Today was Ophelia Deshipeta’s birthday.
At this moment, it was only Ophelia’s 15th birthday banquet—not her coming-of-age ceremony, which would take place next year.
The coming-of-age ceremony was usually held in the imperial palace in the capital and was far more extravagant than this.
As the sun set in the west, carriage after carriage lined up, making their way into the Deshipeta Estate located just outside the capital.
Most of these carriages belonged to nobles within the Dawn Empire, while the rest were foreign nobles who maintained friendly relations with the Deshipetas.
Lilian quietly observed everything outside through the carriage window.
She wore a custom-made evening gown by Eleonora—a dark green gradient dress with a simple and elegant design.
At Lilian’s request, it was tailored to allow for ease of movement.
These past few days, Eleonora had basically been teaching her all kinds of etiquette, whether necessary or not, going through it all meticulously.
When Eleonora was once again fussing over correcting Lilian’s mistakes, Lilian asked, “Is it really necessary to teach me all this?”
Eleonora hesitated and stammered, “You’ll always end up using it. If you don’t know when the time comes, won’t it embarrass the Cohen family’s reputation…?”
Lilian reluctantly believed her because Eleonora said it with a smile, though she couldn’t tell what Eleonora was really thinking.
The magic lessons were going smoothly as well.
Following the basic steps of magical training, Eleonora taught Lilian the foundational elemental sigils for [Water] and [Wind] over these days.
“Starting with elemental sigils is the easiest, but this is way too easy for you,” Eleonora had said.
Maybe Lilian really did have a magical talent, but she had never been able to perceive mana before, so it hadn’t shown until now.
“What are you thinking about?” Eleonora’s voice pulled Lilian out of her thoughts.
Today, Eleonora wore a silver-white dress, seemingly the same style as Lilian’s, her hair elegantly pinned up with a few loose strands framing her face, giving her a playful look.
That conversation with Lilian was quite useful—at least in everyday situations, Eleonora could now speak to her properly.
But if Lilian acted a bit too familiar or jokingly called her “Master~,” Eleonora would immediately revert to that usual sharp-tongued demeanor.
“I’m thinking about that man in the black robe. Aren’t you worried, Master?”
“What’s there to worry about?” Unlike Lilian’s concern, Eleonora seemed very confident.
Lilian didn’t understand why Eleonora behaved that way.
Even though someone had told her to be careful at tonight’s banquet, she showed no concern, acting as if she had everything under control.
“Are you really sure it’s nothing to worry about?” Lilian still felt uneasy.
“No worries. I’m Eleonora Cohen, future magic… ahem, magical prodigy,” Eleonora said again, brimming with confidence and looking quite adorable.
Well then, perhaps as the daughter of the Count’s household, Eleonora did know more than Lilian.
If she said there was nothing to worry about, then maybe there really wasn’t.
For now, Lilian decided to trust Eleonora.
As they approached the Cohen Estate, the two stepped down from the carriage.
Lilian curiously looked at the nearby carriages, most of which were decorated extravagantly, each displaying their family crests.
Lilian recognized only one—the Sunflower Crest of the Sanlai Family.
In the game’s princess route, this family was completely wiped out by the princess’s army after two weeks, accused of colluding with a cult.
Lilian didn’t know the details—after all, it was just an event in the game, but the description was quite intense, so she had noted down the family.
Could this family be related to the Cohen Count’s estate being sacrificed?
Lilian stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“Lilian, shall we go?”
“Yes, coming.”
They handed their gifts to the servants.
One servant glanced at Lilian, then passed the task to a colleague and hurried away.
Lilian and Eleonora entered with their Invitations.
Inside, the decorations were quite lavish—chandeliers, paintings, valuable antiques.
Lilian didn’t understand much about them, but everything displayed must be expensive.
Maybe one of those vases was worth 300 gold coins.
Lilian carefully kept her distance from the fragile items.
Upon entering the hall, there was still plenty of time before the banquet officially began.
Eleonora had told Lilian beforehand that this time was for small circle socializing.
The Six Great Nobles—two military, two political, and two religious.
The Cohen family belonged to the military faction among the Six Great Nobles, boasting the strongest military power, unmatched by any other.
Now the case was clear: the Border Count, military strongest, and the Cohen Count himself held a high personal reputation.
The emperor must be feeling uneasy.
Lilian felt a pang of pain in her teeth.
In the game, the Cohen Count’s family was destroyed with the emperor’s tacit approval.
If she could approach the problem from this angle, might it help resolve Eleonora’s troubles?
No, no, what did that have to do with her?
Lilian slapped her cheeks to calm herself.
Once they left the Count’s estate, it would be up to Eleonora and the Cohen Count to handle such matters.
She was still too weak and had no right to consider these things.
Some nobles under the Cohen domain had also arrived, most of whom seemed to get along well with Eleonora.
They chatted and laughed.
“Eleonora, who is this lady?” a red-haired young woman asked Lilian curiously.
Being able to call Eleonora by name suggested they had a close relationship.
Eleonora thought for a moment and replied, “She’s a friend I met recently in the capital.”
“May I ask which family she’s from?” the red-haired girl inquired.
Eleonora frowned, about to stop Lilian.
“Lilian Ewald, not a noble,” Lilian replied politely. “Just fortunate enough to be invited here.”
The red-haired girl glanced at Lilian’s gown, which was the same style as Eleonora’s, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
“I see.”
She didn’t seem particularly interested in Lilian and soon returned to mingling with other noble youths.
Seeing that nothing was happening between them, Eleonora turned to greet some familiar nobles politely, looking like a different person.
There was none of the recklessness she showed around Lilian.
Eleonora noticed Lilian watching her, waved her hand, and excused herself from the nobles.
“Bored?”
“Not really,” Lilian said, looking around, finding this unfamiliar scene quite interesting.
“That’s good.” Eleonora sighed, looking tired.
Lilian’s maid instinctively wanted to go hug Eleonora.
What was going on?
But since they were in public, Lilian felt a little embarrassed.
She could tell Eleonora didn’t really like this kind of occasion.
“If you’re tired, just sit here. Didn’t you say those nobles aren’t worth paying attention to?”
“Well, I guess so.” Whether it was because of the “Master” title or Lilian’s teasing, Eleonora’s cheeks turned a little red.
“I’m going to go first.” Eleonora hurriedly walked away.
The socializing time quickly passed, and the banquet officially began.
Eleonora came to Lilian’s side, behaving very obediently.
The opening of the banquet was traditional—the Church Choir sang hymns praising the Dawn Goddess, leading everyone in prayer.
A bit boring.
Lilian thought it would be better to just cross herself, say “Amen,” and start eating.
After the eldest prince led the opening dance, the banquet entered a very important phase.
The guest of honor, Ophelia Deshipeta, appeared.
She would choose her dance partner to dance with, marking the start of the ball.
Ophelia smiled brightly at Lilian’s direction.
Lilian felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, Ophelia gracefully approached Lilian and made a formal invitation gesture.
“My dear Lilian, may I have the honor of inviting you to dance with me?”
Oh no, I’m doomed.