Chapter 89 - Day before the Banquet
After the tour ended, Amy dragged me away to try on the formal suit for tomorrow’s banquet.
Meanwhile, Elena followed amy and Luna said she had to do something and after that she returned and left.
Inside the Empress’s Chamber
After finishing her tour, Luna made her way toward the Empress’s office.
Knock.
"Come in."
After receiving permission, Luna quietly entered the room.
The Empress looked up from the documents on her desk.
A hint of surprise crossed her face.
"Oh?"
"Luna."
"Have you already made your decision about tomorrow?"
"Or did you come to discuss something else?"
Luna nodded.
"It’s about tomorrow."
A gentle smile appeared on the Empress’s face.
"I see."
"So..."
"What have you decided?"
"Will you accept the engagement?"
"Or have you decided to reject it?"
She put down the document in her hand and looked directly at her daughter.
"Remember."
"I won’t force you."
"This engagement was merely a promise Seraphina and I made many years ago."
"If you don’t like it..."
"You can simply refuse."
"I’m certain Seraphina would understand as well."
Luna nodded gently.
"I’m willing to accept the engagement."
"It’s not permanent."
"If something changes in the future..."
"We can always cancel it."
The Empress carefully studied her daughter’s expression.
She wanted to be absolutely certain Luna wasn’t forcing herself.
After a moment, she smiled softly.
"I thought you were going to reject it."
"What changed your mind?"
Luna thought quietly before answering.
"...Nothing dramatic."
"I simply enjoyed spending time with them."
"And..."
"I think Gray is a genuinely good person."
The Empress raised an eyebrow with interest.
"Oh?"
"And what makes you think that?"
Luna answered honestly.
"During our training..."
"He never once tried to persuade me to accept the engagement."
"He told me it was entirely my decision."
"And even if I chose to cancel it someday..."
"He said we could still remain friends."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"He openly shared his spells with me."
"He explained how he created them..."
"How they worked..."
"And even taught me different ways to combine my own elements more effectively."
"He didn’t hide anything."
"He wasn’t arrogant despite being stronger than me."
A faint smile appeared on Luna’s face.
"...It was pleasant spending time with him."
"And with Amy and Elena as well."
She looked at her mother.
"Besides..."
"If, in the future, I decide we aren’t suitable for each other..."
"I can still cancel the engagement."
"Right?"
The Empress nodded reassuringly.
"Of course."
"An engagement isn’t a prison."
"It’s simply an agreement to give both of you the opportunity to know each other better."
"If, after you’ve both grown up, you decide it isn’t what you want..."
"You may end it."
Luna nodded.
"Then..."
"I have no objections."
The Empress smiled warmly.
"Very well."
"Then tomorrow..."
"I’ll officially announce the engagement."
She chuckled softly.
"But don’t overthink it."
"After tomorrow..."
"Nothing really changes."
"You’ll simply have a title."
"You’ll still live your life exactly as before."
Luna nodded once more.
"I understand."
"Then..."
"I’ll take my leave."
The Empress gave a small nod.
"You may."
Luna quietly left the room.
As the door closed behind her, the Empress leaned back in her chair.
A satisfied smile slowly spread across her face.
"It seems..."
"This engagement might turn out better than I expected."
Back to Gray’s POV
I was immediately dragged away by Amy toward her room to try on tomorrow’s formal suit.
Elena followed behind us with an amused smile.
The moment we entered the room, Amy opened an enormous wardrobe filled with countless outfits.
She turned toward Elena with sparkling eyes.
"Hey."
"How about we choose his clothes together?"
"He’s incredibly lazy."
"If nobody helps him, he’ll always pick the simplest outfit he can find."
Elena first looked at my pleading expression.
Then she looked at Amy’s excited face.
Without the slightest hesitation...
She betrayed me.
"That’s a great idea."
"We can try lots of different combinations."
I looked at the two of them.
For some reason...
I could almost see black devil horns growing from their heads.
A sinister smile slowly spread across both of their faces.
A chill immediately ran down my spine.
I looked at Amy with puppy eyes.
"Hey..."
Amy’s heart instantly melted.
"Ahhh..."
"You’re too cute!"
She immediately grabbed my cheeks and started pinching them.
Even Elena couldn’t resist anymore.
"Can I pinch him too?"
Amy simply shrugged.
"Go ahead."
The moment I heard those terrifying words...
My survival instincts activated.
"Actually..."
"I just remembered something important."
"I have to leave."
"We can do this another time."
While speaking, I slowly backed toward the door.
Amy’s grin only widened.
She placed a hand on my shoulder.
Fortunately...
I had already expected that.
The instant she relaxed her grip—
I dashed toward the door.
While running, I shouted,
"I’ll come back after I’m done!"
"But don’t wait for me!"
