Agnes Elizabeth Blaze.

The eldest daughter of the Blaze Count family, born from Arthur Elizabeth Blaze and Nadia Evangeline Blaze.

Also referred to as the successor of the Elizabeth family, she was currently attending Princess Seraphine’s masquerade ball.

Amidst the bustling Evening Rose Hall, where various men and women were mingling in the evening, she quietly slipped away to the terrace and leaned against the railing alone.

 

“Haaaaaaah…”

 

She waited for this boring and bothersome event to pass as quickly as possible.

 

‘Why do I have to participate in this meaningless and unproductive birthday banquet…’

 

Instead of participating in this bothersome event that didn’t suit her at all, there were countless productive things she could be doing with that time.

She could be researching new flame magic in her private lab at the Blaze estate, reading a new grimoire she acquired from the capital yesterday to gain knowledge.

At the very least, even spending time hunting monsters near the Blaze estate to practice magic would have been a much more desirable use of time than this. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Already having wasted two full days traveling from the distant Blaze family estate to the royal palace, Agnes felt considerable dissatisfaction with being forced to participate in such an unproductive event.

…If it weren’t for the pressure from the main family threatening to cut off support if she didn’t show her face at such events, she would have long escaped from this ridiculous event.

 

‘Everyone already recognizes each other, yet they’re wearing masks and dancing and doing foolish things.’

 

Who on earth came up with the idea for this stupid and strange banquet?

The annoying social events held for the Third Princess’s birthday, the high-ranking nobles who subtly reveal their identities amidst the chaos to attract the attention of other nobles, and the people trying to catch the eyes of those nobles at least once. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Every single one of them was filled with parts that Agnes disliked.

Shouldn’t they be planning to enter the Imperial Academy in one to two years at most, or already be studying at the Academy?

Why were they forgetting their duty as noble mages and getting enthusiastic over such an unproductive event?

With such thoughts, she escaped from the crowd to the terrace and gazed at the scenery outside the palace, lost in contemplation.

Even so, in her heart, she felt quite proud of the ingenuity of the transformation magic she had devised today.

 

‘It was a good decision to use transformation magic before entering. If I had worn this stupid mask that can’t even hide my identity properly, those bothersome guys would have surely flocked to me.’

 

No matter how much she tried to conceal the emblems of the Elizabeth family on her attire and accessories, if she had entered with her conspicuous red hair flowing, there would have been a high possibility of her identity being revealed.

If that happened, like other events, bothersome people aiming for the backing of the Elizabeth family would have clung to her.

The Elizabeth family had a tendency to make the children of branch families compete and then adopt the most suitable child for succession into the main family.

Perhaps many people, including herself, were convinced that she would become the successor of this generation.

As a result, whenever she participated in such events with children from other branch families, bothersome attention was always drawn to her.

Just by changing her eye-catching red hair to blue, no one recognized her, making it clear how idiotic the people who had previously approached her were.

 

‘They probably can’t even imagine that I’m using transformation magic.’

 

As she turned her gaze outside the terrace, deliberately ignoring the other nobles laughing and dancing noisily inside the Evening Rose Hall…

From behind her, a voice calling out to her was heard.

When she turned her head, a woman with a strange feeling of light emanating from herself was smiling at her.

 

“Does the party not seem very enjoyable for you, nameless young lady?”

“……”

 

A woman approaching and speaking to her, who had deliberately avoided people and gone out of her way to come to the terrace.

Even with part of her eyes covered by a mask, it was instantly apparent that she was quite a beauty, with an aura shining around her.

Seeing such a woman, who would likely be popular anywhere in the ballroom, approaching her, Agnes instantly heightened her guard.

It was suspicious for someone like this to ignore the attention of others inside the hall and approach her, who had separated herself on the terrace.

 

“The weather is quite lovely, hehe. It’s already a dark evening, though.”

“……”

“Does the young lady find it more enjoyable to admire the dark scenery outdoors rather than the masquerade ball filled with people?” 

“……”

“Everyone has different preferences. It seems the intentions of someone wishing for everyone’s happiness regardless of status were not well conveyed to the young lady.”

“……”

“If it’s alright with you, how about conversing with me for a bit?”

 

The blonde woman deliberately approached and bothered her with conversation despite her ignoring attitude and averted gaze.

When Agnes turned her head again toward the direction of the voice, the blonde woman was still smiling brightly at her despite her rude attitude. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

Feeling a prick of conscience, Agnes turned her head back towards the outside of the terrace, expressing a polite rejection of conversation.

 

“…Rather than wasting your time with me, there are many people inside who would suit you better.”

“But I want to talk with you right now, not someone else.”

“I don’t really have anything to say to you.”

“Is that so? I thought I could have an in-depth conversation about magical arts with you.”

“…Why do you think that?”

“Because you’re currently hiding your true identity with transformation magic, aren’t you?”

“……”

 

To think there was someone who could see through her magic amidst these simpletons.

