Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 193: Arc 4, Act I - 38: Rich Party Plannings

Chapter 193: Arc 4, Act I Chapter 38: Rich Party Plannings

Descending down the dungeon steps after lunch, the rain alternated between drizzling and throwing down cats and dogs.

Nothing echoed through the brick floors flanked by cells but the sound of their footsteps and their voices explaining to Asobi what had occurred in the meeting.

Down to seven, the archduke and Count Khalim attended to other matters, namely informing the council of the recent events. The same procedures occurred and they found themselves, in the cell room of Countess Varshini Keya once more.

Much of the countess’s clothes had been brought into her cell and she busied herself with a book; while flipping a page she flipped her glance to her visitors.

She bent the corner of the page and shut the book. Her brows furrowed as she got up to sit by the edge of her bed, "What brings all of you to visit?"

Arabella looked at the guard positioned in the room, signalling him to get out. The Royal Guard stood, bowed to everyone and left immediately, shutting the door behind him.

"They gave you your clothes instead of prison outfits huh?" Daiyu half-closed her right eye. A comb, a curtain around the sink, mirror and toilet in the corner and a few books from the library stacked.

The countess got up with a glare, none of her makeup or jewels, but she kept herself well enough, "It must sting knowing I still have my human rights."

"Considering you tried to poison everyone in this room except Ara, I think I should take that away too," Daiyu glared back.

"Oh please, I’ve pleaded guilty have I not? I requested some of my clothes, a little privacy and something to keep myself occupied while I have to bear this thing locked into my spine, is that too much to ask? The admiral did not believe so at least."

"Ara?" Daiyu turned, crossing her arms.

Arabella furrowed her brows and cocked her head, "You were keeping her here, forever, anyway. I didn’t, see any harm, in giving her some, basic things. Do you, want me to, revoke them?" Feyan translated.

"She doesn’t deserve shit except to rot here," Daiyu sighed. "Whatever, she can keep them."

"How generous of you," the countess rolled her eyes. "Have you all come here to see me ’rot’ or do you have some other business with me? Have you come to tell me my title has been revoked?"

"Not exactly," Feyan replied.

"We’ve come to negotiate if you will," Jotou purposefully blinked her eyes twice.

"Negotiate?"

"Look, I don’t like talking to you as much as you do, but everyone in the Royal Ministry convinced me, so here we are." Daiyu groaned, "Could someone else explain?" she faced away.

"Trailon sent a reply," Fumeko continued.

The countess’s eyes widened for but a moment, "And?"

"They are set to arrive on the coming 15th and an envoy to arrive the 13th before. This is the exact letter," Feyan whipped the paper and handed it with a stretched out arm.

The countess scanned through the document... She then tilted her head, "This is, good. And what information do you require of me?"

"If an enemy of war from another nation is to arrive, we have to handle the matter delicately without provoking anyone and minimizing any errors that may occur.

As such, we’re willing to sweep you and your husband’s treason incident under the rug; not from the council, but at least the public. It’s to keep the public, and by extension Trailon, unaware of the instability within the palace," Hotaru summarized.

"Wise decision..." The countess squinted, "Still, how does this concern me? You don’t require my consent to do this nor do you have to inform me. There’s no need to ’negotiate’."

"Well, we thought that you might be good at subter-food," Asobi replied.

"Pardon me?"

"You will not be pardoned evil scum!" Asobi pointed her wand with a childish glare.

"Subterfuge," Jotou knitted her brows, "The deal is that we talk it out with Trailon and presentation matters a lot; this isn’t something that Daiyu’s used to. There’s going to be passive-aggressive jabs, trying to provoke one another and so on."

"In other words, you’re the right bitch for the job." Daiyu turned once more, "So any advice?"

"Princess, please..." Feyan glanced over.

"See? That’s why we need some input from you on this. She might just snap," Fumeko’s eyes glazed over.

"Hey, I can control myself alright? I just don’t want to right now," Daiyu grunted while leering at the countess still.

"Bold of you to assume I may provide any input, I have not exactly mingled with enemies of war before."

"Aren’t you like fifty? Before the war started and all?" Fumeko cocked a brow.

