"Something wrong?" (Vivian)

  "Viv! Shut it!" (Isabella)

  "I am so sorry, that is the most embarrassing thing I have done all my life. I greatly apologize, your ladyship." (Morris)

  "Holy Guacamole! What got you two so worked up?" (Vivian)

  "I am sorry, sir. She doesn't mean any of that. It was just a joke." (Isabella)

  "I don't seem to understand." (Morris)

  "No jokes here, on my part." (Vivian)

  "Vivian, you are a sister to me and all but I swear to God..." (Isabella)

  "A sister?! I thought I was your step-dau..." (Vivian)

  "I love you but I'll kill you." (Isabella)

  "Alright, that seems like a safe word." (Vivian)

  "..." (Morris)

  It was a hectic scene that Vivian initiated with no bad intentions. At first, she approached Isabella who was talking with that exotic-looking man. Usually, this is the sort of people Isabella would mix up with, for example, Kai and Lan. However, it seemed that the stepmom joke had its limits and Isabella was all over the place for some reason.

  Was it this guy?

  Vivian eyed the man strangely but Isabella seemed to have figured everything out all at once. If it is a Vigonzan man with a moniker in this high-end party, it must be no one but the man, myth, and legend himself, De Brosa.

  As Isabella realized that, Vivian was already shaking hands with the man.

  "Nice to meet you, I am Vivian Moore."

  "Morrone Aldine."

  Morris replied with his real name but it seemed that Vivian wasn't aware of his identity like Isabella.

  {A/n: Everyone, prepare the hand.}

  "Oh mio Dio! Un Vigonzani a casa nostra!" (Oh my god! A Vigonzan at our house!)

  "Sorpresa! I Vigonzani sono ovunque." (Surprise! Vigonzans are everywhere.)

  "Allora, cosa ne pensi della nostra festa?" (So, what do you think of our party?)

  "è fantastica, signorina Vivian." (It's amazing, Miss Vivian.)

  As it seemed Vivian and Morris hit it off immediately, the tense Isabella hit Vivian with her elbow and interrupted them with a smile.

  "Oh, she speaks so many languages, isn't she quite amazing? Excuse us for a second, sir."

  Isabella immediately grabbed Vivian to the side and seemed to be going to give her an earful but Vivian slipped like a squirmy slime and immediately escaped from Isabella.

  "Oh, look! It's Edith. Over here!"

  "Vivian! Get back here!"

  Vivian dropped the bomb and retreated immediately, leaving Isabella and Morris in the most awkward situation ever. Just a minute ago, Morris approached Isabella with his best pickup lines thinking she was Vivian, then the real Vivian came over and acted chummy around them, thinking this man was one of Isabella's friends and is used to her shenanigans. Now, Morris stood awkwardly not knowing what to do while Isabella tried to avoid eye contact from all the first and secondhand embarrassments she went through in less than a minute.

  Eventually, Isabella let out a sigh and cooled off. Social interactions are fertile ground for embarrassing situations and this much is not the end of the world. Facing the famous Morris De Brosa, she cleared her voice and extended her hand properly.

  "Isabella De Clare."

  Opposite to her, it seemed that Morris had the same chain of thoughts. He graciously held her hand, his touch barely there, and lowered his head. His lips hovered a breath away from her knuckles, but they never made contact, showing respect as he looked up to her.

  "I see now where the misunderstanding stemmed from. My associate pointed out Lady Vivian earlier but you were right beside her. You are also the daughter of a Count so... this may have led to that." He said.

  "It's alright, sir. An honor to finally meet you after hearing so many tales of your adventures." She responded.

  "I am so honored, my lady."

  "Well... I see that you have business with Vivian but... quite the jokester she is!"

  "It's alright. I understood that there was an inside joke... albeit a bit late."

  "Alright. I guess I'll have to fetch her for you then. Don't wander off, Sir."

  Immediately, Isabella stormed away and Morris raised his hand while trying to call her back but his words got stuck in his throat and fell back to his chest quite bitterly. By the time he let out a sigh and looked around a bit to check out the musicians, Isabella was already back with the red-handed Vivian and dragged with them, Edith Black.

  "Oh, hello again." Vivian said as soon as she saw Morris.

  "Hello."

  Isabella approached Vivian's ear and whispered to her a few words before the latter went through a few shifts of expressions before looking at Morris with wide eyes.

  "An honor to finally meet you, Sir!" Vivian said.

  "The honor is mine." Morris said while still looking at Isabella who avoided eye contact with him.

  Vivian didn't miss the awkwardness in the air and looked closely at Isabella...

  "Hmm?!"

  ... then at Morris...

  "Hum!"

  ... then at Isabella...

  "Eeh..."

