Chapter 61
As always, it started with a bath.
I immersed myself in warm water infused with rose essential oil, letting Marina’s skillful hands move over me, and soon my body felt refreshed.
A gentle rose scent enveloped me, making me feel as if I had become a single rose blossom.
The next step was clothing.
After drying my wet body and hair, I cheerfully headed to the dressing room, where a dress I had never seen before hung neatly on the hanger.
A snow-white dress, as if woven from angel feathers.
The layered, flowing fabric of the skirt was embellished with transparent beads that sparkled like stars.
Anyone could see that this outfit was designed with great care for a very special occasion.
“…Where did this dress come from?” I asked.
“It’s a dress specially tailored for your birthday, my lady,” Marina replied.
“Specially tailored? But no one ever took my measurements…”
“Rest assured, my lady. I know your measurements perfectly. I help you change clothes every day—how could I not know?”
“And you only learned it was my birthday a week ago…”
Even at a glance, it was clear the dress had taken a lot of effort.
‘Is it really possible to make a dress like this in just a week?’
I remembered that in the past, Sir Cissé had pressured the atelier to create a custom dress in a week.
But those were everyday clothes or simple outing dresses—not a special gown like this.
Marina shook her head with a pale expression as if to say my doubts were obvious.
“You don’t know how much Sir Cissé pressured the atelier’s designers. Even just watching it, I felt drained.”
“Is that… really okay?”
Wouldn’t a rumor spread about the young master of the Grand Ducal family using his power to harass the atelier staff?
‘Well, if it’s Cissé, he wouldn’t care about rumors anyway.’
“Don’t worry. He paid them well—three times the normal production cost as an emergency fee.”
“Three times?”
“Yes. So the designers stopped all other work and devoted a whole week solely to this dress. That’s how it was finished in just one week.”
‘I see. There’s nothing money can’t solve.’
As I stared blankly at the dress, Marina smiled and led me toward it.
“Don’t just look at it—try it on. It was made just for you, and it will suit you perfectly!”
The dress, tailored to fit me, fit perfectly.
‘And it’s beautiful!’
The scrawny, shabby girl who had arrived at the mansion had completely transformed.
My soft skin was smooth, my cheeks had a healthy flush, and the girl in the mirror looked every bit like a noble lady who had grown up surrounded by love.
Even someone who remembered me as the bedraggled Danae at the inn might not recognize me at first glance.
Even I doubted my reflection, thinking, ‘Is this really me?’
As I observed myself in the mirror with fascination, I sensed someone approaching from behind—not Marina, but someone with the unique aura of a mage. It had to be Cissé.
“Do you like it?”
Just as I expected, Cissé’s voice came, and I turned to nod at him.
“It’s really beautiful!”
“Of course it is. Who do you think prepared it?”
Cissé shrugged as if he had expected my reaction and extended his hand.
“Let’s go. Everyone is waiting for you.”
“Are we ready…”
I glanced at Marina, who smiled and nodded, meaning everything was prepared.
I took Cissé’s hand and walked in step with him, thanking him.
“This is a birthday gift, right? Thank you for making such a beautiful dress! The skirt sparkles whenever I move—it’s gorgeous.”
“Really? Then the diamonds were worth it.”
“Diamonds…?”
I echoed Cissé casually but then froze in shock.
“Diamonds? On this skirt?”
“Yes.”
“No way! I thought they were fakes made to look similar…”
“Why use fakes when you have real diamonds?”
“Who would put real diamonds on a skirt?”
“I did.”
‘He must be insane…’
While I stood there stunned, Cissé casually shrugged.
“Fakes don’t sparkle properly.”
I had thought the sparkle was unusually brilliant—but now I knew why: it was genuine.
‘Of course. Fake diamonds wouldn’t shine this beautifully. Haha…’
A dress adorned with real diamonds.
The cost of the gems alone, plus the production—imagine how much this must have cost.
‘And since they paid three times the usual production fee to finish it quickly, this dress could probably buy a mansion.’
In other words, I was essentially wearing a small mansion on my body.
‘Ugh, thinking about it like that suddenly makes the dress feel so heavy.’
Cissé noticed me staring at the dress and prompted me.
“Enough admiration. Let’s walk—everyone is waiting.”
“But I can’t walk…”
“What? Why not?”
“What if a diamond falls off if I walk carelessly?”
Some may have already fallen, for all I knew.
Looking back at the path I had walked, Cissé shook his head as if exasperated.
“Don’t be timid over trivial things.”
“This isn’t trivial—it’s completely reasonable.”
But Cissé ignored my protest, snapping his fingers lightly.
At that moment, I felt magic move around me, and my shoes began walking forward on their own.
Like the girl in fairy tales who danced endlessly in red shoes.
“Wha—what’s happening!”
Cissé walked elegantly beside me, shrugging.
“This is my thoughtful consideration for a sister who forgot how to walk.”
‘Thoughtful? This is madness!’
Oblivious to my inner screams, the shoes marched ahead and stopped at the entrance to the banquet hall.
“Remembered how to walk?”
If I said no, he would probably use more magic.
I quickly nodded, and Cissé, satisfied, opened the banquet hall doors.
As they creaked open, the sweet aroma and the laughter of people greeted us.
It reminded me of the street festival in the capital when I attended with Baratheon and Cissé.
‘I feel so excited…’
Walking in, familiar faces smiled and greeted me: servants and knights I had seen around the mansion, though I didn’t know all their names.
Lien, Hedin and Zedin, Miri, and Marina were among them.
‘It seems they gathered everyone in the mansion.’
Otherwise, the birthday party would have been lonely without any guests.
‘But Kana isn’t here?’
Everyone from the mansion was present, yet Kana was missing.
After the incident in the capital, she had been hiding away in a side wing, almost invisible—and today was no exception.
‘If she bothers me one more time, I thought I’d become the stingy granddaughter Zedin mentioned…’
Was she aware of that? Quick-witted or lucky, I didn’t know which.
As I walked toward the center of the hall, Baratheon waited with a cake, his face sulking.
Next to him stood the Grand Duke and Lucas.
The candles had clearly been lit in advance, and what was probably a tall candle had melted to about half its original height.
“Why are you so late?”
“Our lady forgot how to walk properly,” Cissé replied.
“What? That’s nonsense… huh!”
As Baratheon grumbled, Cissé gestured to Lucas, who quickly covered Baratheon’s mouth and stepped forward.
“You look truly beautiful today, Danae.”
“Thank you, Lucas.”
Yes. Only you give compliments so kindly, first-born.
I looked at Lucas with eyes full of gratitude, and Baratheon hastily pushed Lucas’s hand away and handed over the cake.
“Now’s not the time to be chatting leisurely!”
Fourteen candles, suited to my age, flickered on the cake in front of me.
“Careful! The flames will go out! Sing already!”
With each shout from Baratheon, the candles wavered dangerously, and one finally went out with his last command.
The smoke curled up faintly, and the previously noisy room fell silent in an instant.
“…Hahaha. One candle has gone out.”
