Chapter 42 – Tiring Conundrum

‘Damn it, he’s no help at all,’ Levisia thought to herself. She had asked Reign for a favour, and though she hadn’t had high expectations in the beginning, it baffled her how he managed to surpass her lowest hopes. Peeking through a silver lining, Levisia suggested several other alternatives, but Reign’s response would constantly be painfully lukewarm. She couldn’t understand, if it wasn’t neither this nor that, then what was he suggesting that she do?

As her propositions were only met with rejection, she finally asked, “What if I don’t go?”

“Wouldn’t that work against you?? It might just attract more attraction,” he replied.

Another turndown—but Reign’s answer was more sensible than the question she blurted out in frustration. After all, it was not merely a speculation; she had already experienced a similar case before. Her mind drifts to the past. ‘That was exactly what had happened with Elizabeth.’ She had declined the princess’s invitation before which only backfired on her, causing her to leave her sanctuary and pay Elizaeth a personal visit. On second thought, avoiding the situation would not certainly remedy the problem.

‘I wouldn’t have done that if I had known her personality beforehand,’ Levisia thought. Elizabeth was the type of girl brimming with self esteem and pride; she was the kind where if one tried to boast of their presence in front of her, she would merely scoff at them, sparing them not the faintest of her attention, but if one tried to hide their presence around her, she would take an interest in them.

And one particular individual, with the name of ‘Levisia White’, had the audacity to avoid her, offending her vanity, which led to an unintentional paradox: she had drawn Elizabeth’s attention to herself.

Levisia cannot afford another mistake. It was not her wanting to create any more troublesome connections with the Kraidens. Engraving that resolve on her mind, she dismissed the option of being absent.

“Then, what kind of personality does the Third Princess have?”

As long as she did her homework, educating herself on things she never even wanted to know, it shouldn’t be an issue. In order to prevent herself from repeating the same mistake, she ought to study the Third Princess, Meryl Cheux Kraiden.

At her question, a frown appeared on Reign’s pale forehead. For a while, he seemed to be deep in thought but his answer was only: “I don’t know much either.”

How useless indeed.

Levisia stifled a deep sigh and suggested instead that Reign consider returning to his palace. Even though she had phrased it as a suggestion, her voice sounded coercive. Simply, it was more like an order kicking him out. Reign caught on and seemed a little upset, but she simply shrugged in response.

Both of them knew that nothing was free in this world.

* * *

The day of the dreaded fairy festival finally dawned.

“I wished today would have skipped itself when I opened my eyes.”

The prayers she had uttered the night before—for today to skip itself—seemed to have gone by unheard. Morning came as any day, and she muttered under her breath as she looked out the bright window, “Damn it.”

After so much anguish yesterday, the conclusion she decided on was simple: she would attend the fairy festival, remaining silent throughout to keep her presence unknown. Then, when the festival concluded, she would avoid the Kraidens at all cost.

‘First, let’s get this fairy festival over and done with.’ She kicked away the blanket that wrapped her legs and began to prepare even before Sheila came to find her. By the time Sheila emerged into her room to inform her that the bathwater was ready, she had already bathed, now choosing which dress to wear.

“Your Highness?” Sheila asked, her eyebrows furrowed in subtle confusion. She glanced at the dresses laid out on her bed. Meanwhile, across the room, Levisia was drying her hair with a towel, pressing the cloth against head, and said, “Sheila, you’re just in time. Out of the two, which looks more plain?”

Sheila blinked in a daze, “Sorry?”

To make it simpler for Sheila, Levisia took turns to hold the dresses in front of her body. One was of the color dark green, decorated with white laces; the other a dark blue that contrasted to a paler shade over its layers. Sheila tilted her head and compared the two, then stretched out her arm as if she was going to choose one of them, “Your Highness looks good in any colour so I think either one is fine, but the prettier one would be…”

“You’re missing the point, Sheila.” Levisia hastily interrupted. She withdrew her arm before Sheila’s hands could reach for the dress, earning a baffled gazed from her maid. She clarified, “Not something pretty, but something plain. Pick a dress that wouldn’t stand out.”

“What? Why…”

Her objective was simple, yet not simple either. She couldn’t appear too plain and underdressed for an exclusive event where only a few invited people could attend, and neither could she appear too extravagant which would make her stand out. Her usual clothes would definitely be unacceptable to wear at the Fairy Festival; her only option was to wear the dresses gifted to her by Elizabeth, but…

‘They’re all too fancy.’