“All of you, control yourselves! Have you so quickly lost your dignity, and have resorted to behaving like common street children?”

A woman’s voice interrupts, bold and filled with self-assured confidence. My eye is drawn away immediately to a woman around my height approaching, long and wavy sunkissed strawberry blonde hair rippling behind every dignified step. Light airy bangs lightly curl inward slightly past her eyebrows, parting in the middle to allow a clearer view of her face. Her fair skin devoid of blush allows her piercing rosen viper-like eyes and lip rouge to passionately shine through, stealing your attention. One quick glance around the room and I can tell no one dares to attempt the kind of crimson red she evokes, her magnificent and boldly red gown decorated in rubies with gilded accents. The image of a maiden bewitching the world at her feet conjures in my mind, along with a befitting and familiar word—Venus.

“If you continue to behave like starved commoners, you’ll overwhelm the poor thing.”

Her dark heels clack against the polished ballroom floor closer to me, leaning over with a fan pressed against her chin as she eyes me intently, long lashes shadowing her gaze. Normally someone like this would overwhelm me, the confident air she carries and her beauty alone. But my awestruck eyes dim as words continue to spill from her mouth carelessly. Bite your tongue, and bear with it.

“Hm. This is the Saintess everyone’s made a fuss over? Well,” she huffs, backing off and turning her head with heavy eyelashes. “At the very least, she has a decent face.”

Just a few simple, offhanded words from her and I can tell there is a shift in the small crowd around us. Especially the young noblewomen, their presence almost withering as their excitement visibly falters like a flickering candle. Those little reactions, unconscious and instinctual, is already enough to tell me what kind of power she wields. A brilliant, one of a kind rose nurtured in a beloved garden outshines any others, after all. 

“Lady Venus,” a more calm and collected voice, neutral and almost cool in tone pools out. 

I almost didn’t notice, as my gaze was instantly caught by the rose-like noble lady. But my attention is captured once again, an opposite beauty accompanying her with an entirely different demeanor. The noblewoman’s darkened lavender hair is more straight in texture, silky and smooth like a veil behind her. Only a few strands and delicately cut blunt bangs frame her face, her skin somehow paler than Lady Venus’, a cooler tone like a porcelain doll’s. She has thinner eyebrows and short eyelashes, but her gaze is equally petrifying with sharp, rubellite tourmaline eyes and a unique lavender rouge. Rather than Lady Venus’ passionate and bright presence, the noblewoman beside her is more of an ethereal and quiet beauty, mystifying in appearance yet somehow unclear just like the moon’s reflection upon water. You could almost call her gaze upon you cold, or is it just uncaring?

“Inciting needless excitement is tiring.”

Lady Venus then bites back, “Everything is tiring when it comes to you, Lady Calliope.”

It’s a sharp, casual tone. Is that something you can so easily say to someone’s face? Lady Calliope doesn’t even flinch. Lady Venus steps away for a moment, curtsying ever so slightly.

“Blessings and glory upon The Saintess. I am of the Kaimos Countdom, Venus Kaimos, the...”

I don’t miss the strange pause, a small hiccup of what seemed like reluctance.

“... second, daughter.”

“... At ease,” I simply reply with a stiff smile. I’m not used to being the recipient of such a formal greeting. At all. So I can’t help but squirm away ever so slightly.

Beside Lady Venus, Lady Calliope curtsies lightly herself.

“Calliope Sirenia of the Sirenia Dukedom.”

For a moment, I thought she was stifling a yawn. Her introduction was less detailed than Venus’, more to the point. I also vaguely note she does not greet me formally, pleasantly enough. That could mean a few things—that perhaps she does not care, or that she counts herself and Venus as a pair? 

A small glance at Lady Venus’ abhorrent expression tells me it may… be none of those.

“Lady Calliope, must I remind you to uphold noble decorum? Do you truly wish to compose yourself like this crowd of excited, boorish children?”

Although I am completely inexperienced in reading nobility, even I can sense the building discord as her words rattle on. The lady herself isn’t ignorant to it either.

Lady Venus in her passionate rouge clicks her tongue. “What? Am I wrong? The only nobility who properly greeted Her Holiness was the esteemed Marquess Perímene!”

“But Lady Venus…” the lavender haired noblewoman calmly begins. “You spoke crudely to Her Holiness before greeting her as well…”

The viper-like blonde seems to freeze for a fraction of a moment.

