Kays Translations

Chapter 24: Reunion at the Midnight Party

The night the saint arrived at the royal palace.

In order to welcome her, a small soirée was to be held at the palace, to which the nobility were invited.

In a month’s time, a grand soiree is scheduled to be held for all the senior nobles in the country. The purpose was to announce the arrival of the saint to the whole country.

I had never been to a soiree, big or small, but now, fortunately or unfortunately, I was a sorcerer as the Crown Prince’s Konoe Mage. As his bodyguard, I was now able to show up at the soiree.

Of course, I’ll only be wearing the purple robe to guard the crown prince.

The Crown Prince was in his room putting on his costume for the evening party and putting the final touches on it.

“We’ll reduce the sleeve circumference by two millimeters.”　

The tailor re-measured the Crown Prince’s sleeves and ordered his assistant to do something.

When the Crown Prince realized that I was staring at him, he smiled confidently, spread his arms and turned to face me with one toe pointed upward.

“Liesel, where have you been? You’re late. –I had it fixed. Is there anything wrong with this?”

“…No problem. It’s perfect, Your Highness.”

A man with a first-class appearance wearing a first-class formal dress. He can’t be anything but beautiful.

However, it is not pleasant to see the man you once fell in love with going through the trouble of dressing up for a saint.

“I heard that there will be a lot of sweets served at the soiree tonight. Because today is St. Donum’s Day.”

“Oh, it is St. Donum’s Day, as they say.”

I had completely forgotten about it.

St. Donum’s Day is a day to give sweets to the women who are close to you.

When I was back at my parents’ house in Baral, Arnold and my grandfather used to give Catherine and me a big tin full of baked goods every year. That was the only day that Catherine would serve us chiffon cake for breakfast in the morning.

When I was five years old, I went to the dining room expecting to have cake in the morning, but Catherine had forgotten that it was St. Donum’s Day. When I discovered that there was no cake on the table, I cried so hard that it bothered Catherine. From then on, Catherine never missed the chiffon cake on St. Donum’s morning.

While I was nostalgically reminiscing about my hometown, the Crown Prince, who had walked with the clacking of his shoes to the filing cabinet in the corner of the room, came back in front of me. He cleared his throat once and held out a light purple rectangular box in front of me.

“Here, take this.”

“What? What’s this?”

“Chocolate.”

I didn’t expect that this busy Crown Prince had prepared sweets for me, so I bowed politely and accepted.

“I never thought I’d get a gift from His Highness.”

“It just looked good, so I bought it.”

I looked up at the crown prince with wide eyes in surprise and he turned away with a huff. 

“With that, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you wouldn’t be able to get away from your work at the soiree tonight and get lost in the sweets in the great hall?”

What a remark.

“–Thank you, Your Highness.”

Although, I didn’t like the extra word.

When I thanked him, the crown prince tilted his head in wonder.

“Why do women appreciate sweet things?”

“Because eating them makes them feel happy.”

Then the crown prince gave a small, unusually amused laugh.

Is that what it is? He muttered and said nothing more.

For the first time in my life, the royal soiree left me breathless and amazed from beginning to end.

The walls on both sides of the hall were covered with mirrors, making the large hall look even bigger than it was.

The ceiling shone with many hanging chandeliers and golden ornaments, and the food was served in such abundance that it seemed as if it had been prepared by every waiter in the palace, welcoming the fully dressed ladies and the nobles who escorted them.

(Everywhere you look, there are people, lights, music and the chatter of the guests!)

The space, which seemed to condense all the luxuries of the country, made me feel dizzy.

The Crown Prince would be entering soon, so I had to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, but there were too many people to keep an eye on. For now, we have put up a barrier in this hall that can detect if anyone tries to use magic.

As the trumpets sounded, the crowd stopped chattering and turned to face the main entrance of the hall. The musicians also stopped playing.

The crown prince appeared from the wide open door, holding the arm of the saint.

The Crown Prince, dressed in a freshly-unveiled blue jacket, walks alongside the Saint, who is also wearing a blue dress.

The Saint, who had been shown around the palace by the Crown Prince, seemed to be completely at ease with him.

As they walked to the center of the hall, the King, who was sitting on his throne at the back, stood up and called out to the visitors.

“The saint, the very grace that God has bestowed upon our nation, has come to this palace. Let us all share in this joy.”

In response, the saint replied, “Your words are wasted on me.” She was far away from the King, but her clear and resonant voice must have reached the King.

When the music started again, the Crown Prince faced the saint and knelt down. She was so beautiful that she could have been on the cover of a fairytale book.

“Will you dance the first song with me?”

The saint turned her sweet honey-colored eyes towards the Crown Prince and nodded shyly.

“Yes. Of course, Your Highness.”

Holding each other’s hands, they began to dance.

At the same time, I moved away from them to the wall of the hall. There was no need to stick around and get in their way.

The couples in the hall spun around and danced a lot.

As I stood still and watched them, my eyes gradually turned.

The tables were lined with delicious looking food and drinks. There was also a table dedicated to sweets.

Perhaps because it was St. Donum’s Day, the pastry corner was decorated with a lot of effort, with ribbons and flowers decorating the tables. The napkins on the plates were brightly colored and pretty.

