Chapter 18
Memories
The hall was overflowing with lively chatter.
The ladies who had arrived ahead of her were all in high spirits, exchanging cheerful conversations.
The pleasant buzz of voices brightened the room, and at the center of the hall, the orchestra’s light, graceful tune added to the festive atmosphere.
The moment she stepped through the doors, a rush of nostalgia washed over her.
Sena felt as though her heart had been pulled back into the memories of her younger self.
“I made it back…”
The words slipped out of her unbidden.
It was a deeply emotional, almost overwhelming moment.
A server approached, and she accepted a glass of wine from their tray.
Holding the glass raised lightly in one hand, Sena felt herself slowly—yet surely—regaining a sense of the world she once knew.
For a fleeting moment, she had the urge to forget all her hardships and throw back the wine in a single swallow.
But Sena was a lady by birth.
She had been raised to be one—trained in a strict household to master the manners of the nobility.
Even if she was now nothing more than a fallen guest-room attendant… even if she was only pretending to be a noble lady under Mia’s borrowed identity, downing her wine in one gulp would be unforgivably crude.
She brought the glass to her lips and took just a small sip.
Her mouth filled with the rich aroma of the wine, which melted away almost instantly.
The sensation reminded her painfully of herself—dreaming a dream that would only last one night.
Suddenly, she felt a sting of shame, and tears nearly welled up.
She could count on one hand the number of times she’d ever tasted wine this fine.
Her father’s remarriage party, her stepsister Reina’s birthday party, and her own birthday—those were the only times.
Reina had been twelve then, and Sena was eight.
Her stepmother doted obsessively on her two biological daughters.
She didn’t spare a single glance for Sena, the child of her husband’s first wife and not related to her by blood.
Her motherly affection was reserved entirely for her own daughters, and Sena was always treated roughly, like an afterthought.
Reina’s birthday celebration had been unimaginably extravagant—a grand event to display their family’s power both within and beyond the empire, attended even by the imperial family at the time.
When Sena herself turned twelve, the party she received was nothing like Reina’s.
Her father was bedridden, weakened to the point where he seemed to be at death’s door.
Bullied relentlessly by her stepmother and stepsisters, Sena fled to the dormitory of the upper academy, where two years passed.
At fourteen, her father died, and her stepmother expelled Sena from the academy as well.
Having monopolized the family fortune, they must have reveled in their victory.
Sena dreamed of finishing her academy studies, entering university with Mia, becoming a researcher, leaving her family behind, finding a husband in society, and beginning a new life and a new family.
But her world crumbled in a single night.
Since then, the only alcohol she’d ever tasted was cheap, bitter stuff.
Not that she’d had many opportunities to drink anyway—legal drinking in the empire wasn’t permitted until eighteen.
“Nice…”
When the host announced that the crown prince’s speech would soon begin, the young ladies around her burst with excitement, eagerly fastening their eyes on the stage.
Whether they wanted it or not, they had all received fine educations.
They had watched their classmates continue on to higher studies, carving out brilliant futures with their own hands.
Even after scattering into research institutions or universities across the empire, they adjusted their busy academic schedules to ensure they could still attend social gatherings.
While they sat in lecture halls listening to professors, Sena had been forced out of the academy.
The carriage that was supposed to take her back home never went to the capital.
Instead, it dropped her off with her belongings in some remote countryside corner—without any explanation—and drove away.
The people who saved her, when she stood helpless with only a small amount of money and heavy luggage, were a married couple who ran a restaurant in that rural town.
With their kindness, Sena lived and worked at their establishment for two years.
It was then she heard that Hotel Gazaric—whose main branch was in the imperial capital—was recruiting staff.
They needed employees for a branch operating in a high-end resort of the kingdom: reliable individuals who could speak the aristocratic Old Imperial tongue.
The couple became her guarantors, and Sena, hiding her academic history but fluent in Old Imperial, passed the written exam and interview, securing her position.
Now, after completing her probation period, she no longer had to worry about causing trouble for them.
When the crown prince’s speech ended and the ballroom dancing began, and everyone’s attention shifted to the dancers, she could slip out quietly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention. His Highness Crown Prince Robert will now give his opening remarks.”
The host announced again into the microphone.
Pulled out of her memories, Sena looked up at the man on the stage.
There was no point grieving meaninglessly.
That past was over.
Robert offered a few celebratory words, expressed his gratitude to all attending, and formally declared the opening of the ball.
