Chapter 5

The day of the engagement ceremony was quite hectic from the morning.

Karena was brazenly decorated early in the morning with the ceremonial outfits and ornaments that she had prepared during the half a month she had been in Burgmueller. That included measurements and color matching. Of course, many of the ornaments were made of Sorolite, which were considered to be the finest of all precious stones.

Early in the morning, she moved from the detached palace to the royal palace. She purified herself, anointed herself with incense, dressed in a simple white dress with no wrinkles, gloves, and a gold ornament with the traditional Burgmueller coat of arms. It was said to be used for betrothal ceremonies. Her hair was curled by Clara’s hands and decorated with beautiful flowers.

However, Karena never had any feelings of pride in the way people looked at her.

It was almost noon by the time Karena had finished all the preparations.

As soon as she returned to the room she had prepared for herself, Clara came back with refreshments after meeting with the other maids. But the preparations had been so extensive that Karena, was already exhausted before the ceremony. She had no energy left to even eat.

“Lady Karena… You are beautiful! It’s wonderful!”

“Thank you, Clara.”

“It’s been six years since I’ve served you. I’m so happy to finally see you like this.”

Clara had always been proud of her master, who was witty and sensitive, without the arrogance of a royal. When Karena’s marriage had been decided, she decided to go to the country with her. But even her family, who had served the royal family of Ravina for generations, had hesitated at the idea.

But Clara’s decision was firm. As the eldest child of the family, with three younger brothers and three younger sisters, Clara had always thought of Karena as her sister, even though they were the same age. It was only a matter of time before her parents nodded reluctantly to Clara’s passionate persuasion.

“Yes, yes, you’re overreacting.”

Clara hid her face with both hands in emotion at the sight of Karena, and a wry smile breaks out.

This girl always had a tendency to overreact when it comes to Karena.

“That is not true! I was wondering what would happen at one point. You have a beautiful face and skin, just like the Queen Mother. You have a body that could be described as matured. How hard it was to hide the sinister gaze of the sons of the Ravina nobility.”

Karena breathed a sigh of amazement at Clara, who looked up and emphasized.

“That’s enough…”

Every time Clara compliments Karena, bitter memories come back.

As a child, she had accepted the praise of the noblemen’s children. But as she grew older, she slowly realized that they were only interested in Karena’s status and appearance. It seemed that even the royalty of a country that believed in frugality and was far poorer than other countries were just as attractive as celestial beings.

I don’t believe that my appearance was ugly. Even so, Karena believed that the admiration she received from the people around her was due to her position as royalty.

After the discovery of the Sorolite Mine, it became blatantly worse. For the young Karena, the sophistry of the adults was not something that could be easily dismissed.

“Isn’t it fine? This is one of your charms. I’m really proud to be married in such a wonderful country. However… the rest depends on your partner, doesn’t it?”

“Right…”

Remembering last night’s conversation, Karena replied sharply.

“I forgot to tell you something important. There is more to the story. It’s about the Prince’s appearance.”

“What? I’m going to be surprised by anything at this point. Is the prince terribly ugly or missing one of his legs? Or does he have three eyes? No nose?”

I’m prepared not to be surprised anymore. Karena spoke in a self-deprecating manner.

“It’s not a person, Lady Karena. It’s not. It’s the other way around, the other way around!”

“The other way around?”

“What a pity. Should I have had three eyes? Or cut off one leg? But I don’t have to be a human anymore. ”

“… What?”