Chapter 42 - You Don’t Have To Do This (1/2)

Chapter 42 – You Don’t Have To Do This

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Florinda wasn’t lying when she said she would do her best.

Normally, it would take her about an hour to put on makeup, but today it took three times as long. The dark circles under my eyes must have been bad.

I wanted to quit an hour into the makeup application, but it was my fault for staying up all night when I was supposed to be at the palace today. And so, I kept my mouth closed and remained still. I shouldn’t have stayed up the night before, but it was too late to do anything about it.

“It’s all done, My Lady,” Florinda declared.

It wasn’t until it felt like there were a good five layers of powder on my face did Florinda stop putting on makeup. I accepted the mirror she handed to me and looked at my face.

“Good gracious.”

This was some superhuman skill. How did she transform me into this?

“Do you like it, My Lady?” she asked.

It was in the form of a question, but Florinda seemed to already know the answer. There was no way I could be disappointed with these results. I stared dazedly at myself in the mirror.

The dark circles were covered as a basic option, of course. Additionally, my face was almost like a bride’s on a wedding day, as if to show off the greater amount of effort put on my makeup today.

Was this really me?

Maristella’s face was already lovely enough that even a little color on her face made her shine, but with full makeup, she almost looked like a goddess.

I couldn’t believe that a maid had this much skill! Maristella was truly lucky.

“It’s unbelievable. I look so different from before,” I said in awe.

“I’m glad you like it,” Florinda beamed proudly. She seemed to know exactly what she was capable of.

I stood up from my seat while I seriously considered giving her a bonus.

“How much time do I have left until I have to leave, Florinda?”

“Don’t worry, My Lady. You picked out your dresses and accessories yesterday. It won’t take long to wear them.”

It was just as Florinda said. With the help of the other maids, the rest of the preparations did not take as much time as I thought.

Finally, I boarded the carriage, and arrived at Thurman Palace right on time. I entered the palace, hoping I was not too late, when one of the servants noticed me.

“Lady Maristella.”

It was Sir Dilton. A natural smile formed around my mouth.

“Sir Dilton,” I said in acknowledgment.

“It’s been a while, Lady Maristella,” he greeted.

“Yes. It’s been a while. How are you?”

“I am well,” he said briefly, but soon his tone turned worried. “More importantly, I heard you were in a carriage accident… Are you alright?”

“Ah,” I answered with an embarrassed expression. “I had been stuck in bed for about three months. I’m completely recovered now.”

“God must have helped you. Carriage accidents have a high fatality rate.”

“That’s what I think too. I was lucky.” I smiled lightly and changed the subject. “By the way, where is His Highness?”

“Ah, His Highness is—”

“Sir Dilton.”

Then, a low voice interrupted from behind. I turned around and saw a familiar figure. There stood a man with hair as silver as the moonlight and eyes as dark blue as the deep sea.

“What are you doing not taking my guest to the dining room?” Xavier said. His low voice seemed to carry through the air like a cave and got stuck in my ears.

When I was looking at Xavier with a glazed expression on my face, his expression shifted from stern to smiling.

“Lady Maristella,” he said warmly.

“Your Highness.” I blinked and came back to my senses, and gave a polite bow. “Greetings to the Little Sun of the Empire. Glory to Yonas.”