Chapter 66: Party (1)
It wasn’t that I doubted my mother’s decision.
She had explained in detail what kind of party it was, and after reviewing all the outfits, she personally recommended this one to me.
…Still, I couldn’t help but wonder—was this really the right choice?
Compared to the dress quietly slumbering in my closet, this was considerably more modest, though, relatively speaking, it was still quite revealing.
No matter how much I thought about it, I liked the outfit I had first shown to my mother the best…
But if she said this one suited me the most, then there wasn’t much I could do about it.
Before stepping out, I stood in front of the mirror for a final check.
Against the backdrop of black fabric with white patterns, my hair stood in stark contrast. The neckline showed a hint of cleavage, and the back was slightly open.
It felt like someone had taken the modest pieces from my wardrobe and combined them into this outfit.
At least my back wasn’t completely exposed—thankfully. Anything more, and it would’ve been hard to tell if it was clothing or just scraps of fabric.
I carefully examined myself in the mirror to ensure there weren’t any loose threads or dust and that my hair wasn’t still damp. Once I confirmed everything was fine, I grabbed the invitation.
The invitation doubled as an entry pass, so I held onto it tightly. It’d be embarrassing to get turned away after all the effort I’d put into dressing up.
Apparently, I just needed to sign it… though I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. I figured I could ask Dogeon.
After steadying my breath, I stepped out and knocked on Dogeon’s door.
“Just a moment…”
Unlike me, it seemed like he had just woken up. I could hear rustling from inside his room and imagined the disorganized scene that would greet me if I opened the door.
It seemed like his room could use a good cleaning. The last time he explained what “friends” meant, his place had been a disaster, too.
I supposed I’d have to rely on my deep reserves of patience and wait.
Listening leisurely to the sounds of him moving around inside, I didn’t have to wait long before Dogeon opened the door and stepped out.
“Sorry to… keep you waiting.”
Dogeon paused mid-sentence and stared at me for a moment before continuing.
In that brief moment, I noticed a hint of redness creep across his face, which stirred a small sense of unease. Did it not suit me? Such doubts, though baseless, were hard to suppress.
“…Does it not suit me?”
I struck a slight pose, turning around to show him the front and back as I asked.
My mother had a vastly different perspective on the world, so it was possible she had recommended something incomprehensible to our sense of style.
It did look fine to me, but my own opinion wasn’t very reliable.
There was no choice but to ask Dogeon.
Asking Anya would only result in unthinking praise.
“…No. It’s… you’re stunning. Don’t worry, Hoyeon. It suits you perfectly.”
“Really? You look good, too.”
Even briefly doubting my mother had been a mistake. As expected, she was well-versed in fashion.
Now that I thought about it, Dogeon had also dressed sharply. It wasn’t the kind of gaudy, gold-plated attire that royalty in fantasies might wear but a dignified black suit, similar to mine.
At least this way, other girls wouldn’t start conversations with him first. There were plenty of men here who looked like they belonged in a well-written novel, after all.
“Do I? Thanks for saying that. Did you bring your invitation?”
Dogeon, clearly pleased, responded enthusiastically to my compliment. In response to his question, I took out my invitation as proof.
“Here. But what does it mean to ‘sign’ it, exactly?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure about that, either.”
I had planned to ask Dogeon, but he didn’t know, either. That left us with no choice but to figure it out ourselves.
“Well, let’s give it a try.”
“Right… I mean, they wouldn’t pull anything strange at an event like this…”
Dogeon seemed uneasy about the fact that the invitation had come from Stefania. He had been wary of her ever since yesterday.
Still, it seemed excessive to be so suspicious. It wasn’t like the party invitation was secretly a body relinquishment agreement or anything.
“Don’t worry. What could possibly happen?”
Honestly. Causing trouble here would only tarnish her own reputation; there was no way she’d pull something weird.
“…Right. Let’s do it, then.”
Dogeon naturally retrieved a pen and handed one to me before writing his name on the invitation. He paused midway.
“…Companion, huh.”
The invitation Stefania had given us included a section to list a companion if we had one.
For a moment, I felt a bit annoyed at the assumption, but it didn’t take long to realize that, for nobles, having a companion was a given.
I felt briefly discouraged, but then I remembered—I had Dogeon.
“Right here. Your companion.”
As I poked Dogeon in the side with my pen, he turned to look at me with a bewildered expression.
What’s with that look?
Was he still hung up on yesterday’s events?
