71 Departure

71 Departure
(Ella's POV)

The next day, I was awakened by gentle knocking before dawn.

A pale blue morning mist still shrouded the view outside, and Ethelburg hadn't fully awakened, though the Church's towering spires in the distance already caught the first rays of dawn.

I'd barely thrown on my robe when the door was gently pushed open.

Several maids entered in single file, carrying cosmetics, jewelry, and gowns with practiced, graceful movements.

"Miss Ella, please allow us to prepare you."

I was slightly taken aback.

"I need makeup?"

One of the older maids smiled.

"Tonight you'll attend Master Dorian's banquet. Nearly all the guests will be the most distinguished people from the capital. As Sir Colin's partner, you naturally cannot breach etiquette."

I nodded and didn't refuse further.

But from childhood to now, I'd rarely bothered with serious grooming.

In Thornton, an apothecary dealt daily with herbs and potions—clothing only needed to allow free movement. At most, I'd tie back my hair and rarely wore jewelry, let alone bothered with eyebrows and lips.

A mirror was placed before me.

The maids gently loosened my long hair, combing it smooth strand by strand, then braided the sides into elaborate plaits and secured them with pearl ornaments.

Their movements were gentle.

Soft brushes swept across my eyelids, lightly scented powder dusted my cheeks, and finally they helped me into yesterday's prepared yellow gown.

The girl in the mirror gradually became a stranger.

When the final layer of gossamer veil was positioned, the maids simultaneously stopped their work.

The room fell silent for several seconds.

Then came hushed exclamations.

"Heavens..."

"Miss Ella is absolutely beautiful."

"I've never seen anyone so lovely."

"She's... she's every bit as stunning as Princess Isolde!"

Their praise made me somewhat embarrassed, and I instinctively glanced at the mirror.

The girl reflected there had familiar eyes and features, just more radiant than usual.

I touched my face self-consciously.

"Please don't flatter me anymore."

"We're only telling the truth! You're as beautiful as Princess Isolde from the capital." One maid fastened my earrings as she spoke. "Last time the princess visited Ethelburg, I glimpsed her from afar—skin like luminous white, walking like she owned the wind, just like... like an elf!"

Like an elf? That would make her as beautiful as Kyle?

I was curious. "Is Princess Isolde really that beautiful?"

The maids exchanged glances, and one whispered carefully, "The princess is certainly beautiful."

"But..."

She lowered her voice further. "The princess has quite a temper. I heard last month a maid broke a single strand of her hair while styling it and was sentenced to clean the stables for a month. She's extremely vain and despises anyone prettier than her."

Another maid quickly added, "Once a noble lady simply wore a gown in a similar color to the princess's and was publicly humiliated to tears."

"Others have been deliberately arranged for marriages in remote territories just for having similar hair and eye color."

I listened in stunned silence. "That's... allowed?"

"So if you encounter the princess," the elder maid fitted my fascinator and whispered near my ear, "never lift your head to let her see your face." "Otherwise..."

She didn't continue, only shook her head gently.

I gave myself a final check in the mirror. The veil was pale gold gossamer, semi-transparent, just covering my brows and eyes. Hazy from a distance, yet revealing features up close. Beneath the veil, the sun-moon pendant rested quietly against my skin at the collarbone.

"Understood." I responded, though my thoughts had already drifted to tonight's banquet.

Church officials, Dorian, hidden guards... I had no time to worry about capital princess gossip. Tension stretched like a taut string from my nape to my spine.

After finishing preparations, knocking sounded again outside.

"Ella."

It was Colin.

I took a deep breath and rose. A maid opened the door for me.

Colin had changed into ceremonial knight attire. A silver-white cloak fell behind him, a badge symbolizing his rank as knight commander adorning his chest, making him appear more composed and upright than usual.

Seeing me, he clearly froze momentarily, then bowed slightly in a formal knight's salute.

Those habitually restrained blue eyes revealed undisguised amazement for the first time.

