Preparation time flew by, and soon the day of Liuli’s departure arrived.
On the night before her journey, she even suffered from a long-forgotten bout of insomnia.
Although it sounded as immature as an elementary school student’s sleeplessness before a field trip, a quick comparison showed there wasn’t much of a difference.
For a young Liuli, her scope of exploration wasn’t far, and the places a field trip could reach were almost the limits of her world back then. It was only natural to feel excited.
And now, as an adult, although her scope of exploration was much further and the revealed map much larger, it was still ultimately confined within the borders of the Human Empire.
Liuli only had a vague understanding of other races and had never had the chance to visit them personally.
Therefore, this was the first time Liuli would leave the Human Empire. It was understandable that she would be so nervous, wasn’t it?
However, even though Liuli had thought of various reasons for herself, she still felt a headache as she looked at the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror while getting ready the next morning.
Although the journey would take several days and, strictly speaking, the dark circles should naturally fade by the time she reached the Elven Territory, Saint Laia just had to hold a Farewell Ceremony for her.
‘I can’t appear before everyone with these dark circles,’ she thought.
‘I suppose I’ll have to find a way to cover them up with makeup.’
Speaking of makeup, Liuli had actually begun to learn about it after becoming a Princess, though Serveyia was usually the one who did it for her.
To be honest, Liuli had mentioned more than once that since her natural features were so excellent, was it really necessary to wear makeup every day?
The answer Serveyia gave was something Liuli remembered even now.
She said that makeup was not just to make oneself look better, but also to show respect.
Choosing different styles for different occasions was a sign of respect and importance.
Furthermore, human skin could not always be maintained in its best state, and various unexpected situations would always arise.
That was when makeup was meant to shine.
“Little Fox, I know you’re excited, but I didn’t think you’d lose sleep over it,” Serveyia said.
She stood behind Liuli, preparing to do her hair and makeup, but she felt a bit of a headache as she looked at the obvious dark circles on the girl’s face.
“I couldn’t help it. I’ve never traveled so far before.”
Serveyia felt a bit helpless.
The dark circles wouldn’t just disappear, so they had to rely on makeup to compensate.
However, the Little Fox’s skin and temperament were not suited for heavy makeup; it would easily overshadow her natural charm.
But with the Farewell Ceremony today, going without makeup was certainly not an option.
Serveyia felt that if she had known the Little Fox would suffer from insomnia, she should have cast a Sleep Spell on her last night to avoid this problem.
Of course, that was just being a Monday morning quarterback.
Rather than overthinking it, the most important thing now was to start the makeup.
“Serveyia, is it a lot of trouble?”
“Not really. I have a bit of experience with this sort of thing.”
Before Liuli could realize what she meant by “a bit of experience,” Serveyia began working on her face.
Seeming to notice that Liuli had a question she was hesitant to ask, Serveyia explained quite frankly.
“As a Princess, I often have to stay up late to process documents. But despite the late nights, I still have to attend the routine meetings the next day. At times like that, I need makeup to ensure my presence isn’t affected.”
“In that case, you should be very good at handling this, Serveyia. Why did you look so troubled?”
“Because I don’t think the makeup I usually wear is very suitable for you, Little Fox. I was hesitating over what kind of look to give you.”
“So, Serveyia, what kind of makeup do you usually wear in these situations?”
‘It definitely wouldn’t be a sweet style,’ Liuli thought.
Both Serveyia’s face shape and her temperament, even her status, were not suited for overly gentle makeup.
By the same token, Liuli herself was not suited for a look that was too bold or flashy.
“How should I put it? Generally, I go with a heavy style, but you clearly aren’t suited for that. On the other hand, light makeup might not be enough to hide those circles. That’s why I’m struggling.”
“Then… how about trying Magic?”
Since the goal was just to make herself look fine, there was no difference between Magic and makeup, right?
After all, didn’t people always say that makeup was a woman’s magic?
“It seems we have no choice,” Serveyia agreed after a moment of thought.
“As long as Dean Kaili doesn’t feel offended. Little Fox, do you want to try it yourself?”
“Me? I… me?”
Liuli asked, feeling a bit uncertain.
After all, this was a relatively important occasion.
Even if she had truly studied Restoration Magic, was Serveyia really so comfortable letting her do this alone?
“Yes. It’s a good chance for me to see how your magic studies are progressing. You haven’t had a proper opportunity for practice before, and now that one has finally appeared, we shouldn’t miss it.”
Well, Liuli also knew that her magic studies for such a long time had been nothing but armchair theory.
She truly needed a chance for practice, or rather, a test.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she knew there was more than one type of magic that could hide dark circles.
She could use the simplest, most basic Obfuscation Spell to make them invisible to others, or she could use Restoration Magic.
In terms of effect, Restoration Magic was definitely better, but the magic itself required considering too many variables.
The slightest mistake would lead to unsatisfactory results.
‘Can I, someone who only has a head full of theories, really use magic to eliminate my dark circles?’
Liuli looked at Serveyia with some concern, but Serveyia didn’t seem worried at all.
She continued to look at Liuli calmly, yet for some reason, Liuli could see a spark of encouragement in her eyes.
Yes, it was encouragement.
Besides, with Serveyia here, as long as she didn’t turn herself into a monster, Serveyia should be able to restore her to her original state.
Thinking this, Liuli was no longer as worried.
She cast the magic directly on herself.
As for the result… well, although Liuli tried very hard, the outcome was still not great.
Though the dark circles were gone, Liuli could feel the traces of magic on her face.
If she could feel it herself, then others would likely notice the abnormality on her face as well.
That was not the result she wanted.
“Alright, Little Fox, leave the rest to me.”
Serveyia looked at the panicked girl in front of her with an amused smile.
Her fingers moved slightly, and a burst of magical energy shot from her fingertips, covering Liuli’s face.
Liuli subconsciously closed her eyes.
When Liuli opened her eyes again and looked at her face in the mirror, it didn’t look significantly different from before, but she could clearly feel that the magical traces on her face were gone.