“You know… You looked really beautiful today.”
Hmm. As expected of polite Ares. How does he know I’m embarrassed and yet still manages to say something like this to uphold my dignity? His consideration tugs at my heartstrings.
Even though someday you’ll leave me and go to Leia, at that moment, you’ll still be the most precious thing to me. Maybe you’ll never know.
I saw Ares off in the bedroom. Since there might be other servants or visitors looking for my parents outside the room, I couldn’t afford to go all the way to the front door in this state.
As I was about to bid farewell, Ares spoke up before me.
“You’ll never have to partner with anyone else. If you’re still holding onto my slip of the tongue, please forget it.”
I chuckled bitterly. It’s hard to recover from a bruised heart, even if you try to make up for it later. But still, I have to smile in front of him.
“Okay. I got it.”
But still, Ares doesn’t seem relieved. He looked at me with a troubled expression for a long time before leaving the room. I waved goodbye to him and quietly closed the door.
…Sigh. I’ve been completely emotionally drained since this morning.
My chest tightened, and tears welled up in my eyes. This is why knowing the end of a relationship beforehand isn’t the beginning of it. It’s not just painful when you break up; it’s also tough while you’re in a relationship like this.
Ares is a man of principle. Since he knows I care about Leia, he’ll definitely try to draw a line with her in some way. Not just saying ‘we’re just friends, there’s nothing between us’ in front of me.
Despite that, Leia keeps sticking to him incessantly, probably because it’s written in the ‘author’s’ novel to be like that.
Moreover, Leia might not have realised that Ares is drawing a line with her. She’s so clueless sometimes. She won’t act wisely in such a delicate human relationship unless I explicitly point it out to her step by step.
But this world is a romance novel after all.
One of the characteristics of romance novels is that there are always many people around the heroine who help her and are willing to use their power to make her happy, not just the hero but everyone around her.
Our “writer” is no exception, giving the bright, pure, and kind protagonist a very strong ally. And now, that ally has started to define me as the “villain” and is attacking me for the sake of their friend.
Come to think of it, isn’t it strange?
Certainly, Princess Ariel must have been aware of her position. As someone who stands at the pinnacle of the social circle, she should have been making friends fairly and evenly, rather than inciting unwarranted factionalism.
But now, her actions seem quite different from the Princess Ariel I’ve known so far. It’s been over a year since she debuted in society without any problems, gracefully navigating the social circles. So why would she suddenly pick a fight with me without any justification? Even if it’s for her friend Leia Saturanos, we haven’t had any significant conflicts so far.
If we assume that Leia is just an excuse and that Princess Ariel is actually jealous of me, it’s not entirely implausible. There have been rumours to that effect before. But in the social circles, there are plenty of people who envy, resent, and curse others, and I had only thought Princess Ariel, too, would harbour a mixture of envy and jealousy towards me, as I am acknowledged as a flower of society.
The only thing that can explain all this inexplicable behaviour is the fact that Princess Ariel is a very important figure in this novel, told from Leia’s first-person perspective.
Perhaps there was a high chance that this grand palace party would be an opportunity for another “pillar” to emerge in the novel.
What will Leia see and feel at this party? That will likely be the “pillar.”
Well, what that “pillar” is doesn’t really matter to me anymore. What I need to pay the most attention to is when the “pillar” will appear. Anyway, it was certain that this palace party would be followed by another “pillar.”
I am going straight towards my death, huh? Heh.
I took a deep breath. There was no time to waste on such unnecessary emotional consumption.
The gap between “pillars” is not fixed. It was subjective because it was an event that Leia felt was important.
I’m not actually that clueless. Nevertheless, because I’ve been cast as the villain, my very existence seems hostile to the protagonist and her friends.
On the other hand, Leia, being the protagonist, is packaged with all sorts of good words like innocent, kind, and selfless, no matter how outlandish her actions may be. Moreover, look at this powerful shield of being from a provincial territory! Even if she commits any breach of etiquette, everyone tells me to tolerate and understand her!
…Sigh. Let’s stop lamenting about this now. It’s not like anything will change because of it. It’s just my inner turmoil.
＊ ＊ ＊
Fortunately, Leia didn’t seem to go around gossiping about the invitations, except to Ares. Otherwise, the gossip-loving ladies would have surely come knocking at the mansion every day.
Ares asked me every day before the banquet if I had received an invitation. Of course, my answer was always the same.
In the end, as I expected, Ariel Princess didn’t send an invitation to our family for the palace banquet.
And finally, the day of the Spring Festival arrived.
There’s no unimportant day for someone with not much time left, but this day’s banquet held particular significance for various reasons.
