I could sense it instinctively. When I pressed her for answers, however, she merely gave a bland response, saying she was counting the minutes until the ball began.

“Oh, I really don’t want to go.”
“What are you saying, Princess? This is your coming-of-age ball!”
“Can’t we just enjoy it with our own people? Why invite all those nobles?”
“Why, you ask?”

Orzette, her voice rising with excitement, took hold of my arm and spun me toward the mirror like we were in the middle of a dance.

“Because it would be an absolute crime for only me to witness this beauty!”

The woman in the mirror was, of course, me. The white silk dress, its bodice adorned with lace that formed wing-like embellishments, needed no additional jewellery to stand out. Even without a necklace, the slender line of my neck seemed only more pronounced, drawing the eye.

My pink-tinted silver hair, styled up, made my violet eyes even more striking, their lashes glittering under the light. The vibrant gaze seemed alive, yet carried the inherent mystery unique to the colour violet.

The mirror’s beauty blinked at me. It was a face anyone might pay any price to gaze upon endlessly. My slightly upturned nose and delicately pressed red lips exuded elegance and pride. The amethyst-and-pearl earrings adorning my ears made my eyes glimmer like precious gems.

“Yes, I suppose I look pretty.”
“Pretty? You’re more than that! With this level of beauty, you could kill a man on the spot!”
“Oh, you’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not!”

Despite Orzette’s dramatic antics, I knew she wasn’t wrong. Perhaps I had grown used to this face because it was mine, but if I consciously acknowledged that this was Myrthi’s original visage, I might very well drop to my knees and exclaim:

‘Please marry me!’

...Well, maybe not that.

But I might at least say something like: ‘I would do anything to protect you!’ with fervour.

No wonder the kingdom’s top knight, Mikhail, had fallen for the original Myrthi at first sight, and why she was said to be the most beautiful woman in the realm. Blinking at my reflection, I caught Orzette gazing at me with an awestruck expression.

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Allenan had arrived to escort me.

“Myrthi, may I come in?”
“Yes, come in, Allenan.”

The door opened, and Allenan stepped inside, only to freeze in place. He couldn’t even manage to close the door behind him. Normally, he blushed the moment he saw me, but now he was too stunned to react at all. I tilted my head curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“...I can’t breathe,” he finally murmured, barely managing to get the words out. His reaction made me chuckle despite myself.

“Stop exaggerating. Again.”
“I’m not,” he said seriously. “I truly can’t breathe… If I hadn’t proposed to you as a child, I’d be so infatuated right now that I’d challenge myself to a duel for wasting time as a fool.”

His earnest tone made me smile as I touched my cheek lightly. That smile, at last, brought the familiar flush back to his face.

Allenan, too, had dressed impeccably for the occasion. If his stunned expression hadn’t been so endearing, I might have been briefly dazed by how dashing he looked. His ceremonial outfit, adorned with black accents and shimmering silver threads, perfectly complemented his dark hair. The ensemble lent him a mature air that tempered his usual puppy-like charm.

“Oh, my heart might skip a beat,” I thought.

Part of why the noblewomen envied me was Allenan himself. A man this striking was exclusively mine.

“Ridiculous,” I mused.

After all, it wasn’t Allenan who had received the proposal—it was me. And yet, some even envied that simple fact. Many nobles who expressed interest in me were older, higher-ranking figures who appreciated my sharp mind and sought my insight on complex matters.

But the younger nobles, unaware of such nuances, resented me. To them, I was nothing but a discarded princess who somehow still managed to shine in ways they couldn’t ignore.

“Beautiful…” Allenan murmured, breaking my thoughts. He still seemed lost in awe, so I poked his cheek.

“Are you going to keep standing there like that?”
“Ah—no. Right. Ah!”

He turned to Orzette, his expression filled with gratitude. Receiving such an admiring look from a handsome man made Orzette blush deeply before she straightened with pride.

“I have a gift,” Allenan said, his voice earnest.
“A gift?” I asked, blinking at him.
“I was going to give it to you in front of the nobles, but… I can’t wait any longer.”

As I widened my eyes in surprise, Allenan pulled out a small box and knelt on one knee.

“Happy birthday, Myrthi,” he said solemnly, opening the box.

Inside was a necklace set with an enormous black pearl—so grand it could easily be worth an entire castle. My jaw dropped.

“This is it!”

“I could live on this alone!”

...Well, no, that thought might have been a bit inappropriate.

Still, I barely managed to hide the greed flickering in my eyes as I gazed at the necklace.