“I think no one noticed you used that magic. At that time, everyone’s attention was on me. Besides, if we weren’t face-to-face and I hadn’t paid special attention, I really wouldn’t have noticed at all.”
Putting aside the stray thoughts in her mind, Flora spoke as calmly as possible to soothe the flustered young lady.
And the wariness in the other’s eyes seemed to fade away the moment Flora showed friendliness and kindness.
Hearing Flora say this, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good. Otherwise, I’d be too embarrassed to face anyone when I go back…”
Aurora patted her chest in relief, not considering at all that Flora might simply be comforting her.
To be honest, Flora thought that besides herself, there were still a few people who noticed Aurora’s disguise, like Moria and Elka.
The former, when she bent down and stared at Aurora, could definitely have noticed something off.
As for the latter, with her control over magic, just a little attention would be enough to see through the trick.
But they both remained silent.
If Aurora wasn’t someone deliberately arranged to be here, then Flora could only assume their silence meant that this round of torment had achieved their expected results.
It was, as always, rather boring.
“In any case, could you help me put on the dress first? I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
With this in mind, Flora continued to interact with this young lady.
Because of Flora’s affable attitude, Aurora’s shyness and awkwardness lessened greatly.
“Oh, oh… alright.”
She answered quickly and then hurriedly helped Flora change into her gown.
Perhaps Linko’s words had affected her a little; she no longer avoided looking at Flora, but instead admired her with open, curious eyes.
This made Flora’s recently subdued sense of embarrassment bubble up again.
She wanted to cross her arms over her chest, but felt that doing so would make their newly-formed closeness feel distant, and might even cause some awkward misunderstandings.
Flora suppressed the urge.
[Am I getting stranger and stranger…?]
She muttered to herself, though she didn’t find it all that uncomfortable.
From Aurora’s behavior, it wasn’t hard to see that she was always cheerful and easygoing with others.
Being able to interact with someone like that was rare for Flora these days.
In a long-suppressed situation, if she couldn’t cheer herself up or get some positive emotions from others, her character would inevitably grow twisted over time.
That was not the result she wanted.
So, Flora relaxed a little more.
After what felt like a long but was actually a quick process of dressing, the two of them sat face-to-face in the corner of the changing room.
There were no refreshments, but that didn’t stop them from having a conversation.
But the first to ask a question wasn’t Flora.
Miss Aurora seemed to have come to this banquet with the intention of talking to her.
Flora looked into her eyes, and even before she spoke, she had a premonition.
“Teacher Flora, I probably know what you want to ask me, but… can I ask you a question first?”
The content of the question wasn’t important. It was the title, “Teacher,” that felt a bit delicate.
Flora found herself unable to speak.
“Calling me Teacher…”
“Aren’t you Mr. Fros’s mentor? For someone like a mentor, calling you Teacher… should be fine, right? Or would ‘Miss’ be more appropriate?”
Words spoken are like water spilled; once you’ve lied, you must be ready to bear the consequences.
Flora, feeling a bit awkward, could only grit her teeth and accept this reality.
After all, Aurora looked so excited; her beautiful heterochromatic eyes were sparkling.
If she refused and dampened Aurora’s enthusiasm, their conversation might not go so smoothly.
Flora nodded helplessly.
“As you like. So, what’s your question?”
Who asked didn’t matter.
As long as someone was willing to talk to her, she could get information.
That was Flora’s current attitude.
But the question that the purple-haired girl in front of her posed genuinely made it hard for Flora to control her expression.
With her eyes lowered and her fingers interlaced, Aurora hesitated, but soon looked up at her again with determination in her gaze.
“Could you tell me more about what happened between you and Mr. Fros?”
Was this another test?
Flora wasn’t paranoid, but after so many encounters, it was hard not to think this was some noble looking for flaws in her banquet speech.
She didn’t answer immediately, just looked calmly at Aurora.
“Eh… is that question inconvenient for you to answer?”
Under her gaze, the girl who had just relaxed blushed again.
She didn’t seem to be acting, nor did she show signs of being manipulated by anyone.
Flora didn’t leave her judgment to her eyes.
She reached out and gently held Aurora’s interlaced hands.
Palm to palm—a slightly ambiguous gesture—instantly made Aurora’s face flush red.
“Um, I…”
She stammered, completely unable to look at Flora.
“Look into my eyes and tell me why you’re asking this. Do you doubt what I said at the banquet, or…?”
Flora didn’t intend to beat around the bush.
Instead, she used her healing magic, along with eye contact, to look for any hidden tricks.
Aurora froze, then set aside her shyness.
