The next morning had now dawned upon. Even so, she had already been anxious from last night when the Emperor came to deliver a dress for her.
Even before the sun had begun to rise, her eyes were set upon at the most bright and beautiful dress she had ever worn. The sleeves that came down to her elbows and the golden mesh that richly went down her skirt were giving it a pretty shine whenever light touched it.
After taking off her nightgown and washing her face clean, she slipped into the dress. And guess what? That gorgeous piece of clothing fit her figure perfectly. As if it was made as per her measurements the manufacturer measured.
She had heard some dresses were so beautiful that it seemed the wearer bore wings. âItâs true.â Even an ordinary skinny girl like her looked like a fairy in that rich hem of the long skirt, which reached until the floor around her in her barefoot. The dress that was reflecting the amber color of her eyes made her face glow like a lady.
As she blankly stared at herself in the mirror, she thought it might be too much. However, she had no clue about how she could put the makeup and accessories on herself.
She wasnât bold enough to be sure, so she asked for Luanaâs help. Luana wasnât allowed to enter the banquet. Only the Emperor, the officials, and the selected candidates of the Academy were allowed.
It took more than an hour to put on makeup and accessories. In any case, what made her more beautiful was due to those anyway. Leberty was aware of fashionable makeup, and sheâd often chat with Celestia, but she never thought sheâd be able to use it herself. Now that she had put on her shoes and accessories as well, she stood up and checked if she could balance herself perfectly. She looked fine.
When a knock on the door filled the silent room, she turned around to find Luana poking out her head from the crack.
ââŚâŚCelestia?â
âHuh? Co-Come on in.â
âOh my God, is that really you?â
âDonât you recognize me? Is the makeup damaged?â
Luana walked to her while pressing her own cheeks with her hands.
âYouâre so pretty. You donât even look like a human being. How is your waist so slim? And even your makeup is perfect.â
âWhat? Youâre more beautiful.â
âIt seems like something really changes for the better when you decorate itâŚâŚWow, where did you get this dress? That necklace is stylish as well. You have keen eyes, you know..â
âI didnât pick it.â
âThenâŚâŚ..?â
Luanaâs eyes grew double their size before she could even answer.
âOh my, are you seeing anyone at the Academy?â
âItâs not like that.â
But, Luana wasnât the type of person who would listen to it as it was.
âBy any chance, is it the guy you won first place with? You did say he was very kind to you.â
âNo, itâs not that either.â
âIs he attending the banquet today?â
âWhatâŚâŚâ
Celestia should have denied it, but the face of the Emperor suddenly appeared in front of her.
When her voice trailed off, Luana snapped her fingers, drawing Celestiaâs attention to her and letting her sit on the chair.
âLet me help you with your hair. Promise me youâll do your best when weâre done here.â
âYesâŚ..Thank you.â
Luanaâs âdo your bestâ seemed different from what Celestia was thinking, but she couldnât say more when she noticed her excited face reflected in the mirror.
She was already exhausted from the preparation. She spent some more time in her room, afraid sheâd have to stand on her heels for a long time if she went early.
Eventually, when she peeked out of her room and glanced at the garden, she spotted several carriages lined up in an orderly fashion. They seemed to be arriving one after the other.
She watched for quite a while with her arm resting on the window sill until her eyes spotted a familiar pattern. On a blue background, a line was drawn up and down in light green, and in the middle, a mermaid with a star on her hand is seen. The royal emblem of Goldina.
She came to her senses.
At once, she recalled that the main agenda of the banquet was to celebrate the coalition, but what she didnât know was that even the royal figures would attend.
If she had worn the Academic uniform at such a place, it definitely would have stood out in a disrespectful manner.
âWould the Empress Dowager allow to foster the talents of the Academy in front of the Emperor?â The more she thought of it, the more complicated it became. If the Empress Dowager was greedy enough to conspire against the Emperor, this banquet might not just be mild and quiet.
Her heart began to race from the nervousness she felt.
She was anxious of walking to a banquet hall while wearing high heels that sheâd never worn before.
The guard, who stood at the entrance, seemed to have not recognized her even though he let her in after checking her invitation. But since she always tends to identify people just by looking at the badge on their chest, she could.
By the time she reached her destination, the hall was already crowded. Many visitors were enjoying a light drink before the beginning of the banquet.
She knew the white-haired girl standing right in front of her was familiar to her eyes. She thought sheâd be red even if she didnât meet someone she knew, but that didnât mean the first person she met was her favorite.
She tried to ignore her, but Victoria turned around, holding up a glass of wine. When that girlâs eyes found Celestia instead of her servant, her face became distorted.
