New Year's

In his previous life, Edward had once watched an antiques appraisal show. A young man brought out a large diamond ring and asked the expert how much it was worth. "This is the ring I proposed to my ex-girlfriend with. She turned me down, so I want to sell it. If I meet the right person someday, I'll buy a new one and give it to her." The expert said, "If you sell a diamond ring after buying it, you'll only get forty percent of what you paid. It's not worth it. You might as well keep it and give it to someone else later. If you don't tell her, how would she know?"

Edward had wholeheartedly agreed with the expert back then, and even applauded his cleverness. But... what if he did tell her? And now for the problem: Edward, whose romantic experience in his previous life had been "limited," had no idea whether he was being taken for a "scumbag." What should he do now? Help, this is urgent!

The princess narrowed her emerald-green eyes and gazed at Edward. After taking a deep breath, she asked:

"Monica? Were you planning to give this ring to Monica? Is that why you didn't give it to her, because she already had a Spatial Ring?"

"I..." Edward turned his head aside, not daring to meet the princess's gaze.

"And besides, you just said you 'weren't short on money anymore.' What happened to the thousand gold coins you got for selling the sword? Did you give those to Monica too? Don't you think someone who could use a Spatial Ring worth a fortune probably doesn't need your little bit of money?"

"I... I didn't mean anything by it. I was just worried about her being a girl, all alone out there..." Edward said, rubbing his nose.

"Idiot! Who wants your lousy ring..."

The princess angrily tossed the Spatial Ring at Edward, then turned and slammed the door behind her as she stormed out.

The Young Alchemist stood there, stunned. He had just started to chase after her to say something when the princess suddenly shoved the door open and came storming back in.

The door nearly hit him in the nose as it flew open, and the strong gust of wind made the tip of his nose sting.

Andrea snatched the ring from Edward's hand and shouted:

"My armor's still in the ring!"

Then she turned to leave again. After taking two steps, she turned back and scolded him:

"You're an idiot! A complete idiot!"

With that, she left without looking back. On her way out, she also dragged Alice away from the game she was enjoying. The squinty-eyed priest looked at the triangular prism in his hand, then at Edward, frozen in the guest room doorway, and finally at the princess's furious retreating figure. He felt as if he'd missed some juicy gossip...

Time flew by, and a few days passed. Today was already the last day of the year. Just like in Edward's previous life, the people of this world held grand celebrations on the final day of each year to mark the passing of the old year and welcome the new one. The Rainforest Country in the south and several neighboring countries also held a huge carnival that lasted an entire week. Supposedly, those countries had especially high birth rates in September and October the following year...

Edward hadn't dared go see the princess these past few days, and Andrea hadn't returned the Spatial Ring. Aside from making one visit to the Magic Tower for routine maintenance on the Magic Array, Edward had been tinkering with his so-called "surprise."

The soldiers he'd borrowed had undergone what Edward called "secret training." At midnight, they were going to give the entire city a big surprise at Fountain Square.

In the meantime, Mr. Hunter, the head butler of the Duke's Mansion, had come by several times to order a batch of Edward's supposedly super energy-efficient Magic Lamps. Whether they saved energy or not didn't really matter to the Duke's family. They had a Red Stone Mine of their own. The key thing was that Edward's Magic Lamps had no other particular advantage, but they were cheap!

When he saw Butler Hunter spend hundreds of gold coins to buy over a thousand bulbs from him, supposedly to light up the entire Duke's Mansion on New Year's night, Edward realized he'd set the price of his Magic Lamps too low.

To complete the order, Edward had worked nonstop for two whole days.

That afternoon, Edward politely turned down Harry, who had invited him to join the New Year's Eve dinner. At dusk, he changed into a sapphire-blue formal suit with gold embroidery that he'd brought back from Ailande. It looked a little like the double-breasted suits from his previous life, and its large gilded buttons stood out. He skipped the tie and fastened his "slightly heavy" black bow tie instead. He slipped his Alchemist's Pocket Watch into his left breast pocket, with its chain hanging outside. He looked down at his polished leather shoes, then raised his eyes to the slicked-back hair in the full-length mirror. He smiled, deciding that his dazzling looks were every bit as good as Little Li's. Then he put on his top hat, donned his dark overcoat, and left.

Once outside, he found the streets had taken on a different air from usual. From Flower Street to Fountain Square, both sides of the road had become one enormous open-air market. There were all kinds of fruits and vegetables shipped up from the south, frozen meats as hard as rocks, and even clothes, shoes, hats, pots and pans, and little handicrafts.

People streamed along the streets, shopping for all kinds of goods. Their clothes had changed too, from the usual black, white, and gray to bright, colorful hues. Young women who rarely went out were also strolling down the streets in all their finery, picking out things they liked...

