CHAPTER 363: PLANNING FOR THE PARTY

"Hurry up!! Arrange that part!" I say to the maids as they move a table to the side following my commands.

"No!! More to the right, a little back" I change the table’s place again, I’m making the preparations for Pandora’s birthday, it has to be perfect and better than last year’s.

"Elena-sama, is this good?" A maid asks as I nod and they place the table on the floor, we’re using a special wing of the castle for the party.

We normally should do this in the throne room, but we decided to make a change and do it somewhere else, to avoid any issues from happening.

After all, in the first birthday party Pandora disappeared, and at Eclipsya’s birth party someone broke in through the window only to find out Pandora had another daughter, so I think having the party in a place where no one can just show up out of nowhere is better.

"What do you think about this, Lilith?" I ask as Lilith seems to be thinking about what to say, analyzing the scene with her hand on her chin.

"I think you’re being way too...bossy" Lilith speaks without any filter.

"Yeah! This is tyranny disguised as perfection, the maids can’t keep up with your orders, especially with you giving so many in a row" Nyx adds.

"I-I also t-think you should go a bit s-slower" Kaos speaks more timidly.

"I don’t see any problems?" Iris, as the youngest of the heads, seems confused and speaks that she doesn’t see any problems as a question, which is slightly funny.

"Haa...well, maybe I went a bit too far...I’m just trying to get everything right" I say as I look around, I’m being a bit too much of a perfectionist with this party.

"Is it because of your mom?" Lilith asks as I nod, my mom will definitely come to this party, at the last party I couldn’t even talk to her, in this one I wanted at least a chance to talk to her properly.

"Since there will be many guests and it’s Pandora’s birthday, it’s certain that she’ll come...so I wanted it to be perfect" I say as I sit down on a chair while they also sit down.

"Elena, there are still 7 days until the birthday, and you’ve already ordered everything, don’t worry, everything will be perfect, and even if it’s not, I know Pandora wouldn’t mind, after all, she’s quite...unique" Lilith speaks with a smile on her face.

"I know, it’s just that she has an image that only grows bigger over time, you know? So it feels like if it’s not perfect, I’ll be staining her image" I say as Lilith nods.

"I understand, that child who could only destroy a village has now grown up and even become a goddess, the weight of the responsibility must be enormous" She speaks as I agree.

"Yes...I feel...unworthy of the position of importance I have" I have a very important position, I take care of many things in the castle, I take care of events, I even have the right to give important orders.

I have as much power as a queen would in terms of governance, which shows how much Pandora trusts me, but the more important she becomes, the heavier the expectations that fall on me.

"Elena, if you weren’t fit for the position, I’m sure Pandora would demote you to a lower position, don’t you think? Pandora is very rational when it comes to this."

"Proof of this is Queen Zephyra, even though she’s the queen, she barely has access to important decisions, her opinion can’t prevent orders or similar things, the most she can do is see what it’s about."

"Showing that Pandora doesn’t choose who takes care of things based on feelings, she chooses based on real merit in the position" She speaks as I agree, if Pandora had chosen only based on feelings,

Then Zephyra would be the one doing everything I do, but she’s not capable of doing all the work I do, there’s a lot of it and some have a direct impact on the kingdom and the population.

"Well, I guess I should do my best to maintain the position, huh?" I say it as a slightly serious joke, since if I don’t do well, it’s obvious that Pandora will remove me from the position.

"Good thing you’re intelligent, Elena, honestly, your future would be truly horrible if you weren’t smart" She speaks in a maternal way, but I don’t understand if it’s a compliment or an insult for me being weak.

"Hey, you two, could you help me?" Suddenly, Zephyra joins the conversation, I didn’t even notice when she came to this place, usually she’s just wandering around the castle, sunbathing, or eating ice cream while reading books.

"Do you need something, Queen Zephyra?" I say as Zephyra makes a funny face at the way I call her.

"You don’t have to call me queen, Elena...anyway, I came here to ask for help, I want to choose a good birthday present for Pandora, but I’m not sure what she would like."