"Excuse you," the countess recoiled, resting a hand on her chest, "The war began in nine-thirty-six and I’m only thirty-eight!"

"Eh, what’s the difference?" Fumeko shrugged.

"Point is, you might know what to do in a situation like this. Or maybe know what the late king would’ve done—anything really. You hate Trailon don’t you?

We’ve got them in our grasp, we can’t screw this up, so we came to you as an extra measure. You must have some experience with political discussions, don’t you? At least more than us, even Count Khalim thinks so," Jotou replied.

The countess’s gaze fell to the floor, "I suppose..."

"We also heard that you’re excellent hosts! For parties and stuff!"

"Sobi, I don’t think we’re throwing a party for Trailon’s arrival," Hotaru’s ears folded.

"No, no," the countess retorted, "A ’party’ is probably the best idea in this situation," she pondered. "Not for the Trailon Regime might I add."

"What?" Daiyu leered.

The countess put her hand out with the letter, "This, with no doubt, will be a momentous occasion in the history of this war. Trailon is a force we are against, but we are not the only ones.

Luxinor, Kria, Burnetrout, Avon and so on despise the regimes as well. You have allies to call upon that could aid you with resources, defences and even advice with whatever accords or treaties you may negotiate.

The best part being, you do not have to convince them nor spend a copper piece for it. A simple invitation would do for a historic event such as this.

If this envoy is supposedly arriving five days from now, then you need to send invitations immediately and I promise, no leader or envoy would postpone or deny attendance unless they are dealing with a true emergency.

Request that they arrive on the 12th, before dusk at most and inform them of all your intentions when you invite them. On that evening, host a gala or a ball for you to socially mingle.

Earn their favour and they will assist you more sincerely and will hold a stronger opinion of the Undying Princess. Not to mention, you also loosen up any awkward conversations that night.

By not inviting Trailon, you have created a solidarity between other nations and supporters to aid your side by having bias decisions, because they are more familiar with you."

Daiyu stood still, contemplating the idea, "I guess there is a ballroom just sitting there empty..."

"It can be arranged my lady."

"I hate to admit that it’s a good idea," Daiyu pouted, "So I won’t."

"You requested my input, I gave it. However, you need to make sure the ball goes off without a hitch and will be a night people will remember if you want to leave an impact."

"Okay, how do we do that?" Fumeko queried.

"That is up to your creativity really. In all honesty, I don’t believe there needs to be grand performances or extravagant shows being put.

You already have the Thundering Blade’s reputation which carries weight; as long as she’s in attendance, it would be moths to lightning."

"Great, more socializing, I’ll have to charge my batteries," Jotou sighed aloud.

"What else do we do? You’ve hosted these sorta things before, right?" Daiyu queried.

"You’re asking a bit much here, don’t you think? Who’s planning this ball, the woman in the dungeons?"

"I suggest ’countess’ that you aid us in these endeavours because you are in the dungeons. The princess will ask of you what she will," Feyan stepped forward.

"I believe the term negotiate came about, so where is the negotiation part?"

"The hell do you want? If it’s freedom, forget it," Daiyu replied.

"I was not planning to ask that at all," the countess sighed. "I merely ask for something at least warm to eat every day, the food is always cold.

Perhaps a few blankets, some more of my clothes, the ability to ask for books when I need and conjugal visits from my husband, at least once a week."

"Really pushing it with the demands there," she half-closed her right eye.

"It is truly too much to ask?"

"Daiyu, it really doesn’t matter too much. If you don’t care about her, I don’t think any of her demands are that bad, considering what we can get in return," Jotou argued.

"...Fine, but conjugal visits once a month. I don’t need you two plotting to go against me while you’re screwing."

"Please, once a week," the countess pursed her lips, "We will not plot against you or anything of the sort."

Daiyu tapped her feet... "No," though the countess spoke the truth.

"Daiyu, it really isn’t too much to ask," Hotaru’s tail went still.

"Too much? They committed treason! They’re keeping their title, not being publicly shamed yet, she has all these other demands, I think I’m being generous as it is."

