chapter 64

On the day of the harvest festival.

Since the estate where the harvest festival was held was a little far from the Grand Duchy, they had to leave early in the morning. May made a fuss when she found out that Ben and Cersinia had promised to go to the harvest festival just the two of them. She then rolled up her sleeves, saying she would help her unconditionally. Cersinia refused, saying staying still was helpful, but May didn’t give up.

“You don’t have time to sleep now!” May burst open Cersinia’s door and shouted.

The blue dawn with the moonlight still in the sky.

“What? From this early morning…”

Cersinia, not yet awake, furrowed her sleepy eyelids. Perhaps because she was half-asleep, she couldn’t open her eyes properly.

“To get ready, we have to work diligently from now on.”

“I will help too!”

Verne also went straight into the bathroom, turned on the water on the bathtub, and came out. Cersinia looked at them with half-open eyes in her bed. Verne and May were burning with enthusiasm.

‘Ah, I shouldn’t have said it.’

She told them because they would be worried if she left the mansion without saying a word, but regrets flowed over, looking at the two of them now. Cersinia buried her face under the pillow as if she didn’t want to deal with them.

“Hurry up! Hurry and wash up!”

May quickly removed the blanket covered Cersinia as if she had no intention of going easy.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s still late. Hurry up and go to the bathroom!”

May pulled Cersinia’s limp arm. The appointment time was after having breakfast a little earlier than usual. So now it was at least 4 hours before the departure time.

“Lady Cersinia, there’s a lot to prepare. Lady has to wake up and hurry up.”

Verne urged her together with May. Cersinia had no choice but to get out of bed because the two were still nagging even if she blocked her ears that she didn’t want to hear them. It was a good thing that she didn’t say that Ben confessed. They would have stayed up and tried to coach her if she had said that.

“Wash up quickly. Put a lot of fragrance on your hair!”

May’s meddling continued until Cersinia entered the bathroom. Soaking in a bathtub with an awakened mind, she hugged her knees. She only slept for a few hours, and it was exhausting because the two of them had been making a fuss since dawn. However, after exhaustion, there was a subtle excitement.

With a splash, she pulled her hand out of the bathtub and looked at it. With this hand, she grabbed Ben’s hand. Her heart pounded when Ben smiled brightly and told her that he was happy. Cersinia once again was ashamed of her aggressive behavior, and her head was steaming.

‘Why did I do that?’

She had already made up her mind to reject Ben. She knows that the more ambiguous she acts, the more it will hurt Ben.

“I have to tell him today.”

She needs to clearly express her rejection of him. It made her feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. Cersinia wanted to lighten her burden off even for a moment, so she submerged her head in the bathtub water.

* * *

“Makeup? Why do I need to put on makeup?!” Cersinia shouted in amazement.

After taking a bath, she dried her wet hair well for two hours. It was thanks to May and Verne’s hard work pressing down on the towel. However, as if waiting for her hair to dry, they took out cosmetics and displayed them on the dressing table.

May talked with a very mischievous smile, “Since it’s a date, you have to dress up!”

“No, this isn’t it!”

Makeup is too much for a date, and it only made misunderstandings that Cersinia paid attention to. She jumped from her seat to run away, but May pressed her shoulder, and Cersinia had no choice but to sit again.

“Lady Cersinia, what would happen if you went to the harvest festival held in the estate with the Grand Duke?”

“How is it going to be?”

“Of course, people of the territory will glance at lady Cersinia, right? And say who is the person next to the Grand Duke?”

May knew very well how to deal with Cersinia. If she says she will dress her up to look good for her date, Cersinia will definitely refuse until the end. Because she dresses up for herself. But what if Cersinia recognizes that she is in a situation where she is trying to save face and dignity of another person? Cersinia, who is delicate and considerate, will surely dress up herself, even if she doesn’t like it. May had no doubt that Cersinia, whom she had known so far, would refuse it.

“…”

Cersinia’s mouth snapped like a conch. When she heard it, she noticed that there was nothing wrong with May’s words.

“There will be a lot of eyes for sure. So you have to put on makeup.”

