The Magical Holy Woman Seraphina - Chapter 40

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Magic Saint Seraphina
Episode 40
“A ball!”
“At the Imperial Palace, no less!”
“It’s so romantic…….”
“Eek….”
Ellie cupped her cheeks in both hands.
Her colleagues around her wore the same dreamy expression.
“There’ll be plenty of handsome, wealthy noble men, won’t there?”
“Handsome and well-groomed noble men.”
“What if the Crown Prince himself attends?”
“You attend the ball by chance, slip out onto the balcony, and run into the most devastatingly handsome man….”
“Only to discover he’s the Crown Prince…….”
“He falls for you and asks you to dance…….”
“So you shyly place your hand in his…….”
“Then you knock him unconscious and rob him blind…….”
“Wait, what?”
Shouldn’t she fall in love at that point? I stared at my colleagues in bewilderment.
Then Ellie, her hands clasped together, spoke up.
“Falling in love with the Crown Prince isn’t realistic.”
So robbing his purse is realistic?
“Given that he’s kept his face hidden all this time, he might even be ugly.”
“Ah.”
That’s a bit much.
It damages the nation’s dignity.
“No matter how noble the Crown Prince is, I’d rather not fall in love with an ugly man after going all the way to a ball. It’s far more realistic—and profitable—to simply rob him.”
“You’re right, Ellie.”
Even if it does mean execution afterward.
Hazel, my other colleague beside me, let out a thoughtful hum.
“But I really do wonder what the Crown Prince looks like.”
“Me too. It’d be nice if he looked like Arden.”
“Our Arden!”
Hazel, who had a habit of claiming ownership of every handsome man, let out an excited squeal.
“A dedicated investigator for the Magic Saint!”
“The Crown Prince appointed him personally!”
“So if Arden catches the Magic Saint, he gets the bounty?”
That’s right.
The Tram Family, who took a grudge against me over the incident with the Dancing Boy, put a bounty on my head.
How much?
Five million Gold.
For reference, my monthly salary is one point five million Gold.
“As if a pittance like that is enough to catch the Magic Saint.”
“They must think common folk would jump at five million Gold and turn the Magic Saint over in a heartbeat!”
Ellie swung her sewing pin indignantly.
“If anyone sells out the Magic Saint for mere five million Gold, I’ll never forgive them!”
“What if it were five hundred million Gold?”
“Still no!”
‘Five hundred million Gold and you can sell me out right now, you traitors.’
I could never resist five hundred million…….
Today was another peaceful day in the Atelier.
Hazel, who had been pinning the pleats of the Dress I wore, suddenly glanced out the window and tilted her head.
“Is it raining outside?”
“No, why?”
“That person there. They’re carrying an umbrella.”
“A parasol, maybe?”
“At six in the evening? The sun’s almost gone.”
“A vampire?”
Unable to tolerate even a sliver of sunlight…!
“An unimaginable identity…!”
It was Arden.
Arden entered the Atelier wearing a lace umbrella with a elegantly peaked top.
He declined the employee’s offer to hold it and carefully folded each rib himself—I couldn’t help asking him about it.
“Is it raining outside?”
“No, it isn’t.”
……
……
“Then why the umbrella?”
“It’s for escorting someone, ma’am.”
“Escorting whom… wait. Don’t tell me it’s me?”
I’d never taken him for someone so formal. The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Arden didn’t answer, just walked toward me.
He caught sight of the temporary partition we’d set up between us and tilted his head.
“Hmm.”
“Hmm-hmm.”
Our colleagues surrounding us wore wickedly knowing smiles.
“Sir Arden, you’re positively radiant today.”
“That tuxedo suits you wonderfully.”
“What did you use on your hair?”
Questions tumbled out in a rush, and Arden merely nodded politely at each one.
Yes.
Today was Arden’s appointment ceremony and Ball all in one.
The Crown Prince had requested this Ball begin at eight o’clock in the evening, and it just happened that my shift ended at six today.
So we’d arranged for Arden to pick me up at six, and I’d leave then.
‘I’ll just grab a ready-made dress from stock, call for a carriage, and off I go.’
I’d thought it would be that simple.
‘Arden. You’ve really dressed the part tonight, haven’t you.’
The black uniform of an Imperial Knight that usually clung to him like taxidermy was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he wore a meticulously formal outfit that satisfied the eye of every observer.
I was studying the embroidered collar of his jacket—the kind that made you believe he was the one getting married today—when it happened.
“Sir Arden, what do you think of this dress?”
Hazel grinned and yanked away the partition that had been standing between us, tall enough to reach my throat.
“Hazel, wait—this is—!”
“Our newly arrived head designer at the Atelier designed this for her!”
The dress I’d been wearing was suddenly on full display.
It was a silver gown that reached to my ankles.
Toward the hem, the silver fabric gradually shifted into a soft lavender, the edge puffed out like a flower bud.
Beneath it lay five layers of petticoat, which rippled like wind across a field every time I moved.
Along my chest and arms ran a line of delicate jewels arranged like the Milky Way, finished with tiny glass shoes.
All of it jeweled.
Impossibly expensive.
‘Just the fabric in the petticoats alone—how much did that cost?’
“It’s perfect for Seraphina, isn’t it?”
