Home/Why Is Everyone Doing This?/ch39

Episode 39

"Ah, Iodel!"

"What's wrong? Huh? Do you not like this dress?"

"Take this dress away right now!"

Thetis and Cordelia made a fuss and shouted.

Iodel frantically wiped her tears and gently grabbed Cordelia's sleeve.

"No, it's not that I don't like the dress..."

She shook her head so vigorously that her pigtails flew about.

"It's because I'm grateful..."

"Grateful for what! Being wished a happy birthday is only natural, Iodel!"

"That's right. We thought this dress should be worn by you!"

They exaggerated their actions and raised their voices on purpose.

Soon, Thetis and Cordelia's warm arms wrapped around Iodel in a tight embrace.

"On the first day, we told you. Don't be Sherelle's sister—be ours."

"You're our little sister. This is nothing."

"Hic, thank you."

Having wiped her tears, she smiled bravely.

'I don't usually cry, but I ended up crying.'

Sniffling, she awkwardly rubbed the tip of her nose.

Then Cordelia, as if to lighten the mood, lifted the dress out of the box.

"Here, look."

The dress, which she had thought was modest, was actually a layered lace design resembling flower petals.

"It looks like a rose, doesn't it?"

The red that grew deeper toward the hem was both cute and elegant.

"The ruby brooch in the center is something we added ourselves."

"Wow, it's so beautiful..."

Iodel examined the dress with a moved expression.

It was the dress their mother had worn, yet it felt strangely familiar.

With the ruby brooch perfectly complementing it, she immediately wanted to try it on.

"Alright, let's put it on now."

Thetis winked one eye cutely at her.

They immediately began helping Iodel prepare.

They wiped away her tear tracks and applied a moisturizing cream.

Since she was still a child, they didn't apply makeup, but they removed the dress she had been wearing and dressed her in the new one.

They also deliberated for a long time before finally choosing the accessories.

"We should definitely go with the same line."

Cordelia's golden eyes sparkled as she selected a pendant with a pear-cut ruby as red as a drop of blood.

The pendant was incredibly luxurious, with two rows of diamonds surrounding the ruby.

"Here goes the necklace."

She fastened the necklace around Iodel's neck.

"It suits you, Iodel."

Feeling the weight on her neck, Iodel slowly looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She still had a youthful face, but she looked like a noble—completely different from the beggar she had been in the Freya Ducal residence.

"Come on, let's go. Father is waiting in the Great Hall. Pluto too."

"Ah, has the party already started?"

She glanced at the clock.

It wasn't time for the party to start yet.

"No. They're probably greeting the guests personally. Your birthday party is important, after all."

It was only a ten-year-old's birthday party.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Iodel pouted.

"So we should head over soon. You're the star of the party, Iodel."

"Yes!"

The three slowly made their way out of the Galaxy Palace.

As they headed toward the Sun Palace, Cordelia casually spoke.

"You know there's a banquet hall next to the Galaxy Palace, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"Parties for nobles are usually held there. But not in the Sun Palace's Great Hall. That place is reserved for the imperial family only."

"...Then shouldn't my birthday party not be held there either...?"

She had thought all parties were held in the Great Hall, since the Galaxy Palace's banquet hall was smaller by comparison.

But it was only for the imperial family.

For reasons she didn't understand, it seemed these people truly considered her family.

"No. We told you, you're family. Ah, of course!"

"Ugly Sherelle wouldn't have been able to have a party in the Great Hall."

Cordelia finished Thetis's sentence.

They looked at each other and laughed playfully.

Chatting away, the three soon arrived in front of the Great Hall.

Knights stood in a row guarding the entrance.

"We greet the Twin Stars of the Kinis Empire, Their Highnesses the Princesses!"

They greeted the princesses first with booming voices, then turned their gaze to Iodel.

She swallowed hard.

"We greet the Lady Freya!"

At the deafening voices, Iodel furrowed her brow slightly.

'How embarrassing...'

Being greeted so formally by the knights was one of the things she still couldn't get used to.

With her cheeks flushed red, she followed the two princesses into the hall.

The moment she stepped inside, the herald announced:

"Her Highnesses Princess Thetis and Princess Cordelia, the Twin Stars of the Kinis Empire, and the guest of honor today, the Lady Freya!"

Iodel walked forward slowly.

In the distance, Aegir and Pluto were waiting for her.

The eyes of all the nobles in the hall turned to her at once.

She was reminded of the first time she had seen the Kinis imperial family.

Back then, she had been dressed like a beggar, looking at them with envious eyes as they entered the hall.

And not only that—she had tried to steal two macarons, which she had never properly tasted, and had been caught by the Grand Duke.

But look at her now. She was entering with them, receiving envious gazes.

Feeling both moved and proud, Iodel lifted the corners of her mouth happily.

"Iodel!"

Pluto ran out first to greet her.

"You look so beautiful!"

"Thank you, Pluto. I greet the Sun of the Kinis Empire, His Majesty the Emperor."

After lightly thanking him, Iodel bent her knee toward Aegir.

He just stared at her blankly, unable to speak.

"That dress is..."

He was looking specifically at the dress she was wearing.

Feeling shy, she smiled faintly.

"Ah, Thetis and Cordelia gave it to me. It's..."

Just as she was about to continue, Iodel flinched.

She remembered that Pluto, Thetis, and Cordelia were bastards, and that the Emperor was still unmarried.

So what should she call their mother?

Flustered, she stammered.

Then Aegir smiled gently and said to her,

"She was the only person I ever loved. It's the dress she wore on the day of her first tea party."

"Ah... I see. I'm not sure if I should be wearing something so precious and dear."

"Because it's you."

"Huh?"

She stared at him with wide eyes.

His face, looking as if he might cry at any moment, held a strangely wistful longing.

Aegir kept his eyes fixed on Iodel and added,

"Because it's you, you can wear it."

Her golden eyes trembled in confusion.

Because the end of his gaze wasn't looking at her.

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