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At this moment, Dawn City was in an uproar.

"What?! You\'re only giving us 2 Invites?!"

"You got two? Why did I only get one?!"

"Wait... you guys got invites...?!"

The Hendersons\' messengers had been extremely eye-catching as they had delivered the Masquerade invitations, making it very evident who was receiving them.

Then, an incredible show would happen whenever someone opened such an invitation in public. It would go -- BANG!-- As an explosion of colors came out of it! Fireworks?!

"W-what the hell is this?!"

This was only the beginning too.

Then the lights would turn to ghostly figures. Under the stunned eyes of the crowd, translucent Fiery Foxes appeared as they bowed to invite people to their Masquerade.

How awesome was that! How much had the hosts paid to have those things made in the first place: it was so extravagant! Except that many hadn\'t actually received one.

"Gasp, did they just ignore the Tresten\'s House?"

"I can\'t believe we didn\'t get one; it has to be a mistake!"

An angry mob didn\'t take long to march toward the Henderson estate. But as they reached it, they were in for a surprise... the guards wouldn\'t even let them in!

"Sorry, we were ordered not to let anyone through. Not only that, but there will be no change to the number of invitations either." the Henderson Guards informed them.

Instantly, there was a huge backlash. "Humph, are you looking down on the Middle Class?!" "Do you think I won\'t dare to beat you?" "Go fetch your master right now!"

Confronted by a couple of dozen of angry citizens, the guards were already shaking like a leaf. But then, one suddenly remembered what his master had told him.

"Actually, you\'re welcome to complain! Our complaint department has been relocated recently, but you can find it at this address. It\'s just past the Flame Barrier!" He smiled.

"Tch-- Fine, we\'ll complain about you too!"

But while a few were still antagonistic, a few were inwardly crying as they realized the truth. Complaint department? This was the bloody Flame Mansion\'s address!

Many turned ashen, remembering how she had destroyed this very Estate. Offending her over a Masquerade? Nope! Thus they could only dejectedly return home.

This simply boosted the event\'s prestige until it became uncontrollable. Everywhere and whenever people were gossiping about what would happen that night!

It didn\'t help that Jack fanned the flames in the background. Thanks to him, the planning of the Masquerade had been "leaked". It was simple but dreadfully shocking:

1. Games for the youth

2. Politics for the old

3. Surprise for all

It was shaping up to be the perfect bait for power-hungry magicians of all sorts, whether they desired wealth, fame, or even power. The point was: invitations were GONE!

Oh well, they could only accept reality, right?

.

.

.

The Firey Masquerade looked positively amazing.

Just the entrance of the venue they had rented was so damn extravagant. At his request, the Hendersons had scattered millions of rose petals there.

"Kyyaaa! This is so romantic!"

"I wonder if we\'ll meet a Prince Charming here tonight!"

The ladies would talk enthusiastically with stars in their eyes as they admired the outside of the Masquerade. Somehow, there weren\'t any guards, and the place looked extremely dazzling.

The long red carpet was especially ravishing and had them feel like just walking on it was an honor. It was even complemented by golden fox statues on the side, making it feel like a dream.

"Ahh! I\'d give anything to be able to enter this party! Can you believe the number of influential people there? Attracting the eye of a single one would mean being set for life!" boys and girls sighed.

With every newcomer, there\'d be many citizens exclaiming about how noble, powerful, or even blessed they looked, making the participants glow with pride. They were at the center stage!

"The second lady of the Rising Wind?!"

"That guy\'s the Water Prince!"

"Is that... Ox Head?!"

But amidst their fanboying, a certain young girl suddenly arrived at the place. She appeared magnificent, her dress so long it almost rivaled the bystanders\' jealousy.

All eyes turned to her, many feeling confused, some baffled. "Who\'s that again?" They couldn\'t help but feel that they had seen her, but no one could actually remember who she was... until:

"Ah?! Isn\'t she from a lower merchant family? Yes, I remember now. She\'s the one manning the "Jack of All Trades" shop in the lower city! How could someone like her even get an invite?!

