Chapter 15 – The Scarlet Rose Ball

「And then! Leticia-san is very kind, even though I was just doing something ordinary, she’d praise me saying, 『Noelle-san is so capable.』」

I was on my break at work, talking to Luke about the senpai whom I looked up to.

「Since our first meeting, I thought, 『so cool! I want to be someone like her!』 and my eyes are absolutely correct. What a nice and kind person she is.」

The first thing I admired about her was her appearance and having known her inner qualities, too, made me like her even more.

She gave off a capable adult woman vibe.

Since I wasn’t even able to succeed in my role at a rural magic item craftsman guild, I also thought that the work I did would never be praiseworthy in the eyes of a royal magician-san.

Still, she said such kind words to me.

She was such a wonderful person, wasn’t she?

Luke sighed at me, who was speaking enthusiastically.

「Hm? What’s wrong? Are you not well?」
「No, how come I’m the closest but you’re going in an unexpected direction.」
「Closest? Unexpected?」
「It’s nothing.」

Luke breathed deeply once more.
While looking at his side profile, I recalled the words okaa-san told me yesterday.

I was happy that the workplace was more comfortable than the previous one but when I told okaa-san,

『My work is going well! It’s so fun and I could practice magic, too.』,

the 『that’s good but more importantly, get married to that gentleman and board a bejeweled palanquin! Oh, right, you studied magic potions at school, right? Let’s make a love potion and make him drink it! It’s a flawless plan!』 nonsense returned.

It was an undeniable crime to make a love potion and have someone drink it.

Good grief, okaa-san didn’t know anything at all.

‘Yare yare,‘ shrugging his shoulders, Luke suddenly said,

「By the way, did you know that there’s going to be a royal ball at the royal palace next week? It’s called 『The Scarlet Rose Ball』.」

「Yeah, I know. It’s famous. 」

I knew that ball.
Or perhaps I should say, anyone would know of it if they were born and raised in the kingdom.

「It’s a ball with tradition and history that has continued for more than a hundred years. Generation after generation, the past crown prince-samas of the kingdom had met their prospective queen-samas at this ball. That’s why every girl spent their girlhoods yearning for this ball.」
「Heee, it’s surprising for Noelle to be interested in that kind of thing.」
「That’s rude. I, too, used to be a girl who yearned for it after all.」
「I thought you wanted to be a great magician rather than a princess.」
「Ah, of course, that was my first aspiration. And being a princess was second, I guess. 」

Okaa-san, who was an economical person, didn’t buy me any toys at all.
So I borrowed my friend’s romance novel and I got absorbed in reading it from what I recalled.

In those days, I never had the things others were able to afford and had been feeling a little lonely.

However, okaa-san used all of the precious money that she saved up in that way for me who said 「I want to go to the Magic Academy」.

My gratefulness was a thousand times more than that loneliness.

Since okaa-san grew up in the countryside, the old common sense of girls should get married thingy was deeply ingrained so it was a bit troublesome.

「But is what you said true? So the Scarlet Rose Ball will be held at the Royal Palace, huh.」

It made me realize that I was in a wonderful place once again.

The best ball that I once yearned for would be held right in front of me.

Nonetheless, since it was an important event that might decide the future queen, only a small handful would be able to attend amongst all the people of the kingdom.

Though one wouldn’t be allowed inside unless one was a high-ranking aristocrat or a princess from a neighboring country――from a family that wouldn’t cause any problem even if she marries his royal highness the crown prince.

That was why it was more of a girl’s yearning.

Oh well, for a commoner like me who would be unrelated to it all my life, it was already superbly elegant.

To me, who was really impressed by how amazing it was, Luke said.

「Because of that, though, you will also be attending, my buddy.」

I couldn’t understand the meaning of those words.
I stiffened for a minute or so and then said,

「……………………..Eh?」

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