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“Young Viscountess Sabrina— Victorious!”
The proctor shouted in a trembling voice.
Edwina walked over to me, who was sitting dazed and exhausted, she then held out her hand.
“Young Viscountess Sabrina.”
“Sir Axion…”
“Good duel.”
Edwina smiled and offered her hand for a handshake.
I clasp her hand with a weak response.
“You won’t lose next time.”
“Sir Axion had already dueled others besides me, and if it weren’t for that, I would have lost.”
“No.”
Edwina shook her head, her face was determined.
“Saying that I could have won if I were in a better state is just an excuse.”
Edwina’s grip on my hand suddenly tightened.
She then tugged me to my feet.
“You’re strong, Young Viscountess Sabrina, you’re very strong.”
As I rose to my feet, our eyes locked.
Edwina looked serious.
“Sir Axion…”
“Please call me Edwina.”
My eyes widened at the unexpected words.
Among knights and nobles, to allow one’s name to be used by someone means you want them to be your friend.
This is just my dream come true!
“Well, then, call me Iris, too!”
“Very well, Iris.”
Edwina laughed merrily as she watched me look overwhelmed with emotion.
And just like that, the first knight selection test was over, and I found myself a new friend.
✤
“Oh my God, you’re so beautiful!”
Oh my God. How many times has this happened?
How is this harder than practicing swordsmanship?
After changing into a dress that I don’t know whether it’s the sixth or seventh one, I looked at Amarth with an exhausted expression.
He was grinning from ear to ear, unaware of what I was thinking.
“The color blue certainly looks good on you, Lady Iris!”
He said, and Lady Elena nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Amarth’s apprentice brought in the next dress.
“Master, the next dress is ready.”
I stared at the dress the apprentice had brought in with weary eyes.
It seemed to have turned into a terrible enemy.
Who would have guessed that choosing a dress for the debutante ball would be such an arduous task.
A few days ago, when I was taking my measurements and choosing the fabric, I wondered what was so difficult about it, but compared to today, it was simply a breeze.
Amarth, who had been at the Marquis’ residence since early in the morning, and Lady Elena, were having a heated discussion amongst themselves, while I just casually changed into my dress.
Meanwhile, Sophie was busy fussing around with my hair.
She has been trying to get it to match the dresses all day, she’s been braiding it, twisting it, and putting it up in a half-bun.
She literally went into a frenzy.
Once I was dressed, I didn’t know what to do.
I had to wear different headdresses, jewelries, and shoes to match the dress, and after a few repetitions, I felt like a worn out doll.
“Wait.”
Amarth raised his hand to stop his apprentice, then examined the dress with a serious expression, he then pinned the bottom of the skirt with thread pins.
“Hmm, I think we might need to shorten the length a little bit— Still, this look, was the best so far, what do you think, Lady Elena?”
“I like it, Sophie, what about you?”
Lady Elena, turned to Sophie, who had been busy playing around with my hair, and she answered as if she had been waiting for it.
“This is my favorite dress too, it’s so beautiful!”
Sophie looked at me with her hands clasped together in ecstasy, her eyes were filled with admiration, envy, and yearning.
“Your hair color matches your dress so well, you look like a water spirit!”
What does she mean water spirit?
Would she freak out if I tell her that there are real spirits here?
Unfortunately it’s a wind spirit, not a water spirit.
I chuckled at Sophie’s comment and fiddled with my necklace.
Then Amarth’s eyes sparkled and shone.
“Is this necklace made of spirit stone from His Highness the Crown Prince?”
It was strange that they’ve already heard about it, with the newspapers talking about us every day, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but still..
“That’s right.”
“I see! Wow, this is the first time I’ve actually seen a spirit stone!”
Amarth exclaimed in an excited voice.
He looked at the spirit stone necklace with greedy eyes.
“Indeed, it’s worthy of being called a jewelry more precious than gold, it’s so beautiful… What should I say, it looks mysterious and ethereal— Well, I can’t think of the right words to describe it.”
“I want to wear this necklace to my debutante ball, do you think that’s okay?”
“Of course, it’s a spirit stone, it will go with any dress, and once Lady Iris wears this to the ball, she will be the center of attention. No one will be able to compare to you! Once you wear it, it will be game over for the others.”
The white spirit stone glowed pink at Amarth’s assurance.
Sylph seemed to take Amarth’s words as a compliment.
Amarth exclaimed when he saw the color change.
“Wow,”
He said, “It’s true that spirit stones change color with light!”
“Hmm.”
I laughed awkwardly without correcting him, although I knew that it didn’t change color because of the light, but because Sylph was embarrassed.
The fact that the spirit stone contained a spirit was a secret between the crown prince and me.
Still, there had been an uproar after it was revealed that the Prince had given me a spirit stone.