After several seconds, he chuckled softly.

"Tonight you'll be the most dazzling person there," he said.

I felt somewhat embarrassed. "Do I look strange?"

"No." Colin shook his head. "Beautiful."

He spoke frankly and warmly, without a trace of frivolity.

I smiled slightly and placed my hand in his arm. Together we walked toward the inn's entrance.

The knight squadron was ready and waiting.

My gaze almost instinctively searched through the crowd. Soon I spotted Kyle.

He stood among the mounted escort beside the carriage, wearing the standard knight attendant uniform—deep gray with ordinary weaving at collar and cuffs. That face had completely changed; originally handsome features sharp as blades were magically disguised as utterly ordinary, even his hair and eye color altered. Thrown into a crowd, he'd never be recognized.

Yet I recognized him immediately.

He stood there, shoulders and back straight as a pine driven into earth. Morning light outlined his tall silhouette, and despite the changed face, that composure and sharpness buried in his bones still leaked through every gesture. This quality uniquely his couldn't be concealed by any strange face.

Almost simultaneously, Kyle looked toward me.

Our gazes met briefly across the entire knight formation.

Neither spoke.

He simply lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.

I couldn't help smiling with my eyes.

The next instant, we both tactfully looked away, as if we'd never met.

This was the first step after the mission began, and the disguise we had to maintain.

I took Colin's arm and slowly boarded the carriage.

Wheels rolled, leaving the inn behind.

Outside the window, broad streets gradually receded.

I leaned against the cushions while Colin sat opposite, one hand braced against the window frame, his profile catching flowing morning light. The carriage's swaying made his shoulders shift slightly as he gazed outside in long silence.

"Colin, what are you thinking about?" I asked.

Colin withdrew his gaze and looked at me.

"I'm thinking how differently things have turned out from what I originally envisioned," he said quietly.

I didn't interrupt.

He continued, "I always believed I only needed to climb step by step, gain more power, get close to Dorian, and then I could avenge my family."

"But now I've found my sister and learned my mother is still alive." He laughed quietly, that sound tinged with weariness.

"I suddenly realize that to reach today, I've become exactly what I once despised most." He slowly clenched his hands resting on his knees.

"Using others, calculating benefits, lies and deception... I've even used you."

He turned to look at me.

"When I invited you to be my partner that day, I knew you wouldn't refuse. Because you're too kind, so I exploited that without considering your feelings at all. I'm sorry, Ella."

"I don't want you to think I'm someone calculating and cold-blooded."

I looked at him quietly. Colin before me still wore the knight uniform symbolizing honor, but sitting here now was only a man finally dropping his disguise.

I gently shook my head and said seriously, "Colin, I understand you. If anyone else had experienced your past, they probably wouldn't have done better."

Colin was stunned. Then he lowered his head and smiled.

"You're always like this."

"Like what?"

"Making excuses for others." He looked up at me, carriage window light flickering in his eyes. "But what about Kyle?"

"What?" I was confused.

Colin asked something I hadn't anticipated at all.

"If Kyle were like me—carrying blood the world won't accept, with a foreign mother and murdered father, forced to hide his identity to survive—would he do better than me?"

The carriage fell quiet. I looked at him but couldn't speak.

If Kyle were in Colin's situation, what would he do? Would he plan each step as meticulously as Colin? Or would he charge straight into the Church with cold, sharp determination? Would he choose patience and circuitous routes, or sharper methods?

I didn't know.

Actually, Kyle and Colin's situations were somewhat similar. Both were forced to hide their identities, both wanted to know the truth behind events that caused them pain... Compared that way, Colin was much more fortunate than Kyle. At least Colin's sought truth had leads.

The carriage jolted.

Morning light slanted across the skirt folds at my knees, the yellow satin blindingly bright.

But whether Colin or Kyle, I had no right to judge either.

They'd both simply fought desperately to survive until today.