Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Mitzu, now glaring, handed over a folded piece of paper.

Erina, who received the envelope, blinked in surprise.

“What’s this?”

Hael nudged Mitzu’s side with her elbow–as he was ignoring Erina’s question– urging him to answer.

“Can’t you tell? It’s an invitation to the ball!”

Mitzu declared confidently, folding his arms.

At his words, Erina carefully inspected the envelope again.

No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like an invitation. It was rough to the touch, not the smooth texture one would typically expect for such an occasion.

“At the very least, shouldn’t there be a seal of the Harrison family on it?

This envelope looked more like a challenge letter than an invitation.

Erina hesitated but opened the dark-colored envelope, only to find an even more absurd-looking invitation inside.

<Erina>

Date: O Month XX Day, 5:00 PM

Location: Heriobe Castle, 32nd Annex

Details: Ball

P.S.: Attendance mandatory.

“Oh dear…”

A sigh escaped her lips. Seeing her grim expression, Mitzu and Hael stomped their feet in frustration.

“What’s with that reaction, human woman?!”

“Woman?!”

Erina quickly closed the envelope as though trying to erase what she had just seen, placing it on the table.

Resen, grabbing the envelope, read its contents aloud before gasping.

“Look at this! Mitzu and Hael gave Erina a threat letter!”

‘Threat’? 

The mere word sent chills down the children’s spines, prompting Lia and Poi to check the letter themselves.

Shortly after, they reacted just as Resen had.

“Mitzu! If you want to hurt Erina, you’ll have to get through me first!”

“Poi… Poi won’t let this slide either!”

Mitzu’s brow twitched at their determined protests.

“How is this a threat letter? It’s an invitation to a ball!”

“Liar!”

“Are you kidding me? Human woman! Haven’t you taught them properly?”

Though she was well-acquainted with Mitzu’s temper, Erina had plenty to say this time. The children’s reaction was entirely reasonable.

“Mitzu, the children are well-educated, which is why they’re saying this.”

“Haah?!”

“Not just the children—anyone receiving this so-called invitation would have the same reaction.”

“Haah?!”

“Did you send this kind of invitation only to me? If so, I’d feel relieved…”

Erina speculated that Mitzu, not particularly fond of her, might have sent this kind of ‘invitation’ as a deliberate slight.

However, her assumption was quickly proven wrong.

“No way! I don’t discriminate over trivial things like this! Everyone else will get the same one!”

“Same one!”

So much for hoping it was just her. 

Erina’s fleeting wish was thoroughly crushed.

“Mitzu, have you sent invitations to others yet?”

“No, not yet. You’re the first. Dylan kept nagging me to prioritize you, so here it is!”

“Hah…”

Erina let out a sigh of relief. At least she now had time to fix this disaster.

Seeing her reaction, Mitzu and Hael finally realized something might be amiss.

“What? What’s wrong with it?”

“Well, for starters, the envelope lacks the Harrison family’s seal. It’s essential to include a recognizable mark so that other families can identify it at a glance.”

“Really? We’ll just seal them before sending them, then. We can get the stamp from Dylan!”

Mitzu shrugged, unimpressed, as if this was no big deal.

“And second.”

“Second?!”

Mitzu exclaimed, shocked there was more.

“The envelope should be made of a softer, more visually appealing material. Since this is for a celebratory ball, it’d be better if the design reflected a more festive atmosphere.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“And third.”

“There’s a third?!” [mfn]My stomach!Lol![/mfn]

Mitzu and Hael’s jaws dropped.

Was there really so much to consider just for a ball invitation? 

Yet Erina’s calm and persuasive voice compelled them to listen further.

“An invitation should include details about the purpose of the party and a polite request for the recipient to attend. That way, guests can prepare in advance. It’s also helpful to mention any special requirements or guidelines.”

“Oh, I see!”

“Yes. If you write the contents as you did here, even if it’s a ball, people would feel reluctant to attend because the invitation lacks sincerity.”

Mitzu and Hael flinched at her words, their shoulders tensing.

Erina’s precise critique had hit the mark, and the children eagerly chimed in to back her up.

Resen, in particular, looked at the invitation Mitzu handed her as if it were some barbaric object.

“Mitzu, at least take a look at this before rewriting the invitation.”

With that, he handed over a fairy tale book from the table titled ‘You’ve Been Invited to the Fairy’s Birthday Party!’ 

Coincidentally, the first thing in the book was about a fairy’s birthday party invitation.

As Mitzu read the fairy’s warm and friendly invitation, his ears turned slightly red.

It seemed he had finally realized that his own invitation was somewhat lacking in kindness.

Instead of continuing to point out Mitzu’s shortcomings, Erina decided to help him find a solution.

“If you don’t mind, Mitzu, I’d like to help you with the invitation. Would that be okay?”

“A human woman like you?!”

“Do you not want me to?”

“What?! I totally do! Should we start now?”

The children puffed out their cheeks in dissatisfaction at Mitzu for stealing Erina’s attention, but soon they settled down and watched quietly.

Before making any changes to the invitation, Erina asked Mitzu,

“By the way, did you get Dylan’s approval? If so, we should probably get his permission before making changes.”

“Dylan? Nope! Dylan told me to handle everything on my own!”

“I… I see.”

Even if Dylan had given Mitzu full authority, he probably hadn’t expected things to be this much of a mess.

Erina was relieved that Dylan wasn’t aware of the situation yet as she sat at the table and began drafting the invitation.

Erina had never been invited to an official banquet or party herself. However, since Luan often showed her romance novels, which frequently included scenes about grand social events, she was quite familiar with how invitations should be written.

A simple greeting, the purpose of the gathering, a polite request for attendance, and a closing statement wishing prosperity and good health to the recipient—just like that, a refined invitation format was complete.

In less than five minutes, the entire tone of the invitation had changed.

Mitzu couldn’t help but let out an impressed exclamation in his mind.

“Whoa!”

Hael, on the other hand, openly expressed his admiration.

The human girl is truly talented. 

Normally, invitations like these would be written by a hired writer from the estate, but since Mitzu and Hael had no interest in knowing who their household staff even were, they had haphazardly thrown something together.

It was sheer luck that Erina had been given the invitation first—otherwise, they would have sent out something that the social circles would gossip about for years.

Erina ended up bringing Mitzu, Hael, and the children back to the mansion.

After all, there were far too many details to decide when sending an invitation.

They had to choose the paper, envelope, sealing wax color, and even decorative embellishments for the envelope.

This meant they also needed to consult the servants about a million different things.

In the end, the overwhelmed servants, terrified by Mitzu and Hael’s intimidating presence, hurriedly summoned the official writer employed by House Harrison, bringing the invitation fiasco to a close.

“If it weren’t for Erina, Mitzu and Hael would’ve been laughed at!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Erina Mama is the smartest!”

The children teased Mitzu and Hael as they munched on snacks.

Somehow, the two dragons had ended up sitting with them during snack time, their faces flushed red with embarrassment.

However, this time, they had no choice but to admit that Erina had saved them.