  ... then back at Morris...

  "Aha!"

  There, she felt something. There was a lot of static energy that she started to detect but she couldn't put her hand on the problem and so she shifted her attention to Morris solely.

  "So... I heard from Isabella that you wanted to see me personally based on a recommendation from my father." She said.

  "Indeed, my lady. Many words of your achievements have reached me and by simply being here, I am already in awe. These starlights and the mysterious powers behind them... I believed coming here would be an adventure of its own and it seems I am quite right." He spoke while looking up at the lamps adorning the chandeliers and walls.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I'm not the maker myself, that would be our celebrity, Professor Bellfield." Vivian replied.

  "I know. I had the pleasure of meeting him upstairs." Morris nodded.

  "Which brings me to the topic, what is going on upstairs? I just tried to intrude and see what was going on but to my surprise, the butlers wouldn't let me in." Vivian complained.

  "Well... from what it seemed, Lord Moore has something planned and intends to introduce everyone upstairs to the gathering at the same time for some reason I can't fathom."

  "He does?" Vivian frowned hearing what Morris said then mumbled to herself, "Why?"

  The situation was a bit out of the norm, and Vivian felt a prickle of unease. But before she could fully process the strangeness, a wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd. The noise grew steadily, and all eyes turned towards the stairway as several figures emerged from the shadows.

  In the center of those figures were the two counts, Julian Moore and Alexander De Clare, around them were many other nobles, scholars, and celebrities who seemed to have been brought inside through a different door. Just then, the unusually strong voice of the head butler, Old Theo, was heard heralding the people coming from upstairs.

  "My lords, ladies, and gentlemen, your host: The Right Honourable Julian Moore, Count of Western Morvia and the Avalai Frontier, accompanied by Sir Theodore Nightingale as well as Sir Wilhelm Bellfield, Dame Lilian Cavendish..."

  The monotonous drone of Old Theo's voice continued as he announced name after name. Suddenly, a touch on her shoulder broke her from her reverie. She turned, her eyes widening in surprise as she recognized the newcomer. With a practiced grace, she dipped into a respectful curtsy.

  "Lord De Clare. An honor to meet you."

  "Young Vivian, it has been so long."

  "I thought you were with my father at your private party upstairs."

  "Oh, I knew you'd be upset. I told Julian not to do it."

  Vivian turned around to look at her father who just met her eyes from upstairs before he looked at the smiling Count Alexander with a frown.

  "Then why have all those people upstairs? Now the party will take twice as long until I can do my..."

  "Don't get upset at your father." Count Alexander said and assured her, "The plan is to actually introduce them all in one go and before they mix with the crowd down here, you will be called immediately to start your thing."

  "Wait..." Vivian turned to Count Alexander with a frown, "That was your plan, Count, wasn't it? You are the one who plotted it."

  "Did I?" Count Alexander shamelessly asked without fully denying it.

  "Yes. Father isn't used to hosting such gatherings in order to smoothly handle that. On the other hand, you are Count De Clare." She pointed.

  "Well... you were always a sharp one." He said with a laid-back smile.

  "So, instead of making all these celebrities take the limelight..." Vivian said as she turned to see her father.

  "Your father is just clearing the stage for you."

  In stark contrast to the aloof and unapproachable Count Moore, Count De Clare was a true social butterfly, just like the rest of his family. He possessed an innate ability to enliven any gathering with his mere presence, a talent that seemed to run in the family blood.

  His idea was of true genius, in short, Count Moore seemed to have spoken with him about the situation Vivian may face and he suggested controlling the crowd by gathering all the influencing personalities in one place, introducing them in one go, then immediately giving the stage to Vivian.

  "Thank you, my Lord."

  Vivian turned to face Count De Clare who smiled back at her and replied.

  "You don't need to thank me, thank your father. Afterall, everything goes..."

  "Everything goes your way!"

  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes over that man's corny line. He's indeed a genius but he simply takes it too far with his attitude.

  "... and coming all the way from Vigonza, Lords and Ladies, Sir Morris De Brosa."

  Old Theo's voice echoed through the hall as he finished the list of names, concluding with Morris De Brosa. A wave of curiosity swept over the crowd, their eyes searching the faces above for the man who bore that name.

  From amidst the throng, a figure emerged, his long hair and exotic attire setting him apart. He'd been engaged in a hushed conversation with Count De Clare, but now, as he moved to join the others on the platform, he paused midway up the stairs. Turning to Vivian, he extended his hand towards her, a gesture that meant his request for her to join him.

  "Oh boy!"

  Vivian was quick to catch on and it seemed that Count De Clare's plan was quite extended and far from its end. This mastermind winked at her to join Morris and she was already swept by his plans. On the other hand, Isabella was right there watching it unfold and Vivian was never this worried in her life about Isabella.

