New Year’s was here.

Well, technically, it wouldn’t be for another hour.

In a rare moment of indulgence, I was allowed to stay awake past my bedtime by Mother. Of course, that meant I, who almost always slept on time, was struggling to keep my eyes open. I took a nap at noon during my free time to help mitigate this, but that didn’t help much.

New Year’s wasn’t a really big thing in this world. There’s an event tied to it in the capital, sure, but it never reached the kind of craze it had back in my old world. There were no countdowns, no big celebrations… but that seemed to differ this year.

Outside my window, I saw green light, coming from Luminites, illuminating the lower streets of the capital from turn to turn. It was the same thing at the square, though, with notably less green tint in the lighting.

Several stalls were set up, but not countless… Not with these eyes, at least. The stalls set up seemed to mostly sell food, toys, fruits, et cetera.

In the square and several larger streets of the capital, I saw glimpses of what seemed to be performances from acting groups, musicians, and even mages. However, they were mostly blocked by the buildings, and I couldn’t see most of them.

I suspected the sudden growth of festivities wasn’t a coincidence. I figured the memory and fear of the castle incident months ago still lingered in many of the capital dwellers’ hearts. This celebration seemed to be a way to let it all out, erase the fears, and welcome a new year.

It could’ve been a political move from the Royal Family, with my suspicion stemming from the performances hosted on some corners of the capital. You need explicit permission and licenses to do that. I read that in a book a few times.

Then again, the stalls opened around the streets seemed to be made manually. Not crudely, but I can tell the ones manning them were ones who actually live in that street. So, the community could’ve organized this themselves.

The most likely explanation would be that both of my theories are correct.

Still, though, it seemed fun.

Such a shame that I would not be participating in those festivities.

A knock came through the door.

“Lady Carine? Are you ready to depart?”

I turned away from the window and gave a solid hum of approval.

I took another look at the new clothes Mother bought for me for today’s event.

The dark blue dress was comfortable to wear, and the skirt gave me coverage as well as freedom to move. To add to the design were intricate patterns around the hems of the skirt and sleeves. They weren’t shiny or sparkly, though.

It was comfortable, not flashy, and I dig it. Apparently it was tailor-made, but I didn’t request this myself, so either Mother or Father must’ve been the ones to do so. Though I much preferred blouses and shirts, this was a necessary sacrifice considering today’s event.

It comforted me a little bit knowing they’re slowly learning my preferences for simpler things.

I fought off the urge to yawn as I exited my room and was greeted by Leila in her usual work clothes.

As expected, she hadn’t a single sign of weariness in her eyes.

[Enhanced Stamina] seemed to be a perfect Talent for a workaholic like her… Or it could just be her chugging four cups of coffee each day to keep herself awake. Again, it could just be both.

The carriage chosen for today’s ride was a larger variant of Father’s collection. The reason why this one was brought out was simple.

Leila opened the carriage doors, and I was led inside. There, Father and Mother had already made themselves comfortable in the wider-than-usual cushioned seat, facing each other. Mother wore an exquisite dress with a similar dark blue scheme as mine. Father, meanwhile, wore a suit that was both extravagant and gave him a commanding aura.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

We only gave affirming nods as I took a seat by Father’s side. Leila followed suit and closed the carriage door behind her before taking a seat by Mother’s side. Soon enough, the carriage rattled to life with a subtle shake.

“Carine dear,” Mother said. “I have to say… that dress really suits you.”

“Thank you, Mother,” I said with a nod.

“It still amazed me how fast that tailor catered to your request, Reyna,” Father hummed. “Not to mention, it looks great. I’ll be sure to pay him extra for the next commission.”

“I already took care of that. I made sure we’ll be his priority customer for the upcoming years.”

So, the design was Mother’s idea after all.

The carriage continued to rattle softly through the snowy street. It was heading for none other than the newly reinforced royal castle. The reason for our almost gaudy get-up was that we would be attending a New Year’s party hosted by the Royal Family there.

“I wonder…,” Mother grumbled. “Must we attend this… ‘celebration’... on such a late time?”

