Chapter 57: Ball up North (1)

I looked into the mirror with pride, enjoying the way Jahi glowered at me in annoyance.

"You look wonderful dear~"

The Countess stood next to me, a wide grin on her face as she admired my work.

I had used a tool much like a hair curler to get Jahi's normally straight hair to flow like waves. After that, I was given the choice of many various hair clips, and after perusing the many ornate ornaments, I chose one made from deep blue sapphires that were made into a realistic rose.

Nestling it into her hair, I made sure it was secure before looking at her face, pursing my lips as I looked over the small array of makeup, before shaking my head.

"Oh? You think she doesn't need anything else?"

I shook my head at the Countess' question, making Jahi sigh in relief.

"If anything, the only thing she needs is something for her lips. Either gloss or a darker shade of blue..."

The Countess nodded, before picking up a small vial.

Uncapping it, she raised up the midnight blue stick, and I nodded. She smiled down at Jahi, gripping her jaw as she held Jahi still.

Applying it, I pursed my lips as I looked at how drastic such a small change made.

It seemed that the lipstick the Countess chose contained a glossy blue, making Jahi's lips shine as they contrasted her light skin.

Jahi growled in annoyance, glaring at her mother before sighing in defeat.

We finished up, with both the Countess and I nitpicking over a few things before looking at each other in satisfaction.

Jahi instantly moved away from us, keeping her guard up before making her way to hide behind the Marquess, who was watching on in amusement.

The Marquess was dressed in a tight black suit, much like what she wore when we received the Empress and Sultana.

As for the Countess, she decided to go for something as opulent as Jahi, wearing a long gown made from silver thread. It had a low cut, was adorned with opals and pearls, and only made her long golden hair stand out that much more.

As for my mother and I... well, we wore our maid dresses, the only difference between us being mine was black and red and hers was black and white.

Oh, and we both now wore collars, mine red and hers black.

When the Marquess and Countess gifted her that... well, we didn't see any of them for almost two days...

Anyways, we moved as a group towards a room in the basement, where Arch Mage Kolia was waiting beside a large ritual circle.

"Finally... you know these things only last for an hour when made with basic chalks, yes?"

Hearing Kolia grumble in annoyance, the Marquess just chuckled and said "Ria wanted to play dress up with Jahi, sorry."

Kolia just sighed, before shrugging.

Moving onto the circle, I watched in interest as Kolia moved around the circle, tapping various runes and activating them with her mana.

Eventually a bright light rose from the ritual circle, and I had to close my eyes to protect my vision.

Noticing the light recede, I opened my eyes to see...

We now stood in a large, opulent hall made from pure ice.

The light blue ice was solid and opaque, and a pale glow shined from the ice.

Various maids and butlers lined the walls, and seeing us appear a maid approached us, bowing as she neared.

"Duchess Klaki wishes to see you in the Main Hall."

Her voice was low and cold, and after seeing the Marquess nod she turned to lead us out of the hall.

The maid led us through various hallways made from ice, and surprisingly the entire area was quite warm.

I looked around in interest, unable to help myself as I took in this impressive use of ice.

We eventually reached a large hall, where various sculptures stood in random spots. In the back was a large throne, the ice making up the throne radiating a deep chill.

Lounging on the throne was a tall woman, draped in a simple white dress that matched her white hair.

Interestingly enough, her hair was drawn into a braid that hung over her face, almost covering her already closed eyes. However, even though she looked like she was asleep, the woman looked straight at us, a wide grin on her lips as she spoke.

"My, you are as beautiful as ever Chordeva. Are you still unwilling to lay with me?"

I froze as I felt the air grow charged, turning to see the Countess glaring at the woman.

Speaking in a strained voice, the Countess said "Duchess Klaki, I would like to respectfully ask you to keep your claws to yourself."

Chuckling, the Duchess shrugged, before continuing.

"Fine, fine. Anyways, I heard your spawn awoke to Light Magic? Interesting... what do you think of unifying the Dukedom of Blizzards with March Asmodia?"

The Marquess sighed, saying "Duchess Klaki, I will leave the choice to Jahi. I dislike deciding things for her."

The Duchess nodded, chuckling as she nodded.

"Very well. Go, enjoy the ball. I shall be a few moments late..."

Nodding, the Marquess led us out of the hall. As we exited, I noticed that many of the statues had looks of horror or anger on their faces.

When we reached the hallway, the Marquess spoke.

"Kat, I saw you looking at the statues... well, they are like our Banshee's. They are all people who angered the Ice Dragon of the North, Duchess Klaki."

I widened my eyes in surprise, before fixing my expression.

We had reached a large door, and upon opening it we saw dozens upon dozens of people.

All were dressed up, however few could match the opulence of the Countess and Jahi.

The room fell silent when we entered, and I gulped when I saw the various gazes turn towards us.

Looking towards Jahi, the Marquess said "Go, meet the people who will be your peers. Mingle, dance, gossip... just don't be an idiot. Katherine, follow her."

I nodded, walking a few steps behind Jahi.

She moved towards the large gathering of people our age, giving a small curtsy to everyone before she started talking.

I moved to the wall, where all the other maids stood.

They all greeted me, however I could very easily see the lack of interest in their gazes as they turned back to observing their masters.

Folding my hands in front of me, I watched as Jahi slowly started being swarmed by people.

A girl in an extravagant and frilly pink dress, with her long brown hair pulled into a braid, laughed at everything Jahi said, taking every opportunity to lay her hand on Jahi's arm.

Another girl, this one wearing a simple grey suit, listened to Jahi's every word, her pale face growing crimson every time Jahi looked her way.

I slowly lost track of the number of people approaching Jahi, each one dressed in either something absurd or simple.

I could feel my building irritation, especially when the pink girl grabbed Jahi's arm and placed it on her budding chest.

Eventually I heard someone couch beside me, and upon turning I saw one of the maids give me a small smile.

"I'm Fresca, maid of Gia Vesca, of Barony Vesca."

"Katherine, maid of Jahi Asmodia, March Asmodia."

She nodded, before asking "So, what's it like? Serving a Marquess and her family?"

Seeing the excitement in her eyes, I just told her a few things, describing the large rooms and opulent decorations, the succulent looking food, and more.

She added her own things throughout, and while we talked I kept an eye on Jahi.

Eventually I asked "Could you tell me who is who here? Starting at the top..."

Fresca nodded, pointing at the pink girl and grey suit girl first.

"The girl in pink is the heir of Ruben County, Adrianna Ruben. She is... honestly, just your typical noble."

Lowering her voice, Fresca whispered "She apparently beats her maid, whines about everything, and forced her father to buy her an extravagant carriage just because her old one got chipped! I mean seriously!"

I chuckled at that, before listening to the next description.

"The girl in grey is the second daughter of Steele County, and is in training to become a Knight. Nothing demeaning about her, she just rarely talks to people. However, I did hear that she is quite the prodigy with her sword."

Fresca was about to continue when the room went silent again.

We looked towards the large doors, where the Duchess appeared with a girl who looked just like her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Duchess Klaki and her daughter, Draka Klaki!"

Everyone clapped, and I watched as the Duchess led her daughter down the stairs.

Grabbing a glass, the Duchess raised it to the air and said "Well, let the ball commence!"

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Contract after the next two chapters released tomorrow...

Anyways, the Duchess looks like when we first see Mei Mei in Jujutsu Kaisen. I'll put a pic for reference.

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