The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

“What are you all being so fancy for?”

Jake walked in with a grin, both hands full of liquor bottles.

He was still wearing the same outfit from the wedding. That pure white tuxedo looked like it would stain the moment anything touched it—definitely not the kind of outfit you drink in.

Then again, with House Lindburrow’s wealth, ruining a suit or two probably didn’t matter in the slightest... but that wasn’t the issue right now.

“Did you finish greeting all the guests? What about Duke Lindburrow?”

“Yeah, I said a few words to everyone. It’s fine.”

Like hell a “few words” was enough to cover it.

Sure, he wasn’t an emperor or crown prince—or foreign royalty—but dukes and heirs weren’t people the average noble could just walk up to. The wider the status gap and the fewer the ties, the harder it was to meet someone like that. In that sense, a wedding was the perfect excuse for lower nobles to make contact with a duchy. They had a reason to speak face-to-face and offer congratulations.

It’s a happy occasion, so smiles come easily, and a bit of casual conversation follows.

If the groom vanished from the reception like this, all that attention would fall squarely on his father.

“It’s fine, seriously. It’s a good day. Honestly, on a good day like this, I just want to spend time with my friends. Besides, it was our father who pushed for a wedding of this scale, even against our wishes. He should’ve expected this much.”

I doubt this was what the Duke expected... but it was already too late. I’d been in the same class as Jake for the last four years, so I knew better than anyone how stubborn he could be. Actually, everyone here probably felt the same way.

The awkward smiles that broke out on everyone’s faces at the sight of him said it all.

“Lottie, stop hiding back there and come on out. No one here is going to make you uncomfortable.”

Jake said that as he pushed open the half-closed door with his foot, revealing Lottie, who had been standing just behind it.

Like Jake, she was still wearing her wedding dress.

“There’s no reason to be embarrassed. You were waving just fine to everyone during the procession.”

“That’s because... my mind was completely numb back then...”

Even Lottie was too flustered to keep up her usual formal speech—that surprised me more than I expected.

“...Don’t bully your wife so much. Just come in already,” said Alice, staring at the two of them like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Lottie, already blushing, turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Mm—wait. No.”

Alice raised a hand to stop them just as the two began to enter.

“Since we’re doing this anyway, why not invite Lottie’s friends to drink with us too? I mean, those bottles in Jake’s hands definitely won’t be enough for everyone.”

Lottie’s face went beyond red—it turned pale.

“That’s a good idea,” Charlotte said, standing up beside Alice. “It’d feel rude to drink without inviting the bride’s friends too.”

Well, technically, we were also here as acquaintances of the bride... but we were probably closer to the groom’s side. Lottie had always been in another class until graduation, after all. We did spend a lot of time together and talked often, but I imagine from Lottie’s perspective, her classmates were more comfortable company.

Then again, if we suddenly showed up at the inn where her friends were staying, never mind the friends—wouldn’t the innkeeper faint on the spot?

Alice was the emperor now, after all. Her personal guard hadn’t followed her all the way inside, but the entire Lindburrow estate was already swarming with imperial soldiers and knights in uniform. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

If we suddenly moved locations to go drinking with no warning, how would they react?

...

How would they react? Doesn’t matter—they’d follow orders. The emperor herself wants it.

“All right, then. Shall we move?”

Jake, now Lottie’s husband, said it so casually that Lottie’s expression instantly changed.

If I wasn’t imagining it, that look on her face was the kind you make when seriously debating whether or not to smack your husband right in front of a room full of Very Important People.

*

And sure enough, the inn was in chaos.

Actually, “inn” wasn’t even the right word for it. The place Lottie had arranged for her friends was far more upscale. It was a hotel—a place even nobles could stay without feeling embarrassed.

Maybe she’d received some funds from House Lindburrow ahead of the wedding? Duke Lindburrow might not be the most sentimental man, but he was at least someone who understood the importance of appearances. This much was expected.

“Y-Your Majesty...”

The manager looked torn between calling Alice an empress or an emperor, but in the end, he settled on the latter and gave a deep, respectful bow.

Officially speaking, no formal titles or honorifics had yet been established. There was still ongoing debate over voting rights, legal precedent, and constitutional interpretation. Technically, under imperial law, Alice—as a woman—didn’t have the right to vote, and now she sat on the throne. Lots of legal scholars were scrambling to reinterpret the law. Back in the day, when the emperor had absolute rule and there was no parliament, female monarchs didn’t cause ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) such headaches. Maybe the world’s moving too slowly to keep up.

Even with three years to prepare, the legislators were still dragging their feet—guess some things are universal.

“I was told there were people staying here I’d like to see.”

“Y-Yes, please, just say the word. We’ll do everything we can to assist you.”

At the manager’s response, Alice nodded with deliberate grace, then explained why we were there.

The manager promptly offered up an entire banquet hall.

“Whoa. This place is huge.”

Claire looked around the hall with wide eyes, visibly excited.

“So it wasn’t just big on the outside, huh?”

“Come on. Lottie arranged this for her friends. Like it was ever going to be just impressive on the outside,” Leo said with a teasing glance.

To be fair, the place really was a bit too large just for Lottie’s friends and us. Maybe the hotel gave us a room this spacious because of the emperor’s visit.

Whatever the manager’s reasoning, we settled in and waited.

“Um... Is this really okay?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Sophia looked around nervously and spoke like the quintessential commoner.

“Don’t worry. We’re not freeloading. We’ll pay properly when we leave. Can’t have anyone saying the emperor’s stingy,” Alice replied, glancing her way.

“And I’m not asking you to pay for anything, so relax.”

Sophia puffed up her cheeks in protest but sat down quietly again.

“There really was no need for all this...” Lottie said in a small voice, having followed us all the way here.

But everyone simply smiled at her.

Well—except for Mia and Lena, who still looked like they hadn’t quite processed what was happening. They’d been caught in the flow and dragged along before they even realized it.

They’ll be fine. Mia’s mood will melt the moment she gets something sweet to snack on, and Lena will soften up if I hand her one of the mini diggers I brought along.

“...Why are you looking so smug?”

Alice narrowed her eyes at me from across the table.

I just shrugged, and she gave me a glare but didn’t press. She must’ve figured she’d find out soon enough.

“Oh, right. What kind of drinks did you bring, anyway?” Claire asked Jake.

“Huh? Oh, honestly, I don’t know. I just grabbed whatever was lying around the house.”

“Young master...!”

Unable to hold it in any longer, Lottie burst out—and everyone in the room turned to look at her.

“Lottie, ‘young master’? I’m your husband now. You should be calling me ‘dear.’”

Now that sounded awkward.

Not because of Lottie—just because the two of them were the same age as the rest of us.

Technically, I was older on the inside, but even I had to admit that “dear” felt like a stretch for a pair of newlyweds barely out of school.

“Come on, come on. You’ve got to start calling me that now, right? We’re married! Isn’t that right, dear?”

Jake teased as he stepped closer, and Lottie bowed her head, trembling. Her ears and the back of her neck had turned beet red.

“D... D...”

“Huh? Can’t hear you~”

Jake leaned in even closer—

“Dear.”

Lottie raised her head, completely deadpan.

“Do you have any idea how expensive those bottles are?”

“Uh?”

And just like that, Jake’s very first “dear” was immediately followed by his wife’s very first scolding.