Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki

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Chapter 20

An Imperial Banquet

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. ‘It’s true.’ 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 wasn’t bold enough to be sure, so she asked for Luana’s help. Luana wasn’t 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 she’d often chat with Celestia, but she never thought she’d 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.

“……Celestia?”“Huh? Co-Come on in.”“Oh my God, is that really you?”“Don’t you recognize me? Is the makeup damaged?”

Luana walked to her while pressing her own cheeks with her hands.

“You’re so pretty. You don’t even look like a human being. How is your waist so slim? And even your makeup is perfect.”“What? You’re more beautiful.”“It seems like something really changes for the better when you decorate it……Wow, where did you get this dress? That necklace is stylish as well. You have keen eyes, you know..”“I didn’t pick it.”“Then……..?”

Luana’s eyes grew double their size before she could even answer.

“Oh my, are you seeing anyone at the Academy?”“It’s not like that.”

But, Luana wasn’t the type of person who would listen to it as it was.

“By any chance, is it the guy you won first place with? You did say he was very kind to you.”“No, it’s not that either.”“Is he attending the banquet today?”“What……”

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 Celestia’s attention to her and letting her sit on the chair.

“Let me help you with your hair. Promise me you’ll do your best when we’re done here.”“Yes…..Thank you.”

Luana’s ‘do your best’ seemed different from what Celestia was thinking, but she couldn’t 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 she’d 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 didn’t 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.

‘Would the Empress Dowager allow to foster the talents of the Academy in front of the Emperor?’ 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 she’d 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 she’d be red even if she didn’t meet someone she knew, but that didn’t 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 girl’s eyes found Celestia instead of her servant, her face became distorted.

“What, you?”“Greetings.”“You, what are you!”“You don’t want to be disrespectful out here, do you? We’re still colleagues at the academy.”“How can you dress up like this when you’re just a commoner? I wonder if you put all your money into this.”

When Victoria nodded with an irritated face, a girl and two boys, who were talking to her, towered over Celestia.

‘Oh? Picking a fight again?’

Victoria really had a knack for making a fuss out of anything.

‘Do they really act like this even when they’re outside of the Academy?’ The reason why they were talking alone was that they were not invited to converse with other aristocrats.

With her arms crossed, Victoria studied Celestia’s get up.

“Don’t even think everything’s over just because you transferred to Class A, you shameless commoner. No matter how high you step your foot, you’ll have to kneel before me in the end. It’s only until I am a student at the Academy that you can speak informally to me, so enjoy it as much as you want.”“Well, I’ll make sure to enjoy it a little more than you do.”“You…..! Are you really crazy?!”

The boy next to Victoria always had a dirty habit of throwing a glass of water at Celestia. It didn’t 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 boy’s wrist, someone’s 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.

“What are you doing.”“But father! She’s a commoner.”“Today’s the day for those who’ve made great achievements in the Academy. I’m ashamed you couldn’t reach it.”“But….”“His Highness is watching, Victoria. Be careful of what you do.”

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.

“Your Majesty.”

The Emperor stepped closer as Celestia’s surprised eyes met his gaze. He delivered a cold gaze towards Victoria and her father before he grimaced.

“You should’ve educated your child more. You can’t use the palace for that purpose.”“F-Forgive me.”“She almost got splashed by water just now.”

‘No, it wasn’t that close.’ She looked up at him dumbfounded, but Victoria’s face had already lost its color.

“I’m always grateful to your family for bringing the royal family together. But I’m very disappointed in hearing those words from a student of the Academy as I’m particularly concerned with everyone being trained and educated equally. What’s more, it was even from your own daughter’s mouth? I can’t help but doubt my ears.”“I’ll teach her so she won’t make such a mistake ever again.”“I hope I can believe you again.”“Of course.”

Victoria turned paler by the minute and tried to take a step closer to the Emperor.

“Y-Your Majesty, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve taken extra care to prepare myself today. Didn’t you say the banquet was special today? So I dressed up to have the first dance with you, Your Majesty…….Please overlook this one mistake.”

Van just smiled quietly, but it wasn’t a reassuring one.

“I don’t want to see you anymore for the rest of the day.”“Your Majesty…….”

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 he’d 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.

“I gave it to you as a present, so don’t crumple it.”“……Oh, pardon me, Your Majesty.”

She belatedly noticed there was no etiquette for a lady in the ‘Burgic Kingdom’s Court’. Her status was floating now, but it’d 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.

‘I think she held the hem of her skirt in one hand and greeted me gracefully.’

If she had looked carefully once or twice, she could have mastered it, but she didn’t 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.

The Emperor silently stood before her.

‘Do you have anything to say?’

She waited for him to bring it up, but nothing was heard above her head.

‘What ?’

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 couldn’t get used to it easily.

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