But then it dwelled on many. What if she actually didn\'t have any? What if she was just walking in, there were no guards after all. What if it actually worked?! They all eyed her, the suspense rising.

She took step after step on the red carpet, appearing ever so graceful. This was her moment to shine! As long as she didn\'t show weakness, who would even realize she was a fake?!

But just as it seemed like she\'d succeed...

-- ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! --

What?! The rose petals suddenly exploded with Mana! Then that Mana turned into countless mini-thunderbolts that rushed toward the intruder. In mere seconds, she was restrained and on fire!

"Arrggg! Help!"

"Scary!" A bunch of nearby youngsters cried out.

Many sucked in cold breaths. What kind of perverse security measure was this?! They were so glad they hadn\'t attempted it! Yet, they didn\'t remain shocked for too long.

"Pfft-- Who knew the best show\'s happening outside the venue! You guys wanna bet how long it will take for another one to try his or her luck?" Suddenly, staying outside wasn\'t so bad.

With every naive intruder, the rose petals would go ZAP, and tons of cheers would resound all over the place, many even high-fiving. What the hell was wrong with the people here?!

A certain young lady shivered as she saw it happen. But a second later, she took her courage with both hands as she stepped forward. Instantly, the entire scene turned deadly silent...

"G-guys, look there, another one!"

"Is she crazy?!"

"200%!"

The young woman in question had made an effort to tidy up, even putting her black hair into a neat bun, yet her whole appearance screamed commoner. She definitely wasn\'t some highborn lady!

But that wasn\'t all. There was a glint in her eyes that screamed Chaos! She was the kind that had seen a lot in life and definitely wasn\'t a greenhouse flower.

"G-guys, wait, I know her! She\'s that one alchemist that everyone at the Tower hates. She\'s... what was her name again? Something that started with L... Latisha, Lindzey, Lindrelinnar--"

"Lizzy Lamprey!!"

Had she received an invite? Or was she simply trying her luck? Many held their breaths as they waited for the roses to activate. She had merely taken a few steps in that... They started glowing!

"Damn, so she was a fake!" Talk about trying a waste of their excitement... then again, they loved seeing people zapped! But then something strange happened...

The roses were just glowing... but why weren\'t they zapping?! Time seemed to still as she paused along with the magic, creating a magical suspense scene.

\'Lizzy, you can do it. This is a good thing for sure!\' She kept repeating herself, the whole event feeling like a dream. Then again, it had been the same with each of her interactions with Jack.

Foxes and a baby, a contract with the Flame Mansion, his infectious craziness, how he was ready to burn the Alchemy Tower for her, how much he valued her, and this invitation to Dawn\'s Elite.

She still couldn\'t believe it...

"Me?! At the Flame Masquerade?!" She had exclaimed a few hours ago, feeling like he had to be joking. What would she even do there?!

"What, lacking confidence? You shouldn\'t. You\'re Lizzy Lamprey of the Flame Mansion, after all." He had shrugged like it was the most natural thing ever. What the world thought? No fucks given!

"Don\'t you prefer being low-key?!" She had chimed in, only to be denied on the spot.

"No need; it\'s fine to shine a bit. Now, the weaklings will be too scared to scheme against you. As for the truly powerful factions, I\'m sure they\'re smart enough to find you anyway." He had argued.

That\'s how she had found her way to this freaking venue, her heart beating non-stop. This was the start of her new future, one filled with Jack\'s insanity.

As she took the last step, she found herself smiling.

She didn\'t care about the crowd\'s cries nor mind the shell-shocked gazes the people inside were already giving. After all, she had nothing to fear, not one bit.

"Miss... who might you be?" A doorman asked, utterly confused.

"Lizzy, Lizzy Lamprey, of the Flame Mansion."

"?!?" She instantly became the center of attention. Yet, just as many were flocking to her, a commotion resounded outside, so loud it felt like the world was ending.

"The Dawn Lords are here! Wait... they\'re all together, to boot?! Oh my god, something huge\'s about to happen tonight! Guys, we\'re about to witness History!"