Chapter 441
Tangled By Fate
âThe Mistress of the Magic Tower and the Assistant Master of the Magic Tower have arrived.â
Everyoneâs eyes were fixed at the entrance.
Seeing the pair entering the ballroom, everyone held their breaths.
Even though they werenât a couple, they looked compatible.
While Ovior was wearing gray-colored clothes with silver designs, Veronica was wearing an off-white gown with a golden design.
Their appearance dazzled the eyes of the guests. The ballroom instantly brightened up.
âAm I seeing things? This is Ovior, the Assistant Master of the magic Tower. The one beside him is the rumored Mistress of the Magic Tower!â
.....
âThe rumor didnât justify her beauty. She is more beautiful than people said.â
âAnd for the Assistant Master to come to the party, I must be dreaming.â
âIsnât it because he is escorting the Mistress of the Magic Tower?â
âWho is the lucky one? The one who is escorting the gorgeous Mistress or the one who is escorting the Assistant Master who barely comes to the balls.â
The moment the pair entered the ballroom, everyone started gossiping about them.
Veronica couldnât hear what they were saying but she could feel their gazes on her.
She nervously tightened her grip on Ovior.
âIf you are trying to ruin my sleeve, itâs working,â Ovior commented with a flat expression.
âAh! Iâm sorry!â Veronica panicked.
Ovior sighed. âDid you forget what I taught you? You cannot apologize; especially not to someone with a low ranking.â
Veronica said, âYou arenât a low-ranking person...â
Ovior interrupted her, âMy rank is lower than you. Keep your shoulders straight. Look forward. Donât let me repeat myself the whole evening please.â
âI... I wonât...â
âStop being nervous. This isnât a place where you show your emotion. Itâll become your weakness. If the people find out, they will attack you with their words.â
âYes, yes.â
The nobles surrounded them the moment their feet touched the ground.
A middle-aged man greeted her first.
âGood evening, Mistress of the Magic Tower. Iâm Elios Jermyn. Itâs an honor to finally meet you.â
Veronica greeted the man, âGood evening, Jermyn. Count Jermyn? The honor is mine.â
Count Jermyn was surprised that she knew his title. âOh, you know me! Iâm truly honored.â
Veronica smiled in return. âI know everyone who I should know.â
Her words sounded arrogant. Those who were around them froze for a while.
At first, they thought that the beautiful Mistress didnât appear before due to her immature characteristics.
Many women thought that her behavior was so inappropriate that the Master of the Magic Tower didnât bring her out to meet the nobles.
But to make them liars, Veronica first blinded them with her looks and now with her words.
âOur Mistress has an unexceptional brain. She can memorize any name she has seen once,â Ovior stated.
Veronica froze. âJust when did that happen?â she began to wonder.
From what she could remember â she had spent a week of sleepless nights memorizing all the names of the aristocratic families and their family members.
Later on, she spent a whole month learning about each family scandal. She spent months memorizing those familiesâ history.
âDid he say that to boost my popularity? What if they start testing me if itâs real or not? Iâll be in danger at this rate,â she thought.
âDonât exaggerate, Ovior. They might plan to bother me by trying to test me,â she said.
The nobles who were thinking of âbotheringâ her by testing if she really had photographic memory became nervous.
âN-no way! Who would dare...â
âI donât think anyone is imbecile enough to do that to the Mistress of the Magic Tower.â
âIf someone dares to do it, they will have to see the wrath of the Master of the Magic Tower.â
âOh, no. I wonât bother Arthur for some trivial matter,â Veronica said while taking a champagne glass in her hand. âSuch matters can be taken care of by me.â
Her confident attitude showed the nobles a new light. They realized that she wasnât someone they could trifle with just because she appeared for the first time.
Count Jermyn said, âSure, the Mistress of the Magic Tower wouldnât be able to capture the heart of the Master of the Magic Tower if she couldnât take care of herself.
âSomeone worthy of the Master of the Magic Tower can be his Mistress.â
Others went along with him.
