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Chapter 35
“My ideal type of a thousand years…!”
What the… Who is that?
Why are they all making such a fuss over my goddess?
Felix pushed through the crowd, annoyed.
If Lorena was noticed by anyone, she would instantly draw attention.
As they reached the entrance of the banquet hall, Felix’s eyes widened.
“Crazy… She’s f***ing beautiful.”
Swear on my life, he had never seen a beauty like her before.
Her hair shone like solidified pure gold, and her clear green eyes resembled delicate leaves.
Her straight neck was like a deer’s, and her slender, milky shoulders invoked a protective instinct.
Felix stared at the suddenly appearing beauty, his eyes ablaze.
“What kind of guy brought this partner?!”
“But… doesn’t that woman… look like Frisia?”
“What? Hahaha! What nonsense is that? Comparing her to that loser is an insult, seriously.”
“Really?”
Felix snorted at the whispers from nearby.
Frisia? Comparing her to that rustic girl? Did everyone lose their minds?
Their hair color might be a bit similar, but there’s not even a speck of resemblance…
…None…
“…Huh? Huhh?!”
Felix’s eyes gradually widened.
“Hah. Embarrassing!”
Frisia was screaming inwardly.
It felt like everyone was staring at her, but since no one was talking to her, she couldn’t tell if it was in admiration or just curious weird looks.
“Judging by Sally’s reaction, it’s probably not the latter…”
Besides, because of the off-shoulder dress, she felt strangely cold. It was the first time Frisia had worn such a bold design since her hair had grown in.
“This kind of thing is for confident girls like Lorena!”
But despite Frisia’s resistance, Director Hestia was firm.
“Your charm point is those perfect straight shoulders. You must show them! You even endured egg training for this!”
“That horrible training… and it was just for this dress!”
Still, everyone merely stared at her with curiosity; no one approached. She could hear whispers asking her name.
“Could it be they really don’t recognize me? …Even with my glasses off and dressed up a bit, is that possible?”
Apparently, no one cared that much about her…
As she thought this, someone called her.
“Oh, Frisia.”
Startled at hearing her name for the first time today, Frisia turned around.
“Dressed up to the max today, huh? I wouldn’t have recognized you.”
Standing there was Lorena, equally dazzling in her attire.
With an angelic smile, Lorena whispered softly:
“You look confident, which is good, but if you wanted to dress up, you should’ve asked me. I could have transformed you beautifully! But now… sigh, honestly, it doesn’t suit you.”
“…Really?”
“Exposing your shoulders like this… sigh. I’m really sorry, but as a friend, I have to say this: you look like a woman desperate to catch a man’s eye.”
Lorena’s eyes glistened with pity.
“I’m upset, Frill. Your charm was your innocence, but now… you look like an empty-headed dog waiting for a rich man to pick you up.”
“……”
“And since you’re alone, does that mean, despite all this effort, you couldn’t find a partner?”
Lorena spoke sincerely.
When she first recognized Frisia, she had been stunned.
Where had that mane-like hair gone? And now that glossy blonde… Her own light brown hair felt dull in comparison.
And the sophistication from head to toe… She couldn’t believe that it was the same Frisia, who used to be so tacky.
But her shock was brief; seeing Frisia hesitate and fail to give her partner’s name to the gatekeeper made her chuckle.
Even all dressed up, a loner is still a loner.
No man would genuinely care about a dull, insecure Frisia.
A flower with no fragrance, even if prettily dressed.
Therefore, I am superior.
Lorena felt reassured with that conviction.
Frisia stared at her for a moment before speaking.
“That’s weird. Why do all your words sound like self-introduction?”
“What?”
Lorena chuckled awkwardly.
Self-introduction? She was the exact opposite of Frisia’s position, wasn’t she? What nonsense!
Frisia narrowed her eyes and said:
“Now that I look closely, you also seem a bit pitiful, Lorena.”
“…What?”
Lorena froze.
‘Pitiful… me?’
Although she had studied alone as a commoner in an academy full of nobles, no one had ever said that to her.
People had praised her beauty despite her harsh environment.
And now this… from Frisia?
I was the one who used to get pity, right?
Lorena forced herself to smile brightly, hiding her agitation.
“Huh? You think I’m pitiful? Maybe… But the one I feel more sorry for is Frill, who, despite all this effort, still couldn’t bring a companion.”
Frisia slowly scanned Lorena from head to toe.
Her eyebrows knitted as if in pity.
“I said you’re pitiful because it’s sad that you believe your worth can’t be proven without someone by your side.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I’ll explain it in terms your childish standards can understand,” Frisia said calmly.
“I have someone. A partner.”
“…!”
Lorena’s eyes widened.
But she had seen Frisia fail to give her partner’s name to the gatekeeper…
Lorena forced a smile.
“Really? I’d like to believe that, but I saw you tell the gatekeeper you came alone.”
“They’ll come soon.”
“Frill, lying blatantly to get out of the current situation is a bad habit, you know.”
“Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter.”
Frisia turned away with a tired expression.
“I don’t want to waste time, so I’ll just—”
“That partner… is it by any chance—”
At that moment, an unexpected voice interrupted.
“Are you talking about me?”
“…?”
“Fe… Felix?”
Lorena’s voice was dazed.
Felix brushed his bangs back and smirked.
“Well, you and I are still engaged, so there’s no partner you should be waiting for other than me.”
“Felix, what are you saying?”
Lorena snapped sharply.
Felix flinched for a moment, then gave a smooth smile, slowly scanning Frisia from head to toe.
“You stayed silent and kept waiting for me, all dressed up like this. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised.”
“Felix?!”
“…Wow.”
Frisia stared blankly.
“To think you’d think that way… overconfidence really is a talent.”
Frisia muttered, not in malice, but as a pure, subconscious truth.
Felix frowned.
“What did you just say?”
“Oh, right. What a perfect timing.”
Frisia’s words made Felix smirk knowingly.
“Of course. You were waiting for me…”
“Here.”
Frisia pressed a piece of paper against Felix’s chest.
It was the engagement annulment document he had personally handed her over a month ago.
Felix’s eyes widened as he recognized it.
“You… Didn’t you cling to me, saying you didn’t want to annul the engagement when I gave this to you? Didn’t you destroy it back then?”
“Wow. Your memory distortion is impressive… That level of self-consciousness is enviable.”
Frisia unconsciously muttered and corrected herself.
“I wasn’t clinging because I didn’t want to be engaged to you back then. I was clinging because I liked being engaged to you, but I wanted alimony.”
“…What?”