Today, I’m scheduled to attend the palace banquet as a guest not invited for the first time in my life. And I’ll be displaying a fierce confrontation with Princess Ariel in front of people.
Since debuting in society, I have had to be sharper and more tense than ever before. Yet, I had to maintain composure and stay calm until the end.
Just thinking about it made me mentally exhausted.
How did she know exactly how resolute I was? As I prepared for the banquet, sharpening my knife early in the morning, Mother came to visit.
“The most beautiful grace of a woman comes not from what is visible, but from what is invisible.”
With her hair neatly combed like mine, Mother spoke with the air of an absolute master, as if lecturing a fledgling bird. I could only swallow my saliva and stare at her.
As Mother flicked her finger, servants suddenly began to pour into my room, each carrying something in their hands.
“M-Mother? What’s all this…?”
“Don’t you see? There probably won’t be anyone more beautiful than you at the palace banquet today. Let me pass on my best secret to you. Hmph.”
Terrifying…! It felt like there were flames flickering behind Mother’s back.
Mother was also preparing diligently for today. Well, considering she was once hailed as the “Empire’s Greatest Beauty” in her prime, she probably possesses unparalleled expertise in this regard!
Especially when it comes to beauty not just for impressing men, but as a weapon to deal with all kinds of people, no one knows better than my mother.
Mother gestured for me to sit down, then spoke in a stern voice.
“Open your mouth, Bianca.”
Huh? Why should I open my mouth…?
But her demeanour was too intimidating to question.
“Ah…”
“No need to make a sound.”
“…”
Uh, I hesitated.
As I obediently opened my mouth as Mother instructed, the maids meticulously brushed and cleaned every nook and cranny inside. From my teeth to the roof of my mouth and my tongue, everything was scrubbed clean to the point of tingling.
While the maids were busy attending to me, Mother continued speaking.
“Do you know how important it is for your breath to smell pleasant when you open your lips to speak? Proper beauty requires attention to even these unseen details.”
Ah, I never realised there was such depth to it.
After the oral cleaning was done, it was time for the ears. They meticulously wiped even the unseen corners with a small towel dabbed with a hint of fragrance. When they inserted a small cotton swab into my ear canal, I couldn’t help but flinch involuntarily.
“If you move, you’ll get hurt.”
“…Could you please have told me that earlier?”
I retorted softly towards Mother’s casual warning.
The next step took place in the bathroom.
They not only massaged my long black hair but also gave a thorough scalp massage. Then, I undressed and lay in the bathtub, where they washed not only the exposed parts but also the hidden ones meticulously. Of course, even those… intimate areas weren’t overlooked!
Under Mother’s strict supervision, the maids skillfully applied various ointments to my body. Miranda might be good at massages, but Mother’s personal maids were truly praiseworthy.
Mother inspected my body with a sharp gaze.
“You seem a bit thin. You’ve been eating well, haven’t you? Hm…”
Heh. When am I ever comfortable in the situation of gaining weight?
But unfortunately, I couldn’t tell Mother the truth.
“To have a pleasingly plump figure, you should gain a bit more weight, Bianca.”
“Yes…”
Mother’s standards of beauty are quite high indeed. Almost intimidatingly so.
After the massage, they applied a special pack containing Mother’s top-secret formula all over my body. The colour was garish, but it felt quite cool against my skin.
I quickly felt better.
“What’s in this?”
“Seaweed. Despite its colour, when mixed with fine mud, it’s excellent for moisturising the skin.”
“Oh…”
I’ve heard that in distant eastern countries, seaweed is cooked and eaten, but here in the empire, it’s mostly used as a cosmetic ingredient for women. I wonder if it’s more effective when eaten?
After spending the morning taking care of my skin, we had lunch. Since I had to wear a dress, I opted for a simple salad.
As I contemplated the array of dresses laid out before me, I fell into deep thought.
Since the jewelry was already decided, I needed to choose a dress that would complement it while standing out at the banquet, portraying a contrasting image to Princess Ariel and also complementing Ares well.
It’s really difficult… and complicated.
Mother also looked at the dresses with a serious expression and made a comment.
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“I’ve decided on the jewellery. Earrings made of black onyx and amethyst.”
“Hmm…”
After much consideration with Mother, I decided to wear a black dress.
I liked how the top revealed my figure boldly while the bottom flowed elegantly. I thought it would be nice to decorate it with a purple silk ribbon at the waist.
Mother nodded in agreement with my decision. She added one more opinion.
“If you go all out with black, it might be too dull. You’ll need some jewellery or accessories to add a touch of colour.”
