Chapter 1 – Pressure (Part 2)

“Miss, we’ll start the makeup now, so please don’t move your face.”

Daisy said. 

Had they already finished my hair? 

At this rate, she really had no choice but to attend the ball. Elysia felt a sense of crisis.

‘Wait! Marion said she’s not going, and since only one family representative is needed, my parents won’t go, so I’ll be going alone, right? I’ll just enter and then slip out to kill time before coming back. Long live the free atmosphere of the Kingdom of Brunchia!”

Through the hands of the maids, Elysia gradually transformed from a recluse into a presentable human being, all the while plotting how to escape the ball. Soon, a satisfied smile spread across her face. 

She had become adept at slipping out of tedious social gatherings midway through. This time, all she had to do was follow her usual routine.

‘Since Daisy, the escort, and the coachman can’t enter the ballroom, I’ll just make my entrance and then slip out through the terrace window!’

Fortunately, she had a rough idea of the layout of the venue where the Spring Ball was held, thanks to her attendance four years ago. Elysia barely suppressed the grin that threatened to break free, ensuring no one caught onto her scheme.

“Please check if there’s anything you don’t like.”

Elysia, who had been daydreaming about escaping the Spring Ball with her eyes closed during makeup, opened her eyes at Alma’s words. She looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror.

Her black hair, which had been dull from days of neglect, now gleamed smoothly, and her face, once oily, shone with a translucent, rosy glow thanks to the meticulous makeup. Her usually dark purple eyes sparkled like bright amethysts under the light of her shimmering dress and jewelry.

“I really like it. Elysia, I’ll go down first, so hurry up and come down too.”

Elysia snapped back to reality upon hearing her mother’s satisfied voice, realizing she had been standing beside her without her noticing.

‘I almost asked, “Who is this?” upon seeing myself in the mirror. Why are our maids so unnecessarily competent? Or should I blame my parents for passing down such a passable appearance?’

With a sigh, Elysia moved like a lamb to the slaughter, but she didn’t forget to express her gratitude.

“Thank you all for doing your best to make me look good. I’ll be back.”

The maids smiled happily.

“Yes, Miss. We hope our efforts aren’t in vain today. Have a good time.”

All the staff of the Serenze family, led by head maid Alma, followed Elysia to the carriage, shooting her intense looks. Feeling overwhelmed, Elysia hurriedly got into the carriage, sighed, and closed the door.

Finally, she could escape everyone’s gaze…

“Elysia, you look beautiful today.”

Father?

“Indeed, if you dressed up like this and attended social gatherings more often, wouldn’t it be nice?”

Mother too?!

Why are they both in the carriage?

As Elysia gaped in shock, unable to close her mouth, Daisy, who had accompanied them as a maid, spoke.

“Miss, if you make such expressions, you’ll ruin the makeup we worked hard on. Please maintain a composed expression, as you do when reluctantly sitting at tea parties.”

Daisy took out tools from her handbag and began touching up Elysia’s makeup.

“Elysia, to prevent you from losing your way while fixing your makeup and accidentally leaving early like last time, your father and I decided to accompany you. Surely, you won’t get lost and return home first while your parents stay until the end of the ball, right?”

At her mother’s unusually stern expression, Elysia had no choice but to swallow dryly.

‘Now I can’t escape from the ball!’

Elysia screamed in despair internally.

The carriage wheels rolled smoothly toward the royal palace, oblivious to their owner’s turmoil. Elysia fervently hoped for an accident, like a wheel coming off, that would prevent them from ever reaching the ballroom.

***

Despite the presence of royalty and classes, the Kingdom of Brunchia maintained a fairly fair and free atmosphere. As the country developed rapidly, the royal family, which held powerful control, applied the law equally to all citizens to suppress the power of local nobles.

They also implemented policies that allowed commoners to succeed if they wished. Additionally, with the development of trade, various cultures from neighboring countries flowed in, establishing a clothing culture that valued individuality over status.

Thus, even nobles couldn’t arbitrarily punish lower classes or force unwanted individuals into concubinage or servitude. Legally, no parent could force their child into marriage, and marriages through free love were widely accepted.

Of course, as in any society, there were cases where families sought to gain advantages through marriage alliances aiming for higher status. Therefore, there were children forced into marriages, but such cases typically involved families with high reputations that needed to continue their lineage or parents with particularly ambitious aspirations.

The place Elysia was heading to was where the ‘Spring Ball’ was held. The ‘Spring Ball,’ hosted annually by the royal family, originally started as a banquet inviting influential noble families to seek their unwavering support when the royal family’s power was weak.

However, as the royal family’s power strengthened over time, the nature of the event changed to a social ball where only one representative from each noble family needed to attend. Nowadays, parents hoping their marriageable children would find partners refrained from attending to avoid spoiling the atmosphere, sending only their adult children instead.

‘They call it a ball for noble harmony, but it’s actually a matchmaking ground!’

Attending the ‘Spring Ball’ was practically a declaration of actively entering the marriage market. For Elysia, whose goal was to live leisurely and carefree on her parents’ money without taking any responsibility, attending the ball was not something she intended to do.

Thus, aside from the single attendance required after her coming-of-age ceremony at 18, Elysia had never attended the much-anticipated ball for all nobles with unmarried children.

Her indulgent parents hadn’t pressured her, so she thought she could get away with it again this time. However, it seemed they could no longer tolerate her doing nothing and idling at home.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have at least considered enrolling in an academy!’

Elysia briefly entertained the idea of attending the academy she had so desperately avoided, but then shook her head. Graduating from the academy wouldn’t be the end. It would inevitably lead to either enrolling in a higher academy or preparing to take over her father’s business.

She couldn’t ruin the years she had endured her parents’ nagging, ignoring it as best she could, to live comfortably without working or studying.

‘There’s no choice now. I’ll just have to avoid standing out as much as possible at the ball!’

As Elysia pondered how to appear unappealing at the Spring Ball, she glanced down at her attire and belatedly wondered.

“Mother, is it alright to wear this to the Spring Ball?”

At the Spring Ball she attended four years ago, she wore a traditional dress favored by nobles for important events. It was a dress that cinched the waist tightly, emphasized the chest, and boasted authority and wealth with its heavily pleated and voluminous skirt.

However, the dress Elysia wore now was a recent trend, emphasizing flowing lines that cascaded gracefully from top to bottom. It wasn’t form-fitting, but when dancing, the skirt would flutter like petals, accentuating elegance.

Lillian sighed and admonished Elysia.

“How can you not know the latest trends as the daughter of a family running a merchant guild? Nowadays, even among nobles, unless they’re conservatives, they want to follow trends to stand out.”

“If I’m wearing such a dress, I don’t need a corset.”

“Miss, no matter how loose the dress is, your body lines will show when you dance. It’s not a dress you can carelessly throw on with an unmaintained body.”

Lillian nodded in agreement and began a long lecture about Elysia’s lazy lifestyle. It was a criticism of how she had become so unmotivated compared to when she was younger.

Trying her best to listen with one ear and let it out the other, Elysia’s thoughts involuntarily drifted back to her 12th birthday, amidst the repetitive scolding.

Elysia had a very small secret, which made her life a little different from others.

The difference was that she remembered her past life. It was the reason she had become lazy. She didn’t know if there were others who remembered their past lives, but as far as she knew, there had never been any rumors or news about it.