BXBX NOVEL Chapter 75: (1)
As I saw down first and Jannette followed, the boat drifted smoothly over the water. The moment we got away from the young ladies in the lakeside, I burst out in laughter.
“Lady Margarita, I didn’t know before, but you have quick feet.”
“I hear that often.”
Jannette exuberantly laughed.
A few months ago, I would’ve never imagined it, but the time I spent with her was actually enjoyable. I guess I had more affection for her after the tea party. Strangely, when we were face to face, the mental distance I felt from her was shortened.
“Like you said, the sight really is beautiful.”
A voice filled with admiration was carried along in the wind.
Jannette’s eyes showed a darker blue than the lake. The eyes of the royal family I had seen from her when she was younger came to my mind. It was probably difficult to hide her eyes everytime she left the residence. A magician of the Alpheus family must be helping her.
Oops. Did I stare at her too obviously? Jannette must’ve felt my gaze and turned to look at me.
I was slightly embarrassed, but I didn’t show it and smiled at her. My smile for ‘public mode’ automatically appeared on my face.
“Princess Athanasia’s eyes right now are a color similar to the lake.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They’re similar to the color of my eyes right now.”
I paused at what Jannette said. When I looked at her again, Jannette prettily smiled, and I felt a little off from the friendliness in her eyes.
“I first met you and the Emperor at the debutante ball.”
If I was the original Athanasia, I would’ve thought the friendliness in Jannette’s eyes were based on kindness and mere good intentions.
“You were so affectionate towards each other that I couldn’t help but keep looking at you.”
Jannette seemed to regard me as her sister already and that was why she was being kind to me. That was something I already knew from the beginning, but I couldn’t help but pity her right now.
I adjusted the parasol in my hands and spoke again.
“The close relationship you have with the Alpheus family is quite nice to see as well.”
“You’re right. They’re like family to me.”
Jannette shyly laughed.
I was going to ask her something else, but I stopped myself. I felt like I was being arrogant asking her things I already knew.
Under the lace dress, her soft brown hair was lightly blowing in the wind. Her round eyes were a pure blue without any speck of anything in them. And with the light pink dress she was wearing, she was really portrayed as a lovable and innocent little girl. She actually was a little girl of just 14 years.
“Ah. How could it be this beautiful?”
Jannette stared at the lake with a dreamy look and spoke.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before, Princess.”
***
“Oh right, have you heard the rumors? About the Magician of the Black Tower.”
We were all sitting together at a beautiful spot by the lake. I was reassuring myself that the monster was really gone, according to what Felix had told me, and I turned my head when a young lady spoke.
“Oh, I heard too!”
“Me too!”
Wow. The rumors had already spread. Well, I guess it was impossible to keep secrets inside such a large palace. I heard the news from Hannah that the rumors started spreading.
“But it is really true that the Magician of the Black Tower appeared, Princess?”
As expected, they wanted to find out about the truth from me. They looked at me with shining eyes. Aw. I almost smiled at them like a proud mother duck.
I fixed my face and answered the young ladies who were expectantly looking at me.
“Yes. A man that calls himself the Magician of the Black Tower has recently met my father.”
“My goodness!”
The young ladies let out exclamations like they had been waiting for this moment.
Wait, but I only said it was someone who called himself the Magician of the Black Tower, not the Magician himself!
“Wow, then that really is amazing!”
“I can’t believe I’ll be able to see the Magician of the Black Tower during my lifetime!”
“I want to see him too! I heard he’s a sensational Great Magician!”
It seemed like the Magician of the Black Tower was really something.
He was almost like a legend. I thought of him as a legend since I had read it all in the book, but the other young ladies didn’t seem to think so.
Wow, it was the first time seeing the ladies being this excited, other than when they were talking about the ‘4 Kings of High Society.’
“Oh my goodness. Then, then, is he staying at the Imperial Palace?”
They twinkled their eyes at me and couldn’t hide their excitement. I had mixed feelings while looking at them.
“No, he’s not staying at the Imperial Palace.”
How disappointed would they be when they found out that he was a fake?
I remembered a conversation Claude and I had during dinner.
“Dad, is it true that you met the Magician of the Black Tower?”
It was the day I had left the palace with Lucas, and heard about the Magician from Hannah.
Half of me was thinking ‘There’s no way’, but my other half was thinking, ‘But what if?’
“Did the rumors already spread there.”
My eyes at that moment were probably similar to these young ladies’ eyes. After all, it was the Magician of the Black Tower!
“That’s not true.”
But at Claude’s careless tone, my illusions all crashed.
“What? Not true?”
“It amuses me, so I plan on keeping him around for a bit longer, but he’s only a fake at best, so don’t give him too much attention.”
I thought back to Claude’s expression. He said he was amused, but it was the face of someone who was looking at a bug on the bottom of their shoe!
“Then how old do you think the Magician of the Black Tower is?”
“Yes, he must be an old grandpa with white hair by now.”
“No, I heard that Great Magicians retain their youth for longer than normal people. So that’s why the Magician King Aeternitus was able to live for so long.”
Once again, the young ladies’ eyes all gathered on me. No, I’m saying you’ll all be disappointed when you find out he’s a fake!
I hid my pity and answered everything I knew.
“Well, I heard he looks like a teenage boy.”
Ole!
The young ladies were extremely happy.
“I heard the Magician is a free spirit, but to think he came to greet the Emperor as soon as he was finished with his life of seclusion! That’s how great the prestige of the Emperor is. He’s so awe-inspiring.”
Jannette agreed excitedly to the young ladies’ conversation.
“It would be an honor to meet the Magician of the Black Tower, but it’s a shame he’s not someone you can meet so easily.”
Yikes! Jannette, not you too!
I shrieked inside of my head. The Magician of the Black Tower isn’t real! He’s a fake pretending to be real! According to what Claude said. But it’s what Claude said, so it must be true.
It seemed like a baseless trust, but I felt that Claude was a credible source.
“Princess.”
And once the tea party was almost ending, Jannete quietly approached me.
She greeted me again with a smile.
“Lady Margarita, today was fun as well. Thank you for readily participating at every tea party.”
And Jannette’s slightly quivered like she had something to say, but was hesitating. Did she have to look that cute when she was doing that though?
“Excuse me. If it’s all right, will you accept this?”
It was a prettily wrapped present.
“It’s a handmade ribbon.”
At that moment, I remembered what I had seen recently outside of the Imperial Palace. Jannette and Ezekiel were speaking to each other.
‘Do you still have something to look for?’
‘Try to remember. I haven’t bought the most important thing yet.’
“I remembered that the ribbon I picked up for you was a little damaged…and it was a little dirty, although I tried to clean it…it was on my mind since the debutante ball.”
‘What’s the matter, Ezekiel? You forgot something I said to you multiple times.’
“And when I went shopping recently, I found a ribbon that would suit you.”
Jannette shyly smiled looking down at the box in her hand.
“I couldn’t leave the store without buying it.”
I was touched by Jannette. She said she had coincidentally found it while shopping, but it was different from the conversation I overheard in the cafe.
‘Pick a ribbon with me when we go to the store. I’ll give one to her as a present, so you won’t be bored.’
“Oh, but this isn’t really that much…also, you might not like it, so I would be honored if you just keep it.”
As I blankly stared at the box, Jannette’s voice shrank like she was losing confidence. My eyes shook upon seeing her expression.
Wait, but I feel bad now.