-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Perfect Battle Attire
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***
The day of Arabelle’s tea party arrived.
Lumina changed into a dress that could only be described as a product of wealth and began her light preparations.
Brandon, disguised as Hannah, took charge of the entire process.
“This is the greatest masterpiece of my life.”
Brandon muttered proudly, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.
At the same time, gasps of admiration erupted from all around.
“Hannah, I never knew you had such a good eye!”
“That’s right. If you had such an amazing talent, you should have told us sooner! So, on your next day off, could you help me with my outfit?”
“Me too, me too!”
The duke’s maids, who usually tried not to show their emotions, were beside themselves with excitement.
With her eyes closed, Lumina grew a little curious about what she must look like to elicit such a reaction.
“Hannah. Can I open my eyes now?”
“Of course, Little Madam! Go on, open your eyes.”
As soon as she was given permission, Lumina gently opened her eyes.
And there she was.
A face as milky-white as cream.
Her cheeks, which had filled out from eating well and lazing about lately, were flushed a light rosy pink, looking full of life.
Her long, wheat-colored hair was skillfully braided in parts and wrapped halfway around her head.
Her already adorable face looked even more so.
Moreover, small flowers were attached to her cascading hair, just enough to avoid being excessive, giving her a fresh and vibrant look.
The outfit, meticulously chosen over several days, was an ivory dress that fell to just above her knees.
The skirt was made of many light layers of chiffon.
A red sash was tied around the waist of the dress, which was dotted with pearls like a shower of stars.
Behind her back, the sash was tied into a large bow.
Whenever Lumina took a light step, the hem of her dress would flutter, and the long red ribbons would trail behind her.
In addition, the hem of the dress was decorated with delicately woven lace, giving it a luxurious feel.
Finally, the look was completed with white socks frilled at the ankles and matte red Mary Jane shoes.
A fairy stood in the mirror.
The moment she met the eyes of a fairy straight out of a storybook, Lumina fully understood what Brandon had meant by “the perfect battle attire.”
“Hannah…”
She hadn’t even dressed up this much on the day of her black magic pact ceremony, which had been disguised as a wedding.
Lumina stared at her reflection, mesmerized, and for a moment almost called Brandon by his real name.
Startled back to her senses, Lumina looked at Brandon through the mirror.
“Are you a magician by trade?”
“I do have a history of turning my hometown upside down with my handiwork.”
He puffed out his chest.
With the praise, Brandon’s shoulders rose as if reaching for the sky.
But no one tried to bring him back down to earth. Seeing the result, they couldn’t help but gaze at it with ecstasy.
Due to Lumina’s young age, a wide variety of cosmetics couldn’t be used.
Therefore, color makeup was avoided as much as possible in favor of basic products.
There was nothing more difficult than accentuating one’s features with only basic cosmetics.
*And Brandon pulled off that difficult feat.*
From the outfit to the smallest accessories, he meticulously chose everything without missing a detail, putting the finishing touch on his masterpiece by decorating her face.
The maids, who had been quietly admiring the process, finally let out gasps of awe.
*The Little Madam must be a fairy from the legends!*
*Look at those soft cheeks! She’s the only rain shower we get in this dry, drought-like ducal household.*
They felt they could die right then and there, overwhelmed by her cuteness.
It was a cuteness that could instantly disarm anyone whose eyes she met.
It was a moment that proved Brandon wasn’t called the Master of a Thousand Faces, the genius of transformation, simply because of his Legion ability.
“Hannah. So am I an army of tens of thousands now?”
“A hundred million, my little lady.”
The two of them, conversing in voices too low for others to hear, giggled.
The preparations were finished, and it was time to leave.
When Lumina went outside, Ash, who was waiting, saw her and froze.
Only Ash had been permitted to accompany her as an escort.
“Sir Ash. How do I look today?”
Ahem.
Lumina asked the question more confidently than ever before. But the answer she received was not what she expected.
“You remind me of my father.”
“…?”
Was that an insult? Or a compliment?
It was indeed Brandon’s handiwork, but the statement was open to various interpretations.
“My father is good at this.”
“I see… I don’t know what kind of person your father is, Sir Ash, but I can tell he’s an amazing man.”
Ash was already not one for words.
Lumina, all dressed up, was undeniably pretty, yet he could somehow sense his father’s hand in it. Still, she was very pretty.
