Late at night, Iana carefully held the dress as if it were the most precious thing in the world, afraid that even the slightest damage would befall it.
The moment she stepped into Lillian’s bedroom, she was stunned.
She held her breath, staring in disbelief at how Lillian had decorated the room.
The entire space was adorned by Lillian to resemble a fairy tale world.
Star-shaped balloons floated from the ceiling, colorful streamers hung all over the walls, and a heart made entirely of chocolate sat by the bedside.
“Did you make all of this?”
Iana’s incredulous voice echoed clearly in the quiet night, as unbelievable to her as the resurrection of Qin Shi Huang.
Lillian nodded slightly, her tone soft and tinged with embarrassment.
“Yes, I’ve been busy with it since the afternoon, but… I still feel like it’s not quite right. Could you help me take a look?”
“It’s perfect already. No need to change anything.” Iana almost said it without thinking.
“Sometimes, you just need to learn to trust your own abilities. You don’t have to doubt yourself all the time. If you’re always doubting, you won’t succeed in anything, and you definitely won’t win over Ethelrina.” Iana lectured Lillian.
Right now, she had to recharge Lillian with some confidence, rather than let her become a mere copy of Ethelrina.
This was also to prevent Lillian from being emotionally manipulated by Ethelrina.
“Y-Yeah, I… I understand.”
Seeing Lillian’s weak demeanor, Iana couldn’t help but get a headache.
She always felt like helping Lillian win over Ethelrina was pushing her straight into a fire pit, but for Lillian’s happiness, she had no choice but to keep going.
“To bring you closer to Ethelrina, I’ll teach you a few more tricks. There will be a waltz segment at the birthday party. You should take the initiative to invite Ethelrina to dance. Let her see your feelings.”
“If you get the chance, spend more time with her. I’m sure she won’t mind. In fact, if you’re the one making the first move, Ethelrina might even be pleased.”
“Remember, only by taking the initiative can you seize your own happiness.”
Iana earnestly advised Lillian to be proactive, afraid that she would miss the best chance to win over Ethelrina.
“I… I got it.” Lillian was a little dizzy from all the advice, only managing to remember that to hold onto her happiness, she had to take the initiative.
She trusted that Iana wouldn’t lie to her.
“Here, put on this dress so I can see if it fits. If it doesn’t, I’ll alter it.”
Iana slowly unfolded the dress in her hands.
Pure white and noble, it was dotted with countless sparkling diamonds like stars in the night sky, dazzling and radiant.
At any banquet, anyone wearing this dress would be the brightest star, the one everyone admired, sacred and untouchable—as if the dress itself had been designed to embody that description perfectly.
“Is… is this really for me?” Lillian’s trembling hand hovered in the air, disbelief written all over her face.
“Can I really wear something like this?”
“You didn’t listen to a word I just said, did you? Didn’t I tell you to be confident?” Iana sighed helplessly, thinking it might take a long time before Lillian truly believed in herself.
“Come, let me help you put it on.”
Thanks to the previous experience with the Silver Feather Garments, Lillian didn’t resist when Iana helped her change this time.
Iana was soon moving like a mother, skillfully dressing Lillian in the complicated gown.
Once finished, she gave Lillian an appraising look.
“Hm, it fits perfectly.”
The gorgeous dress clung tightly to Lillian’s slender waist, outlining her flawless figure.
As one of the original story’s heroines, Lillian’s physique was naturally top-tier, though the small protrusions at her chest seemed somewhat underdeveloped.
Iana had already prepared a solution for this: some padding to fix the issue.
After all, Ethelrina wasn’t going to strip Lillian down for inspection.
But if she ever did, that would be a good thing; once they’d gone that far, knowing Ethelrina’s responsible nature, she definitely wouldn’t break up with Lillian.
“Is… is this really me?” Lillian stared blankly at her reflection, unable to imagine that the beautiful, fairy-like girl in the mirror was herself.
“I told you to be confident. See? You’re beautiful.”
“Yeah.”
“All right, take it off now. Wear it on the day of the birthday party.”
After helping Lillian take off the dress and tidying up the tools used to make it, Iana prepared to leave the villa.
Though the Bloodstone meant she didn’t have to worry about energy depletion, Iana still felt a little tired.
She planned to go back to the dormitory to sleep and return tomorrow to help prepare cakes and desserts for Lillian’s birthday banquet.
But just as she was about to step out the door, she felt someone tug at the corner of her clothes.
“Right… right now, it’s dangerous outside. You… you should stay here.”
Iana turned around to see Lillian’s ears flush a faint pink, her expression tense.
“Oh? Dangerous? Is there something dangerous inside the academy?” Iana raised an eyebrow, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly.
“I… I… don’t want you to leave.” Lillian covered her mouth as she spoke.
“N-No, that’s not it. It’s just… you’ve helped me so much today, and if I let you go back now, my conscience won’t let me.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Seeing that it was late and that returning would probably disturb the others, plus the dormitory doors might already be closed, Iana agreed to Lillian’s invitation to spend the night at the villa.
“Then I’ll go take a shower first.”
Having not showered for two consecutive days, the cleanliness-loving Iana clearly couldn’t accept going to bed unwashed.
“I… I’ve prepared something for you. Our sizes are about the same, so you can wear my pajamas tonight.”
Iana took the pajamas and other bathing supplies Lillian had prepared and entered the bathroom.
The sound of water flowing rang out like a symphony in the silent night.
Lillian listened, captivated, her cheeks flushed.
Realizing herself, Lillian shook her head and quickly patted her face, murmuring softly, “How can I act like this?”
‘I’d better go back to my bedroom and sleep first’, she thought.
After a while, Iana stepped out wearing Lillian’s pajamas.
Not seeing Lillian, she turned off all the lights in the living room and entered the bedroom.
The ten days of the Holy Trial and two days of dressmaking had left Iana’s mind somewhat muddled.
All she wanted now was a good sleep.
She switched off the lights casually and lay down on the bed, right next to Lillian.
Carrying the faint fragrance of jasmine and camellia flowers, the scent lingered by Lillian’s nose, making her cheeks flush an even deeper shade.