The Mirror Doesn't Lie
The blue dress my parents had sent as a birthday gift matched my eye color so perfectly that it hit me with sudden clarity—this was the outfit of someone who missed the color of my eyes and thought of me every time they saw it.
The earrings and necklace set, crafted from pale blue gemstones, had been a gift from Dikel III the year it became known that I had contracted with an intermediate spirit. A sort of royal bestowal.
Both the dress and the jewelry set were being worn for the very first time tonight.
If not for this founding anniversary party, these treasures might have spent the rest of their lives gathering dust in the corner of my room.
Still, it was a rather satisfying combination.
[Oh, looking good?]
[Rai, you actually say something right once in a while?]
[I have to survive, you know. So…]
[What was that?]
[You are the most beautiful person in the world.]
As usual, Rai was getting on my nerves, but I decided to let it slide since I was too busy staring at my reflection in the mirror.
I learned today that my golden hair could be styled like this.
Since I couldn’t find any proper hair ornaments, the maids had braided it intricately and decorated it with thin lace ribbons instead. The result gave me an unexpectedly intellectual air.
The light makeup I’d requested made my lips stand out and looked extremely feminine.
I had the kind of soft skin that took makeup beautifully.
“See? I really am quite the beauty, aren’t I?”
“Of course! You look truly stunning, my lady. Golden hair and blue eyes are the truth itself. The truth! The very symbol of nobility! The pinnacle of elegance! The hair color of a goddess!”
Oh no. I’d meant to say that to Rai in my head, but it came out as full-blown self-praise.
Thankfully, Chelsea responded as if it were perfectly natural, so I wasn’t too embarrassed.
[Pfft.]
[Don’t laugh.]
Rai had thinned himself down to about half his usual size and was now pretending to be a snake-shaped bracelet wrapped obediently around my wrist.
His small head rested lightly on the back of my hand, and today his eyes were blue instead of red.
A white snake with blue eyes wasn’t exactly realistic, so to anyone looking it just seemed like an eccentric accessory with very particular tastes.
After ten years as my pet snake, Rai had perfected the art of pretending to be one of my accessories.
“Perfect! You look incredible, Lady Crowell!”
Chelsea was extremely generous with her compliments. When I awkwardly turned this way and that in front of the mirror, she even clapped for me.
“I’ve helped dress many young ladies, but you are undoubtedly the most beautiful of them all! Who could possibly imagine that this is your debut?”
“Ahem, thank you.”
“I sincerely hope you have the most wonderful night of your life!”
“The most wonderful night, huh.”
“May you meet a dashing gentleman.”
I couldn’t have cared less about that.
I did want to see Ash, but not in any romantic sense, and now that I knew he wasn’t even in Elan territory, it just felt empty.
This was clearly a party without a goal.
Though I had to admit, I was secretly pleased with how I looked. After all, when would I ever get dressed up like this again?
By the time we headed out, the entrance to Topaz Palace was utter chaos.
Carriages lined up waiting for their owners, and guests heading to the party created a massive traffic jam.
Staying at Topaz Palace meant you were someone important enough to have received a personal imperial invitation and even been assigned lodging inside the imperial grounds. Naturally, every single one of them spoke loudly and carried themselves with overwhelming arrogance.
I stood awkwardly among them, staring off into the distance where the early evening sun was setting.
More precisely, I was waiting for Dikel III.
Normally it was considered good manners for the man to come out first and wait, but when the other party was royalty, the rules changed.
[Master! Can I eat the jewels that woman is wearing?]
[No.]
[Then how about the ones on that man over there…]
[Rai. I’m banning you from asking if you can eat anything for the rest of the day.]
[What? How can you subject me to such a horrible ordeal!]
Ordeal my ass. It’s called common sense.
Since we were about to walk into a literal jewel mine, I needed to keep Rai under tight control.
Once we got to the party, people dripping with gems like that would be everywhere.
Right on cue, someone who looked like a foreign princess—wearing at least fifteen times more jewelry than me—walked right past my nose.