âWhat, you?â
âGreetings.â
âYou, what are you!â
âYou donât want to be disrespectful out here, do you? Weâre still colleagues at the academy.â
âHow can you dress up like this when youâre just a commoner? I wonder if you put all your money into this.â
When Victoria nodded with an irritated face, a girl and two boys, who were talking to her, towered over Celestia.
âOh? Picking a fight again?â
Victoria really had a knack for making a fuss out of anything.
âDo they really act like this even when theyâre outside of the Academy?â The reason why they were talking alone was that they were not invited to converse with other aristocrats.
With her arms crossed, Victoria studied Celestiaâs get up.
âDonât even think everythingâs over just because you transferred to Class A, you shameless commoner. No matter how high you step your foot, youâll have to kneel before me in the end. Itâs only until I am a student at the Academy that you can speak informally to me, so enjoy it as much as you want.â
âWell, Iâll make sure to enjoy it a little more than you do.â
âYouâŚ..! Are you really crazy?!â
The boy next to Victoria always had a dirty habit of throwing a glass of water at Celestia. It didnât matter when it was her own uniform, but this dress was given directly by the Emperor. She would never let someone ruin this even before the banquet began.
When she was going to hold the boyâs wrist, someoneâs hand had already gripped around the glass before her.
The owner of the hand was a stranger. Seeing Victoria turn her face away from him, she took a closer look at his outfit. It was a great idea to attend the banquet as a lady. At that time, it shone when she tried to recall the names, characters, and tastes of all the guests on the banquet list.
Wearing a badge bearing the shape of a red fruit, he was a member of the Jib family, one of the three great Dukes. Victoria was a young lady of the family. In other words, that man was her father.
He snapped nervously at her.
âWhat are you doing.â
âBut father! Sheâs a commoner.â
âTodayâs the day for those whoâve made great achievements in the Academy. Iâm ashamed you couldnât reach it.â
âButâŚ.â
âHis Highness is watching, Victoria. Be careful of what you do.â
Victoria opened her lips as if she had more to say, but she turned her eyes to find the Emperor. So did Celestia. The Emperor, who they thought would be far off on a platform, was watching them with his arms crossed behind Celestia.
âYour Majesty.â
The Emperor stepped closer as Celestiaâs surprised eyes met his gaze. He delivered a cold gaze towards Victoria and her father before he grimaced.
âYou shouldâve educated your child more. You canât use the palace for that purpose.â
âF-Forgive me.â
âShe almost got splashed by water just now.â
âNo, it wasnât that close.â She looked up at him dumbfounded, but Victoriaâs face had already lost its color.
âIâm always grateful to your family for bringing the royal family together. But Iâm very disappointed in hearing those words from a student of the Academy as Iâm particularly concerned with everyone being trained and educated equally. Whatâs more, it was even from your own daughterâs mouth? I canât help but doubt my ears.â
âIâll teach her so she wonât make such a mistake ever again.â
âI hope I can believe you again.â
âOf course.â
Victoria turned paler by the minute and tried to take a step closer to the Emperor.
âY-Your Majesty, Iâm sorry to disappoint you, but Iâve taken extra care to prepare myself today. Didnât you say the banquet was special today? So I dressed up to have the first dance with you, Your MajestyâŚâŚ.Please overlook this one mistake.â
Van just smiled quietly, but it wasnât a reassuring one.
âI donât want to see you anymore for the rest of the day.â
âYour MajestyâŚâŚ.â
Victoria looked as if she was being falsely accused, but her father dragged her by her wrist out to the terrace. Celestia could roughly analyze what heâd say. As Victoria left, her close allies lowered their eyes and bowed to the Emperor before hurrying their way out of his view.
When she realized he was still standing beside her, she reflexively took a step back as she tried to bow before him.
âI gave it to you as a present, so donât crumple it.â
ââŚâŚOh, pardon me, Your Majesty.â
She belatedly noticed there was no etiquette for a lady in the âBurgic Kingdomâs Courtâ. Her status was floating now, but itâd be an issue if she could not behave like a lady.
She was in a state of limbo in terms of how to greet, so she desperately tried to search through her memories of how other noble ladies greeted her before.
âI think she held the hem of her skirt in one hand and greeted me gracefully.â
If she had looked carefully once or twice, she could have mastered it, but she didnât feel like learning it since she thought of it as unnecessary information.
However, it was no use trying to come up with some unfamiliar manners. She ended up straightening her waist, her face down at the floor.
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The Emperor silently stood before her.
âDo you have anything to say?â
She waited for him to bring it up, but nothing was heard above her head.
âWhat ?â
When she lifted up her gaze at his silence, she met the red eyes staring down at her. She knew he often looked at people like that, but she couldnât get used to it easily.