âTrue, true.â
âA rightly Mistress of the Magic Tower doesnât need her husband to take care of her business.â
While the men were all praising Veronica, noble ladies couldnât accept it.
Not only Veronica was beautiful, but also she could easily steal anyoneâs heart.
For the matter that she stole the heart of Arthur, the Master of the magic Tower, it bothered the ladies more.
After all, they had a lifelong crush on him despite him having a bad reputation.
Women love bad boys.
It ought to be true.
Veronica excused herself and walked to another part of the ball.
Her plan was to stay low until the Imperial Family arrived.
However, her plan was unsuccessful when some ladies gathered around her.
âGreetings, Mistress of the Magic Tower.â
The ladies bowed to her respectively.
But to Veronica, they seemed to pretend in front of her.
âGood evening, ladies. I hope you are doing well.â
One of the ladies replied with enthusiasm, âWe are, Mistress. We were excited to meet you.â
Another lady with an innocent face said, âAt first, I thought Mistress wouldnât come. I was delighted when your title was announced. It was a grand entrance I must say.â
âThe Mistress of the Magic Tower is truly unexceptional. Your dazzling appearance is enchanting.â
Veronica was truly pleased to hear those compliments. She stated, âThank you ladies for your kind words.â
Another lady was staring at Veronica for a while quietly.
She was wearing a navy blue gown with gold dust sprinkled on her gown.
Half of her face was covered with a decorative fan, only revealing her eyes.
She spoke, âShall we call you Mistress or do you have a name? I didnât know someone would be desperate enough to be called by their title and not their names.â
Her comment made the three ladies who talked to Veronica first silent. They didnât know how to react.
However, other ladies who heard the arrogant ladyâs comment snickered. They enjoyed how Veronica was insulted.
Veronica looked at the lady with the navy-blue gown calmly and then asked, âIâm not sure who should introduce themselves first. Me who was not interested in talking to anyone or you who approached to talk to me?â
Her voice was neither loud nor quiet. Everyone around her heard her voice.
Veronica continued, âI understand that some people are so dazzled by my beauty that they forgot to introduce themselves after coming to talk to me.
âBut they shouldnât point their fingers at me when they donât tell their names first.â
When she criticized their action, their expression changed.
The lady with the navy-blue gown narrowed her sharp eyes. She was about to say something when the other three ladies talked first.
âIâm so sorry that I forgot to introduce myself, Mistress. Iâm Laila.â
.....
âIâm Arisa, Mistress.â
âIâm Rebecca.â
Veronica smiled at them. âItâs nice to meet you, Laila, Arisa and Rebecca. Iâm Veronica.â
âIt is a unique name, Mistress Veronica!â Laila praised her.
âIt sure is!â Arisa said.
Rebecca went along with them, âI think so too.â
âThank you, ladies.â Veronica was genuinely happy that there were people to compliment her name.
âMistress Veronica truly has a unique name and unique hair. Iâm sure many women are envious of your beauty,â the lady with the navy-blue gown stated.
Veronica didnât smile. She wasnât pleased with her words.
Her statement was in no way a compliment. She was mocking Veronica.
Red hair was unique in Utahill but not in Tybu. It was common to have red hair in Tybu and many witches and magicians had red hair.
For saying that red hair was unique, the lady was surely trying to look down at Veronica.
Although Veronica looked cold outside, inside she was on the verge of crying.
âWhy is she picking a fight with me when we just met? Iâm not here to fight. I just want to enjoy the party and meet the Queen.â
Sadly, she could neither agree nor disagree with that woman outright.
If she agreed with the red hair being unique, it would show her lack of knowledge. If she disagreed with red hair being unique, it would make her lose her face.
She was in a tight spot.
Then, she had another thought.
âSince she is picking a fight with me, does she not care about my title as the Mistress? What kind of formidable opponent she is?â
No matter what the ladyâs identity was, Veronica had to say something.
While wondering about the girlâs identity, Veronica said, âLady must have free time to think about oneâs appearance. And here Iâve thought aristocratic ladies are busy with education, dancing and music since they were born. I must have thought wrong.â