“Lady Calliope is correct in this matter, Lady Venus. Even if you are a dear friend, it remains impertinent to condemn others for acts you, too, have committed.”

It’s a woman’s voice—smooth with a warm hum, a bit lower in tone. However… there was a certain pleasantness in her voice. One of graceful elegance—similar, yet so very different, to Lady Calliope’s. The woman did not need to shout for her dignified voice to be heard. I could tell in the way the nobles around us began to quiet, but not in the way they did when Lady Venus spoke. There was an almost collective sigh that rippled among the crowd. Lady Venus’ expression shifts to what I’d almost say is similar to a pout, while Lady Calliope lowers her eyes. Even the pair of beautiful noblewomen who made their grand entrance seemed to step aside and part like waves at the sound of her voice.

As her heels clacked upon the polished crystal-like ballroom floor, the golden sheen of her ball gown’s fabric swayed softly with each step she took. Underneath the top aureate fabric donning a delicate rosen pattern, intricate lace frills feathered the bottom of the gown’s petticoat, gingerly dancing across the reflective marble. The same kind of lightly cinched lace spread across her shoulders and above her chest. Lining her bodice are beaded lines of small, pristine white pearls, matching the string of pearls decorating her brooch and choker. Her brooch itself seems to be made of a dark, dull material to give emphasis on the white rose engraved into it. It’s strange. The minimal use of glittering gemstones somehow makes her allure all the more grand. 

In contrast to her very light colored and radiant gown, the dark of her long and wavy hair is enchanting. An almost purplish, violet hue that glistens a rosy pink upon the chandeliers’ gleam. It’s akin to sunrise—no, more like when the sun falls back beyond the horizon at dusk, and the iridescent sky’s crimson fades into night. It’s all consuming, the way the waves of her hair are like the flickering of a flame in eternal darkness. A few sections of her hair are divided into separate delicate braids, collecting behind her and forming almost a rose behind her head.

As she gradually approaches me, I can feel my breath hitch up into my throat. Even from here, I can see how smooth her skin is from her face alone, a warm reddish-brown, as her hands are gloved with silken white. She’s a little more than half a head taller than me. Her face is a bit more broad, a dorsal hump on her nose, and what looks like a small red mark on her forehead. The woman's upper lip, more full in comparison than her lower, glistens ever so slightly in the light. Like the other two attractive noblewomen, the rouge upon her lips is a unique color, a berry-like magenta.

But, what I find most mesmerizing are her eyes. Just above a small dark mole on her right side, lay a treasure. It’s different, not really gold, yet just as precious. Underneath the dark lashes with the slightest tint of dusk, the woman’s eyes are like crystalized honey with an intelligent amber gleam. They don’t quite glitter like the faces of a polished gemstone. Her eyes feel more like a glass ball containing the ocean’s tides. Swaying back and forth, melting into each other like the sun’s reflection upon the waves’ surface at sunset. But it’s not a rough storm, no, the sea is calm and tranquil on a clear day.

The woman’s eyelids close as she grasps a delicate pinch full of her ballgown’s skirt, extending that arm while lowering herself slightly in a curtsy with the opposite hand hovering against her chest. Her pronounced lips thinly coated in berry-magenta rouge part slightly in time with her breath, sharp marbled honey orbs barely peeking from underneath her fluttered eyelashes. The gentle intensity from her gaze is easily enough to set off the flush of heat I’ve been feeling upon my cheeks, and I can’t help but take an uncertain step backwards.

“Blessings and glory upon her Holiness, Mayari.”

“Uh… uhm, yes, at… ease. You are Lady Rishita, I assume?”

I can feel my cheeks warm more at my sudden inability to form words. The woman’s eyes blink once before she straightens her posture back to its original state. Folding her arms over the other, she gazes at me contemplatively before her lips spread into what looks like a mildly amused smile with a vague tilt of her head. 

“It is a great honor that Your Holiness knows of me, given your awakening being most recent.”

“Lady Rishita’s mature beauty shines most brilliantly, doesn’t it?”

What that girl said was an understatement. A mature beauty? Obvious enough. Brilliant? Definitely. And yet, and yet—no, I don’t think anyone’s words could have prepared my heart.

My only immediate response is to laugh awkwardly with a hand raised.