Recently, the Marquis estate had been inundated with invitations to attend different balls, and parties, requesting me to wear the spirit stone necklace.
There were even letters asking if I would be willing to sell it to them at a later date.
I was greatly dumbfounded, thinking that no matter how good the jewelry was, I couldn’t possibly just sell something given to me by the crown prince.
Based on my understanding, for nobles who enjoy luxury, spirit stones are precious items that are worth a thousand gold coins.
In this situation, if it was known that the spirit stones actually contained a living spirit, it would be even more messy than it is now.
I didn’t want to be bothered any further.
『The reunion of the imperial family and the Bright family! Will it finally lead to marriage?』
『The crown prince’s chosen gift is a spirit stone? Interview with a jewelry craftsman released!』
『Spirit stones are precious stones more precious than gold, a rarity comparable to silver iron!』
『Who is Young Lady Bright’s twin sister, Young Viscountess Sabrina?』
『The love story of Marquis Bright and Viscountess Sabrina, which caused a stir in the Imperial social circles in the past, is revealed!』
『Her Excellency, Young Viscountess Sabrina, is taking a different path from her sister! Top of the First Selection Test for the Imperial Knights!』
Somehow, the headlines alone are loud enough to make my ears perk up.
I glanced at the newspaper on the table and swallowed a sigh.
The reporters, smelling the money, were spewing out all sorts of speculation about me and the crown prince.
They didn’t stop there, they even dug into the past of the Marquis and my mother.
As their child, I didn’t know their story so well, but the newspaper continued to talk about my parents’ past, and I learned the details of their life together and their separation.
I didn’t know whether to admire the reporter’s intelligence or be ashamed of my own indifference and ignorance.
“Should I wear this dress to the debutante ball?”
“Indeed. I think we can go with the water spirit concept, like Miss Sophie said.”
Amarth’s expression had finally changed, and she tore her gaze away from the spirit stone necklace to inspect the dress carefully.
‘If we settle on this dress, can I skip the next one?’
Anything is fine, I just want this ordeal to end quickly.
I was about to tell Amarth to go with this one when Lady Elena spoke up, cautiously.
“It’s pretty, but doesn’t it lack a little decoration?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s not finished yet. Once we settle on this one, I’ll put pearls on the skirt side. I’ll also sprinkle it with silver dust to give it a shiny effect.”
“What about the waist? It looks a little hollow.”
“The waistline will be accented with a string of sapphires and diamonds. The earrings will be emeralds, the same color as Lady Iris’s eyes, and I’m thinking of white flowers for her hair to give her an innocent look.”
“Aren’t flowers too fragile? What about emeralds or gold inlaid in the shape of leaves or stems to go with them?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea!”
Amarth exclaimed.
He had been deliberatiing about my dress with Lady Elena since earlier. He picked up his notebook with a look of realization on his face.
He then quickly drew something and held the notebook out to Lady Elena.
“How about this?”
“Good.”
“Then I’ll put in a call to the craftsman right away.”
“Wait a minute.”
Lady Elena stopped Amarth, who looked ready to run to the jeweler at a moment’s notice.
“Let’s hear what the young lady had to say first.”
Four pairs of eyes of different colors turned to me before Lady Elena’s words could even finish,
“What do you think, Lady Iris, do you like this dress, shall we go with this one?”
“Mmm… I think it’s fine, though the waist is a little tight.”
I nodded as if that was okay, but then Lady Elena gave me a disapproving look.
“Then what about the purple dress you wore earlier, I liked the turquoise one you wore at the beginning because it had a classy feel to it.”
“They were both easier to move in than what I’m wearing now.”
Lady Elena’s face fell at my answer, as did Amarth’s next to her.
‘What the hell, what’s wrong with them?’
“Besides the ease of movement, what about the design? Do you dislike it?”
“Hmm? No, I like it.”
“Really? Where do you like it?”
“Well… The fabric is soft, and it doesn’t feel tight on my waist or arms?”
Oh, no, that’s not it.
I was just complimenting the dress, but their expression darkened even more.
Amarth sulked and muttered in a hoarse voice.
“I see my design failed to steal my Lady’s heart.”
“Eh?” No, it wasn’t that…”
I blinked in bewilderment as I looked at the self-pitying Amarth.
For some reason, I felt like a clueless child who hadn’t gotten the right answer.
“Well, Amarth,” said Iris,
“Don’t take offense, but listen to me, as you know, I’m an aspiring knight, so I haven’t had much occasion to wear dresses until now, and I’m not interested in them, so I don’t really have a good sense when it comes to this kind of thing…”
As I spoke, I felt a little indignant that I even had to make excuses for something I didn’t do on purpose, but I decided to try to cheer him up first.