There was also a wide variety of baked goods, fresh sweets and nuts.

I held back my gaze from being drawn in and searched the pockets of my robe. I took out a rectangular box and secretly opened it.

There were five partitions inside, and six chocolates were placed vertically.

(Beautiful. Like a jewelry box.)

There were spherical ones sprinkled with powdered sugar and heart-shaped ones covered with red dried fruit grains and so on. I wanted to take a closer look, but I was at work.

I hurriedly selected one and quickly threw it into my mouth.

(Oh, it’s delicious!!)

The chocolate melted delicately as soon as it entered my mouth. The rich aroma of cocoa permeated my nostrils and nuts and caramel came out from inside.

The sweetness was moderate and did not interfere with the flavor.

It was indeed a gift from the crown prince.

(No, I can’t stop. I want to eat more…)

I couldn’t resist picking up another piece to eat. Suddenly, a voice called out to me from the side.

“Liesel, you’re here.”

When I looked up, I saw Gideon dressed in red.

I was so surprised that I exerted myself and the chocolate rolled off my fingertips.

“Ah!”

I desperately tried to grab the falling chocolate with both hands to keep it from falling on the floor, but I couldn’t make it in time and it fell between Gideon’s shoes.

Gideon took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and quickly picked up the chocolate.

This was the first time I had met him at the Royal Palace after getting this job.

Of course, he was not here now as a royal palace magician.

He had come to the soiree as one of the invited guests.

Gideon leaned against the wall like me, holding the chocolate in his handkerchief, and smiled.

“I haven’t seen you since graduation. The royal palace is too big. –Were you surprised that Iris became a saint?”

“Of course. You too, right? You were childhood friends.”

“That’s right. –She seems to like His Highness a lot.”

With a thirsty laugh, Gideon pointed his chin at the middle of the hall. There was the saint, dancing with the crown prince.

They stared at each other as if they were oblivious to what was going on around them, and occasionally the crown prince would put his face close to the saint’s ear and whisper something to her.

Each time, the saint’s cheeks would blush, and she would move her lovely pale red lips to reply happily.

(Hmm, this is really tough. It’s like sand was poured on an old wound…)

Looking away from the saint, Gideon looked down at the chocolate he had picked up in his hand.

“–This is Piaran’s chocolate.”

“Piaran?”

“Didn’t you know? It’s the oldest confectionery store in Royal Capital.”

I didn’t know.

It’s a chocolate from such a famous store.

Then Gideon snapped his fingers with one hand and called for the waiter. Maybe he was going to throw away the chocolate.

“Gideon, don’t throw it away. I’ll eat it later.”

“But didn’t it fall on the floor? You’d better not.”

If I had dropped it on the floor of my room, I would have washed it with water and eaten it…! Such a waste.

When the waiter comes over, he puts the chocolate on the tray on his hand.

(Oh, I’ve done a regrettable thing…)

I stare wistfully at the waiter as he walks away.

I look for the crown prince, who is still dancing with the saint.

From his throne, the King is watching the young couple.

Stroking his beard slowly and nodding several times, the King seems very satisfied.

The Crown Prince supports the saint’s waist, lifts her up, and turns her around. The hem of the saint’s blue taffeta dress spreads out like a butterfly, so beautiful it makes me sigh. They look like a picture-perfect princess and prince.

They look really happy.

Gideon said in a very low voice in my ear as I admired them even though I didn’t want to watch them.

“Do you care about His Highness and the saint?”

After saying this, Gideon stood in front of me.

He takes out a small box from the inside pocket of his jacket and pushes it into my hand. It was a leather box with a slippery surface.

“Take it. –It’s a gift of St. Donum.”

I didn’t expect to get one from Gideon in such a place.

When we were in the academy, he used to give small chocolates to everyone in the class, regardless of gender.

(No matter where you are, you never forget to be attentive. I guess this is what attracts the kids in your fan club…)

When I received the box and opened it with a flip of the small silver latch, what I found inside was not chocolate. For a moment, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

What was inside the velvet box was a purple brooch.

The name of the store was embroidered in silver thread on the back of the box lid. As I squinted to read it, I noticed that it was a familiar name.

(This is an accessory store for royalty!)

I remember that the Crown Prince had ordered cufflinks a while ago.

They were simple silver cufflinks with no precious stones, but they were surprisingly expensive.

(How much is this brooch ……?)

“I can’t get something this great.”

My hands tremble.

“The amethyst matches the color of Liesel’s eyes.”

(It’s a custom-made order!)

The large oval amethyst is surrounded by a number of transparent stones. No way, these are all diamonds? I was too scared to ask.

“Gideon…, this is way beyond the scope of St. Donum’s gift.”

“Think of it as chocolate and take it.”

“No, it’s impossible to imagine. This is no candy.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just take it.”

I wonder why.

Gideon is so kind, but sometimes he’s so pushy with me.

“Can I really have it? There’s no way to thank you.”

Gideon gently touches my hand holding the box.

The warmth of his touch increased my heart rate.

“If you are willing to thank me…, I would like you to attend the Grand Night Party next month with me.”

The unexpected proposal left me speechless. I’m going to the Grand Night Party with Gideon?　　

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