Episode 18

The Coming-og-Age Ceremony

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As soon as the sun rose, I was woken up.

I struggled to wake up this morning because I have low blood pressure and it was hell last night, I couldn’t sleep and ended up needing to change my bed. Now, was so sleepy that I slept in the middle of bathing.

It must have been hard for Anakin with me halfasleep, to ask for my permission in order to carry me. Though the temple was close by, it was not walking distance, so we had to take a carriage. Anakin pushed me into the carriage, and when we arrived, he pulled me out, but again, I wasn’t fully awake.

It wasn’t until we arrived that Anakin, who literally brought me to the front of the Grand Hall, woke me up with regret.

“My lady, we’re here. Please wake up.”

“....Give me five minutes, for real.”

Five minutes to gather energy to wake up and demonstrate my skills. Someone pressed my crumpled forehead with their finger to straighten it out. Then, strangely enough, the urge to fall asleep disappeared.

When I opened my eyes, Hubris was watching me with a fine face. Oh, right. He was the high priest. wondered if it was better than a completely unknown face. When I waved my hand, another priest put a veil on me.

In the empire, women wore a veil twice and men wore a veil once. It means that both men and women wear a veil at adult ceremonies.

There was also a religious reason. All the sins contained in the body were kept in a veil to prevent them from escaping, and holy water was poured onto it to cleanse it.

After that, the High Priest put a hand-made veil anointed with perfumed oil on both eyes and mouth to bless them to not be stained with sins in the future,

Hubris slowly poured out the holy water in the brass bowl. Cool water poured for my cleansing.

It was cool, but the wet veil and clothes stuck to me, so I didn’t feel so pleasant. No wonder they dressed me lightly..

With my tongue in my mouth, I closed my eyes and waited for the next turn. Hubris’s hand passed the veil..

...?

What? Why are you holding it still? When I opened my eyes due to the strangeness, Hubris looked at my face for a long time then hurriedly swept my eyes. His fingers were dry and soft.

“Holy Father, rejoice.”

“Ah”

As I pointed out, Hubris again poured perfume on my fingers with a trembling hand. As I closed my eyes again and he touched both of my eyelids, he hesitated, this time on my lips.

Seriously. It’s not like he’s done it once or twice, but him dragging his feet, really! I got annoyed and just stuck out my head and pressed my lips against Hubris’s thumb and stood up.

“All right?”

“....Yeah.”

“Let’s go, I’m busy.”

When Hubris failed to answer, I pulled the wet veil off and threw it down. My legs throbbed when I was on my knees. How frustrating.

I went back to the imperial family, had a late breakfast and lunch, and took a short walk to digest before started dressing up in earnest. The meals of the highranking people were always unnecessarily large and heavy, so I felt bloated.

Then, in the distance, Helena was seen running, as usual.

She seemed to have no idea what she was going to be in the future. I thought I’d catch her and give her a word, but I left it alone because I thought it would be better for her to experience the results for herself. There’s nothing I can do even if I look into it.

When I returned to the room after watching Helena, the fully prepared women welcomed me with expressions that one would have just before the competition.

Yeah.. let’s just worry about myself. I don’t know if | can make it to the banquet alive today.... and as soon as I sighed, four women gathered together and changed my clothes.

I wore stockings made of silk, and I didn’t wear a corset because I insisted I didn’t want to die, but instead they hung a cotton pouch that looked rich on the hips. One more skirt on top of that! Put on a light top, and then do it again with another skirt.

When I freaked out about how many layers of clothes I was wearing, women comforted me by saying that it was summer and it’s trendy, so my back was slightly open and that I had no panels on my chest.

As I finished getting dressed, they divided their time to get my hair and face decorated. One was busy combing my hair and another was applying powder.

They braided my hair, pinned it, and applied multiple makeup layers...... At the moment when I was exhausted and wanted to faint, they put on necklaces, bracelets, rings, and put my shoes on.

The attendant was mesmerized by the sight of my face as she carefully moved the mirror. She put a fulllength mirror in front of me only after the court lady announced in a loud voice that was almost like a scream.

“You’re so.... beautiful.”

Certainly I was a little unrealistically beautiful in the mirror. No, I was more like a craft than a human being.

The dark green dress tailored to the color of my eyes was more of an art than clothes with the island’s gold,

thread embroidery, and the diamonds on my hands, ears and neck simply shone.

Not only that, but the braided hair also had a star, shaped pin made of diamonds and gold. I couldn’t believe I had a face that doesn’t get pushed back even though I was wearing something that glitters like this. ‘It was even a little scary.

