บท 10: Never
The doors opened in front of the pair, dazzling lights greeted their eyes that had adjusted to the dark. The crowd grew quieter as the two stepped in, everything grinding to a halt. Liandra was greeted by stares, endless eyes peering into her soul. The feeling could be describe as merely uncomfortable, perhaps even overwhelming.
Estelle had grown numb to the stares, her expression neutral yet graceful. Truth be told, she did not care much for the party. Estelle was only here to make sure Liandra did not get into an unneeded trouble.
After a brief pause, Liandra's father finally walked up to the pair and raised a glass in toast. "This is my daughter, Liandra. May we all celebrate her 18th birthday joyfully!"
The general response from the crowd was a raise of the glasses before taking a light sip. It was more or less a conservative response, something down out of necessity rather than genuine celebration. After a moment, noise returned to the banquet hall. Groups of nobles began discussing politics and business with their allies just like before. It was as if the party was not about Liandra at all.
"My dear Liandra, do you like the party? We invited every important noble we could. I hope you like it." Liandra's father hugged her with warmth, not letting go until Liandra had to push him away.
"Father, I love it. Thank you so much." Although the conditions were extravagant, nothing felt welcoming. Liandra couldn't express her thoughts though, so she chose to lie and pretend all was fine.
"I'm glad you love it. I'm going to attend to your mother now. If you want to spend time with your papa, I'm at the deserts table!" Her father patted Liandra on the head and left with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.
From behind, Estelle grabbed Liandra by the shoulder, bringing her mouth close to Liandra's ears. "Little sister, by the meat platter table, muscular male, blue eyes, black hair, navy blue outfit." Estelle whispered.
Liandra had goosebumps feeling Estelle's warm breaths hit her ears. However, she looked the way Estelle told her to and found the figure that Estelle had so specifically described.
"Julian?" Liandra gasped.
"Julian Evengrad. you are correct. However, I would recommend you don't make contact. If he wants a dance with you, he will come find you himself." Estelle squeezed Liandra's shoulder firmly, making sure to make her point heard clearly.
Liandra nodded her head with reluctance. She finally had an opportunity to meet with her fated one yet her sister had made her life difficult again.
"Little sister, just trust me. You will not regret listening to me."
Estelle walked Liandra into the crowd and began what would become a long process of introducing her younger sister to suitable friend candidates and accomplished mages. Every single conversations was not wasted. Estelle hand-picked everyone Liandra would meet for the night, fully intending to control the flow of events and make sure Liandra was surrounded by good people.
Sometimes she questioned whether she was doing too much for the villainess. Estelle used the excuse of being an overachiever, while true, she did not fully understand the reason. The most likely answer would probably be boredom as the life of an overachiever often led to a lack of entertainment.
After speaking to one last person, Estelle walked Liandra to the outdoor balcony to take a breath of fresh air. The banquet halls was certainly a large venue, however, the place was becoming stuffier by the minute.
Outside in the cold night, sound was much more elegant. The wind blew calmly with short and soft gusts of cooling air. Instead of blinding lights there was a single lamp illuminating the surroundings in a dim glow. Everything was much more peaceful.
"Older sister, we are done with talking to all of those people right? Can I have some free time now?" Liandra asked, tired of following Estelle around.
Estelle turned back to Liandra and leaned her back on the railing behind her. "Little sister, I thought you would've recognised my good intentions. All of the people we met just then are trustworthy nobles our age as well as prominent mages. I was hoping you could have established some connections for the future."
Liandra frowned, unable to talk back to Estelle. "I'm sorry sister."
"If you are sorry, stop complaining from now on. Has anything bad happened since you started doing as I told you?" Estelle sighed.
Liandra considered this seriously. Estelle was not wrong in any regard. Everything Estelle had told her to do was beneficial for Liandra in some way. If she did as Estelle ordered, Liandra may not get into trouble. However, Liandra was getting tired of this. She felt like she had no one to lean on at all.
"Older sister… I'm tired. I feel alone."
Estelle pulled Estelle by the arm, closer to herself. She had an urge to shout some sense into the villainess but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "Do you want my pity? Do you want me to tell you I understand how you feel? Tell me what you want already."
"I will do everything you say from now on without any questions asked… just please treat me like a sister." Liandra could only think of asking this much. If she couldn't speak to who ever she liked, she could only confide in a devil.
"I won't be able to do that." Estelle immediately denied this request. "Liandra, I call you little sister but that doesn't mean I consider you as family. You will never be my sister."
Liandra's face went blank. She looked Estelle right in the eyes and shook off Estelle's grip. She turned around and stormed away from the balcony, back into the banquet hall. There was no reasoning with this devil stepsister at all. Even if Estelle would punish her later, Liandra could not accept this reality.
She walked into the crowd and disappeared into the sea of nobles. There was only her in an unwelcoming horde. She avoided collisions for a while until she finally was caught off guard by a towering figure…
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