ADWTG Chapter 71

Unedited

 

“But what if I try too hard and end up overwhelming the banquet hall?”

I didn’t even think about who would give me bread, but instead drank the soup first*. I didn’t yet have a weapon to flatten my competitors’ noses*. On the other hand, I had one of the smartest fifth graders at Fitzsimmons Academy as my handmaiden.

*(Counting the chickens before the eggs hatch.)

*(To embarrass or discourage someone.)

In the end, I couldn’t pull out three leprechauns. It was the same with Siren. When I had three pixies, like getting chickens instead of pheasants, they gave me ten gold coins as the third-place prize. The amount was less than half of the second-place prize. I thought it was absurd, but I was able to control my anger when I saw the drunk at the card table who was protesting harshly being carried away like a piece of luggage by the dwarf employees. I humbly accepted my own failure.

When I returned to the bakery where Bree was waiting with a copy of <Niveia Adventures: Historical Handsome Men of Milua> in my hand, I only had one gold coin left. With that, it was impossible for me to get ‘Lady Gallegos’ Tart’.

I just ordered a drink with tears in my eyes, making an excuse that I suddenly didn’t feel well. Brianna Mosley, oblivious as she was, couldn’t understand her friend’s body language—nibbling on a straw. Still, because Bree was having a lot of fun, I felt a tiny bit happy too.

So what I mean is that Brianna, who achieved her goal, highlighted by six underlines and three stars, has been as generous as a happy cat these days. She might come up with an amazing talent show idea. I tried to bluff my way through it.

“What if I’m so good that your parents end up liking me too much?”

I lost my balance trying to avoid where his poor feet were placed. As if that were his intention, he took the posture of leaning back. Miraculously, it was on beat.

“What will you do then?”

The chin I looked up at playfully was completely stiff.

“… Marriage?”

“With you? No way! You are the hero of Milua, and I am nothing of Milua!”

“It’s fine.”

“And I don’t think I fit in the capital. I’d go broke living in a place like this.”

When I glanced at [Possession: 0 gold] subtly, Jaden responded seriously.

“Should we… move?”

“What are you talking about!”

Joking around with Jaden Spencer never really worked, especially since he rarely had any facial expressions. When I giggled loudly, Jaden got sulky and told me not to laugh.

Needless to say, his words had the opposite effect of what he had expected. Just like when you’re told not to do something, you end up wanting to do it, or when you’re told not to cry, tears come. I laughed heartily, not caring that the music had completely faded away.

***

The only condition I made when accepting the position as Jaden’s fake girlfriend was that I would never reveal my identity. So, with the banquet just around the corner, the Spencer family hastily announced additional guidelines. Everyone entering the banquet hall was now required to wear a mask.

And so the feet of the capital’s nobility were set on fire. It was impossible to make masks in a matter of days—unless you were very quick, very lucky, or possessed the ability to make the impossible possible. Many had to settle for ready-made masks grudgingly.

In any case, it was good news for merchants. All the shops in Talon that sold masks stayed open day and night.

The power of the Spencer duchy made the impossible possible. On the day of the banquet, Jaden, me, and Brianna finally got our hands on masks that fit our faces. Bree’s was like a peacock because of its colorful feathers. Jaden’s was like a dragon. The design itself was simple, but it wasn’t plain-looking thanks to the horns carved from black agate stone. Since we had to show that we were partners, my mask had a similar design.

As expected from a ducal household, the staff was fast, quiet, and professional. Despite the sudden addition of masks, which limited how they could arrange hair, apply makeup, or choose accessories, they still managed to give us a perfect look.

Perhaps because they thought that a black mask and black clothes would be too dull, square and flat opals were sewn densely at the last minute to the shoulder straps of my dress. The neckline was slightly lowered too.

The sheer fabric attached to the hem of the skirt was then instead brought up to the back and wrinkled, giving the impression of translucent wings. Like Jaden, my mask resembles a dragon with onyx horns, so it was a pretty good choice.

When I looked at my reflection in the long mirror, I looked a little closer to the main character than to the background character. I felt so elated that I almost hugged the servant who put on my earrings, but I managed to hold back. At the Spencer Mansion, Viscount Dalton’s daughter was so shy that she couldn’t even eat with her boyfriend’s parents. With that in mind, I coughed artificially as I left the room, and a voice greeted me.

“Look who it is! My goodness, Miss Dalton! You look amazing!”

