novelraw Chapter 187 – An Uninvited Guest
Chapter 187 – An Uninvited Guest
Melina's heart was hammering in her chest, standing on stage next to Alistair with all the nobles looking straight at her. Some of them were gasping in awe. Many looked shocked, while some looked horrified.
"Sienna, it's fine to take your smaller form now," Melina said quietly.
Sienna shrank down almost immediately, earning another wave of surprised gasps. Melina let them calm down a bit, then said the greeting she had practiced with the Duchess so many times.
"Greetings, everyone! My name is Melina Dufour, granddaughter of Gilbert Backus, and Alistair Sinclair's fiancée. I'm overjoyed that you have come to our engagement party today. I hope you all have a wonderful time," she said, curtsying politely.
She poured a bit more mana into her dress, allowing the magic to swirl around her with increased intensity for just a moment. As the Duchess had taught her, when it came to nobles, it was all about appearance. If Melina were able to look more stunning than anyone else, then nobody would ever question her marrying Alistair.
Looking through the gathered noblewomen, Melina could see that they certainly hadn't spared any expense to look stunning, especially the younger ladies. All made according to the latest fashion, which the Duchess had acquainted Melina with. They wore expensive jewels, rings, and bracelets with hairstyles that looked like each hair strand was meticulously put in place.
Melina's hair was allowed to flow loose, but not in their natural fashion. Rather, her naturally wavy hair had been accentuated by the stylist, saying that this is quite in fashion lately. The hairdresser had wanted to use copious amounts of hair gel to keep it all in place, but Melina offered to do it with magic instead. One short spell and her hair would remain exactly as she wanted it to be, without it feeling like a brick on her head.
Alistair led her down the stage with Sienna and Mango following her. In the end, the Duchess had allowed for both of her familiars to stick with her, hoping that Sienna, with her fierce appearance, would deter some of the nobles and give her more breathing room.
But that wasn't the case. Everyone swarmed to her instantly. If Alistair wasn't around, Melina felt that she would have been crushed by the crowd. But he kept a tight hold on her arm, occasionally stroking it with his thumb for reassurance.
All nobles started with a greeting. Some of them greeted Melina the same way they greeted Alistair, treating them as equals. The Duchess had instructed her that these were the nobles who viewed their relationship favorably and didn't have any objections to it.
Auden Speziale was among them, greeting both Melina and Alistair with a mischievous wink. He had also helped them with the preparations for the party, likely trying to form a connection with the House Sinclair. Much to Alistair's chagrin, he succeeded as the Duchess, and Charlotte both loved the sweets he had prepared for the party.
But overall, the number of people who greeted Melina and Alistair as equals was rather low. Mostly, it was nobles of lower status who couldn't exactly afford to appear snobbish.
Most people greeted Alistair respectfully as they would with a Duke's son and gave Melina a standard greeting. Some didn't seem to want to do that, but couldn't handle the pressure Alistair was exuding. She could feel him challenging the nobles with his eyes, as if daring them to disrespect them.
But some weren't stopped by his glares, and either ignored Melina entirely or greeted her like one would greet a servant. The look on Alistair's face then suggested he was ready to drive a sword through them, but Melina kept her smile and held his hand firmly.
At one point, she used magic to stop him from jumping forward, when one of the viscounts just blatantly scoffed at Melina. The Duchess had warned Melina to always remain calm, no matter the words flung at her.
Thankfully, once everyone had finished greeting her, she was surrounded by literally every noblewoman in the party. Their goal—figure out exactly what was going on with Melina's dress. This was exactly what she was waiting for. Stage one of her plan to endear nobles to the Monster Realm inhabitants.
"This dress was made by the elven tailors in Euroa City," Melina said, adding a bit more mana to it for a moment, to make her magic flare up. "I can control how strong the magic lights glow or how far they stretch by applying an appropriate amount of mana."
"You need to be able to use mana to wear this dress?" One of the noblewomen lamented. Countess… Vaergarth, if Melina remembered correctly.
