Chapter 14
When Emily got up from the bed and opened the door at the knock, a servant bowed and handed her the laundry. It was the shawl and vest she had dropped off on Friday, along with the iron she had additionally requested.
“Who was it?” Kira, who had just come out of the shower, asked while drying her wet hair with a towel.
“A servant returned the laundry I dropped off last time. And they brought the iron I asked for.” Emily closed the door and turned around, showing the iron in one hand.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a tool to make hair curly. Speaking of which, Kira, could you light a fire for me?”
When Emily asked Kira for fire magic, Kira cleared the desk of books and writing materials and took out a large magic bowl, placing it on the desk. Kira often received curse letters, so she would check received letters and immediately burn them with fire magic just in case.
“Do you need an air purification magic stone too?”
“No, just a small fire is fine. It won’t produce smoke. I’m just going to heat the iron slightly.”
Emily answered Kira while unfolding the returned vest and shawl to check their condition. Fortunately, the water stains on the shawl had disappeared, and Marquis Valenti’s vest was spotless. She neatly folded the vest back and hung the shawl over the navy dress in the wardrobe.
As Kira created a small fire with a simple formula, the red light reflected in her blue eyes and bright blonde hair. The small flame flickering in Kira’s palm was quickly transferred to the bowl on the desk.
“Thank you, Kira.”
“It’s nothing.”
Kira pulled the desk chair towards Emily and sat down. Emily dragged the full-length mirror next to the wardrobe and placed it beside the desk chair. She sat down, lightly heated the iron using the fire Kira had made, let it cool for a moment, then took a handful of hair and wound it around the iron. After a few seconds, Emily released her hand, and her long straight hair transformed into curls.
“Wow! That’s amazing! I’ve never seen anything like this before, Emily!”
As Kira clapped her hands in admiration, Emily shrugged and then looked in the mirror as she curled the rest of her hair with the iron.
“I’m not actually that good at it. A few years ago, I was playing with my cousin’s hair and accidentally burned it, forcing her to cut it into a bob. My hair is quite thick, so I used that as a reference, but suddenly my cousin’s long hair broke off and came away with the iron, causing both of us to scream like mad.”
Seeing Emily shake her head as if the memory was still horrifying, Kira swallowed the words she was about to say about wanting her hair done too.
“Both my cousin and I screamed as if we were about to faint, causing everyone in the mansion to come running. My goodness, even though her hair that she had grown for five years disappeared in an instant, my cousin didn’t kill me. Even now, I think she’s truly an angel.”
At Emily’s words praising her cousin’s character, Kira felt a chill and unconsciously grasped her own hair with both hands.
After struggling for a while, Emily finally finished, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders in wavy curls. With her hair done, Emily took out her makeup and lightly applied it to her lips. Looking in the mirror, she was satisfied with how well her bright green eyes matched her lips tinged with light red.
Instead of tying her hair up, she let the curly brown hair fall to her waist, complementing the dress that exposed her shoulders and arms.
By the time she had finished her makeup and put on her dress, quite some time had passed. Kira was planning to meet Prince Lucas and enter the party venue together, so she decided to wait in the room a bit longer. Emily, who wanted to avoid encountering the prince, decided to go ahead separately.
“How do I look? Is it okay?”
As Emily stood in front of the mirror for a final check, Kira nodded with a bright smile.
“Yes, Emily. You look mature. Really beautiful.”
Emily, wearing a navy dress sprinkled with tiny jewels below the collarbone, a white shawl draped over it, and short lace gloves, stood in front of the mirror once more to arrange her curly hair before leaving the room.
“Then I’ll see you at the banquet hall later.”
“Yes, Emily. I’ll be there soon.”
* * *
There weren’t many people inside the main building yet, probably because it was still early. The third-floor banquet hall she reached after climbing the stairs was wider and higher than expected.
Numerous light magic spells were slowly swimming between the chandeliers hanging so high that one had to tilt their head back to see them, and intricate carvings adorned the round marble pillars that lined up on both sides starting from the entrance.
“Wow…”
The sheer black curtains occasionally hung between the pillars were thin enough to see through, draped in rounded arches, giving an overall impression of a dim night sky. With the lighting slightly dim, the bright chandeliers against the backdrop of black curtains created an optical illusion as if they were floating in midair.
“Amazing…!”
Emily marveled at the more elaborate than expected appearance of the banquet hall as she walked. White butterflies created by illusion magic were flying around sprinkling white light, making it more elegant and splendid than most noble family parties.
The tablecloths placed here and there were also black, with golden candlesticks and white flower arrangements in the middle shining white in the light of the chandeliers.
