Flowers Wilt, but Stars Are Eternal
“Ha... haha... hahahahaha......”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
It had been my fate to live as a first-tier mage, born with utterly worthless mana talent.
At last, I had broken free of that curse-like bondage.
I advanced to second tier far sooner than I expected.
Of course, I’d thought it would happen eventually, as long as I stayed here.
Still, I hadn’t expected today to be the day.
My chest swelled with exhilaration.
But there’s no way I’m satisfied with this.
Third tier, fourth tier, fifth tier... maybe even beyond that wasn’t a dream at all.
I won’t stop until I’m the best.
Normally, when a mage reached second tier, mana should have begun to shimmer across their entire body.
Their overflowing power couldn’t be contained, so mana would leak out into the air.
But not a speck of mana escaped from my body.
What a waste.
Mana leaking out?
That was just wasteful.
To me, who had suffered a lifetime of mana deprivation, things like aura and imposing presence were nothing but pointless vanity.
The sealing formulas of the mana suppression array.
I had altered them to fit my own body.
I sealed the overflowing second-tier mana so that it wouldn’t escape, while making sure it didn’t interfere with my casting.
Second-Tier Modified Formula: Sealing Concealment
Just as the truly rich never flaunt their money, the truly skilled mage never flaunted their mana.
Bragging that I’ve reached second tier would be stupid.
Outwardly, I still had to look like a first-tier mage with only meager mana.
Nothing was more useful than making an enemy lower their guard.
I created the mana needle again.
The sensation was different now.
As a second-tier mage, mana felt as though it had turned to liquid and was seeping into the silver thread.
Shushushuk!
When the second-tier mana-soaked silver thread passed through the fabric, the fibers took on a density of light unlike anything before.
Second-Tier Modified Formula: Fluidization
I granted a solid fabric the properties of a liquid.
The hem of the dress rippled as though it had defied gravity.
At last, the final stage.
Second-Tier Modified Formula: Mana Synchronization
It was a formula I’d actually used at first tier too, but now that I was second tier, I classified it as a second-tier spell.
I inscribed the mana synchronization formula into the dress.
It would breathe with Ellen’s own breath, and glow with her.
Pop.
The moment I tied the final knot.
Fwooooosh—
A river of stars unfolded across the dark ceiling of the underground prison.
The dress swayed in the air.
Its deep color was like a cut-out piece of the night sky, and countless stars poured down over it.
This wasn’t some illusion magic.
This was real light.
“......It’s done.”
I collapsed onto the floor, utterly exhausted.
All strength had drained from my body, but my heart was pounding with pride.
Sophia? Duel?
Whatever they had prepared, it would look like a clumsy toy before this overwhelming masterpiece.
“It’s ready.”
Now it was time for proof.
* * *
The reception room of Valderk Manor.
A stifling tension hung in the air.
“I’ve brought it.”
Nen carefully set a large dress box on the table.
Count Valderk stood with his arms folded, staring coldly at the box.
“Open it.”
A short command.
Nen cautiously lifted the lid.
Swish.
With the soft whisper of silk, the dress revealed itself.
“......”
My first impression was: ordinary.
The dress in the box was a deep midnight blue.
There was no extravagant lace, no eye-catching jewelwork.
Even the color was so dark it risked looking drab.
The Count’s brow furrowed.
“This is... all there is?”
His voice was thick with disappointment.
“That arrogant bastard made all that noise, and this plain navy dress is the result? Sophia says she’s going to arrive in an outfit that looks like a garden in full bloom, so how exactly is he planning to win with something this gloomy? Nen, what do you think?”
“W-well...”
Nen looked just as flustered.
The underground cavern had been too dark to see properly.
Now, in this bright reception room, the dress looked painfully ordinary.
“What a disappointment. I expected more.”
The Count clicked his tongue.
He was already beginning to rise, thinking about what to do with the man locked away in the underground prison.
Then it happened.
Just as Nen lifted the dress to hang it up and straighten it out, a single strand of morning sunlight slipped through the window and brushed across its surface.
Shrrrrr...
“......!!!”
The Count froze.
His eyes widened in utter disbelief.
What had just looked like an unremarkable scrap of cloth transformed into something else entirely the moment it caught the light.
Drawn in as though under a spell, he stepped closer.
“Unbelievable. How... how is this possible?”
A breathless murmur escaped his lips.
He turned sharply and shouted toward Nen, his voice tight with excitement.
“Bring Ellen here at once and have her put it on! Hurry!”
* * *
At the same time. Bergen Count’s Manor.
“It’s perfect! Absolutely perfect!”
Sophia spun in front of the full-length mirror, shrieking with delight.