"So I thought I’d try to find out more about what Pandora likes, she’s always so...assertive, she knew exactly the things I wanted, so I also want to give her something I know she would like" Zephyra speaks as we think about Pandora.

"How about each of us talk about what we know, and then we decide together?" I say as Zephyra agrees.

"Okay, okay, then I’ll be the first one" Lilith speaks as everyone agrees, soon Lilith closes her eyes before speaking what she thinks.

"Pandora likes to fight, eat, and enjoys the feeling of hunting something alive" Lilith speaks more from her own experience, and since she’s already fought against Pandora, this vision makes sense.

"Pandora likes to feel at the limit of something, rushing headfirst into what she likes" Nyx speaks excitedly, again from an experience she’s already felt.

"I-I think P-Pandora likes d-displays of affection" Kaos speaks as Iris seems to be thinking about what to say.

"Well...Pandora cut off one of our heads, making me be born, and I barely spent time with her, so I think she’s a really strong person, so she must like things that last a long time" Iris speaks, and I decide to speak.

"Pandora likes her things to remain hers alone, so whether it’s something that doesn’t last, or something to keep for a long time, it doesn’t matter, as long as she feels that it’s uniquely hers" I say as Zephyra nods.

"I see, it seems that most of the things here align..." Zephyra murmurs as she seems to be thinking about what she could give as a gift.

"Elena, could you release the money from the treasury for me to buy something for her?" Zephyra speaks as I nod yes.

"Are you going to buy something already made, or are you going to buy materials to make something?" I ask curiously.

"It’s a secret, I’ll let only Pandora know, but thank you for the help, it really helped me a lot" She speaks as she leaves, leaving me and Lilith curious about what she’s going to do.

"Who would have thought that girl would become like this" Lilith speaks as I agree, in the beginning she was quite "bitter", Pandora really changed her a lot with her love.

"But she’s better than in the past, honestly, her personality in the past was kind of unbearable, she treated even the maids like trash, I guess having Pandora chasing her lovingly taught her to be better..."

"Actually, she was forced to improve hahahah" Lilith laughs, leaving me confused, I don’t know everything Pandora did to Zephyra, I only know certain parts, while Lilith knows much more than I do.

I only know that Pandora did really terrible things to Zephyra before Zephyra decided to accept her love, now the two are like lovesick lovebirds who get along very well.

"Don’t worry about trying to think about that, Elena, actually, I think it’s better not to want to know, it was really terrible, Pandora is scary when it comes to love" Lilith speaks with a shiver.

"..." Unfortunately, I have to agree, especially because I’ve already experienced how her obsession can be horrible to deal with, even though she doesn’t love me and treats me more like a possession.

"Well, I have to go, Elena, try to be gentler with the maids, the party doesn’t need to be perfect, the party just needs to be well done not to dishonor Pandora, so don’t demand too much from the poor maids" Lilith speaks as she starts walking to leave.

"Besides, I also need to go with Zephyra, if she’s going out, I need to accompany her for her safety, after all, she’s the queen of demons, and she shouldn’t be in danger...I think Pandora would cut off my head if Zephyra was at risk"

"Okay...thanks for the chat, I’ll try to be less bossy with the maids" I say to her as she nods, soon I’m back to thinking about the party.

’Considering that Pandora likes meat, especially something still alive, and that Azazel is a half-vampire...maybe I should have live meals on the tables?’ The problem with a live meal is that it hasn’t been treated enough.

It can struggle, and scream, which is not pleasant at a party, so I think about how to do this.

"Hey, maid, ask the kitchen if they can paralyze a living being, prevent spasms and convulsions while still keeping the being alive and its meat soft" I say, thinking if they can do that.

"Understood, Elena-sama, one moment" A maid speaks and starts walking quickly as I continue supervising everything carefully to avoid obvious mistakes.

’I hope Pandora likes the party...’ I feel a bit nervous, but I think I can make this party amazing.