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Chapter 08
Thanks to Her Highness the Princess, who had come to recognize me as a cowardly but loyal and warm-hearted person after the social salon incident, Asha was successfully carrying out her plan.
As meetings with the Princess became more frequent, I now felt as though I were practically one with Her Highness.
Ah, is that… going too far?
Anyway, well, today was like that too.
“This is an invitation to my birthday banquet.”
“Y-Your birthday?”
“Yes. Of course I’ll be sending them to other nobles as well, but I wanted to give one to you separately.”
At those words, Asha’s light green eyes sparkled with emotion.
At this point, wouldn’t it be possible to just survive now? Asha thought briefly.
“Your Highness….”
“Asha, for you, I can do even more.”
Isabella smiled gently as she stroked Asha’s head.
Deeply moved, Asha couldn’t hide her excitement at receiving a birthday invitation for the first time in both her past life and her current life.
She had written invitation letters before because her parents told her to invite anyone she wanted to her birthday when they couldn’t attend due to work, but this was the first time she had ever been invited to a birthday by someone truly close to her.
“I’ll prepare a really, really precious gift for you.”
As Asha murmured as if making a vow to herself, Isabella gently held her hand and replied,
“Mm, I’ll look forward to it.”
Any gift would be fine.
“What are you getting for Her Highness the Princess?”
“…Get out.”
Seizar had no idea when his younger sister had entered the room and crouched beside his bed trying to startle him, and it gave him a headache.
“What did you usually give her?”
“I didn’t.”
“You heartless jerk.”
“Are you seriously not leaving?”
Asha, who had clearly decided not to leave, was now sprawled out on the sofa.
“Then help me think about it. What should I give her?”
“Since when were you that close with the Princess?”
“Since I went to the Rose Palace without you.”
“…….”
When he thought about it, his younger sister was the most reckless one in the family.
Was there even anyone who could handle her?
Had all the etiquette lessons they took as children been useless?
Letting out a sigh, Seizar glanced at the clock to check the time.
Then, hoping Asha would leave soon, he gave what he thought was the best possible answer.
“The Princess is rich and popular. So don’t give money—give something only you can give.”
“Hmmm….”
“Can you go back to your room and think about it there?”
She sometimes came by at this hour.
Seizar glanced at the clock even more frequently than before.
Noticing his gaze, Asha fell into thought for a moment, then smiled slyly as if she had realized something.
“Why? Waiting for someone?”
“No way. What would I be waiting for at this hour?”
“Right. What could you possibly be waiting for at this hour?”
At her knowing tone, Seizar tried to maintain a blank expression.
But as Asha’s gaze grew sharper, his fist clenched tightly.
Just as he was seriously starting to think he wanted to hit his sister at least once, a knock sounded from outside the door.
“U-Um, Young Master? It’s Floe. Are you there?”
“Bwahahaha!”
“…….”
“Aah! Okay, okay! I’m leaving!”
In the end, Seizar smacked Asha once as she burst into laughter, then covered his burning red face with his large hand.
At last, the birthday banquet of Her Highness Princess Isabella Velschkin.
According to Silvana’s informants, there were countless rumors that this banquet would be held on an enormous scale.
“I think I sent the most perfect gift ever!”
“You’re not referring to those scraps of paper I saw the other day, are you?”
Silvana muttered as she tied a ribbon into Asha’s half-up hairstyle.
“They’re extremely useful. It’s not something you give to just anyone.”
“I feel like even if anyone received them, they wouldn’t use them….”
Remembering the flimsy pieces of paper Asha had proudly shown her after scribbling something down, Silvana let out a long sigh.
“Three Asha Free-Use Coupons. I really gave the best gift.”
Asha, who had already sent a magic necklace she bought a few days ago along with her personal free-use coupons to Isabella via a servant, smiled shyly.
The coupons, which allowed Isabella to use Asha freely whenever needed, were the most suitable gift, filled with Asha’s desire to convey intimacy and trust.
“Silvana. My heart is pounding.”
“My goodness, Miss, you’re actually nervous. That’s unusual.”
Silvana smiled gently at the sight of Asha placing her small hand over her heart.
“Will there be a handsome man there? I really hope that man I saw last time will be there!”
Trying to comfort her, Silvana nodded at the sudden comment.
Right. Nervous, my foot.
Blaming herself for the brief misunderstanding, Silvana returned to her work while watching her lady, who looked flushed and dreamy.