Rai completely forgot he was pretending to be a bracelet and turned his head to follow her.
[Rai!]
[Whoops. Slipped my mind.]
Are you trying to make me look like a crazy woman who brings a snake to a royal party?!
[One wrong move tonight and my head could literally fly off! Literally!]
[But Master! Telling me not to move and not letting me eat anything is basically torture!]
[You don’t even get hungry if you don’t eat, so just endure it!]
Rai’s greed never seemed to diminish no matter how many years passed.
It wasn’t like I wanted to drag this guy around with me all the time either.
The problem was that if I let him roam free, there was no telling what he might do. But whenever he wasn’t around, something bad always happened.
A few years ago I’d even tried sending him back to the spirit realm because telling him not to stray too far from me felt too vague.
I didn’t mean to banish him permanently—just summon him when needed, like I did with Undine or Adore.
Unfortunately, that proved impossible.
Rai had told me that if I sent him back to the spirit realm, all the countless metals he’d devoured in the middle realm would lose their anchor and come pouring out, enough to bury the entire academy.
A mountain of metal. That was basically a natural disaster.
By eating too much, the little bastard had turned himself into a walking bomb.
Exactly when had he eaten that much, anyway?
[Master! The king is coming.]
Thanks to the unfamiliar high heels, I stumbled once before barely regaining my balance and turning around to look for the king.
Royalty had their own exclusive formal attire that only they could wear, so anyone could tell at a glance that their status was far from ordinary.
Even if you didn’t recognize the face, you could at least tell whether the person was royalty or nobility just by their clothes.
No matter how extravagantly wealthy nobles dressed themselves up, they could never compare to that restrained, signature royal formalwear.
Dikel III was walking out of the palace accompanied by his attendants.
Judging by the fact that he emerged from a different entrance than I had, it seemed the royal family’s quarters were in a more secluded area.
“Your Majesty.”
Before the king could look for me, I hurried over and bent my knees in a curtsy.
I lifted the hem of my skirt quite elegantly, if I did say so myself.
“Well, who do we have here?”
“Jeanie Crowell, Your Majesty.”
“I almost didn’t recognize you.”
It seemed even the king thought my transformation wasn’t half bad.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Thanks to Your Majesty’s concern.”
“That’s good to hear. Back then you were just a girl this small.”
“You’re bringing up stories from far too long ago.”
I rather liked Dikel III as a person.
Unlike the Emperor of Elan, he didn’t crush people under the weight of the crown he wore.
When he laughed out loud like this, he even looked magnanimous.
“I suppose that’s true. Shall we go, then?”
“Yes.”
I was being more polite than usual.
As I took the king’s hand, I was carefully timing when to ask him to let me travel back to Dmitry by land instead of using a warp gate.
But a carriage stopped perfectly in front of us, forcing me to postpone the request.
The other attendants moved ahead, opened the carriage door, and bowed respectfully to see the king off. I boarded the carriage under Dikel III’s escort.
The only ones going to the party were the king and me.
The fundamental duty of an attendant was to follow the king, serve him, and protect him.
Since Dikel III was a Sword Master, there probably wouldn’t be much need for me to protect him.
Besides, the role I’d been given was simply to accompany him to the party—an assignment that truly had nothing for me to do.
It was considered beneath a person of high status to attend a party alone, so I was basically just there to stand beside him during the entrance. If the king permitted it, the position was idle enough that I could even enjoy some personal time.
“Welcome to the Founding Anniversary Party. Please present your invitation.”
The gatekeeper in the silver uniform looked like a knight, judging by his disciplined movements and perfect posture.
I handed him the invitation bearing the seal of Elan.
That was my duty as an attendant—and pretty much my only duty.
His Majesty King Dikel III of Dmitry and his attendant, the young Baroness Crowell, have arrived!
The gatekeeper announced our entrance through a magic microphone enchanted with amplification magic.
I lightly rested my hand on the king’s elbow and climbed the stairs, watching as the massive doors slowly opened.
It felt like stepping into a world of brilliant light.