As he watched the crowds moving along the street, memories from his childhood in this life mingled with those from his previous life, giving him a strange, dreamlike feeling, as if he'd traveled through time. He shook his head and made his way through the crowd toward the Duke's Mansion.

As he reached Fountain Square, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure up ahead, gone in a flash. He hurried forward, squeezed through the crowd, and looked around, but found nothing. He muttered to himself:

"Maybe it was just my imagination. He couldn't possibly be in the New Continent."

He didn't dwell on it and went straight to the Duke's Mansion.

Among the guards on duty outside the mansion, a young man who had once delivered a letter to him at the Alchemy Shop stepped forward and bowed.

"Lord Smith, I didn't expect you to arrive so early. Most guests don't come until nightfall. Then Butler Hunter will personally welcome all the distinguished guests at the entrance. Why don't I show you to the sitting room first and let Mr. Hunter know you're here?"

"Thanks. Could I go to the guard barracks first and see how they're preparing?" Edward asked.

"Of course. I'll take you to the guard barracks." Then he turned and told another young man to notify the butler. It seemed he was a small-time Leader.

Edward followed him to see the soldiers he'd borrowed. They were busy arranging the "props" Edward had made. Edward nodded with satisfaction and gave them a few more instructions. Then he followed the soldiers to a sitting room inside the Duke's Mansion.

On the way, Edward also took an interested look around the grounds of the Duke's Mansion. The estate covered about thirty or forty acres. High walls surrounded it, with watchtowers at each corner. The one in the northwest, which was taller than the others, had of course been turned into a Magic Tower. The architectural style reminded Edward of prisons from his previous life. The difference was that prisons kept people inside, while these castle-like estates were built to keep people out. A lot of castles in his previous life seemed to have the same design. No wonder they could be converted into prisons with a few changes—the most famous example was surely the Bastille.

Some of the buildings along the inner side of the walls housed soldiers, while others were dormitories for servants. There was also a fairly large stable along the eastern wall. In the middle of the grounds, evergreen trees and shrubs flourished through the winter. The gardeners had carefully trimmed them into all kinds of neat shapes.

The Grand Duke's family lived in the main building of the estate. A tall, pointed tower stood in the middle, with five stories, and three-story buildings with sloped roofs stood symmetrically on either side. Edward guessed it had well over a hundred rooms. He couldn't help marveling at the extravagance and decadence of feudal lords...

The main hall of the Duke's Mansion was dazzling with gold and brightly lit. Edward felt as if he'd stepped into Catherine Palace in a documentary from his previous life. The servants were still bustling about, preparing and arranging all the things they needed. Mr. Hunter stood midway up the staircase in the main hall, directing the servants as they hurriedly carried things around.

Mr. Hunter looked to be around fifty. His graying hair was neatly combed back and slicked with pomade. His neatly trimmed mustache made him seem a little stern. He wore a white shirt, a black waistcoat, and a small black bow tie.

Edward glanced at the attendants around him, who were dressed the same way, then unconsciously touched the bow tie around his own neck. He wondered if he should have worn a regular tie instead.

When Mr. Hunter saw Edward arrive, he happily came over and greeted him warmly:

"Oh, Mr. Smith, you're very early! You'll have the chance to witness a historic moment. Your magnificent invention will go down in history, and our Duke's Mansion will become the first brightly lit estate in the New Continent."

"Mr. Hunter, you flatter me. It's only a small application of alchemy. The Grand Duke and you deserve the credit for your keen eye and remarkable boldness." As Edward made a string of empty pleasantries, he thought, This is bad. I always keep a low profile, so how did I forget about this? If I make such a splash, how many people will be watching me? Edward mentally smacked himself twice.

"You came so early because you wanted to see the princess, didn't you? Unfortunately, the princess is getting ready for the banquet and can't come out right now. How about I take you to a small sitting room to wait? The banquet won't begin for a while yet," Butler Hunter said.

"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Hunter." Edward also felt he'd come too early. With everyone bustling about in the hall, he felt a little out of place.

As they passed by one side of the staircase in the hall, he saw a group of musicians holding various instruments. He asked:

"Mr. Hunter, is there a concert tonight too?"

"You didn't know? Oh, my memory! This is your first banquet at the Duke's Mansion. After tonight's banquet, there'll be a New Year's Ball. Everyone will dance right through to the new year!"

"Oh." Edward thought, Then I won't have anything to do. I can't dance.

But then Mr. Hunter suddenly leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially:

"Do you know what's special about this year's ball?"

"No. What's special about it?" Edward obligingly played along.

"It's the princess's first ball since coming of age. They say young talents from all over the country, and even several neighboring countries, will be attending. Guess who'll get to invite the princess to the first dance this year?"