Arabella squinted to the redhead, then back to the blonde as gears began spinning within her head. Arabella placed a hand on Daiyu’s shoulder and tilted her head once with half-closed eyes.

"Just accept it?" Daiyu glared... She glanced around the room, knowing Feyan would only share the princess’s sentiment, "Ugh, I hate all of you, fine, once a week! Happy!?"

"Quite."

"Then I believe a deal has been struck?" Feyan stared at the countess.

The countess let out a pondering breath, "So many things to consider... Do you even have a lady-in-waiting yet? A handmaiden?"

"Not really..."

"You should have someone accompanying you in such a manner at the very least. It’s a commonality and I think it would show that you have your act in order.

I would advise you to take the Thundering Blade or the adorable elf Asobi. They have the beauty of nobles."

"Hey!" Fumeko’s voice reverberated.

"Excuse me? And after I supported your once a week bargain," Hotaru’s ears bristled.

"I’m being objective here, the Thundering Blade has a naturally pretty face and Asobi has elven genetics."

"I don’t want to wait to be a lady and I don’t want to be a maid to hands," Asobi’s nose wrinkled.

"And I, don’t care," the blonde’s eyes glazed over.

Daiyu rolled her eyes, "I have Feyan, he has elven genetics, he’s my lady-in-waiting, there."

"I," Feyan winced his eyes and knitted his brows, "I suppose, I," he sighed, "I am her lady-in-waiting then..."

"Quaint. Now, music and performances, I would suggest one or two, nothing too big; the event is for strengthening ties and socializing after all.

Though, it acts as a cue of something people might miss, so they will make sure to arrive on time and then you will have more people in at the same time, so you can pick and choose, as well as escape a conversation if you need to."

"Ooo! Ooo! I can put on a show! It would be spectacular! Extravagant! Completely and utterly bombastically amazing!" Asobi shot rainbow butterflies and bubbles into the ceiling.

"She said nothing too big you twit..."

The countess seemed amused, "It will do all the same dear."

"Performance by the Amazing Asobi and maybe we can hire another performance?" Hotaru suggested.

"There are a lot of talented musicians in Cravolta City, we can hire any number of them," Feyan replied.

"Alright, moving on," Daiyu dismissed.

"The food should not be Cravoltan. Instead, request the kitchens to make foreign dishes from all over the world, but with a Cravoltan twist.

Of course, the success of this is more of a gamble so make sure to also have a smaller amount of typical Cravoltan dishes and other typical foreign dishes.

For the drinks, serve ones with low alcohol content. The lower people’s inhibitions the more you can get out of them, but you want them to remember the next day of your conversations."

The countess hummed, "What else, what else... Oh," she snapped her fingers, "Make sure to provide door gifts, I would recommend Galuvitian chocolate, brooches with the Cravoltan emblem and purple-gold rainsparkles."

"Rainsparkles?" Jotou cocked a brow.

"The flower of Cravolta," Daiyu replied.

"The flower of the province of Cravolta to be exact," Feyan winced an eye.

The countess smirked, "They are arriving to this province after all and there’s already the Galuvitian chocolate, which is close to Trailon; a bit of symbolism if you will.

You should also extend invitations to the Malecise and Vandlevela Regimes. Getting them on your side may be crucial. At the end of the day, the Trailon Regime committed the war crime and I doubt either would stand for it as well.

Use that to your advantage and make the fact that you’re inviting them crystal clear to the other nations you are inviting, so that there is no sudden tension in the room."

"Anything else?" Daiyu crossed her arms.

"Perhaps you will think for yourself in planning this? Dear, I can make an entire list of things you could do. You are the one planning this, not me."

"Well, maybe the countess can make that list while we work on invitations that need to be sent? We’re on a ticking clock here," Hotaru tapped her watch.

"You’re right," Daiyu let out a breath. "I’ll plan some stuff too and we’ll have to tell the council about this; I don’t care what they have to say, just informing them of something I’m doing regardless."

The countess tilted her head, a bit of smile... Perhaps proud? "I’ll be waiting here dear, come and tell me your plans and I shall assist how I can. This is for Cravolta after all."