“…You can’t be serious.”

Even with a shaky expression on her face, she eventually said yes. May exchanged glances with Verne, singing delight inwardly. Verne nodded and walked straight up to open the door.

“You can start now!”

When the door opened, the servants outside the door rushed in.

“All of them…”

Cersinia was so surprised that her jaw almost fell out. She saw the servants greeting her with wide eyes.

“It’s an important job that requires a professional touch.”

May smiled and gestured with a humorous gesture, and then the servants moved in unison. Cersinia sat in the chair blankly. The brush ruffled her face over and over again, and her hair almost pulled out due to the force, but the makeup session didn’t show the sign of ending.

Cersinia stopped thinking about this situation. She had already crossed a river of no return when she nodded her head to May. The dim dawn passed, and dawn began to rise. Cersinia had to have the unique experience of seeing the sunrise while being decorated. She was dressed up in her room with May’s words that she shouldn’t show her face to Ben until just before they departed. She was very hungry from not being able to sleep properly.

“As expected, you’re so beautiful.”

“You’re so pretty, Lady Cersinia.”

Everyone complimented her one by one as it was finally over. The makeup she received was truly amazing. She would have finished her makeup in 10 minutes if it was her former self, but it took an hour. If she went on two dates, she would die before going there.

“Wow! Cersinia! You’re so pretty!” May let out an exclamation.

“Lady is truly the most beautiful person I have ever seen!” Verne was so moved that she didn’t know how to close her open mouth.

Cersinia wondered if they were teasing her and stood in front of the full-body mirror at their reaction.

“…”

She was speechless.

She hadn’t changed much from usual, but the image she felt was very different. Her eyes were sharper than usual, her eyebrows fuller and her lips gleaming red and moist as if they had cut pomegranate. Her skin wasn’t just white, but glowing like you can see the reflection from it. Her long hair, which always put down, was made into thin braids. In the novel, her appearance, which was always compared to a rose, became like a pure red lily for today.

“It’s pretty, right?” May smiled, satisfied.

“Um, the dress… We have to choose one that matches the lady’s current look as much as possible.”

Verne and May wrapped their heads around each other and looked through the closet. Cersinia was still staring blankly in the mirror. Her new appearance was so strange and unfamiliar to her. Perhaps that’s why she felt a little nervous about the date.

* * *

“He is waiting in front of the door.”

May checked her outfit until the end. Cersinia wore a chemise dress that was easy to work with. It alone has a thin feel, so she wore an open-sided white cloak over. The subtly reddish red also matched her hair color. It was the unanimous choice by everyone, but it was also the best dress in her wardrobe.

“I’ll help you.”

With Verne’s help, Cersinia went down the stairs. She wore shoes that were higher than usual, so she kept shaking. She took her steps carefully to not fall as much as possible. As she took step by step, she could see someone’s long legs standing in front of the door. The more she took steps, the firm chest and neat outfit caught her eyes.

A fully dressed figure of Ben came into her sight. His black hair shone brightly under the sun with indifferent-looking dark purple eyes. Below that, a high sharp nose and tightly closed lips. Even his jawline seems to have been carefully sculpted by the sculptor. With his perfect appearance, Ben stood waiting for Cersinia.

Cersinia’s heart fluttered. Just seeing his figure waiting for her seemed to heat up her whole body. She was embarrassed by the suffocating silence and the hot gaze that penetrated her skin. Hence, she quickly went down the remaining stairs.

She was so ashamed of the suffocating silence and the hot gaze penetrating her skin that she quickly went down the remaining stairs.

“Ah, Lady Cersinia!”

Cersinia ended up stumbling on her foot. With Verne’s voice, her body staggered down the stairs. That moment she thought she was going to fall without being able to react because it happened so quickly.

Plop.

“Are you okay?”

She could feel a warm breath on her cheek. There was no pain. She didn’t even fall. It was just a firm and warm hand embracing her tight. When she looked down in surprise, Ben’s two arms were wrapped around her waist. Cersinia then raised her head. The gap with Ben was so close that their lips almost touched each other.