“So do you, Miss Mosley.”

Brianna Mosley’s pink silk dress with a hint of orange accentuated her fair, translucent skin. There was not a trace of her fiery curls.

“This is what makes me want to marry Spencer.”

Bree joked, wrapping her smooth, straight hair around her fingers. ‘Briana, you too?’ I replied, pretending to be exasperated, making her laugh for a while.

Jaden Spencer was waiting at the entrance of the annex. It was my first time seeing him wearing a robe other than the uniform of the Milua Royal Knights. The white vest, faintly embroidered with silver thread, was not excessive at all, and the jacket that fit his torso very well looked splendid. So, I have to pretend to be his girlfriend from now on. We hesitated at the same time, three or four steps away from each other.

“What do you think, Spencer? Pretty, isn’t she? It’s not a joke, right?”

Brianna, although it wasn’t her business, was immensely proud. She poked me in the side with her elbow. ‘What are you doing?’ So it was I who went forward first. When I awkwardly held out my hand, Jaden also grabbed it with a similar awkward motion.

After that, I thought we would leave immediately, but suddenly Jaden held my hand gently, as if holding a soap bubble, and brought it to his mouth. I felt his breath through the thin glove for a moment, and then I heard the sound of lips pressing and falling. Something similar to an electric current ran up my arm.

***

I didn’t know what state of mind I was in as we went all the way to the banquet hall. As I walked, gently led by Jaden, a storm was raging in my head.

Keran. I kissed him partly because I was drunk, partly because I was intoxicated by the atmosphere, but also partly because he was so handsome with his glasses on. Kyle. As much as I hated to admit it, he had gotten really good-looking after turning nineteen. Moreover, the years he had pined for me were not something to be ignored. Edgar. I’ll never forget the salt desert I saw with him. Of course, he’s handsome too. But now I even feel butterflies for Jaden? Ariel, are you still human? Is being handsome everything? The last shreds of my conscience, already bristling, criticized me fiercely. 

By the time we reached the banquet hall, filled with endless people wearing all kinds of masks, I was completely out of it. I was so out of it that I almost cast a spell to vomit slime on a man wearing a snake mask who was talking about how dull my hair color was. Thanks to Jaden suddenly gripping my hand tightly, I realized I was drawing a magic circle on his palm.

But that was rather fortunate. It made me look suitably unwell without having to try hard to act as the ‘unknown viscount’s daughter.’

Revealing one’s identity or acknowledging acquaintances was strictly forbidden at the masquerade ball. However, the hero of Milua was too prominent not to be recognized. I mimicked a girl who would die tomorrow more convincingly than ever in front of the endless stream of guests who approached me.

Jaden seemed worried about my instantly sullen demeanor. He kept trying to talk to me, but was repeatedly blocked by the masks trying to talk to him. So at some point, Jaden alternately looked at me, who was standing like a withered plant, and the orchestra. He seemed to be thinking that we would be able to talk without interruption while dancing.

After waiting for a while, a conductor wearing a tight-fitting suit came waddling around. We almost reached the center of the hall before he could even pick up the baton.

The first song was a slow polonaise. Even I, a terrible dancer, knew how to bend my knees at the third beat. From afar, I gave a greeting to Bree, who had joined the dance floor with a man wearing a lion mask.

“Ariel, are you okay?”

Jaden asked after bending our knees twice. His voice wasn’t very loud, but it wasn’t that small either. The distance between partners in a polonaise was not as close as that of a waltz, so it was certainly not possible to communicate by whispering.

However, we had agreed that we would use pseudonyms when speaking at a volume that was likely to be heard by other people. It was to protect the safety of the ‘unknown viscount’s daughter.’ I subtly pinched Jaden and made him notice. He asked again.

“Renee, are you okay?”

“I feel like an asshole, Anton.”

That was a conclusion I came to on my own, but after saying it, I thought it was too provocative a word for Jaden, who is more innocent than a newborn white-tailed deer fawn. After thinking for a moment, I corrected my words.

“No, I feel like I’m Walsh.”

“What? Why do you think so?”

Jaden frowned. Why do I think so? Because my troublesome heart flutters only around handsome guys?

“Someone as kind as you wouldn’t understand.”

I sighed deeply, and Jaden seemed somewhat offended.

“I’m not as nice as you think, I am.”

About halfway through the hall, he grumbled discontentedly.

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