It seemed like he was still hesitant about openly announcing to everyone that we were friends. It felt like he was doing this out of consideration for me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that, someday, he might build a harem and pretend not to know me when it suited him.
Well then, if everyone knew, he wouldn’t be able to pull that off, would he?
I wrote Dogeon’s name in the companion section of my invitation. Watching me, he seemed resigned and wrote my name in the companion section of his invitation.
That’s how it should be.
“…So, what happens now?”
The moment Dogeon finished what sounded suspiciously like a setup line, a surge of mana—similar to what had happened during midterms—began to swirl around us.
Was it teleportation again? What if I ended up in some strange place all by myself?
Anxiety washed over me, and I instinctively grabbed Dogeon’s hand tightly.
Even as we were enveloped in the storm of mana and dizziness set in, I didn’t let go of his hand. Perhaps because of that, when I opened my eyes, Dogeon was still beside me.
“Welcome, esteemed guests. I am Angelo, the steward. Are you Lady Baek Hoyeon and her companion, Lord Han Dogeon?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“That’s correct,” Dogeon added.
“Please, step inside. I hope you have a pleasant time,” said Angelo with a bow.
Though he seemed to be treating Dogeon as a mere accessory, I let it slide. After all, this was a fantasy world where social hierarchies were an accepted reality.
From beyond the door, the scents of perfume and the sounds of music wafted toward us. It seemed the party had already started.
Thinking it was just a student-run event and would therefore be modest, I opened the door—and was greeted by an entirely unexpected scene.
A hall dazzlingly decorated, with an orchestra playing in one corner, and students gathered around tables, sipping drinks.
It was all very… formal.
And the sheer number of people made it a bit suffocating.
Even without anyone’s gaze on me, the sheer density of the crowd made me instinctively shrink back.
“…Haa… Sigh.”
“Oh, right. This is your first party, isn’t it? Don’t be too nervous. Stefania seems to have genuinely prepared this event without any underhanded schemes this time.”
Seeing me take deep breaths, Dogeon offered some advice, encouraging me to relax.
Right, I just needed to relax. Who would dare approach a couple walking hand-in-hand, anyway?
Honestly, the reason I chose such a simple outfit was that I was afraid of anyone coming up to me.
“…By the way, Lady Hoyeon, how long do you plan on holding my hand?”
It seemed Dogeon wanted me to let go.
“It sounds as though you want me to let go.”
Come to think of it, while a modest outfit could prevent people from approaching me, it couldn’t stop Dogeon from acting up.
Who knew the solution would be so simple? All I had to do was make it clear to the world that we were friends.
“Escort… is it? I’d like to experience that for once. What do you think?”
I threw it back at him, signaling that I had no intention of letting go. He might as well give up gracefully.
Matching Dogeon’s shift to his usual formal tone, I decided to play the part of a princess.
“…Yes, ma’am,” Dogeon said, with a faintly bitter smile. He took my hand and led me into the crowd.
As I feared, many male eyes followed us, though most clicked their tongues or quickly looked away upon seeing Dogeon.
If he hadn’t been here, I might have been surrounded by one or two persistent types, panicked, and swept away by the flow.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened.
I felt like I’d made the right decision this time, but there was still one lingering gaze fixed on me.
Could it be that “madman” I’d been worried about? I turned to check, and sure enough, it was Geum Taeyang.
Yep, definitely a madman. Who else would just casually radiate divine energy at someone?
Still, something about him seemed oddly different from before. He was wearing an eyepatch now, and a few of his left-hand fingers were missing.
It seemed he’d been injured during midterms.
But other than staring, he showed no other signs of interest, so I ignored him and followed Dogeon’s lead.
“…By the way, where are we headed?”
“We must eat breakfast, mustn’t we? It looks like there’s a dining area here. What do you say to a meal?”
I couldn’t say no to food. I’d thought we were wandering aimlessly.
“Lead the way.”
I was starting to get hungry, and I was curious about the party food. I wasn’t expecting much, but it would be an experience, at least.
As I followed Dogeon to the dining area, I spotted an unexpected face.
“Dogeon, and Lady Hoyeon! Fancy seeing you here!”
It was Anya, seated at a table piled high with food, surrounded by her group. Among them were Exipri and a girl glaring sharply at me for some reason.
And several others I didn’t recognize.
“Would you like to join us?”
Anya was enthusiastically trying to pull us toward her table, crowded with strangers.