She was cheerful by nature, but that didn’t mean she was slow to react.
Realizing that this was Flora testing her, Aurora actually felt more at ease.
She met Flora’s gaze openly, held her hand tightly, and didn’t stop her from using magic on her.
“Such warm magic… Is this a way of telling if I’m lying? Teacher Flora, you need to trust me, uh, well, I suppose I should show I’m trustworthy before saying something like that, huh?”
Aurora wasn’t upset about being suspected; in fact, she seemed even more relaxed.
To her, Flora had seemed kind but a little distant, as if she weren’t from the same world.
Like a priest or cleric—noble and sacred, but naturally distant and cold, as if nothing she did could possibly matter to her.
Now, feeling clearly that she was being suspected, Aurora actually thought Flora seemed more real.
Isn’t that how normal people should be?
She grinned.
“It’s really nothing special. I admire him, so… ah, please don’t misunderstand! I don’t admire him for selling fake medicine! And I don’t doubt what you said, it’s just, um…”
Seeing Flora’s slightly open mouth, Aurora hurried to clarify her easily misunderstood words.
She lowered her gaze again, seemingly lost in memory.
Her fingers, interlaced with Flora’s, tapped lightly in a rhythmic pattern.
Flora didn’t stop her and patiently waited for her to organize her thoughts, ready to be a listener.
“Actually, I’m not Miss Kate’s maid. You and that other maid must have noticed, since I’m so clumsy and awkward. I’m her classmate; we both study at the Imperial Magic Academy, currently in our second year.Um… Aurora Valentine is my name. That’s not a lie, so you can’t take back what you said about us being friends just now!”
“Alright.”
Flora couldn’t help but smile at her flustered display.
Having received a clear answer, Aurora continued: “But I’m not a noble, just the daughter of the owner of a glassworks in the capital.”
“Glassworks…”
“Or you could call it a crystal workshop. We make and process all kinds of glass, crystal, jade, agate—see, I really like these transparent, gorgeous things too.”
As Aurora spoke, she glanced at her wrist.
Flora followed her gaze and saw that she wore a jade bracelet, very similar in craftsmanship to the jade on the collar around her neck.
“No one likes a fake medicine peddler! You know that, but as far as I know, Mr. Fros Camille has a different kind of talent. That Miss Meifei from the Rust-Colored Gold Trading Firm, who dealt with you at the banquet, ordered a very special set of glassware from our workshop.”
Now Flora understood why the girl before her had heard of her and was looking for her.
The first help Meifei had given her was a set of exquisitely crafted glass instruments, which turned out to be made by this girl’s workshop.
With such a connection, it made sense she would seek Flora out.
But Flora believed there was an even deeper reason.
She nodded.
“I know. They were used for making medicine.”
“Exactly!”
Receiving confirmation, Aurora’s smile grew even brighter as she exclaimed: “That was a one-of-a-kind order! When my father received it, he was so happy—it was the best gift he got before he died, and I helped him finish that order.Did you know? When he saw the finished product and learned that it would be used to make those miraculous special medicines, he was overjoyed!”
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, and her joy was infectious.
“For the best crystal pieces, the glassworkers from the workshop would venture deep into the frozen plains. With that frostbite remedy, they no longer have to worry about never returning or risking amputation every time they go.
My father became thin from the aftereffects of frostbite, but he was delighted that glass—usually only used for luxury items and tableware—could have such a magical function.”
Flora opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
Tears glimmered in the girl’s eyes—not tears of sadness, but of gratitude.
“You want to thank him?”
“Mm… Even if he really was a villain selling fake medicine, at least my father died with a smile on his face.”
That kind of gratitude was heavy, and it made Flora’s heart feel lighter.
Her efforts hadn’t been in vain.
Someone remembered her contribution.
Flora instinctively checked her surroundings to see if anyone was watching or eavesdropping.
Perhaps this was Moria’s only mercy—no matter how hard she tried to sense it, she found nothing suspicious.
Letting out a soft sigh, Flora released Aurora’s hands.
With a complicated, but grateful emotion, she reached out to wipe away the tears at the corner of Aurora’s eyes.
“Teacher Flora?”
Seeing Flora’s smile, Aurora’s voice grew soft.
That smile was different from before—beautiful in a way words couldn’t describe.
She didn’t know how to continue.
“He didn’t let you down, Miss Aurora. You can rest assured… I promise you.”
Though bound by the restrictions of her name and unable to reveal her true identity, nothing stopped Flora from, as Fros’s mentor, clearing the name of her unlucky, departed self.
At the very least, she could ensure that the person before her wouldn’t leave this banquet with regrets.