Sigrid

It was hard to tell if it was an insult or a compliment. Marie-Chez unfurled her fan with a swish and said:

“But my friend can’t be like that. I won’t allow it.”

She tapped the box beside her.

“That’s why I called you early. I’ll lend you some accessories.”

“Thank you.”

Marie-Chez shook her head at Sigrid’s words.

“It’s just lending. No need to thank me.”

“But they’re expensive.”

Sigrid said seriously.

“It’s the same as me lending you my sword. It means you trust me, so thank you.”

“Friend level five now.”

Marie-Chez said, splaying her fingers. Sigrid brightened, saying, “Ah, it went up.”

“I thought about it and decided this level was appropriate, so I adjusted it upward.”

Marie-Chez said, tilting her chin up. The carriage rode cheerfully into the Viscount Alsekidna’s estate. The mansion was already bustling with activity.

As Marie-Chez and Sigrid alighted, Lowengrin was there to greet them at the entrance. Sigrid’s eyes widened.

“Lowengrin, you look so pretty too.”

“Thank you, Sigrid. You look pretty as well.”

“Lowi, can I borrow a maid?”

“A maid?”

Lowengrin asked, puzzled by Marie-Chez’s request. Marie-Chez pointed to the box her servant was carrying.

“I brought some accessories to lend Sigrid.”

“Ah, I see.”

Lowengrin nodded and welcomed them inside.

They undid Sigrid’s hair, brushed it, and put it up in an intricate style, inserting ornate accessories. The change in appearance was so dramatic that Sigrid was surprised.

‘So hairstyle is important.’

She made a mental note of this new discovery.

Marie-Chez tapped the armrest with her comb for a moment, then said:

“We should cut your bangs.”

“Huh?”

Startled, Sigrid looked at herself in the mirror. Marie-Chez held out her hand to a maid, saying, “Scissors.” The maid took away the comb and handed her scissors instead.

“Bangs?”

Sigrid repeated. Marie-Chez nodded.

“I think bangs would suit you much better. You’re still young, so a cuter impression would be good, right?”

She said seriously:

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then.”

With a smile, Marie-Chez began adjusting Sigrid’s bangs this way and that. Meanwhile, a maid quickly draped a long cloth around Sigrid’s neck. Marie-Chez started cutting without hesitation.

Snip, snip.

Silver hair fell to the floor. Marie-Chez said:

“You’ll need to keep trimming your bangs, so remember that. When it’s time to trim your bangs, it’s time for a hair appointment. Otherwise, I feel like you’d just let it grow without ever trimming it.”

It was advice that saw right through Sigrid.

“There, all done.”

“Oh my, Sigrid, you look cute.”

Lowengrin said with a smile. Sigrid looked in the mirror. She definitely looked younger, or should we say, more adorable?

“How is it? Does it suit you?”

Marie-Chez asked, placing her hands on Sigrid’s shoulders. Sigrid nodded.

“Good, now we just need to put your hair up.”

At those words, the maids took Marie-Chez’s place and began braiding and pinning up Sigrid’s hair.

“Excellent, you look even more lovable than before. This is the trend these days.”

Marie-Chez nodded with satisfaction. Sigrid felt awkward with her bangs tickling her forehead.

The accessories Marie-Chez brought were all to her taste: intricate and delicate, with a subtly girlish feel. Marie-Chez tried various necklaces and earrings on Sigrid, then crossed her arms.

“Hmm, something’s not quite right.”

“Want to borrow mine?”

“Yours, Lowi? Is that okay?”

“It’s a ball at our house, so it’s not like they’ll be leaving the premises.”

Lowengrin said with a smile, instructing a maid to bring her earrings and necklace. Marie-Chez examined about twenty boxes one by one, sending them back until she finally chose one.

“This will look good.”

It was a large, straight earring the color of sunset with minimal decoration. Just the gemstone itself, of this quality and size, with such craftsmanship, would be incredibly expensive.

“The earrings are large, and the dress comes up to the neck, so we can skip the rest. Yes, this looks good.”

Marie-Chez smiled, looking at Sigrid’s reflection in the mirror from behind her.

“Should we redo her makeup to match?”

“Yes.”

Marie-Chez nodded at Lowengrin’s question. By the time they finished Sigrid’s makeup with the help of a maid, it was already time for the ball to start. Not that everyone gathers right at the starting time; it takes quite a while for the venue to truly come alive.

“Mother is today’s hostess, so…”

Lowengrin said they could take their time going down.

“Besides, your dance partners are already decided.”

Sigrid turned to look at Lowengrin, puzzled by her words.

“They’re decided?”

“Siri, unlike us, Lowengrin has a wonderful fiancé.”

At Marie-Chez’s words, delivered with a shrug, Sigrid jumped up in surprise.

“Fiancé?!”

“Yes, I have a fiancé chosen by my parents.”

“Who is it? What kind of person?”

Lowengrin smiled at Sigrid’s questions.

“I’ll introduce you today.”

“Okay.”

Sigrid nodded deeply. Looking back in the mirror, her made-up self somehow didn’t feel like herself. Marie-Chez put her arm on Sigrid’s shoulder and said, looking in the mirror:

“Alright, this isn’t bad. I won’t be embarrassed to introduce you as my friend.”

Lowengrin said, “Ah, that’s a relief,” in a somewhat scathing tone, to which Marie-Chez stuck out her tongue slightly and replied:

“Why? It’s nice to look pretty.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Let’s go, Sigrid.”

Marie-Chez took her hand and led her out. Lowengrin followed behind with a small sigh. As they descended to the lower floor and entered the hall, they felt a wave of heat. The Viscount Alsekidna’s ballroom sparkled with colorful decorations. Even though the ball had just started, the room was already full of people. It was clear how hungry people were for a large social gathering. Small tea parties and salon gatherings hadn’t been enough.