"Just some basic control. I suspect it would cause no issue for those who have the System," Melina consoled. This was a strategic sentence, because many nobles, especially those of higher standing, did possess a System.
It was often hereditary, as it was clear in Melina herself, as she had likely inherited it from her grandfather.
The noblewomen perked when Melina said that, and peppered her with questions about how long it took to make, what materials were used, and how elven tailors even managed to weave magic into the fabric. Melina did her best to put the spotlight on the elves, so the women would be interested in working with them.
Some were apprehensive about the possibility of coming in contact with elves. But most simply cared more about obtaining such a beautiful dress for themselves.
But as the party stretched on, Melina realized just how tiring it actually was. All the introduction and talking. She and Alistair had to go from table to table, spending at least a little bit of time talking with each of the guests. Many were trying to trip Melina up in some way, but the Duchess had already taught her all the social pitfalls and how to successfully avoid them.
After what felt like forever, Melina and Alistair could finally sit down at their own tables. On Melina's left sat Gilbert, dressed so nicely that nobody would even dare to question whether he belonged here or not. To her right sat Alistair, and next to him sat his family: the Duchess, Charlotte and finally his older brother Richard who was representing the whole Sinclair family in the Duke's absence.
Melina felt nervous about his presence. He had greeted her politely, but she was sure that Richard didn't approve of this union. If he said something against her as the representative of the Sinclair family, then it could throw this whole party into disarray. But so far, he's been appearing rather neutral and disinterested in the whole matter.
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With them all seated, it was time to give the speech. Melina felt nervous. Not due to all the people watching her, but rather, she wasn't sure if she could do Alistair justice.
Alistair stood up to give his speech first. "Many of you must be confused. I have spent just half a year in Sunglow, yet I have already set out to marry a woman whom I've just met. Somebody who wanted to live a humble lifestyle in this small town, nonetheless. But let me assure you that this is not something brought on in the spur of the moment."
He turned and looked at Melina with a smile. "Like you, when I first met Melina, I thought she was just another girl. But what a fool I was. It quickly became abundantly clear that Melina was not just some girl."
Alistair went into a lengthy retelling of their adventures in Sunglow, leaving out the things that were meant to remain secret, but not skimming on how, in his opinion, brave Melina was.
She felt her cheeks flushing. She knew that he viewed her in a rather positive light, but he was basically treating her like a goddess. By the time he finished with the note that he'd be a fool not to marry her afterwards, the men were applauding, and the women were wiping tears out of their eyes.
Melina's speech felt utterly inadequate by comparison, so when it was her time to tell hers, she just stood there, frozen like stone for a moment.
Alistair looked at her with a worried expression on his face. He must have thought she was too nervous to speak, but in reality, she felt like she couldn't do him justice.
"When I first met Alistair... I didn't even dare to dream that I would be able to go near him, much less speak to him as equals or eventually consider marriage. He's a nobleman of high stature, yet I had nothing but baking to my name at the time," she began, feeling the heavy gazes on her. Some noblewomen were nodding along with pursed lips, likely agreeing that she didn't deserve Alistair.
"Nonetheless, I fell in love with him. With his bravery, his unyielding will to protect, and his devotion. There's nobody else like Alistair, and I frankly couldn't imagine sharing my life with any other man. I can wholeheartedly say that if Alistair hadn't chosen me, I likely would never even consider marriage in the first place."
She turned towards him. "You saved me time and time again, and I don't know how to thank you for it. The best I can do is remain by your side."
Alistair stood, beaming at her. "I would never dare to ask for more."
They kissed, and the guests exploded into applause. It was time to bring out the main dessert. Everyone had already eaten the main dishes while listening to their speeches.
Melina and Alistair both turned to their guests.
"We're overjoyed that you came all this way to Sunglow to congratulate us on our engagement. As thanks, I have prepared a new and unique dessert for you all to enjoy!" Melina said and, with a flourish, waved her hands in the air, letting a gentle blue light flow out of them.
It was just for show. Magic didn't actually produce such light, but it was the Duchess's idea to make everything look even more amazing. The lights swirled around the tables and danced to the booths set up close to the party, where the servants kept food and other necessities.
