CH 6.2

Chapter 6: I’ve never experienced anything like this!

Part 2

The morning of the coming of age ceremony, Lila woke up early and stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, scrutinizing her face.

“I don’t have a single wrinkle on my face.”

Lila grumbled out what would have been a curse word to anyone else.

This day was more motivating than most. It was the day she’d been waiting for for ten years.

So today she decided to give her ugly makeup a boost. And she decided to make it color-themed.

She set the pouch down next to the sink and started calling them out one by one.

“☆☆Creamy concealer. ☆☆Compact. ☆☆Clear pads. ☆☆☆Cream. ☆☆Sunscreen. ☆☆☆Eyeshadow. ☆☆Pore brush…”

At her call, pompoms of cosmetics began to pop out of a pouch with a large mauve bow.

She started with her face and worked her way down to her neck, applying the familiar skin-tone lowering foundation, and then sprinkled on the makeup fixer.

She painted uneven skin tone to look like freckles and created a large mole on the side of her nose. Of course, she didn’t forget to add a strand of hair to make it look alive.

She used fresh lime green and green eyeshadows and orange blush. And then applied a matte lipstick that was more like a dried scarlet rose than a fresh orange.

“Mmm.”

When she was done, she looked strangely unremarkable.

“Oh, I didn’t do the freckles.”

Lila murmured that she had forgotten the most important and familiar freckles because of the strain on her shoulders.

“What’s wrong with me today, I’m not supposed to be this relaxed…”

Her heart was pounding because she had been waiting for this day. She felt both excited and nervous.

“Freckles are sincere.”

She muttered to herself as she stamped each freckle with her brush liner.

“I’m going to draw more than usual!”

Dark and light freckles began to densely fill her face: on her cheeks, the sides of her forehead, and the bridge of her nose.

Pressing her face close to the mirror, she reviewed her makeup, contouring her chin and under her cheeks once more, and finishing with a dab of makeup fixer.

She added a layer of fluff to the chemise she wore under the dress and tied it tightly. She smoothed it down with her hands to make it look like real flesh.

“How about my hair…”

If she was going to the banquet alone, she wouldn’t have been so worried, but tonight she was going with Lucas.

“Should I just tie it up nicely today.”

It was a big day, and she wanted to mess it up even more, but Lucas kept stopping her. She stood in front of the mirror and fumbled with her hair, running her hands down and up.

“Hmm, since my face looks even more gaudy than usual, it’s okay to style the hair a little more gracefully, right?”

She turned her head this way and that as she ran her hand through her soft, gray-tinged mauve hair.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Lila said to herself.

“I think I’ll just be ugly today, the kind of ugly where the clothes and hair are normal, but the face doesn’t support it.”

She started fiddling with her hair, picked a strand, twirled it around the top of her head, and secured it with a pin.

It didn’t look that strange, but it was a style unheard of in the Vassium Empire. Lila, who had thick, long hair that wasn’t as full as the gache,* but she styled it similarly. [T/N: a traditional Korean wig worn by women used during the Joseon Dynasty]

“Well, it’s not bad. Not pretty, not weird, just right in the middle.”

Continuing to check her face in the mirror, Lila opened the trinket box she’d brought with her. It was a set of hydrangea-shaped blue sapphires that Lucas had pulled out of the Duchess’s treasury for her to wear at her coming-of-age ceremony.

First, she pulled out a large hydrangea-shaped hairpin and slipped it through her braided hair. It glowed colorfully in the bathroom light.

“It’s pretty…”

Her heart fluttered with excitement as she wore my first piece of jewelry. The Barony of Este was not wealthy, and the jewelry she’d inherited from her mother was not something she could use freely. She felt a faint pang of guilt that she was wearing it and not her real daughter.

Moreover, she knew that Becky had been sneaking off with her trinkets, so she had hidden them deep within herself.

Lila, who wore hydrangea-shaped earrings that dangled from the tips of her ears, put her used makeup in the pouch. Then she crossed the room with her jewelry box and pouch.

She placed the pouch and trinket box on her dressing table and began to pull on the cream-colored dress Doreen had made for her, grimacing.

“This dress, really.”

Lila, who had to put the dress on by herself every time, grumbled under her breath as she skillfully slipped it on, at least it was a separate top and bottom piece.

As she slipped into the gown, which was covered in blue sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds, Lila breathed in deeply.

“That’s a lot of jewelry.”

She wondered if she’d gone overboard with the jewelry on a dress she’d only wear once.

She covered the plunging neckline with a partlet and slipped on gloves the same color as the dress.

As she checked herself in front of the full-length mirror in her room, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Lila answered, assuming it was Vincent. But it was Lucas who opened the door.

“Looks like you’re ready to go.”

“Huh?”

Lila’s head snapped up in surprise, having been too busy straightening her clothes to notice.

Her mouth dropped open at the sight of Lucas: He was wearing a suit the same color as her dress. Underneath the suit was a black shirt, and his vest and cravat were all black.

A pair of emerald earrings and a brooch in the image of the Duchess of Montefeltra were pinned to his cravat.

“I was worried you’d come a little early, but I’m glad you’re already ready. There was something I forgot to tell you.”

“Yes… What is it?”

“I was hoping to get an earlier start. His Majesty sent me a letter earlier today… asking to see me for a few minutes before the ceremony.”

“Oh… yes. I’m all ready to go, as you can see.”

“Well, then, shall we go?”

Lucas offered his hand politely. Lila looked at the hand for a moment, then slowly lifted her gaze.

At the sight of him with his hair neatly combed back, Lila spoke up instead of raising her hand.

“Do you mind if I put my hand on the Duke’s face for a moment?”