Over the red dress she wore, illusions of rose petals made of mana drifted and blossomed.
Each step she took seemed to leave a flower path in her wake, making her look like a walking garden in full bloom.
“As expected of Duel! They weren’t kidding when they called him the greatest genius in the East.”
At Sophia’s lavish praise, the mustached man Duel puffed out his chest with visible pride.
“You flatter me, young lady. This level is standard fare. The harmony of illusion magic and clothing—something the crude artisans of the Empire could never even dream of.”
“Hoho, then there’s no way the Valderk family can compare, right?”
“Hahaha! The Valderk family? I hear they handed their order to some nameless mender in place of the runaway Ponpar.”
Duel burst out laughing.
“A mender is a lowly profession that only sews torn clothes, isn’t it? Surely a dress made by someone like that couldn’t even hope to reach my work’s ankles. Honestly, I’d be relieved if they didn’t show up looking like they’d been dressed by a ragpicker.”
“Exactly. Tonight, Ellen will be my side character.”
Sophia’s eyes glittered with malice.
Her defeat in the last exam, and the unease caused by the disappearance of the assassin Jacob.
She planned to wash away all that bitterness tonight by trampling Ellen beneath her heel.
Count Bergen walked in with a pleased smile.
“Are you ready? The carriage is waiting. His Highness the Crown Prince will be arriving soon as well, so let’s not dally.”
“Yes, Father! Tonight I’ll show everyone the true stature of Bergen.”
Sophia strode out with confidence.
Behind her, petals of red illusion scattered in magnificent streams.
* * *
The grand ballroom of Rowen Castle.
The hall, packed with the empire’s leading nobles and Rowen’s most influential figures, was dazzling under the brilliance of chandeliers and gemstones alike.
At the seat of honor sat the blond, handsome Crown Prince Kasis, idly sipping wine with a bored expression.
“House Bergen enters!”
At the servant’s shout, the doors swung open, and the moment Sophia stepped inside, the hall rippled with excitement.
“Waaah!”
“Look at that! Beautiful petals are falling all around her dress!”
“It’s gorgeous!”
“That’s the Bergen family for you. Their wealth is staggering.”
All eyes turned to Sophia.
Her dress was undeniably splendid.
The illusion of flower petals carpeting the floor with every step was enough to captivate any noble’s gaze.
The Crown Prince, too, gave her a passing look of interest.
Sophia walked toward the center with a triumphant air.
All that’s left is Ellen. The moment she stands beside me in that tacky little outfit, everyone will know who’s above and who’s beneath. Tonight’s ending is practically decided already.
The servant announced,
“House Valderk enters!”
Sophia covered her mouth with her hand, ready to laugh.
Duel also folded his arms, fully prepared to dismiss the shabby work of that insignificant mender.
Then.
Count Valderk and Ellen appeared.
“......?”
For one instant, the noise in the ballroom vanished as though someone had sucked the air out of the room.
Ellen was wearing a deep midnight-blue dress.
There were no gaudy illusions like Sophia’s, no blinding jewels.
It was simple. Calm.
And yet the moment she descended the marble steps.
Shrrrrr...
The hem of her dress rippled.
Like the Milky Way flowing through the night sky.
The fabric itself seemed to turn fluid and pour around her.
And, strangely enough,
the dress seemed to gather light of its own, then release it at different angles in response to Ellen’s breathing and movement.
Some parts were dark as a abyss; others blazed like condensed starlight.
“Ah....”
Everyone gasped.
It was an instinctive awe before overwhelming beauty.
A goddess draped in thousands of stars stood there.
This can’t be happening!
Sophia’s face twisted.
The fake petals drifting over her own dress now looked absurdly crude and childish beside Ellen’s mysterious gown.
“Wh-what... how can something like that even exist?”
The genius tailor Duel, standing beside her, stared so wide-eyed it seemed his eyes might pop out.
He was a mage, and he could see it.
The true nature of the magic inscribed in that dress.
“Good grief! That’s not illusion magic... she altered the very material properties... changing the structure of the cloth to trap light? Crazy... is that even possible?”
He shuddered.
All he had ever done was coat the surface with mana and project illusions.
“Just what kind of monster made something like this?”
His pride shattered into pieces.
He had no choice but to admit defeat.
Ellen lifted her chin and descended the stairs with poise.
Beside her stood Count Valderk.
He had to bite down hard on his lip to keep from breaking into a grin.
His rival, Count Bergen, stood there in a daze and dropped the wineglass in his hand.
All the nobles around them couldn’t tear their eyes from his daughter.
So this is how far it goes.
Being stunned by the dress in the morning had only been the trailer.
The true brilliance of that gown far exceeded imagination.
