About ten-odd minutes later.
A ship's silhouette appeared faintly in the distance. Amande and her two sisters immediately went to meet it. As the distance closed, the vessel became clearer—it was a lavishly decorated pleasure barge.
The Charlotte Family's enormous cake ships were already ostentatious enough, but this barge outdid them by far.
There were only a handful of people on deck. At their head stood a young woman with short golden hair, a white flowered hat, and an ivory dress that accentuated her elegant, graceful bearing.
She was none other than Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District.
"My, how embarrassing."
Before she arrived, her apologetic laughter carried over. "I was already nearly late, and now I've made you come all this way to welcome me. It's been a long time, Amande."
"It is only proper, Lady Stussy."
Even Amande's face, frosty as ice all year round, showed a somewhat unnatural smile. She dipped slightly in a bow.
"Most of the guests have already arrived, and the tea party will officially begin in a few hours. Please rest at the castle first. Someone there will escort you to the banquet hall."
"Very well."
Stussy flicked the golden hair by her ear and smiled charmingly.
With a white handbag hooked over her arm, she made her way elegantly across the lawn.
A luxurious pig carriage was already waiting there. Behind Stussy, several people who were clearly attendants promptly followed close behind.
These attendants were all rather bizarre-looking.
There was a huge half-giant, a furry panda girl... and even the only one with a roughly normal build stood over three meters tall, wearing a white hood that concealed his face.
Someone whose face couldn't be seen... Yashu frowned and instinctively reached out to stop him for inspection, but a cold, slender