People in formal attire were circulating, offering wine and champagne. On one side of the hall were cold lemonades and light finger foods. A band of about ten musicians was playing sweet melodies. When the atmosphere heated up more, dance music would start at the hostess’s signal.

Shortly after arriving in the hall, Lowengrin was quickly surrounded by people greeting her. However, she easily brought Marie-Chez and Sigrid into the circle beside her, allowing them to converse comfortably with the others.

Well, Marie-Chez could converse easily, but Sigrid was a bit stiff. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Sigrid said:

“I’m going to get some lemonade.”

“Alright.”

Marie-Chez said with a smile, and Sigrid quickly slipped away through the crowd. It was overwhelming. How could people chatter with five or six others simultaneously? She felt her shoulders tensing up involuntarily.

Filling a glass with lemonade and gulping it down, the ice-cold drink seemed to bring her back to her senses.

“Sigrid?”

Someone called from behind, and Sigrid whirled around.

“Morris?”

“It is you. I almost didn’t recognize you. If it weren’t for that silver hair, I really wouldn’t have known it was you.”

Morris replied with a smile. Sigrid unconsciously reached for her hair but quickly lowered her hand when she felt the hairpin.

‘I shouldn’t mess up my hair.’

“Does it look strange?”

Sigrid asked, looking down at her attire. Morris shook his head.

“No, it suits you very well.”

“That’s a relief.”

Sigrid smiled in relief. Although Marie-Chez and Lowengrin had told her she looked pretty, she wanted to hear a more objective opinion. Sigrid said seriously:

“You look handsome too, Morris.”

Morris glanced down at his own outfit at her words, then looked up.

“Thank you.”

“Morris, who is this beautiful lady?”

“Ah—”

Morris turned his head. There stood a man slightly shorter than Morris, smiling brightly. Morris said, looking at the man:

“This is my older brother, Amis Deforest. Brother, this is my fellow knight, Lady Sigrid Ankertna.”

“Ah, Lady Ankertna.”

Amis extended his hand, and when Sigrid grasped it as if to shake hands, he kissed the back of her hand. Sigrid raised her eyebrows briefly in an ‘oops’ expression but held back, remembering her current attire.

“I had no idea such a beautiful lady was my brother’s colleague. Morris, now I understand why you keep staying in the knight order.”

Amis said with a bright smile. Morris laughed awkwardly and said:

“Lady Ankertna has the best swordsmanship among us, Brother.”

“Oh, so the beautiful rose has thorns, is that it? I’d love to see those thorns sometime, Lady Ankertna.”

“Brother.”

“What?”

“Lady Ankertna is my colleague.”

At Morris’s words, Amis’s face stiffened slightly before he said:

“Are you trying to lecture me? Don’t worry, I have no intention of touching my little brother’s woman.”

“Brother.”

As Morris frowned, Amis waved his hand and left. Morris quickly turned to Sigrid and said:

“I’m sorry, my brother didn’t mean to insult you.”

Sigrid tilted her head at those words, then said:

“Well, I’m not your woman, for starters.”

Morris felt his cheeks burning and bowed his head deeply.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“And is it okay?”

“Huh?”

“I mean your brother. If we were to duel—”

Sigrid trailed off. Considering the gait, height, build, and movements she had just observed—

“It wouldn’t be a matter of getting pricked by my thorns; the difference in skill level is so great that it wouldn’t even be worth fighting.”

Seeing Sigrid speak so seriously, Morris burst out laughing.

“Morris?”

“No, it’s just, ha, you’re right. Yes.”

Sigrid’s words, which he could never have uttered himself, were actually refreshing to hear. Sigrid added seriously:

“Morris, you need to work harder too.”

At those words, Morris quickly stopped laughing.

“Yeah, I guess I should.”

Suddenly remembering that Morris was planning to become a wandering knight and leave the capital, Sigrid grabbed the hem of his jacket.

“Sig?”

Looking into Morris’s kind brown eyes, which had become puzzled, Sigrid said:

“I can help you with swordsmanship.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll coach you. So don’t go anywhere—”

Morris looked down at Sigrid’s face, which seemed almost desperate as she looked up at him. Those beautiful sunset-like eyes. He had admired them as pretty eyes from the first time he saw them.

After staring into those eyes for a while, Morris replied:

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Morris answered and turned his head. The musicians’ tune began to change. As the first dance song started, people began to form a circle.

“Shall we dance?”

Morris extended his hand. Sigrid put down her lemonade and was about to take his hand when she suddenly stopped.

“Sig?”

“Well—”

“I’m sorry, but the first dance is reserved for me.”

Beramund cut in, swiftly grabbing Sigrid’s hand that had paused in mid-air. Before Sigrid or Morris could say anything, he pulled her into the crowd.

As the familiar three-beat song began, the Viscount and Viscountess Alsekidna came to the center of the circle and started dancing. Beramund whispered:

“Why is the first song always a waltz?”

“When did you arrive?”

“Just now.”

“Cutting into a conversation like that seems rather impolite.”

“My partner seemed too intimate with another man.”

“Of course we are?”

As Sigrid’s eyes widened, Beramund frowned slightly before saying, “Ah.”

“You’re friends?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Beramund laughed, then caught Morris’s eye over Sigrid’s shoulder and smiled even more deeply before whispering in her ear:

“The dress suits you well. You cut your bangs too? It’s cute.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you like the dress?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad.”

Beramund grinned and placed his hand on her waist. As the first two measures ended, everyone seemed to have been waiting as they stepped onto the dance floor.

“We didn’t have to rush in like this. We could have danced to the next song.”

“The next song is a polka.”

“Yes.”

“That’s where partners keep changing.”

“I don’t see how that matters.”