As not many students had arrived yet, Emily freely looked around before finding a suitable spot in a corner and picked up some pre-dinner drinks and light finger foods from a nearby table.
“Oh my, delicious!”
Emily’s eyes sparkled as she tasted sixteen types of finger foods in order. The food made with high-quality ingredients was very intricately designed and conveniently bite-sized.
As Emily, her cheeks flushed with happiness from the enchanting taste, was absorbed in the food, suddenly soft background music began to play in the banquet hall. It was a signal that the start of the party was approaching.
Realizing this, Emily reluctantly let go of the finger foods.
Not long after, students began to file in, and soon the hall was bustling, filled with students.
“My, it’s truly beautiful. Don’t you think so, Miss Lily?”
“Yes, Miss Astina. It’s really dazzling. It’s like it reminds one of a garden of night fairies.”
As the number of people increased, servants opened all the doors leading from the banquet hall to the balcony and lowered black curtains over them. Emily, who had been standing near the balcony, stepped back momentarily to avoid the servants when suddenly Astina and her group passed in front of her.
As Emily watched them pass with wide eyes, Sophia, who was following Astina, spotted Emily and was startled for a moment before giving a small wave. Emily waved back, careful not to let Astina notice. At that moment, the gaze of Lily Ramone, the silver-haired young lady walking on Astina’s right, briefly touched Emily before passing by indifferently.
Astina was, in a word, incredibly glamorous.
Her red curly hair was braided luxuriantly to one side with small jewels crafted into flower shapes attached throughout, and her deep red dress, which didn’t pale in comparison to her red hair, was liberally sprinkled with jewel dust, causing her skirt to sparkle endlessly with every step she took.
For a moment, Emily’s eyes overlapped the image of a walking mansion on top of Astina.
“…I should stay far away from there.”
If she were to lurk nearby and accidentally spill a drink due to a misstep, she might have to pay her tuition to cover the cost of the ruined dress. Shaking her head at the chilling thought, Emily was taking a few steps back to distance herself further from Astina when she suddenly bumped into someone behind her and turned around, startled.
“Ah, I’m sorry!”
“No, I should be… Miss Emily?”
Emily, who hadn’t immediately noticed there was a person there due to the black suit against the black curtain, held her breath as Marquis Valenti’s figure was revealed when the wind-blown curtain billowed up and then settled. Meanwhile, Valenti, who hadn’t noticed at all that the person in front of him was Emily, was looking down at her with a surprised expression.
“…Ah.”
Black hair with the front slightly lowered and the rest neatly swept back, a sharp jawline and high nose bridge, and white, clean skin that seemed to glow more than usual as if something had been applied, a luxurious white shirt collar raised to the neck, and a black suit – Emily’s gaze was instantly captivated.
Though it looked simple at first glance due to the all-black suit, a closer look revealed the highest quality fabric with luxurious embroidery accents and jewel dust subtly sprinkled on the collar area.
The elegant suit made his striking appearance stand out even more. No, the all-black ensemble made his light gray eyes even more noticeable.
For a moment, it seemed as if the light magic was concentrated only on Valenti’s face. Like a fairy hidden in darkness slightly revealing itself, his gray eyes were tinged with a mysterious color in the light of the magic butterflies circling around him.
“So it was you, Miss Emily. I didn’t recognize you because your hairstyle has changed. It suits you well.”
“Pardon? Oh, no… thank you.”
As the black curtain fluttering in the night breeze from the balcony once again covered Valenti’s face, he brushed it aside with one hand and took a step closer to her. As he did so, his gaze fell on her curly brown hair and then on her white shoulders revealed between her locks.
Realizing that his gaze had fallen on her shoulders, Emily suddenly felt unbearably embarrassed. With her face and even her neck turning bright red, she hurriedly pulled up her shawl to cover her shoulders and clasped her slightly trembling hands together.
“Are you a bit cold? Shall I close the balcony doors for you?”
As Emily pulled up her shawl, Valenti tilted his head and stood in front of her to block the wind coming from the balcony.
“No, it’s fine. If anything, it feels a bit hot.”
Feeling dizzy from the faint scent of his perfume coming from Valenti’s clothes as he came closer, Emily quickly retreated from him and turned towards the balcony.
As always, she thought, he was coming too close to her.
Unable to bear it due to Valenti’s proximity, Emily barely swallowed her trembling.
As Emily placed her hand on the open balcony door to cool her flushed face, Valenti, who had not taken his eyes off her, suddenly raised his head and looked back at the entrance of the banquet hall.