Out of the booths, carried by Melina's magic light came her special Wind Opera cakes. Each cake floated to its respective table, where it set itself down and kept floating. That's right! Melina had managed to make the little opera cakes float together with whatever dish they happened to be on.
Making the cakes float wasn't actually that hard. A bit of
Another difference was that the chocolate of these cakes glowed with a faint golden light. Byproduct of the chocolate-making process, but a very welcome one at that. It made the already delicate-looking cake appear regal.
The guests gasped in awe as the cakes set themselves in front of them and inspected them curiously from all sides.
"These cakes are made from special ingredients from Monster Realm. I've spent a lot of time and effort to make sure that they were both delicious and invigorating. You might find yourself recharged with energy as you eat them," Melina explained while the cakes slowly took their respective places.
The last ones to arrive were ones for Melina and the other at her table. Gilbert looked as proud as a peacock when his piece floated in front of him. The Duchess looked delighted, along with Charlotte, who likely would have squealed if the setting were different.
"You really never cease to amaze me. A floating cake?" Alistair chuckled.
"I had to go all out," she whispered.
Melina deliberately took the first bite out of the cake, after which everyone at her table followed suit. This was done to display that the food Melina made was safe to consume.
Many viewed skeptically, especially those who were older. Even Richard hesitated when the cake hovered in front of him. But in the end, he did take the floating plate and took a bite of cake.
"Not a bad flavor. The coffee used in this is rich and flavorful, but not overly bitter. Chocolate is quite unlike any I tasted before. It's more… fruity and refreshing. I quite like it," Richard said, much to everyone's surprise.
"Right? There's nobody more skilled when it comes to pastries," The Duchess said, enjoying her own cake.
"That is not true, Your Grace. My grandfather is far more skilled," Melina countered.
"What are you talking about? You've long since surpassed me. I can't make cakes float," Gilbert chuckled.
"I bet you could have if you wanted to."
"But I didn't. You did. So take some credit for it."
Melina had to relent there.
Their atmosphere at the party was surprisingly uplifting. People were eating her cake and clearly enjoying it. Nobody appeared to be afraid of Sienna, who was likewise enjoying the cake together with Mango. Those two had a special tiny table set up for them, not too far from the main table.
It was going very well. Frighteningly so. Melina almost felt like something was bound to go wrong. But with nobody objecting to anything, how could anything go wrong? Aside from a few disrespectful grumbles in Melina's direction, it was going swimmingly.
But then indeed just as Melina and the Duchess had feared, something did go wrong. A grand carriage bearing a royal crest pulled up not too far from the party.
It was difficult to miss as there were a dozen soldiers on horse, trotting in front and behind the carriage, making the noise of horse hooves resound through the whole town.
All of the guests instantly turned their attention to the carriage as it stopped. The coachman, dressed in clothes just as fine as any noble's, pulled the door open and out stepped the most beautiful woman Melina had ever seen.
Her blonde hair flowed over her shoulders in waves, adorned with rich pearls. Her eyes were a radiant green color matching the jewels in her earrings, necklace, and rings, while her dress was by far the most intricate piece of tailoring Melina had ever seen. The white dress was layered with light green fabric at the hips, while the necklace was made of delicate lace. The gloves stretching over her elbows were made almost entirely of lace.
It was obvious that this woman wanted to be the star, the pinnacle of beauty. Melina had a strong hunch about who she was. After all, there weren't many people who could carry the royal crest on their carriage.
"The third princess," Alistair growled, baling his hands into fists. "To think she would come all the way here."
The guests instantly got up to their feet and bowed. Melina saw that the Duchess had suddenly gone quite pale, and even Richard's face grew tense.
This was the very same princess whose proposal Alistair had rejected.
"Hello, everyone!" She greeted everyone with a gentle smile. "My apologies for coming so late. This little place is quite a distance away from the capital. But there was no way I could miss the engagement party of Alistair Sinclair, the man who dared to refuse my proposal."