It's Annoying Because My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage

My parents followed me to the carriage, all the while heaping praise on me.

"The star of the show tonight will be you, Skyla!"

"Yes, go and enslave all men… no, even better, the Crown Prince!"

Enslave the crown prince… What kind of treasonous statement are you making?

I gritted my teeth, but I didn't feel bad.

It's been a while since my parents have shown this much interest in me.

'Hoho, I hope Skyla can find her husband soon.'

'So my dear husband and I could live happily ever after..!'

Of course, the reason why they're like this was obvious.

"Oh, by the way, don't forget the invitation."

My mother said to me, clasping her hands together.

I nodded.

"Ticef has it."

"That's right! Here it is!"

Ticef, dressed in his usual modest attire, took out the invitation to the ball.

It was a gold-rimmed envelope, and inside was the precious letter.

This time, the ball was to be quite large. As such, it was expected that both nobles from prominent families and lesser-known nobles of lower status were going to attend.

I heard that numerous nobles had travelled not only from the capital but also from distant estates just for this imperial ball.

"A few hundred people will come, right?"

It would take too long to verify the identities of the nobles who had come to the ballroom one by one, which is why the imperial family issued this invitation.

So if you didn't have one, you weren't allowed in.

"Still, I'm sure the imperial knights guarding the gates won't recognise you unless we're pulling the family carriage," Ticef muttered in passing.

My father corrected him, "It is one thing to know that Princess Skyla is part of Kaerun Duchy, and another to recognise her as Princess Skyla."

My mother chimed in, "Exactly, especially since Skyla hasn't shown her face much in society in recent years."

"I see!" Ticef replied cheerfully and slipped the invitation back in.

"I won't come home late," I said to my parents as I climbed into the carriage.

Then my father's thoughts came straight back to me.

'You can come home late. Actually, it's better if you come home late. I'll then have a longer and happier time with my lovely sugar snack, hoho...'

"I'll come back early."

Having said so with a stern face, I slammed the carriage door with my hand.

"Whoa, whoa…"

Truly, my parents were demonstrating that too much compatibility can be a problem.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked as she climbed into the carriage through the other door, examining my complexion.

"Yes, of course, I'm fine. Why?"

"I'm glad to hear it. I thought you were nervous."

As she said that, Phoebe sat in silence, keeping her face expressionless.

But I noticed that her gaze kept darting back to me, and it wasn't just a glance, it was an outright stare.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking directly at Phoebe, who was staring at me.

"Nothing, I was just checking to see if there was a problem with my lady's dress."

"Argh, my lady's so beautiful I'm speechless…'

You really are different inside and out, Phoebe.

'In my next life, I want to be her mirror, so I can see her beauty every morning…''

Okay, that's enough.

"What do you think about my attire?"

I asked her, trying to ignore the thoughts bubbling up inside of her.

She immediately responded,

"Perfect."

"Give me a more objective review."

"Perfectly perfect."

Okay, Phoebe, I was wrong to expect an objective answer from you.

I inwardly sighed and examined my attire.

The dress I'd chosen for today was a red A-shaped velvet dress.

Unlike other dresses, this dress was not adorned with any jewelled brooches or beads. Nor were there any ruffles or lace.

As such, the dress could not be described as glamorous or fancy. But despite the lack of decorations, the dress was anything but ordinary.

Good thing I had velvet at home.

Velvet, a silk as soft as a swan's feather.

Imported from the neighbouring Hebnia Kingdom, it was a precious fabric with astronomical prices.

I had once thought about starting a new fabric business with it, and I remembered buying them from a merchant from that kingdom and storing it in my warehouse.

When I retrieved the red velvet, I summoned the most skilled seamstress in the Kaerun Duchy to make me a dress.

Unlike most dresses that require more work after post-production, my dress had no embellishments to add, so once I submitted the dress and its shape, the seamstress quickly completed it within a few days.