In the end, he could only express it that way, like someone whose wires had gotten crossed.
Meanwhile, it was a secret that Brandon, standing behind Lumina, quietly wiped away tears of emotion upon hearing his son praise him.
Lumina had inadvertently strengthened the father-son bond of the Munez family.
“Little Madam. Please be careful.”
“Okay.”
The atmosphere was like that of sending a precious child off to a battlefield. Which, in a way, it was.
Lumina quickly scanned her surroundings.
Even as she was getting into the carriage, she couldn’t find even a shadow of Karayan.
He probably hadn’t run away from home.
*His trace is still here, after all.*
Lumina idly fiddled with the cheek Karayan had caressed the other day.
He was just against her meeting Arabelle, so he probably couldn’t send her off with a happy heart.
Seeing how Arabelle treated Karayan, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to be utterly fed up, so Lumina wasn’t disappointed.
***
*I’m in the heart of enemy territory.*
Clad in her sturdy armor, Lumina entered the palace with composure and confidence.
She arrived neither early nor late, but exactly on time.
But…
“Please have a seat and wait. The Princess is a busy person and will arrive at the scheduled time.”
Even though she had arrived at the exact time written on the invitation, no one was at the meeting place.
*I knew it.*
Either she’d arrive early and chide me for being late, or she’d arrive late and mock me for being so early.
I knew it would be one of the two.
*So it’s the latter.*
The hazing had already begun.
The garden of the Princess’s Palace, the designated location, boasted a beautiful scenery, as if reflecting its owner’s fastidious nature.
Lumina sat in the pre-arranged seat under a gazebo that blocked the brilliant sunlight.
*Even if I protest that the time on the invitation was wrong, she’ll just play dumb and say there was a slight mistake.*
In any case, this level of hazing was nothing.
“Sir Ash.”
Lumina called Ash, who was about to wait outside the shade, closer.
“I think the princess will arrive in an hour. What do you think, Sir?”
“She will arrive soon.”
As far as Ash knew, the appointed time was right now.
He seemed to think her arrival was just slightly delayed because she was getting ready.
Unlike the slick Brandon or Olivia, Ash was just too dense.
He didn't even seem to realize that this was a form of hazing.
“So, Sir Ash, you’re betting on ‘arrives within ten minutes,’ right? How much should we wager?”
Ash looked at Lumina with a puzzled expression.
“Bets like this are more exciting with money on the line. How about a light one Gold? No. Ten Gold?”
A desire she had never shown before bloomed in Lumina’s pink eyes.
“If my wallet allows, even a hundred Gold… Ah. What am I thinking? What am I saying?”
My mouth is running away with me.
Coming to her senses, Lumina tapped her own lips with her palm.
“I will take the bet for ten Gold.”
“Ten Gold?”
As if she had never regained her composure, Lumina lost it all over again.
For ten Gold, it was worth taking the plunge for the first time in a while. Hadn’t she been doing well, staying vigilant all this time?
Sometimes, you need to let off some steam, and that time was now.
“Alright. Ten Gold. But Sir Ash! This is the first and last bet, okay?”
Lumina, wary of her own desires, pleaded earnestly. Ash nodded, bewildered.
The table was set for a proper tea party, with everything needed to brew the tea oneself.
Among the items, Lumina found an hourglass for timing and flipped it over.
After that, the wait was so enjoyable that she even hummed a little tune.
For the first time in a long while, she felt the thrilling stir of her brain cells.
And when exactly one hour had passed…
Arabelle appeared nonchalantly.
She was flanked by two young ladies as reinforcements. They were all new faces.
“Sir Ash.”
Lumina glanced at Ash and made a circle with her thumb and forefinger.
Ten Gold.
The bet was Lumina’s complete victory.
“…I will pay you later.”
Ash obediently admitted defeat and stepped back.
Hehehe.
Victorious, Lumina was the happiest person in the world, and it showed on her face.
Arabelle’s group, who had expected Lumina to be disheartened after being made to wait for an hour, was flustered.
Lumina was dressed so beautifully that none of them could deny it.
But when she smiled brightly with that face, like an angel gathering all the light in the world, they couldn’t help but flinch.
*No, this isn’t right.*
*Did she really wait for a whole hour? What is this situation?*
From the very beginning, it was a mysterious defeat for Arabelle’s party.