At the remark of the blonde lady she met for the first time today, Agnes let her guard down and started to show a bit of interest in her.

The blonde young lady naturally opened the flow of conversation while looking at Agnes.

 

“Even at a masquerade ball, using transformation magic to conceal your identity… Do you dislike meeting people that much? Or does it mean you won’t converse with someone unless they can discern your transformation magic?”

“…Both.”

“The transformation magic felt a bit different from what I know, so I almost couldn’t notice it at first. Usually, transformation magic stands out because the mana of the caster and recipient can be felt fluctuating, right? But with your magic, that was hardly noticeable… It surprised me a bit.”   

“…Of course. This is something I directly used on myself. There’s no way the mana flow would feel different.”

“I thought you might have a twin sister with similar mana capacity, but it was cast directly on yourself?”

“I don’t have any siblings. And not to brag, but I’ve never met anyone around my age with a mana capacity similar to mine either.”

“Hmm…”

 

The blonde lady looked at Agnes with peculiar eyes upon her remark.

Agnes tilted her head quietly, not understanding the meaning behind the gaze directed at her.

Afterward, the blonde young lady and Agnes continued to have a pleasant conversation about various topics while leaning against the terrace railing.

They talked about Agnes’s specialty, fire magic, as well as various magical knowledge and arts.

 

“…So with the circuits of fire magic, straight lines must never be included… unless it’s a composite kind of magic involving other elements.”

“That’s right. Fire magic is an amorphic magic. You can reduce the curvature to the limit if you want to increase the power, but straight lines won’t work.”

“Yeah. It’s the complete opposite of nature magic. That one’s full of straight lines, and the magic circuits have tons of corners…”

 

Outwardly, Agnes looked down on people who were distracted by interacting with others, but in fact, she also had an inherent desire to socialize with people.

It’s just that until now, there was no one on the same wavelength as her, so she didn’t feel the need to mingle. [GalaxyTL/Axiomatic]

But as soon as Agnes was able to have a deep conversation about a field she enjoyed, she opened up.

Watching her like that, the blonde lady quietly smiled in her heart.

 

‘With this, it seems there’s no one left who can’t enjoy the banquet.’

 

She had wandered around the ballroom, having a conversation with each person who was isolated or marginalized.

Since it was a banquet she had personally planned and hosted, she couldn’t tolerate anyone being isolated and unable to enjoy it.

Having sufficiently conversed with Agnes on the terrace under the beautiful full moon, she was thinking of revealing her identity and wrapping up the masquerade ball event.

 

“…?”

 

However, the final part of today’s banquet that she had in mind had been put on hold due to an unforeseen reason.

 

“…Utilizing the image is important for this transformation magic I’m using too. Imagining the parts you can’t see yourself is the most crucial aspect for a mage…”

“…Wait a moment, Miss Agnes.”

“…Why, why? Do you not like talking about transformation magic?”

“That’s not it, Miss Agnes, could you take a look towards the lakeside over there…?”

“The lakeside…?”

 

Following the finger pointed by the blonde lady who interrupted her with a serious voice, Agnes’s gaze slowly shifted.

It didn’t take long for both of them to realize that the finger was pointing at a group of monsters crawling out from the shore of Lake Verdan.

Soon, the door from inside the evening Rose Hall opened, and an imperial guard soldier rushed onto the terrace.

 

“Princess! An abnormal monster proliferation has been reported at Lake Verdan!”

“…Yes, I just confirmed it as well.”

 

Lake Verdan was to the north of the Imperial Palace, and monsters were seen emerging from there and approaching the palace.

Having personally witnessed that sight with her own eyes, she nodded and responded to the soldier’s words.

Agnes was momentarily flustered by the guard’s words and the lady’s attitude, making a foolish expression.

 

“…Princess?”

 

Agnes muttered stupidly while naturally turning towards the blonde lady beside her.

The blonde young lady gave her an apologetic smile mixed with a bit of regret.

 

“…I’m sorry, Miss Agnes. I didn’t intend to deceive you. I just thought you might feel uncomfortable if you knew my identity.”

 

With an apology directed at her, Princess Seraphine leaped onto the terrace railing.

For a moment, Agnes was captivated by her elegant figure and stared at her absentmindedly.

Seraphine smiled at the guard who came to escort her and replied.

 

“You don’t need to worry about me, so please evacuate the young lady over there first.”

“That won’t do, Princess! You must preserve your precious body…!”

“It’s alright. Today is also a full moon, and it’s not my ‘fated time to die’ here yet.”

“Princess!”

 

Clang!

 

Seraphine leaped into the air, evading the guard’s hand that reached out to grab her.

With the sound of her feet kicking off the railing, she fell from the 3rd-floor terrace, spinning in the air.

Seraphine’s figure, shadowed against the full moon, perfectly suited her alias: ‘Moonlight Shadow Princess.’

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Great to see the spotlight on other characters for a change. Really makes me feel that the story is finally moving forward.

Bonus chapter to follow shortly.

Thanks for reading, see you in a bit!