Chapter 8: Chapter 7
Hey there, Angelina Lamonia here, and I am now sixteen years old. Unlike most noble ladies, I am running through the woods to chase down a group of orcs. It may seem strange, but this is actually a secret job I have taken without my families knowledge. Well, Noah does now, as he caught me when I teleported back home one day, but I am sure no one else knows about this. When I was twelve, I signed up at the local adventures guild under a false and while wearing a black wig and green coloured contact lenses. No one should recognise me, and I turned down joining other parties just in case something like my wig falling off happens.
This job has plenty of advantages for me. I have been saving up money and learning plenty of valuable skills. I could easily live in the wild now if anything goes wrong. I locked myself in the guild library, studying plants, monsters, and survival skills when I first started, so my knowledge is pretty good when it comes to living in the wild.
The guild is simple in how it runs. Every adventure is given a rank ranging from F-S with F class adventures only gather herbs. In contrast, S class adventures fight monsters capable of whipping out entire countries. Like everyone else, I started off with an F rank, but now I am on the verge of becoming a B rank. If I was to give a reason why I would put it down to my magic which has been getting stronger as I continue to take out powerful monsters.
"You won't get away from me!"
I finally catch up to a trio of orcs trying to flee from me, and I get in front of them with a quick use of my teleportation spell. There were initially seven of them, but the other four are currently dead inside my storage spell. Oh, that storage spell was something I learned when I was ten and is more common in this world than you think. Still, thanks to god boosting my magical power, I have unlimited storage space, unlike most people, anyway back to the orcs.
The orcs skid to a halt in front of me, looking at me with eyes wide with fear. I am sorry, but I have to do this. I hate killing them when they are this scared, but these orcs have been raiding villages. I raise my hand and end things quickly with a lightning spell that takes out all three orcs at once. I quickly put their bodies in storage and teleport myself to a clearing near the town's forest. My teleportation is a rare skill, so I do not want to give away the fact I could use it. I do not waste time at the guild and quickly turn in the orcs and collect the reward money.
In this world, they use gold coins as currency, and with the one thousand gold coins, I have earned today a total of three million coins over the last four years. I have a nice little nest egg stored away for a rainy day. Leaving the guild, I look up and see that the sun is not even close to midday, and I usually would just take another request when I have finished early, but I cannot today. Today I need to return home and get ready for my debut. It sounds like a hassle, but it is not something I can avoid. I quickly store away my money and head back to the clearing to teleport back to my room.
<0>
"Where have you been?" I jump as Noah ambushes me the second I return to my room. "Everyone is looking for you, panicking that you won't be ready in time if you don't start getting ready soon. You promised me you wouldn't sneak out today."
"But orcs are worth a lot of money this time of year," I tell him as I take off the wig and my contacts.
"I don't get you sometimes," Noah shakes his head. "I will give you ten minutes to get changed before I send the maids in."
We bid our goodbyes, and Noah leaves me to change. The rest of my disguise will definitely get me in trouble if my mother catches me wearing it. They are simply pants and a tunic that an average commoner would wear, so I know mother would kill me if she ever found out I was wearing them. It was bad enough when I cut my hair that was once long to shoulder length. At first, I only cut it to hide the fact that a monster called a two-headed deer bit a chunk of my hair off, but I liked it when I saw my reflection in the mirror and kept it.
I do not waste any time getting changed into clothes I had laid out ahead of time. They are not as comfortable or easy to move in as my current outfit, but I will not end up dead if my parents saw me wearing them. Then I sit down and wait for the maids to arrive and redress me for my debut. I do not see why I have to put so much effort into how I look today. Still, my mother made it clear she was not willing to negotiate or compromise on this, so I had to grit my teeth and endure.
True to his word Noah returns with the maids ten minutes after he left, making sure I was still in the room before leaving me to the mercy of the maids. I wish I hid in the woods today. They start by rubbing oils and locations all over my skin before scrubbing me raw and forcing me into a dress. They apply too much makeup, but this is the latest fashion according to everyone. Finally, they complain that my hair is too short to do anything with, so they only brush it.
"My lady, you appear to have twigs in your hair,"
I should have checked for that after running through the woods.
"I was reading in the garden earlier, so it must have happened then," I tell them and luckily, they seem to believe me and get back to work.
It takes hours for them to finish. At least by the time they are done, I do not look as ridiculous as my mother. The final touch is a pair of high-heeled shoes that I hate when they are put on my feet. My dress hides my feet, so maybe I can slip them off when no one is looking.
"You look beautiful, my lady," One of the maids comments as they help me stand. "The prince is going to love seeing you like this."
I'm sure he is. I smile and let them, guild, me to the party. The sun has already set outside the window, and my body feels stiff from sitting down for too long.
Every year a ball is held for every young lady to debut in society. It is held at a different place every year, and this year my family is hosting the ball. Our home was redecorated for the event are our extra servants were hired for tonight. I cannot help but admire the work everyone put into tonight as my maids guild me to a room where other girls are waiting to make their debut. I give them a polite greeting before sitting down and waiting for things to start.
<0>
"You look beautiful," The Prince smiles as he meets me.
He is my escort for the night and has grown into a handsome young man. His white suit looks good on him, and the small crown on his head is stunning.
"Thank you," I smile as I take his arm. "You do not look too bad yourself. How is Arial doing?"
Arial is the name of a maid Marshall has secretly started dating, so our engagement has officially become a shame. I do not really care. I never developed feelings for him. Arial is the best thing that happened to Marshall, though. She can give him what I cannot, so I hope they will be happy together. We have come to an arrangement. Marshall and I will pretend to love each other. Arial will work for us and secretly be with Marshall while I can be with the person I love whenever I meet them. The only problem is that any child Arial has I will have to pass off as my own to stop a scandal.
"She is doing well," Marshall smiles. "My father agreed to assign her to serve me directly so we can spend more time together."
"I'm glad you are happy," I really am. Arial was the one to save him when a group of nobles tried to win over the princes influence. If it was not for her, the Marshall might have turned out like he did in the game. "I'll try not to do anything to make her jealous."
It begins. Music starts to play, and the doors separating us from the party open up.
"Shell, we get going, my lady,"
"After you, your highness,"
<0>
Tonight was more fun than I ever thought it would be. Marshall was funny and charming as he helped me navigate the noble social life minefield. At the same time, my brother had a line of suitors desperate for his attention. He has grown up into a handsome man, too, but he is still as nervous and shy as he was as a kid. He turned down every engagement offer and kept looking at me for help. He really should have picked someone at the party. I am sure his perfect match was there tonight with the number of suitors.
I also met Arial too as Marshall was leaving. She is a lovely woman who clearly cares for the Prince. I hope they can be together one day without having to hide behind our shame engagement. The Prince has a younger brother who was born two years ago, so maybe he could elope with her and let his brother inherit the throne. I should ask him about it when we next see each other.
Collapsing onto my bed, things seem to be going well, but I cannot shake the feeling that something terrible will happen soon. It is probably my imagination, but I cannot take the risk with so many promotional bad ends. Tomorrow. First thing tomorrow morning, I will check and make sure everything is okay. For now, I need to sleep. That ball wore me out more than hunting orcs all day.
<0>
Thank you for reading.
What do you think is causing that bad feeling?
How about Arial and her relationship with the Prince? We will be learning more about her soon, but do you think she is suitable for the Prince? Or is she the cause of this bad feeling?
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