Hazel burst into delighted laughter, still showing off the dress to Arden.
“Once you put on this dress, slip on the gem shoes, pull on gloves up to your wrists, and let your hair down, you’ll look like a fairy of the night!”
“Exactly! The moment I saw this dress, I knew it was yours!”
“The designer must have thought so too—that’s why she had you try it on!”
“No.”
I waved my hands frantically.
“No, no. This absolutely won’t do.”
It’s far too expensive.
‘I can’t be the shameless person who, when told I’d get a gift, eagerly picks the most expensive dress in the shop.’
I’m not even his girlfriend.
“I’ll wear something else.”
“But Seraphina!”
At my firm refusal, my colleagues puffed out their cheeks in exasperation.
‘For an Imperial Knight, a dress this fine is nothing if he stretches a little.’ ‘Right, he can’t even do this much for a girl he likes?’ That was the look on their faces exactly.
You don’t know how broke Arden is!
And besides, I’m not a girl he likes!
I’ve said so a hundred times, but they never believe me!
Every time Arden looks at me, all he says is ‘Ugh’ or ‘Please, wash that off thoroughly’!
“…….”
Arden said nothing.
He waited until Hazel and I, who had been bickering, fell quiet, sensing something was off.
After a long silence, he slipped his hand inside his coat.
He pulled out his wallet and handed it over to Hazel in its entirety.
“Please.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Please. The dress.”
“Arden!”
“Hush, Seraphina. Not another word.”
“But—”
“You said yourself that Arden liked it!”
Hazel silenced me with a sharp glance—the look of someone who held the purse strings—then turned to Arden with a radiant smile. “Then shall we add the glass shoes and gloves to the bill as well?”
“Yes.”
“The hair ornament too?”
“Yes.”
“The glass shoes might tire her feet, so should we charge a pair of slippers for her to wear during the intermission?”
“Yes.”
“Arden! Hazel!”
My protests fell on deaf ears.
Hazel, giggling, turned back to Arden, who was gazing blankly at my dress, and pressed further. “That scent of lily-of-the-valley coming from Seraphina’s neck—that’s perfume, isn’t it? Should we add that to the bill?”
“Yes.”
“And refreshments for us while we were fitting the dress?”
“Yes.”
“This atelier building itself?”
“Yes.”
“Arden!”
On the way to the Imperial Palace, we rode in a carriage Arden had brought.
Whether borrowed or procured, it was enormous and exceedingly comfortable—he’d even brought a driver.
Aside from his constant sidelong glances at me, he was remarkably courteous; he looked less like a coachman and more like a nobleman’s aide-de-camp.
Amid the awkwardness, I watched Arden across from me as the carriage rolled toward the Imperial Palace.
“…….”
All that vacant behavior from the atelier—it had been an act, clearly. He wouldn’t even glance my way now, his neck craned toward the window as though he might snap it off.
“…….”
‘So all that simpering really was just theater.’
Now he looked completely indifferent, staring out the window with such intensity you’d think looking at me would somehow burn him.
“…….”
It’s said that in polite society, one is expected to react generously the first time a woman appears in a formal dress.
But I’m no society lady—just a common woman.
I’d almost felt a strange twist in my chest for a moment there.
I brushed aside the embarrassment and spoke to him. “This wasn’t too much, was it?”
“Too much?”
“The dress.”
I tapped the skirt, which took up half the carriage.
When I patted it, the full skirt billowed up and settled back down in soft waves.
At last, Arden’s gaze shifted toward me.
He smiled faintly and spoke. “Thank you. I’ve never worn something this beautiful as an adult.”
Even if that weren’t true, it’s been years since I put on anything new.
So I really am grateful, truly.
“It just feels like too extravagant a gift for simply attending one ball with you…….”
“…….”
“Are you sure it wasn’t too much?”
Then Arden’s expression hardened sharply.
“I have plenty of money.”
“…….”

“I’m serious. You have more wealth than you could spend in a lifetime, even if you tried.”
“My using your money?”
“Why can’t I?”
“It’s not that you can’t, exactly.”
You need to have it before you can spend it, right? I was looking at Arden with that kind of expression.
“Just try spending it. Just try not to spend it all.”
An absurd threat.
I shrugged once, letting my shoulders fall.
“Well, even if I spent it my whole life, I probably couldn’t exhaust it. I’m two years older than you, so I’d have to die now.”
Was it thirty years for one year difference, sixty years for two?
“Either way, it’s hard for someone dying soon to spend much money.”
I let my gaze drift past the window, my eyes going dim.
Arden bristled and nearly jumped so hard he hit his head on the carriage ceiling.
“When was that? Why are you still teasing me about it!”
“Just bear with it for one day. Tomorrow I’ll be dead anyway.”
“Ugh, seriously!”
“What? I can’t hear you—must be dying already.”
Hearing’s the first thing to go, I suppose.
“Ah!”
A laugh burst out of me.
Watching Arden’s indignant expression from the corner of my eye, I couldn’t hold it back.
The moment our eyes met, Arden clamped his mouth shut. In that frozen state, I said to him:
“I really am grateful. I’ll wear it beautifully.”
“No, it’s not like that. I asked to go to the Ball, so of course I should… And I really do have plenty of money….”
“If you want a refund, tell me within a week.”
“I won’t!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————