothing better to do, Altair sat down and started playing 'Fight the Evil' with Heather and the others.
Looking at the cards in her hand, she casually played one and asked curiously, "What's the story with this 'hunting' event? Why is it being held in the summer?"
Tiffany O'Neal looked at the cards on the table, threw out a King, and said, "I heard it has something to do with the Third Prince, Edsak Augustus."
Heather tapped the table to pass, indicating she couldn't beat the card, and said casually, "Actually, it's no big deal; it's just to build momentum for Edsak."
Heather's words left Altair confused, and she immediately asked, "Is this to determine the successor to the throne in advance?"
Heather looked at her and said with a smile, "Why do you assume it's about the succession? Couldn't it be something else?"
"For example: supporting one prince to challenge the eldest prince's power."
Hearing Heather's explanation, Altair sighed inwardly. This method of balancing court power was used everywhere, no matter the world.
Now it just depended on who would enter the fray. Betting right meant the merit of supporting a dragon; betting wrong meant the execution of one's entire clan.
*Tap, tap, tap.*
The sound of Heather tapping on the table interrupted Altair's thoughts.
Seeing Altair's distracted state, Heather said slowly, "Why haven't you played a card yet? You need to focus."
Looking at the cards on the table, Altair directly played a 7.
"A 10! I win! Pay up, pay up!" Heather laughed happily.
Altair's distraction had handed the two of them the victory. She casually pulled two one-pound notes from her wallet and handed them to Heather and Tiffany.
After taking the money from Altair, Heather began to reshuffle the deck and said calmly,
"The reason I called you over to play cards is for this very reason. Owen and Leif both urged me to tell you to be careful and to keep an eye on you during this time. No matter what happens, do not get involved. Right now, you are just an ordinary noble."
"Alright, don't overthink unimportant things. They will handle it; it won't affect our mood for playing cards."
Just an 'ordinary noble', not allowed to participate... Have I been targeted?
Then again, what 'ordinary noble' was as unique as she was? Her family members had been in the military for years, leaving behind solid connections; she was wealthy herself, and now she was leading the construction of the New Industrial Zone.
Whether in terms of political or social influence, she possessed significant power.
With only one person left in her family, she was a perfect 'booster' resource... During that morning's game of 'Fight the Evil', Altair lost utterly. In front of Heather, she felt like a child whose every thought was being read.
She lost nine times out of ten. If it weren't for Tiffany being even worse, Altair would have thought her 'Spectator' abilities had failed.
Using her 'Telepathist' ability, Altair could only perceive Tiffany's thoughts.
It was completely ineffective against Heather, who seemed to carry her own 'Anti-Magic Field'.
Heather patted Altair on the shoulder and said, "Still dazing? Let's go~ the luncheon is about to start. If we're late, some people will say we're being impolite."
..."Altair, you should try this. The taste of this dessert is quite good."
"Indeed, it's less sweet than the other desserts."
...The luncheon used an open dining style—self-service, with no servants waiting on them.
This method was, of course, invented by Roselle and had spread from Intis.
Supposedly, Roselle disliked traditional noble dining styles, finding them too restrictive. During a banquet, he had ordered the guests to serve themselves.
Regarding this particular achievement, Altair had to give Roselle a thumbs up.
If they followed traditional dining etiquette, seating and service would be ranked from highest status to lowest.
When the food was served, it went to the King first, then the Princes, Dukes, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons.
The King would never wait for everyone to receive their food from the servants before starting to eat.
Instead, as soon as his was served, he would eat; when he finished, the course was cleared, and the next was served.
When there were many people, the nobles at the end of the line wouldn't get to eat at all. They could only sneak to the kitchen to find food after the banquet ended... As the afternoon Sun dipped slightly, the young men could no longer restrain their restless hearts and began racing horses in the summer heat.
Heather took Altair into a VIP box, overlooking the horses as they sprinted past.
The summer heat had Altair fanning herself constantly, leaving her with no mind for anything else.
Heather heard the strong wind whistling from Altair's fan and turned to look.
She cast an appreciative glance at her behavior and said, "It seems having you along is quite nice; at least I don't have to fan myself."
Altair said expressionlessly, "When is this banquet going to end? I'm feeling truly miserable right now."
Her grumbling didn't receive a direct answer from Heather, who instead laughed and said, "You can't take it already? There's a part tonight that will make you even more uncomfortable."
"Tonight? What else is there?"
Altair immediately stopped her fanning and asked in confusion, but then thought about it and muttered quietly, "Is it about Edsak? But didn't Maternal Great-Uncle and the others say they would handle it?"
"Of course he's part of the reason, but it's not just him," Heather confirmed, then explained:
"You are currently the target of every noble youth in Backlund. Look at those young men in the distance, dressed up so flamboyantly—a large part of the reason is that they've set their sights on you."
"If you don't believe me, you can see for yourself tonight. During the ball, you will definitely be the center of attention."