It wasn’t difficult to wear the clothes.
Sure, they were wide and billowy, but all I had to do was toss them on and cinch a belt around my waist.
The fit was surprisingly comfortable—good enough to wear as casual clothes.
The relatively fancy outer garment could just be draped over my shoulders and secured.
It was a simple process. With my powers of observation, I was able to figure out how to wear it by just glancing over it.
Putting on the outfit with just one arm might have been cumbersome, but with the wings of the sky, it was alright.
“I’ll help you with your makeup.”
[Yes]
[Please… makeup?]
The issue lay in the previous procedures.
The moment I tried to put on the clothes, I was suddenly shoved into a bath.
And I had to soak in the steaming water for a while, almost as if I were being boiled.
When I finally managed to pull myself out, I was doused in cosmetics and oils, not just on my skin but also in my hair.
After that…
A swarm of servants rushed in, sat me down in front of a vanity, and started fussing with my hair and drying it—so much for simplicity.
Only after that extremely tedious process could I finally wear my clothes.
By then, I felt completely drained.
The preparations were far too intense.
I was already exhausted before even stepping into the banquet hall.
But there was no way I could run away after all that.
More importantly, Choi Ji-yeon was scheduled to talk about my bloodline toward the end of the banquet.
After that, I planned to show off Gop-hwa in front of everyone.
It would be quite foolish to be absent from such a discussion.
Following Ariel’s lead, I made my way to the venue for the quarterly banquet.
I shuffled along, and the large doors swung open.
“Um…”
And then I was met with an extremely strange reaction.
The responses of those entering through observation were atypical.
I had expected eyes to turn toward me.
Later, I learned that the Gop-hwa Clan’s quarterly banquet rarely welcomed guests or outsiders.
So I figured there would be considerable attention when I entered.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The stares were beyond what I expected.
Just a moment ago, people were chatting away, but now they were stiff and frozen.
They seemed dumbstruck as if they were encountering something unimaginable.
The silence was so palpable I could almost hear an ant crawling. The sound of instruments had ceased.
No matter how I looked at it, this was an abnormal reaction.
Wasn’t I entering now?
I turned to Ariel, who was following closely behind me, and asked.
[Did I walk in the wrong place?]
“No, young master. You are indeed entering at the right time.”
Then why were they all reacting like that? It looked like they were seeing something astonishing.
Did my confusion reflect on my face? Because Ariel answered me in her usual deadpan tone.
“They are all astonished by your beauty.”
“?”
Her blunt response was absurd. I couldn’t help but feign a frown.
She was so expressionless that I couldn’t tell if she was joking or being sincere.
I guess she must be joking.
[Beautiful…]
[Should I say thank you…?]
As I collected my thoughts, I nodded.
“Ahem.”
At that moment, a single cough echoed in the silence of the banquet hall.
It was Choi Ji-yeon, who had been staring at me with wide eyes, just like everyone else.
As if her sound was a signal, those who had been frozen began to move again.
Their movements were a bit awkward, but it looked like the banquet was resuming.
– ♪~
The musicians, who had been frozen, startled and quickly resumed playing.
The sound of the instruments pushed away the silence.
I was acutely aware of the sounds entering my ears while also keeping an eye on the stares directed at me.
Despite the intense attention, it seemed the banquet was indeed restarting.
Only after confirming that the people were moving did I head towards the direction of Choi Ji-yeon and Hong Yeon-hwa.
Tan Hwajoo Hwa Byeok-un and Jeong Hwajoo Hong Jin-hyuk weren’t beside them.
They were within the range of my observation, though.
Hwa Byeok-un was nestled at a table in the corner of the banquet hall, drinking what seemed to be makgeolli.
As for Hong Jin-hyuk, he wasn’t present at the banquet at all; he was on guard duty at the main house.
I didn’t question his absence.
He had stayed back at the main house to be ready for any possible ambush instead of joining the reconnaissance team.
He often grumbled about it during training, so I was aware he felt quite disappointed.
I walked over to where Choi Ji-yeon and Hong Yeon-hwa were.
“Really, you look amazing.”
Choi Ji-yeon said, covering her mouth in surprise.
“Better than I imagined. How do you look this good?”
[Thank you.]
It was a sincere compliment—so unlike Ariel’s usual quips. I nodded my head with gratitude.
Then I turned to Hong Yeon-hwa.
She was dressed similarly to me.
Her attire was elegant, featuring a sleek black belt and a gorgeous outer garment draped over her shoulders.
If I ignored the fact that my clothes fluttered a bit more, we looked almost identical.
“……”
Yet, Hong Yeon-hwa hadn’t spoken a word since a while ago.
She just stared at me with her mouth agape, gulped, and shook her head in confusion…
Her face was flushed, and her eyes seemed out of focus. She was reacting strangely, as if she was entranced.
I checked her conditions, thinking she might not be well, but nothing seemed off.
She didn’t have any visible injuries.
Her Gop-hwa inside her body was bubbling strangely, but that was normal for her, so I brushed it off.
[What do you think? Do I look alright?]
I asked, keeping an eye on her expression.
I raised my hands, showing the billowing and fluttering sleeves, feeling like they were falling like curtains.
The attire was elegant and fluttered nicely, cinched with a black belt.
The elegant outer garment resembled a cloak draped over my shoulders.
Thanks to that outer garment, my exposed left hand was concealed. My right arm, per usual, was covered with fabric to hide the burn scars.
