It didn’t take long for the cinder-covered girl to finish all her household chores and return to where the witch was.

“Thanks to Miss Adelaide, we finished incredibly quickly.”

The girl’s praise wasn’t empty words.

The golden-haired girl with a sun-like atmosphere didn’t seem particularly skilled at household chores, but instead, she learned things incredibly fast.

For tasks like mopping or sweeping, she would start by crudely using just strength, but once shown a few tricks about posture or how to hold the tools, she quickly became proficient. Even tasks requiring dexterity and calmness like sewing, she managed without much difficulty.

Even the task of drawing water from the well and bringing it to the house, which would have been hard labor taking quite a while when the girl did it alone, was possible to finish in just ten minutes without breaking a sweat when Adelaide helped.

The cinder-covered girl’s eyes shone.

“Unlike your appearance, you seem incredibly strong. Is that also the witch’s magic?”

“Hmm, strictly speaking, it’s not the witch’s magic, but the effect of this belt. Ah, but since I borrowed the belt from the witch, in that sense, it is the witch’s power.”

Adelaide’s words weren’t a lie, but they weren’t exactly conveying the accurate truth, either.

The current little lion was capable of lifting the carriage they usually rode in whole, without any assistance from the belt and without any mana-based enhancement. Honestly, this level of labor didn’t even count as exercise for Adelaide.

“Wow.”

The cinder-covered girl’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Sometimes she felt disappointed, thinking, “Is she really a mage?” but it seemed that the witch she had requested to contract with was indeed an amazing witch.

When the two returned to the carriage, they found the witch in the midst of various adjustments, holding the Game Book in her hand.

The witch, Dorothea, asked, “It didn’t take as long as I thought. At this rate, we shouldn’t be too short on time. I’ve been steadily increasing the time multiplier, but there’s still a limit.”

Not understanding the latter part, the cinder-covered girl responded to the first part, “Yes, Miss Adelaide was incredibly good at household chores. I sometimes get hired as a temporary maid in other houses to earn money, so I know, but I felt like she could instantly become an ace even if hired as a maid in some well-off house!”

“…A house well-off enough to hire her as a maid? I’d like to see that once.”

The girl tilted her head at the witch’s words, who chuckled as if it were absurd, but the witch didn’t provide any further explanation.

The witch pointed to a makeshift bed created by reorganizing the inside of the carriage, then said to the girl, “Lie down.”

“Pardon?”

“Lie down, and just sleep. I’ll wake you up before your family returns.”

“???”

***

When the witch first told her to lie down and sleep, the girl thought it was a light joke.

When she realized it wasn’t a joke but real, the girl thought it might be easier than expected.

And now.

The girl wanted to curse her past self for accepting the contract with such naive thoughts.

“Don’t step with your heel first. Walk slowly and elegantly, starting from your toes.”

“When speaking, don’t raise your voice, but let it resonate calmly. That’s the true noble way of speaking.”

“When greeting others, your bow shouldn’t exceed 30 degrees. Restrained respect is the most beautiful.”

Etiquette.

“Keep your back straight and don’t lose your center. Balance is the foundation of dance.”

“When making eye contact with your partner, keep it short and natural, never avoid their gaze.”

“When taking steps, don’t lift your knees too high, move your feet as if brushing close to the floor.”

Dance.

“The prince didn’t like noble hobbies like hunting or horseback riding much since childhood. Instead, he was very interested in the arts.”

“The prince doesn’t like sour tastes. He even avoids fruits that are sour. However, he likes sweetness that harmonizes with bitterness.”

“The prince’s favorite color is white. However, he dislikes overly plain clothes, so there’s a need to create an appropriate harmony while using white as a base.”

The prince’s preferences.

“The history of the Lumière Count family shares its origins with the current kingdom. After the old kingdom suddenly perished due to disaster, the surviving nobles of the kingdom competed to claim the vacant throne. At that time, there was also a clamor in Lumière to become independent again like in the past, but the head of Lumière at the time declared loyalty to the final victor instead of getting involved in the power struggle. Because of this, the Lumière territory was able to enjoy a time of prosperity and stability while other territories were in chaos.”

Family history.

“Urrrrghhh.”

A bizarre groan that was hard to imagine coming from a young lady in her prime escaped from the cinder-covered girl’s mouth.

But the cinder-covered girl didn’t have the energy to care about such things now.

How many hours have I been studying now? When she said she’d wake me up when it’s time, did she mean when it’s time to go home or right before the ball?

The girl clung to Sophia, the green-haired woman who had entered this mysterious space together as an assistant teacher and helper, and pleaded, “This, this is enough! I don’t want to do any more! A person can’t keep studying continuously like this!!”

“My, you seem to be having a hard time.”

At the cinder-covered girl’s words, Sophia gently stroked her head.

Feeling that gentle voice and cool yet pleasant touch, the girl felt hope.

The black witch is too cold and thorough to indulge in whining, but this person!

“But don’t worry. Since Miss Adel first used this book so much, Dorothea has also improved in various ways. Not only maintaining your physical condition at its peak, but also greatly reducing the burden on your head. In other words, the fatigue you’re feeling now is just psychological, there’s actually nothing wrong with your body. So you can continue studying without worry.”