What’s the point of working so hard like this. The person I can actually see has a heart in the bean field.

“Let’s go when you’re ready.”

“What? His Highness hasn’t come yet.”

“He won’t come.”

He must have gone to escort Helena now.

The attendant looked bewildered as I stepped out the door. It means that he already knows everything when he sees my action yet he can’t say anything but wait.

‘If you go to the venue and look at people’s faces, you’ll find out who’s involved in this.

As I strode along, there was a heavy silence. If you look at the atmosphere, it’s not a coming-of-age ceremony, but a general going to war.

I’ve reached the entrance of the banquet hall, the people are stunned. Everyone was looking at me with ‘No, why are you here already? Alone?’ stuck on their foreheads. This was because it was customary to get escorted by your fiancé if you have a fiancé.

I scanned the area, and I saw Jason in a corner.

“Sir Kazar, would you hold my hand?”

“... What?”

Jason looked at me with a face asking if I was insane. He would be like that, because while this is a comingof-age ceremony, part of it was about the engagement between the prince and Eris.

If Eris had been alone so far even after the fact that she had been verbally announced as his fiancée between families, then from now on, as his fiancée, she would be treated at the expense of the Crown Prince.

In addition to the expanded interpretation, someone else escorting me was like a declaration of propaganda against the imperial family. There’s no way any noble here will do that.

I chose Jason because he was on the same level as Eris in many ways. The eldest son of a duke family and a warrior who saved the empire. Even a childhood, friend of the prince, it was good to use that fact as a shield.

Besides there was no knight in the empire that would refuse the request of a lady.. Jason approached me with a grim look and held my hand.

“Lady Miséran, the eldest daughter of the Marquis and fiancée of the Crown Prince, is entering.”

When the servant, who had been wary, announced my position, Jason took my hand and slowly led me to the center of the ceremony.

The eyes of all the nobles were drawn. All expressed very confused faces, but I decided to take it easy just because Eris was pretty.

I was starting to become hungry, so I was looking around to put something in my mouth, but Jason grabbed me and asked.

“What happened? What about him?”

“Can’t you see? I’m sure he went to pick up Lord Kazar’s partner.”

“What?”

Jason asked back with a stupid face. I replied to the face as if it were something new.

“You know she’s not cold-hearted enough to stand you up.”

“That.. that can’t be true. It’s a coming-of-age ceremony for the love of God.”

“No way... It’s the young lady’s coming-of-age.... How come.”

“They say that falling in love blinds you.”

Apart from that, it was a very sneaky thing. How someone tries to steal a woman to bring her to her coming-of-age. There was no such thing as a thief’s symbol or such a thief’s mind.

“How did you know Helena was with him?”

Jason’s troublesome question was ignored. Well, I guess it’s a big deal that I’m here early. The servant’s face turned blue.

“Here comes the lord of Eastern Kendall, protector of the Caylen River, and Marquis Miséran, Lord of Rimbaud.”

“My daughter.”

The Marquis, who was coming in with a bright smile, suddenly stopped walking. Of course, the Crown Prince deserved it because he was going somewhere and with another person. As soon as the frowning Marquis tried to bring it up, the servant heralded a tumultuous disturbance.

“Give an example! The heart of the empire, the protector of the faith, the master of the land, Emperor Kratos I and the Empress enter.”

Everyone in the hall bowed deeply towards the entrance. The Emperor and Empress were greeted skillfully and they walked straight to me.

“Beautiful, beautiful. You are so beautiful that it’s poisonous to the eyes.”

“It’s a dazzling afternoon, Your Majesty, and Empress. Since you provided a place for us in person, we will regard it as an honor to the family, and in the future, we will continue to care for the inner rather than the exterior and we will be more loyal than vain.”

“From knowing you, it is evidence that you already possess a mature inside..... By the way, the side of you is empty. Where did Alex go?”

At his question I just laughed. Sometimes laughter explains a lot of things. But without that, the snow of today’s storm quickly entered,

“His Majesty, Prince Alex, the lord of the Maranello region and the knight of the royal family, is entering with Helena Antebellum.”

When the door opened, there was a crushing silence. Even a morgue couldn’t be so creepily quiet. Some even rubbed their eyes as if they couldn’t believe it.

Oh, it was worth it. Helena is wearing the same dress as me right now.

Helena was truly astonishingly beautiful, as the woman in the novel recognized as the most beautiful person in the world.

Still, it would be dazzling because the prince brought an originally pretty girl and polished it. When I looked in the mirror, Eris wasn’t really real either, but Helena added something else.