Eyes closed, imagining the banquet, Asha was nothing but excited. This grand banquet, her first since possessing this body, was perfect for making her heart race.
Satisfied, Asha smiled at her reflection in the mirror.
A flowing white dress, apricot-colored hair half-up and decorated with a red ribbon, and jade-green eyes.
A lovely beauty sat before her.
With looks like this, I won’t lose anywhere.
Humming a song from her past life in her mind, Asha smiled softly.
“I’m overflowing with confidence right now!”
“Overflowing with confidence, my foot… I’m overflowing with arrogance!”
Muttering to herself, Asha downed the cocktail in her hand.
Since the banquet began, she had lingered near the long line of nobles gathered around the Princess to offer their congratulations. But as people began pairing up to dance, Asha slowly moved toward the corner of the hall.
From afar, she could see Seizar, who had entered with her, and multiple couples moving to the gentle music.
Excited by this first banquet of her life, Asha confidently stepped toward the center of the hall, thinking she might try dancing a song—then immediately scratched her head and retreated.
‘Ah, right. I can’t dance, can I?’
There was no way she’d suddenly become good at dancing when she couldn’t even before possessing this body.
After rejecting all the invitations to dance from several decent-looking young gentlemen, it was only natural that Asha ended up heading to the cocktail bar set up in the corner.
‘This is boring.’
The Princess looked busy dealing with countless nobles.
Seizar had been scanning the hall restlessly for a while now—it was obvious he was waiting for someone.
‘And I’ve got alcohol and friends.’
Hooray. I’ve got so many friends.
Asha comforted herself with nonsense while staring at the pile of empty cocktail glasses around her.
The handsome ash-haired information broker she had been hoping to see was nowhere in sight.
‘Maybe he doesn’t come to places like this.’
Since he wasn’t a character who appeared in the novel, she didn’t even know where she might be able to meet him.
As the alcohol continued to rise to her head, Asha turned her body back toward the finger foods to grab some dessert she had seen earlier.
There had been plenty of delicious-looking sweets…
They were gone.
“What? Where did they all go?”
She was sure there had been many of them, but the desserts had already disappeared.
Now that she thought about it, there had been an unusually large crowd gathered in front of them.
Could it be…?
Asha swallowed hard as a sudden thought struck her.
“Were they that delicious?!”
Regret came crashing over her.
With just one bite of dessert, she felt like she could sober up and drink again properly.
In the end, leaving behind the people still lingering near the food, Asha decided to go out to the terrace to clear her head.
And that was where she met him.
That man.
“Huh?”
“…….”
Though he said nothing, the amethyst-like purple eyes behind the mask trembled.
‘That man from before.’
Asha stared straight at the man she had encountered when she got lost in the imperial palace.
‘Why is he crouched over here?’
The man was sitting in the most hidden corner of the terrace.
She had chosen this terrace precisely because she thought no one would be here, yet he was sitting there, as quietly and inconspicuously as possible.
Just like when she saw him in the palace before.
This man, too…
looked lonely.
“What are you doing here?”
“…….”
Once again, there was no answer. But Asha plopped down beside him anyway, pressing her flushed cheeks with both hands.
“I’m here for a birthday party. You are too, right?”
“…….”
“Oh, you are?”
Though there was no reply, the man looked at Asha with an unreadable gaze as she continued her self-questioning conversation.
The full moon shone brightly, scattering moonlight over their heads.
Because of that, Asha thought his face looked more sorrowful than when she had seen him in the secluded area of the palace.
Is he a lonely person?
“You work in the imperial palace, right? Since I saw you there.”
Judging by his clothing, he wasn’t a noble.
It wasn’t shabby, but it wasn’t expensive either—certainly not the kind of attire a noble invited to such a magnificent banquet would wear.
“So that’s why you’re hiding here! Skipping work, huh?”
After saying that, Asha took a deep breath of the cool night air that felt especially refreshing tonight.
“It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. Sometimes you just want to be alone, right?”
“…….”
“Then will you let me stay here too? The banquet is really uncomfortable for me right now.”
“…….”
For the first time, the eyes visible through the mask seemed to shine with curiosity, so Asha quickly explained.
“I’m not very good at dancing. Like, bad enough that I can’t really dance with anyone? So I ran away too.”
As Asha pointed at herself with her white finger and laughed softly, the man gave a small nod.
After that, as Asha quietly closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence, feeling the heat in her cheeks cool in the breeze…
she failed to notice the faint upward curve of the man’s lips as he gazed at her with serious eyes.