  It seemed quite bad for the girl especially with her father literally pushing Vivian and Morris at each other.

  By the time Vivian and Morris climbed the stairs, Count Julian's cold gaze set them apart as one of them stood by his left and the other by his right. The count then spoke with a voice rich and resonant, filling the opulent hall.

  "Lords, ladies, and esteemed guests, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the mansion of House Moore this evening. As your host, it is my honor to open these halls to such a distinguished gathering of friends, allies, and luminaries. Tonight is not only a celebration of the founding of the Moore Conglomerate but also an opportunity to share in the great deeds we have all worked for and achieved since we last met. It is in moments like these, surrounded by such warmth and camaraderie, that the true spirit of our hard work shines brightest."

  He directed his attention to Vivian, his daughter, before addressing the crowd once more.

  "As per our customs, we begin this year's gathering with an event organized by the young rising stars of the conglomerate. This year, it is my pride and joy that this rising star is my daughter, Vivian. So... what have you prepared for us, Vivian?"

  Being thrown into the limelight like that, Vivian felt the excitement take over her. She steeled her nerves and took a few steps ahead to emerge in front of the whole gathering.

  "Lords and Ladies, friends and best friends. As you already know, my name is Vivian Moore and I am the director of my own little establishment, ViTech, a company specialized in establishing relations between scientists and pushing ahead all manner of useful innovations with the backing of the heavy pockets of... well... House Moore."

  Her first line showed her confidence in handling the crowd and how she didn't mind being a bit informal like how the youth would usually go.

  "So, I have prepared not one project, not two, and definitely not three... I have prepared Eight Projects for your satisfaction tonight. Each of which..."

  Just as Vivian was trying to finish her speech, the crowd immediately started to murmur out of control.

  Eight projects?

  Has ViTech, which was just established not too long ago, managed to make eight projects in this tight timeframe? This is either too incredible or too impossible... or both at the same time.

  "Ehem!" Vivian cleared her voice to regain her flow of the conversation before continuing, "Have I mentioned that we are not counting Project Bellfield since it is already all over us?"

  Vivian said that, referring to the light bulbs that were already illuminating the mansion. This sent a shiver through most of the crowd. As of right now, light bulbs were already the talk of town and everyone was associating it with ViTech as its best success right from the get-go. Excluding it only means one thing, Vivian has something big in store.

  "We at ViTech have worked tirelessly to bring to you eight new ideas. Surely some of them are not as exciting as the Light Bulb, some won't even affect your daily life directly, however, there are eight applications that will alter everything about the life we are living. These ideas were separated into 8 different locations in the mansion, you may have encountered some of them already but as planned, all the guests will be split into small groups, each of which will be led by a guide, and group by group we will uncover all these marvels to you all."

  Vivian's idea about a tour around the mansion may seem a bit tedious at first, but as she has already led with the fact that there are eight new inventions to show, the crowd is ready to do anything at the moment.

  As she said, the trained butlers and footmen were already equipped with enough knowledge about the projects spread around the mansion in order to give an informative explanation about each project. Vivian led the first group herself and with her, she invited most of the hot personalities, allowing them to witness and try all the inventions firsthand.

  "First, we'll start with something big. Project Philips or as we call it, the Rotary Printing Press. The real model is almost as large as a medium-sized room but this is a simple model that we prepared for this showcase. This printing press is faster and stronger than the usual manual printing press. The best part is that it is designed to be powered mechanically, meaning a lot less manpower is needed to maintain its workflow."

  "In the spirit of advancing writing technology, we introduce to you Project Clarke, or as we call it, the Typing Machine. This is unlike anything you've ever seen. Imagine simplifying the art of writing: no need to master calligraphy, just sit in front of this machine and press a key. Each key triggers a mechanical arm that imprints a letter onto the sheet of paper installed in the machine. As you press more keys, your words are written down with ease and precision."

  "I hope you have had your fun since the coming projects serve more auxiliary purposes. This here is Project Davis, a tiny miraculous marvel called Ball Bearings..."

  "Now we have arrived at Project Graham, the Smokestack Filters that will protect the environment around large factories and the inhabitants of these areas safe from health hazards..."

  "This here is Project Luis, funded heavily by Alba's Fashion House, we introduce the Sewing Machine..."

  "This tiny marvel holds within itself the greatest power of all. Project Harris, or as we call it, Friction Matches..."

  So far, Vivian had 6 projects showcased to the public, each of which was something that would indeed change life fundamentally for the upper and middle class.

  Only two projects remained and one of them was so big, it was meant to find its way to the heart of every household in the Albion.

  https://linktr.ee/donovel and click (P@treon)