Most people have different personalities for different occasions. Libitina knew she had different faces for different people, and now, she wore her most regal face.
Down casted eyes, chin slightly lifted, face devoid of emotions but painted with a hint of pride to represent her position as the heir of the Marquis House of Merveille.
Beside her, the First Princess wore her customary fairy smile as the two of them walked into the white garden.
"Lady Merveille, how nice to see you!"
"Lady Merveille, there has been much news about you nowadays."
The voices of the people sounded and Libitina went through the motions of greeting and small talk. As this was a party hosted by a Lady, there were more people of the female gender, although there were young men as well.
However, her mind was elsewhere. Inside her head, she was wondering if her teachers from Earth knew that she was using their communication skills well. In the Business university that she had been in, everyone wore penguin attires and had to learn to perform small talk, an essential skill for making acquaintances. Naturally, the people who could attend the First Princess' tea party were all of the highest ranks, and most of them were political allies of the Royal family.
"Lady Merveille, when will your shops open?" One of the gentlemen asked. "I am thinking to bring my friends there to have a look, and wonder if you might have any suggestions on what is suitable for me."
"Even though we are all nobility with access to magic, it will be an interesting experience to see what kind of products the commoners are interested in," a lady dressed in baby pink quipped behind her fan.
"Well," Libitina smiled, "I invite everyone to come take a look at the shops which will be opened in a few weeks' time. Everything that is produced would be interesting, because they are products never before seen in public."
A man with a bulbous nose laughed. "How can that be? Why would the commoners need new things? They should be pleased enough with what we currently have. Lady Merveille, perhaps you can reserve those new items for us, the people who can and would surely reward you highly. I've heard that you collaborated with the Magic Tower, and hold immense interest in your products…"
"Oh," Libitina laughed. "Is that so? The power of the mass market still seems to elude some people. Unfortunately, I've also never heard of a Marquis' daughter needing rewards from the son of an Earl, who held his title only through inter-aristocracy marriages. What kind of rewards…do you think you can give?"
"Lady Merveille," one of the maids walked to the group and whispered, "The First Princess calls for you."
Libitina faintly smiled, ignoring the red-raced angry man as she faced the group. "It was a pleasure talking to everyone. Do please come to the shops; you only have to mention my name to get a discount. There will certainly be something for everyone. Pardon me."
When Libitina followed the maid to the corner where the First Princess was, she felt an urgent tug on her arm before she was being pulled to the window.
"Look, Lina, look!" the princess cheered softly.
Outside the window, the garden was suffused with a vibrant energy of liveliness. The trees and bushes were dedicatedly pruned and maintained by expert gardeners and horticulturalists, as well as landscape designers who would change the garden layout by the season. Aside from the fairy statues and decorations that gave the garden some class, Libitina could see two figures walking around underneath the shade of an old tree, which tree branches towered and reached towards the blue gay sky.
One of the figures was obviously Samantha, as seen from her fiery red hair, a signature of the famous agrarian Josephian family. Samantha Josephian was the youngest of seven daughters of Viscount Jospehian. Libitina got to know her through Sperenza. With an outspoken personality as loud as her hair colour, Samantha and Libitina quickly became good friends and then business partners in the agricultural industry. By sharing her knowledge on modern agricultural concepts and ideas, Libitina increased the output of the Josephian fields. The two families also cross-sold their products in their territories.
The boy she was with was a stranger, though. Sperenza and Libitina watched as the red-haired girl bent down and pointed at the base of the tree, and the dark-haired boy squatted down and started fiddling with the ground. They then stood up and walked to the next tree, where they chatted and pointed to the foliage in interest.