“…”

It might have been easy to enter, but it wasn’t easy to leave.

The girl cried.

***

Time passed and passed, and on the day of the ball.

The entire Lumière territory was filled with a bustling festival atmosphere.

“Your appearance is outstanding, so use whatever means to capture the prince’s heart!”

“You must somehow catch the prince’s eye. If the nobles in Lumière territory support us, victory is as good as decided, no matter how much that rogue king acts up!”

“Ah, Prince! Your love is coming to you now!”

It was an excessively noisy situation for deciding the marriage partner of just a count’s eldest son, not even the count himself, but no one found it strange. Even the title of prince, originally used only by the common people, was openly circulating among the nobles.

There were so many people wanting to participate in the ball that the originally planned single ball had to be split into four.

“I heard the one chosen at the first ball was Lady Elizabeth from the Hartfield Marquis family.”

“Isn’t that the family essentially leading the noble faction after Marquis Hemming left? Her beauty and nobility were not shameful to the family’s history.”

“The one chosen at the second ball was Lady Filia Norman, they say!”

“The precious daughter of Norman Company, considered the best in the kingdom? Her appearance was so gorgeous and intense, like a blooming red rose.”

“The one chosen at the third ball was Lady Annabel Clemens!”

“Wait a moment. Isn’t she royalty, even if from a branch family!? I don’t know how far this is going to escalate. By the way, she had an impression that somehow made you want to embrace her.”

“Who do you think will be chosen at the fourth ball?”

“Well, isn’t it a ball prepared for those who don’t have anything particularly strong to boast about, be it power, wealth, or lineage, but still have the enthusiasm to participate? I don’t think there will be anyone to catch the prince’s eye.”

“I guess so?”

Whether knowing or not knowing the evaluations of these gossip-mongers, the cinder-covered girl’s family was burning with enthusiasm ahead of the fourth ball.

“Cinderella. Take good care of the house while we’re gone. You know what will happen if the housework isn’t done properly, right?”

“Ah, what should I say if the prince confesses his love to me? I’m so worried!”

“Mother, hurry up. We need to go as quickly as possible to meet the prince!”

“Yes, let’s go! Now dear, please escort us.”

“Alright, but do you really need to wear such a gorgeous dress, not just the kids, but you too?”

“Are you saying I should appear in an unsightly form in front of others now!?”

“…Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. Ahem, let’s depart.”

The father of Cinderella, leaving while sweating as if escaping from something, and the stepmother and sisters leaving for outside the mansion following him didn’t know.

That a chilling smile was hanging on the lips of the cinder-covered girl with her head bowed.

***

Some time later. At the main gate of the palace where the ball was being held.

“It’s about time for the ball to start. Let’s close the doors.”

“Yes… Huh? Wait, wait a moment please. Look, a carriage is coming!”

“Tsk, who on earth is it to be so slow, so slo… hmm.”

The senior guard, who was about to complain, closed his mouth.

That was just how extraordinary the appearance of the carriage approaching the palace was.

A body that was clearly made of high-quality materials. Large yet balanced wheels. Thoroughbred horses with smooth fur and muscles pulling the carriage.

Up to this point, it could be passed off as “luxurious within common sense”, but the sight of white light naturally emanating from the carriage, cutting through the darkness as it approached, was indescribably divine.

In fact, it was natural. Sophia, who was riding inside the carriage, was emitting real holy power and using it as lighting.

Finally, the carriage arrived at the door. When the passenger revealed herself from inside, the guards couldn’t help but be even more surprised.

The woman’s appearance was so beautiful that it seemed impossible to be of this world.

Originally, those wishing to participate in the ball had to record their names in the guest book, but because the guards were frozen in awe of her extreme beauty, the woman was able to enter the ballroom without any hindrance.

“Gasp.”

“This, this can’t be.”

Other visitors who confirmed the woman’s appearance gaped in astonishment.

The woman’s skin, which had been treated with the witch’s special skin ointment and perfume in reality throughout the lessons in the mental world, was as white as snow, and her hair was as smooth as silk.

She looked so radiant even when standing still that she had to disguise herself separately to avoid being discovered by her family.

Her walking posture, drilled into her for not just dozens but hundreds of hours, was straight yet elegant, and the movement of her two feet was as gentle as if walking on clouds.

The fashion designer, who was told he could use the Witch of the West’s special jewels as materials, went crazy at this once-in-a-lifetime chance for extravagance and produced a dress worthy of his life’s magnum opus, and the glass slippers made by the Tin Knight, who said he didn’t want to be the only one not doing anything, added mystique to the woman’s beauty.

The witch, who had fired off all sorts of comments like, “What are you thinking making a kid wear something like that, what if it breaks in the middle, do you have a brain or not, well you never did,” even cast reinforcement magic, so there was no risk of them breaking.

“Oh, ohh…!”

At the highest seat of honor at the ball.

The eldest son of the count family, the young man called a prince by many, who had been looking at the participants with a somewhat languid air, went wild-eyed upon seeing the woman’s appearance.

Ignoring the restraints of his attendants, he ran straight to the woman, knelt on one knee, and kissed the back of her hand.

“Beautiful one, would you please honor me with a dance?”

The woman—the cinder-covered girl, smiled and answered, “I would be honored, Your Highness.”

***

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