“Oh, no—it was just moments ago when I heard of you. I’m still very much ignorant to nobility, so…”

“Even so,” Lady Rishita trails off, making the grand nerve-wracking decision to approach me more. My breath gets caught up in my throat and I find myself stiffening as she comes closer. It’s noticeably quieter around us, and I can only pray no one is watching as intensely as I think. I just can’t help but act like a fool. Sharp inhale. My mind is in disarray, spinning with a haze at being around someone so blindingly divine. Why are the nobility filled with pretty women? “The fact Your Holiness has found my name memorable is an honor in itself, no?”

“P… perhaps?”

The dusken haired noblewoman is god knows how many inches away before her amused smile seems to fall just a bit. Her eyes narrow and eyebrows furrow, her lips parting softly as she draws in a breath.

“... Moonflower?”

There’s a hand light on my shoulder gently pulling me backwards.

“Lady Liakada, please refrain from making the Saintess uncomfortable.”

I glance over to see a few golden strands near my shoulder. Following the familiar braid up to the slightly messy head of blonde hair, my eyes meet his green.

“Your Highness…?”

He offers his usual goofy smile after a moment. Oh god, I got distracted from the plan. I can feel my cheeks finally cool off as I straighten my line of sight. Lady Rishita has straightened her back, even backing a step or two away. Her smile has dropped in the few seconds I’ve looked away, a more serious and callous expression replacing her amusement. Lady Rishita’s eyelids fall and she lowers into a curtsy once again.

“Blessings and Glory to Your Highness.”

“At ease.” It’s his usual tone, but what is it? It’s just a bit different in feeling somehow in an unexplainable way. The hand on my shoulder falls away and he smiles at me. “I apologize for touching you so suddenly, Your Holiness. Please forgive me for that, but I’m sure you must be overwhelmed.”

There’s a strange look in his eyes. 

Oh!

“His Highness is right. It was enjoyable talking to everyone, but I do think I need to rest for a moment,” I say with a wry smile. 

“There are a few balconies, you can take a quiet breather out there.”

“Your Highness.” Lady Rishita addresses Iliazo in an almost… firm tone? Her eyes are less lustrous, a colder sheen in opposition to the honey-like warmth from only a moment ago. “It has been about an hour since the ball has begun.”

“... Yes. It is about time to start the first dance. Shall we reconvene then, everyone?” Prince Iliazo turns away broadly with a smile in an open gesture. I keep my head lower as the nobles more closely around us begin to erupt once again in conversation with one another. Iliazo glances over at me for a split second with a nod, and I gradually step away as groups seem to form. As I make my way carefully past crowds of people, my eyes can’t seem to leave them. 

Tearing my eyes away, I hold my breath quietly while maneuvering through until I reach what I believe is one of the ballroom walls. To my relief, between two large supportive pillars from the very tall ceiling to the marble floor is a double glass door. Dragging my fingertips against the window-like panels, I trace down to the brass handles. Before I push down, the growing melody of the orchestra’s music begins to echo throughout the hall. Looking over my shoulder, while a good number of the nobility gathered linger around the sides of the ballroom, the groups of nobles in the middle of the hall have split into numerous pairs. Among the men and women bowing to one another, a couple in particular catch my eye, radiating more brilliantly than the rest. 

The music grows more spirited, and the pairs join together in calculated steps and turns. Even still, the pair in particular I can still easily spot among them all.

I didn’t think the prince could dance. It’s a vague thought that crosses my mind first. Naturally, as the prince he would be able to, but his demeanor really didn’t strike me as what I expected of nobility. Lady Rishita’s dancing is impeccable in itself, but in time with his is almost like…

“That’s our future emperor and empress for you.”

The quiet gossiping of nearby noblewomen—younger than me it seems—catches my attention.

“I was worried they had fought since they hadn’t appeared in public for a while together, but here they are dancing perfectly in time with one another.”

“That’s a given of course! Lady Rishita has always been perfect for the empress seat. I don’t think I can imagine anyone else beside His Highness.”

“They’ve been betrothed since childhood, after all. I don’t think anyone can—she is the Liakada Dukedom’s only daughter.”

So they’re fiances. But…

I think back to their interaction just moments ago. The strangeness I sensed from Prince Iliazo, and the change in demeanor from Lady Rishita…

With the inhale of a breath, I shake my head. Don’t linger on business that isn’t yours. I’ve done enough of that. Pressing the brass handle of the glass door, I push forward to have a moment of solitude, still in relatively close proximity to the people gathered inside the ballroom. 

Yes. Enough distractions. 

I suck in a breath, and with a slow exhale, focus on spreading out my divinity.

Shivani. Just a little longer.