The hemline of the dress, which fell gently from below my collarbone to above my knees, showed off the lustrous material at every turn.

Instead of puffy dress arms, the sleeves moulded to my arms shape, making my activities easier.

Velvet has not yet been commercialised in this empire, I thought, fiddling with the silver earrings in my ears.

I don't care if there are people who don't recognise the value of this dress and laugh at me. At the end of tonight, I will make everyone know the value of this dress.

A velvet dress was a rare luxury, the fabric itself conveyed the sense of luxury. If this dress goes over better than I expected at tonight's ball, I'll open a velvet fabric business.

As I was racking my brain like that, the carriage suddenly came to a screeching halt.

Have we arrived at the palace?

I opened the curtains on the carriage window and saw the twinkling lanterns outside, it seemed to be a street near the palace.

"What's going on?" I asked Ticef as I opened the small window that led to the coachman's seat.

"Hmm, the road is blocked."

"What?"

"To be precise, there's a line of carriages heading to the Imperial Ball right in front of us."

Having said that, Ticef leaned slightly to the side to show me the way ahead.

Sure enough, he was right. I could see a dozen carriages immediately ahead of us, and I couldn't imagine how many more lay beyond the bend in the road.

Given that they all bore the seals of noble families, it was like a queue waiting to enter the palace to attend a ball.

If I had Lancer with me, we could've gone straight into the palace.

Instead of waiting in this tedious line, wouldn't Lancer simply snap his fingers and move the carriage into the palace?

No, he probably doesn't think of travelling in a carriage.

"The queue is quite long, I think we'll have to wait about an hour."

"Whatever. At least I'm not wearing a tight corset." I sat down cross-legged and stared out the window with my jaw clenched.

Several carriages had arrived behind the one I was in.

The invitation from the imperial family had stated that the imperial ball would begin at 8 pm, but that we could enter the palace grounds from 3 pm. Upon reading that, I thought, "Who would want to enter the palace five hours before the ball starts?" Turns out, I was wrong.

Seems like the ball brought together all the nobles of the empire.

I'm glad my mother was right to leave two hours early.

I drew the window curtains back and closed my eyes and stayed still, passing this boring time.

"Oh my god, oh my god, Princess Skyla!"

A woman's high-pitched voice came from outside the carriage.

As soon as I heard the voice, I couldn't help but frown. What's she doing out here?

We weren't that close, but I knew the voice as soon as I heard it. Besides, her words were echoing through the walls of the carriage and into my ears.

'Princess Skyla, you were so smug at the last tea party, let's see how you look now!'

It was the Marquess of Garnett's Aronia.

The hostess of the last tea party I attended, and the one who took a cheque from me. 

What's with her?

"Well, my lady, there's a noble outside looking for you… Would you like me to open the carriage door for her?" Ticef asked me in a low voice.

No, I don't know her, just ignore her… is what I wanted to say, but there were too many prying eyes out there.

Besides, I was already stuck in the queue, so there was no way to avoid her.

If I were to treat Lady Aronia, who had visited my carriage, badly, it would've given her the perfect material to talk sh*t about me.

I pulled back the curtains that covered the window.

I looked out the window and saw Lady Aronia covered from head to toe in jewels.

Where the hell did she come from? Moreover, she was alone. She didn't have an escort or a single maid with her, so she must have hurriedly rushed to my carriage.

Ticef gave Lady Aronia a curt salute and opened the door of my carriage for her.

"It's been a long time, Princess Skyla."

Standing outside the carriage, Lady Aronia greeted me with a high-pitched voice.

I could feel her eyes scanning me, blatantly. I wonder if she's gauging my combat strength.

I heard a sneer as her gaze landed on my toes.

'Phew... You were so full of yourself at the tea party, and now this? A minimalistic dress not even a commoner would wear…'

Lady Aronia, you don't seem to know what the commoners of the capital are wearing these days.