TAPED 35

Chapter 35

One day, two days, three days passed.
At first, Ban had cried and thrown tantrums, but now he’d moved on to threatening me.
Of course, I didn’t give in.

“Siena, if you don’t take me to the party, I’ll show you what a true demon is!”
“Really? How?”
“I’ll bring hellfire and burn down the whole mansion!”
“Wow, impressive. In that case, could you light a fire here? I think the soup’s gone cold.”
“…That’s not what my hellfire is for!”

I brushed off his so-called demonic threats.

“Then I’ll go astray! I’ll run away from home! I’ll become a delinquent youth!!”
“Mm-hm, but since you’re a doll, that would make you a delinquent doll.”
“That’s not the point!”
“And if you run away, it’ll be hell out there. If a stray cat bites you, all your stuffing will fall out.”
“Eek!”

And that’s how I stopped his runaway attempt—by scaring him with stray cats.

By the time Ban had given up his obsession with the party, the day of the princess’s coming-of-age banquet had arrived.

From the morning, I was busily whisked around by the maids. They started working on my makeup to hide the sickly pallor on my face.

“Not too heavy. Today, we’re going with transparent makeup, no matter what. I need to look gentle. Don’t hide the sick look completely—leave it showing just enough. Got it?”
“Yes, my lady!”

Following my instructions, the brushes moved deftly across my face.

By the time the makeup was done, Rina brought out a dress. It was bright red and flashy, like a rose.

“Too flashy. I mustn’t be more dazzling than the princess today. Reject it.”

Rina then brought out all the other prepared dresses—each one reflecting my former taste for lavish fashion.
Among all the peacock-like dresses, one design caught my eye—something I had never seen before.

“Let’s go with that one.”
“Isn’t it too plain?”
“No. I like it. I’ve never seen it before—what dressmaker made it?”
“It’s from Whale Atelier. They only opened recently.”

Rina looked worried and asked again, clearly hoping I would change my mind.

“Are you sure? I heard the designer is a novice.”
“If it’s pretty, that’s all that matters. Who cares?”

That said, I wasn’t unaware of Rina’s concerns.

It is definitely far from the current trends.

Unlike the capital’s popular layered, voluminous styles, Whale Atelier’s design was light and airy. But I liked it.

The deep blue dress had a calm elegance, and the bare shoulders and neckline gave a delicate impression.

No one would connect this to the nickname ‘Mad Dog’.

Satisfied, I smiled at the elegant, refined dress.

Once I put it on, it seemed the maids agreed.

“My lady, you look stunning.”
“It suits you so well.”
“I think this suits you better than the red dress from last year.”

Judging from their reactions, I wouldn’t be outdone in appearance at the banquet.

I don’t plan to stand out too much, but the only daughter of House Winter can’t exactly show up in a plain dress either.

With the maids’ skilled work done, I smiled at my reflection.

Knock, knock.
“Si-si. Can I come in?”

It was Hereis.
“Yeah. Come in.”

Adjusting my dress in the mirror, I looked toward the door—and gasped when Hereis walked in.

“Wow…”

At my open admiration, Hereis chuckled.
“Do you like it?”

Like it? Was that even a question? I stared at him as if bewitched.

He had brushed his bangs back, revealing his forehead—his features stood out all the more.

Still such a striking face…

I looked away from his gracefully curved lips.

“Black looks good on you.”

With his height rivaling Noah’s, broad shoulders, and a surprisingly strong build for a mage, the black suit made him look like a sleek black panther.

With that face, even a burlap sack would look good on him.

It almost felt like there was a halo around him. I knew that was ridiculous, but still wanted to rub my eyes and check.

“Oh, my lady, don’t touch your face!”

If Rina hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve done it multiple times.

I thought I’d gotten used to Hereis’s face by now…
I was wrong. Seeing him all dressed up made my heart pound.

“Is that all? I dressed up to look good for you.”
“You look so much better than I expected, I don’t even know what to say.”

My honest reply made his eyes soften.

“If I knew you’d like it this much, I’d have dressed up more often.”
“People are going to stare at you all night.”
“If only that were the case.”

Hereis trailed off and looked at me intently.

“Actually, I think they’ll only be staring at you.”
“Me? I’m dressed neatly today. I won’t stand out much.”
“Won’t stand out…?”

Repeating my words with a skeptical look, he narrowed his eyes.

“…Everyone will be looking at you.”
“Of course they’ll look. The Mad Dog is showing up at a banquet for the first time in six months. People will be curious.”
“That’s not what I meant…”

With a strange look, he sighed and shook his head.

“Forget it. Just stay close to me.”
“That’s my line. Stay close to me.”

At this banquet, Hereis would draw plenty of attention—both good and bad.
First, because of his blinding good looks.
And second, because he’d be appearing as Siena Winter’s partner.

The gossip-loving nobles were bound to swarm him with probing questions.
And once they learned he was a commoner, the rumors would spread even more.

They probably already know.

After all, we’d openly acted like a couple in a café; his basic information was surely already out.

There was no way I’d leave him alone in that battlefield.

I protect my own subordinates.

I took the handbag Rina handed me.

“By the way, where’s Ban? I haven’t seen him all day.”
“Wasn’t he with you? He wasn’t in my room either.”
“Where did he go?”

It was late, and no one had seen him since morning.

“What if he really ran away?”

Just as I was worrying, the bag wriggled.

“…Wait.”

I opened it on a hunch and found Ban—shrunken down, sweating, and avoiding my gaze.

“Ban.”
“…”
“How long have you been in there?”
“Since morning! I was starving. Let’s hurry and get to the party so we can eat!”

He grinned slyly, trying to gloss over it.

Hanging around Hereis has made him cheekier, hasn’t it?

It was cute that he tried to scheme, but rules were rules.

I plucked him out like a prize from a claw machine and handed him to Rina.

“Siena! Don’t leave me behind!”
“Rina, take care of him.”
“Yes, my lady. Have a safe trip.”
“No! Sienaaaaa!”

To avoid Ban catching me again, I slipped quickly out the door—where Noah, already dressed, was waiting.

In a deep blue suit matching my dress, Noah glanced at Hereis and asked,

“Siena, where’s your necklace?”
“Here.”

I held up the necklace with the blue gem. Noah relaxed, then warned,

“Don’t take it off. Keep it on you at all times.”
“Okay.”

This wasn’t an ordinary necklace—it was a specially-made recording orb.

I’m probably the only person in the world wearing a recording orb as a necklace.

Since I was always causing trouble and lying, Father and Noah had given it to me as a last resort.
That way, they could know exactly what had happened and defend me in court if needed.
It was essentially my Mad Dog Siena Winter safety gear.

“Are you really going to partner with Hereis?”
“Brother, we went over this yesterday.”

Noah had been firmly against it, but relented when he heard about Rio.
Even so, he didn’t seem happy seeing us together now.

“…I still don’t know if this is the right choice.”
“It is, young master.”
“If it were anyone but you, I might agree.”

Sensing a fight brewing, I stepped between them and raised my hands.

“It’s a happy day—stop fighting. If we keep this up, we’ll end up arriving after the princess.”
“That’s rich, coming from you. You used to deliberately get ready late so you could be the last to enter.”
“That’s because I was immature. I’m grown up now—so let’s go early.”

Hearing me speak sensibly for once, Noah grabbed my shoulders, his expression moved.