“It couldn’t be helped,” Father responded. “The crown clearly wanted to ease the hearts of those still affected by that incident. That’s why we got ourselves a special invitation, wasn’t it?”

The party itself was open to many other houses. But as Father said, our family was given a special invitation, along with several other families that were involved in that incident. As always, the invitation was signed by the Third Prince, who had handwritten the letter to our family personally.

This party would be my first time meeting him since the incident. I wondered if I should look forward to it or dread it.

—

As the carriage continued on its journey, I also started another journey on foot as Feyt.

Dad closed the door of our house and locked it. He hurried down the steps from the patio and slid the key in his pocket.

“Alright, we’re good to go,” he said.

Each of us nodded and turned to start our trek through the snowy road, whose depth would reach our shins if it weren’t for our tall and warm leather boots.

Mom and Dad took the lead, with Mom in particular looking giddy, humming a familiar tune. If it weren’t for the snow, I figured she would be skipping with joy.

I walked slightly behind their pace with Fray by my side, whose barely keeping her eyes open. She yawned silently while she rubbed her eyes.

Where was our destination, you ask? Why, Aunt Diane’s pub, of course, also known as Ricent’s home.

As we made our way through the snow, I took the chance to observe our surroundings. Compared to the capital, this place was quiet and peaceful.

The festivities were relatively nonexistent. There were no stalls, no performances, and obviously, no fireworks. Instead, I heard plenty of chatter coming from the various houses around us. Families and friends hanging out while playing games, sharing drinks, all that stuff.

In smaller areas like my village, New Year’s is just treated as a get-together rather than a full-blown celebration.

And we were heading to Aunt Diane’s to do so.

I couldn’t wait to see Ricent again. Though Mom and Dad did mention him once in a while in their letters, just like always, I couldn’t feel at ease until I saw his face.

“Do we have to get out in this cold, Mom?” Fray said, holding back another yawn.

“Oh, don’t worry about the cold, honey.” Mom turned her head around. “We’ll get plenty of warm drinks there! We can finally share a drink, too!”

“Blegh.” Fray stuck her tongue out in disgust. “I’ll just drink hot milk, thanks.”

“Oh, come on!” Dad turned around as well. “You’re finally old enough to drink with your old man! Humor us for a bit!”

Fray crossed her arms and shook her head vigorously.

Despite Mom’s crazy tolerance for alcohol and Dad’s appreciation of wine… Fray doesn’t like to drink either of them. Heck, I remembered something about her not liking coffee or tea as well.

Despite her barbaric nature, she was surprisingly picky.

I wish I were old enough to drink, though.

Soon enough, Aunt Diane’s pub came into my hearing range. It wasn’t in our views yet, but I could already hear the rowdy chatter and laughter of men and women there. The place was packed, no doubt. But the only thing on my mind when I think of the place was Ricent.

As the only real friend I had in the village… and perhaps my only friend if we count out myself… he held a special place in my heart.

On the other side of the coin, however…

…

After a relatively long journey, our carriage rolled to a smooth halt. Father opened the small window frame as a Royal Knight approached.

“May I have your invitation and proof of affiliation?”

Father nodded and carefully slid out the invitation we received along with our insignia. The knight received it through the window and took a careful look at both items. Before long, he handed it back to Father and gave a respectful nod.

“Welcome to the palace, Lord Sareid.”

The gates before us opened.

Father closed the window, and the carriage rolled on through.

As I sat at the front end of the carriage, I could see through the back window of the carriage, and through it I saw the gate close as soon as we passed, and another carriage rolled to a halt before it.

A flick of my eyes to the side revealed even more carriages circling the grounds. Most had already dropped off their passengers, the coachmen being directed by the knights to what seemed to be a vast parking area.

But still, the amount of carriages I saw was numerous. I could count the ones I saw, but I had no doubt that there were many more in different parts of the palace.

Like I said, the party was open to a lot of houses. Some were from the capital, but most came from all over.

I wonder if I could find someone to network with?

image [https://i.imgur.com/ftefrrv.png]