The Count thought of Hans, imprisoned in the underground dungeon.
I thought he was just a greedy fraud.
He had never imagined Hans had woven such extraordinary magic into clothing.
What a monstrous bastard.
In the meantime, Ellen stopped as she passed in front of Sophia.
Sophia trembled and couldn’t say a word.
“Sophia! Your dress today... it’s so pretty. It feels like spring itself has been brought here.”
Ellen spoke with what seemed like genuine admiration.
At the unexpected praise, Sophia’s eyes widened.
“Y-you really think so?”
Then Ellen leaned in and whispered,
“But flowers wilt so quickly. Stars last forever.”
“Y-you...”
Ellen drove the nail home and passed by gracefully.
Behind her, the afterimage of a river of stars stretched long through the air.
Then Crown Prince Kasis, who had been sitting at the head of the ballroom with a bored expression, rose to his feet.
He dismissed his guards and approached Ellen himself.
“Beautiful,”
the Crown Prince said, and the room fell silent.
“I’ve seen enough decorations meant only to catch the eye tonight... but there was only one thing I couldn’t look away from.”
His gaze slid over the dress in open admiration.
“It’s as though the night sky itself has descended upon Rowen.”
He held out his hand politely to Ellen.
“Would you grant me the honor of sharing the first dance with that night sky?”
“Gladly, Your Highness.”
Ellen took the Crown Prince’s hand and stepped into the center.
The music began, and the dance with it.
Every time Ellen turned, the dress fanned out in shimmering waves, scattering starlight in time with her steps.
Everyone watched in wonder.
Heh. Bergen Count! I think the match is over.
Count Valderk drank deeply, smiling in victory.
D-damn it!
By contrast, Count Bergen and Sophia flushed with humiliation and retreated to a corner.
It was a complete defeat.
* * *
The next morning.
The underground prison of Valderk Manor.
Clunk, clunk.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the cave.
I stopped channeling mana and stood up from my training.
The man standing before the iron bars was Count Valderk.
His hands were clasped behind his back as he looked down at me, but his eyes were clearly different from before.
“The ball was a success.”
The Count opened his mouth.
“His Highness the Crown Prince asked Ellen for the first dance. That clever little daughter of the Bergen family fled the ballroom as if running for her life. It was the most satisfying night of my life.”
“I’m glad my meager skills were of help.”
“Yes. They were. A great help.”
The Count nodded.
“You made my daughter the star of the Rowen ball and restored my pride. So, as promised, I’ll spare your life.”
“Thank you.”
“But that’s where it ends. You will not be leaving this place.”
It was exactly what I had expected.
I deliberately put on a startled expression.
“So there really is no way for me to go outside?”
“None.”
The Count snapped coldly.
“You learned of the underground passage, the most secret of our family’s secrets. Do you really think a commoner like you can know that and still walk out through the front gate alive?”
A chill, murderous intent leaked from his eyes.
“There is only one way you leave this place: as a corpse. My daughter is fond of you, so you should be grateful merely for being allowed to keep your life.”
It was vile and merciless.
A textbook noble’s disposition.
“In exchange, I’ll see that you’re cared for here. Tools, food, materials—you’ll want for nothing. For the rest of your life, you will live in this underground chamber making and mending clothes for our family. That is the only life permitted to you.”
The Count pronounced it as though he were offering some tremendous mercy.
A life sentence to die like a machine, never seeing sunlight again, working in the underground prison until the end of his days.
And yet.
Hahaha...
I was silently thrilled.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud.
If the Count had said I could leave now?
That would have been the worst possible outcome.
Why would I go anywhere when I’ve got a training ground like this?
That endless well of mana surging from deeper within the cave.
I’m going to scrape that mana well dry.
Of course, I couldn’t let that show on my face.
If the Count realized I liked it here, he’d start finding that suspicious.
I lowered my head and acted in a resigned voice.
“......I understand. I’m grateful... just for being allowed to live.”
At my drooped shoulders, the Count wore a satisfied smile.
He must have felt the triumph of utterly subjugating and breaking this insignificant commoner.
“A wise choice. Nen will bring in the necessary supplies. Prepare Ellen’s outfit for her next social gathering.”
Without looking back, the Count left the prison.
Clack.
The sound of two and then three locks snapping into place followed.
I kept my head bowed until the footsteps disappeared completely.
And when perfect silence finally settled over the dungeon.
Still, I suppose I should thank you, Count Valderk.
I smiled faintly and lifted my head.
Locking me up for life? What an interesting proposal.
It might take years.
The day I stepped back out into the world.
Then—
Count Valderk.
I would make that arrogant head bow before my feet.
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