Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

38. Preparing for a Ball.

The three women had to hurry if they wanted to get the invitations sent out in time for them to reach Bocio. They decided to invite the ambassadors who went abroad with Frosino as well as their families. Abela also wanted to invite some of her old acquaintances from the capital. Most of the girls she knew there had been quite rude, but a few of them had actually been friends with her before she left.

After the guest list was finished, and the invitations had been addressed and stamped with the seal of Crivell, they were sent off to Bocio. The ones that would be received by the fellow ambassadors traveling with Frosino contained special instructions to not say anything about the gala to Frosino, as it was meant to be a surprise for him.

Although Y/N had at first been nervous about the idea of throwing a party, it had grown on her, and she was now quite excited for the day of the party to arrive. But there was still much work to be done. Aside from inviting guests, it would take far more than five people to prepare the castle for the ball to come. Knowing that, Tola and Fiora had begun the search for hired help almost at once.

A sudden idea had come to Y/N as she remembered something from her past long ago. She instructed Fiora and Tola on where to go when they reached the village, and upon their return, a dozen people poured from the carriage where they had been crammed. Y/N was pleased to see some familiar faces in the crowd of new employees. "Visca, Demetrius, it is just wonderful to see that you both are well after all these years!"

Y/N had wrapped her arms around her old friends from The Court of Breadcrumbs. She was just so happy to see that they had managed to survive after all these years. She had instructed the two women to be on the lookout for a boy around her age with white hair, honey-colored skin, and amber eyes. It was clear though, that they had been unsuccessful in finding Paety and recruiting him to work at the castle. Y/N just hopped that wherever Paety was that he was doing well.

The whole time she had been embracing her old friends, so it was not a surprise when they pushed her away. "Who are you, and what are you doing?!" Demetrius asked, stepping protectively between Y/N and Visca. Demetrius had grown over the years, and even though he still had the same cunning face, he now stood a head taller than Y/N. If not for the fact that Y/N knew he was a total coward at heart, she would have been very intimidated. She burst out laughing as Demetrius puffed out his scrawny chest, "what's so funny?!" He snapped.

"Do you not recognize me?" Y/N asked between her giggles. "It's me, Y/N, remember."

The pair's eyes went wide. It took a moment for her words to sink in, but when it did they both threw their arms around Y/N. "Oh by Luccia's mercy," Visca cried. "The day you and Paety disappeared all those years ago we were ever so worried. We looked everywhere, but we never found a trace of either of you." At this point, Visca dissolved into tears, but Demetrius continued the questioning; "Is Paety here with you as well? How did you even come to be here in the first place?"

"Unfortunately, I have not seen Paety since the day I disappeared. I was hoping that you two might know where he was," Y/N answered, feeling a bit disappointed. "And the story of how I came to be here is quite interesting; I crashed into the Archduke, but instead of being mad, he took pity on me and adopted me. I have lived in Castle de Crivell as his ward ever since."

She pulled away and took them both by the hands, leading her two old friends and the other new employees around to the kitchen. "Come on, I have much to tell you both, and I am sure that you have much to tell me, but first, we need to find you all some uniforms."

. . .

The next several days were devoted almost entirely to training the new members of staff. Y/N managed to unearth some old violet uniforms that were only slightly moth-eaten and distributed them. Once they all received their uniforms bearing the crest of Crivell, their training began. In the morning, the members of staff would be shown around a new section of the castle that they then would be instructed to clean. In the afternoon, Fiora would give them all lessons on etiquette, and courtesy.

After two weeks of this, Fiora felt that they were ready to take one last placement test to determine where they would be working in the house. Four of the girls, (Visca among them,) were selected to be chambermaids, their main job was to keep the bedrooms on the upper floors clean, but since the castle was still understaffed they were also responsible for maintaining rooms on the first floor. Next, two of the boys were chosen to help Alfonse care for the horses and other animals on the grounds, but they would also be responsible for fixing anything on the exterior of the castle. Five were selected to work in the kitchens with Tola and to keep the servants' quarters clean. Finally, it came as no surprise to Y/N when all the workers voted unanimously to have Demetrius be The Head of Staff. The boy was just the same sweet-talking politician that he had been as a child, but Y/N couldn't deny that he definitely excelled in time management and leadership, so he probably was the best suited for the job.

It was a good thing that the new staff came when they did, because the very next day after their jobs had been decided, guests started to arrive from the capital. Y/N and Abela stood in the entrance hall wearing complimentary dresses in purple and green to welcome their guests. Y/N was immensely grateful that Abela was there to take the lead. Even though Y/N had plenty of knowledge on how to be a gracious hostess, knowing the theory, and putting it into practice were two entirely different things.

Y/N felt very shy and awkward at first, she had never been around so many people in her life, and not all of the guests that would be staying at the castle had arrived. Since Castle de Crivell was such a remote destination,  those willing to make the journey would be hosted at the castle for several days to allow them to recharge before the gala. After the first few days though, Y/N found her footing around their company and proved herself to be an equally dignified hostess.

A/N

The ball and Frosino's arrival are just around the corner, I wonder what will happen the night of the gala?

Let me know what your theories are, and,

Until next time, I'll see you one the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~