Overall, my outfit was in shades of red, but the contrast with my black hair felt a bit off.
On the other hand, Hong Yeon-hwa had pretty red hair and red eyes that perfectly matched her clothing.
I had just queried her cautiously, but from my subjective view, it didn’t seem like she was suited to this attire all that much.
Yet I still asked for her opinion.
Underlying my request was a mischievous thought: despite thinking it looked odd, I still wanted to hear compliments.
“Uh, um…”
At my cautious but eager inquiry, Hong Yeon-hwa turned her face away like she was trying to avoid my gaze, stammering as she spoke.
“You’re… so pretty…”
“……”
A compliment was returned.
Pretty.
It meant beautiful and pleasing to the eye, lovely or cute, a gratifying term…
It was a nice compliment that made me feel good.
Yet at the same time, I felt odd.
How ungrateful of me to hope for praise while feeling aversion; it made me feel conflicted.
What’s worse, I secretly desired a different compliment.
My outfit exuded a martial vibe overall.
Not in a way that a shaman or a fortune-teller would wear, but resembling attire for training or combat.
[Thank you.]
[Do you have… any other impressions?]
“Another one?”
In summary, while elegant, there was also a certain level of style.
Considering I wore it, I wanted to hear that it looked fashionable or stylish, or any equivalent praise.
I masked my slight expectation as I asked again.
After a moment of hesitation, as if trying to squeeze out a compliment, Hong Yeon-hwa opened her mouth carefully.
“You’re adorable…”
The strange compliment returned, even more peculiar than before.
[…You look very pretty too, Hong Yeon-hwa.]
[You look really good in that.]
Nevertheless, compliments are compliments.
Hiding my awkward demeanor, I responded, and Hong Yeon-hwa’s flushed face brightened at once.
“……”
For some reason, Choi Ji-yeon was looking at us with an utterly baffled expression.
.
.
.
Despite being invited to the banquet as a guest, I had nothing particular to do.
To begin with, the quarterly banquet wasn’t a special occasion.
People gathered after a long time to share current situations, discuss future endeavors and opinions on world events.
During this, the main house would meet with the branch families and subsidiaries, exchanging pleasantries while conducting a simple ideological vetting.
Usually, each individual would be met in turn to discern if any were potential troublemakers, leaving thinly veiled threats that those who get too cheeky would be eliminated on the spot.
Consequently, Choi Ji-yeon and Hong Yeon-hwa were busy welcoming the guests arriving.
There would be hundreds of visitors at the quarterly banquet. Assuming they visited one or two at a time, there would be hundreds of conversations to have.
Essentially, they were just receiving guests for the duration of the banquet.
“It’s been a while since we last met at the quarterly banquet, Clan Leader Yeolpung. I’ve heard that the satellite dungeon has been successfully cleared. Congratulations!”
“Thanks to the support sent by the main house under the Chief’s consideration, we managed to complete it splendidly.”
“Did you find the gift we sent you useful?”
“Thanks to that gift, we could forestall potential casualties at the end. I express my gratitude from this place.”
Leading the conversations was predominantly the Chief’s role.
Chief Choi Ji-yeon led the discussion with a faultless smile.
This was normal; after all, it was her duty to take on this role.
Even if the head of the family was present, the Chief would have been the one leading the conversations.
As a result, Hong Yeon-hwa spoke little.
She only occasionally responded to questions directed at her or initiated inquiries herself here and there.
And I was right beside listening to those conversations.
This too was no odd circumstance.
The plan was to announce my birth secret (not really) at the quarterly banquet.
Hence, I was positioned next to Choi Ji-yeon and Hong Yeon-hwa to familiarize them with my face beforehand.
“…….”
I blankly absorbed the conversation.
I remained quiet except for answering a question addressed to me now and then.
Just a little longer and the banquet would conclude.
I had entered the feast midway, and quarterly banquets aren’t lengthy affairs to begin with.
Soon Hong Yeon-hwa would draw the Torchblade to conduct the rituals, and my bloodline recognition would be unveiled.
‘Phew…’
From that moment on, using Gop-hwa with the identity of Lee Ha-yul would be considerably freer.
That was a positive note, but sadly, I wouldn’t be able to use it easily at my destination during this break.
After all, I wouldn’t be using the identity of Lee Ha-yul there.
‘Please don’t let this trip be another waste.’
I was mulling over these thoughts when suddenly—
– Swish…
“……!”
A soft sensation wrapped around my shoulder, causing me to flinch.
There was no activation of wariness, no sense of repulsion. Given the familiar touch, I didn’t retaliate.
Besides, I knew exactly whose hand it was through observation.
The owner of that hand was Hong Yeon-hwa.
She had been participating in the conversations from time to time when she suddenly reached out and draped her arm around my shoulder.
[?]
It resembled a friendly arm-on-shoulder gesture.
Tilting my head in curiosity, I felt her gentle touch pull me closer.
– Snug
Our previously spaced distance was removed.
In the blink of an eye, the soft touch wrapped around me.
That particularly plush sensation cupped my head.
In a bustling area full of people, such sudden, intimate contact made my face flush.
*
[Player Adjustment System: Affection Level]
Lee Ha-yul → Hong Yeon-hwa
●●●●●●●●○○ (86▷87/100)
｢?｣ ｢Embarrassment｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Warmth｣ ｢Sense of Security｣
…
[Conditions for lifting the ‘Curse of Silence’ not met]
[Conditions for lifting the ‘Curse of Loneliness’ not met]
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