"It might take a very long time!"
Amy immediately chased after me.
Unfortunately...
The moment I reached the doorway...
Luna happened to walk in.
She completely blocked my escape route.
I looked at her desperately.
"Luna!"
"It’s an emergency!"
"Can you move?"
She blinked in confusion.
"...What?"
Before she could react—
Amy finally caught me from behind.
She proudly gave Luna a thumbs-up.
"Nice timing."
"Thanks for the help."
Luna remained standing there, completely confused.
Amy dragged me back into the room.
Luna quietly followed us inside.
Once she entered, she looked toward Elena.
"...What happened?"
Elena couldn’t help laughing.
"Nothing much."
"It’s just going to be very entertaining."
She pointed toward the mountain of clothes.
"We’re choosing tomorrow’s outfit for Gray."
Realization immediately dawned on Luna.
A small smile appeared on her face.
Although she rarely showed much emotion...
Even she found the situation amusing.
After a brief moment of hesitation...
She decided to join them.
Amy and Elena happily welcomed their new accomplice.
...
For the next several hours...
The three of them treated me like a dress-up doll.
They kept handing me one ridiculous outfit after another.
Some were bright red.
Some were covered in unnecessary decorations.
One outfit had so many colors that I genuinely looked like a peacock.
Every time I put one on...
The three of them burst into laughter.
Especially Amy.
She laughed so hard she nearly fell off the sofa several times.
Eventually...
After thoroughly satisfying themselves...
Amy finally handed me the actual suit she had prepared.
"This one."
"Wear it tomorrow."
I looked at it carefully.
Fortunately...
It was actually elegant.
Simple.
Refined.
And surprisingly comfortable.
"...This one’s good."
Amy proudly folded her arms.
"Of course."
"I have excellent taste."
I walked out of her room wearing a completely lifeless expression.
From that day onward...
I silently vowed to be much more careful whenever Amy said she had a "great idea."
⸻
Later that evening, all of us gathered in the dining hall for dinner.
The Empress joined us as well.
After everyone had taken their seats, dinner quietly began.
Halfway through the meal, the Empress suddenly looked at me with an amused smile.
"Oh, Gray."
"I have some good news for you."
I looked up curiously.
"What is it, Your Majesty?"
She smiled.
"Luna has agreed to the engagement."
I blinked in surprise.
"...She did?"
The Empress nodded.
"Tomorrow, I’ll officially announce it during the banquet."
"So be prepared."
I simply nodded.
"I understand."
The conversation quickly moved on as everyone continued eating.
Mom calmly looked at me before speaking.
"Gray."
"This will be your first formal social gathering."
"So don’t be nervous."
She smiled gently.
"Just be yourself."
I nodded with a small smile.
"Okay, Mom."
No matter how many powerful nobles attended tomorrow’s banquet...
As long as Mom, Amy, and Astrid were there...
I didn’t have anything to worry about.
After dinner, I returned to my room.
The first thing I did was carefully take out the suit Amy had chosen for tomorrow’s banquet.
I hung it neatly inside the wardrobe before taking another look at it.
It suited my taste perfectly.
It was completely black.
My favorite color.
After trying it on earlier, I had to admit it fit me surprisingly well.
So I carefully set it aside before sitting on my bed.
Since I still wasn’t sleepy, I decided to spend some time practicing my mana control.
Instead of casting large spells, I created tiny objects from Darkness Mana before teleporting them around the room with my Space Affinity.
This kind of training greatly improved my precision.
Then I tried something else.
I slowly merged Darkness and Space together.
The moment they fused...
The mana turned into a deep purple-black color.
Even though I had only created a tiny amount, I could already feel the frightening power hidden inside it.
It felt...
Different.
Much more dangerous than either Darkness or Space alone.
But it was also incredibly unstable.
I quietly stared at the small mass of mana floating above my hand.
"...One day."
"When I’m stronger..."
"I’ll make this power obey my will."
"I don’t need unstable power."
"I need power I can completely control."
At the moment, I could already coat my sword with Space Mana and release Space Slashes.
They were extremely powerful.
The problem was...
I still couldn’t control their output very well.
Because of that, I rarely used them.
After all, I didn’t want to accidentally hurt someone.
I had also created Space Bullet using the same principles as Dark Bullet.
Compared to Dark Bullet, it possessed much greater penetrating power and offensive strength.
Of course...
My curiosity didn’t stop there.
I once tried combining Dark Bullet and Space Bullet together.
The result...
Was an explosion.
I had almost injured myself that day.
Since then, I hadn’t attempted it again.
It was simply too dangerous with my current level of control.
After spending a while experimenting with different ideas, sleepiness gradually crept over me.
I lay down on the bed.
Not long afterward...
I quietly drifted into the embrace of sleep.