Fireworks

When the first round of free dancing ended, the Duke and the other older guests, including the bishop, left the ballroom. They knew the young people wouldn't have as much fun with them around, so they went upstairs to the second floor to drink tea and play cards.

Kaydelin waved a folding fan made from the feathers of a Second Rank Magical Beast, the Flame Bird, and followed the Grand Duke upstairs. Watching other people play cards was one of her few hobbies. Seeing that no one was keeping an eye on her, Alice bounced over to Baby-faced Pastor and patted him on the shoulder.

"Elwin, why haven't you asked me to dance? I've been waiting for you!"

"I serve the church. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to dance," Elwin replied.

"Does your Holy Light God really have such a tight rein on you? Even dancing is forbidden?"

"No, look..." Elwin tugged at the long hem of his priest's robe. It wasn't the one he usually wore, but a moon-white formal robe embroidered with gold trim. "I'd trip over it if I tried to dance."

"Then never mind. Dancing is kind of boring anyway. I'll stay here and have tea with you." The girl pouted, squeezed past the still-dazed Edward, and sat beside Elwin on the lounge chair.

Edward came to his senses after the girl shoved past him. He'd just entered a state similar to bullet time in a movie from his Previous Life. He'd been able to see every movement on the dance floor. He memorized everyone's steps, compared them, and finally worked out every move in the dance.

When Alice jolted him out of it, his head felt a little fuzzy. It was the result of using up a great deal of his Mental Power. He shifted over and sat down on the lounge chair. Then he closed his eyes slightly and began a light meditation to recover his energy and review what he'd learned.

This time, he'd entered that state after the bishop's reminder. It felt the same as when he'd first advanced to Full Alchemist. Back then, it had lasted only an instant, but this time, it had continued for the length of an entire dance, some five or six minutes. The state had a specific name: "Caster's Focus." Everything appeared to move in slow motion. No wonder Caster's Focus greatly increased a Caster's casting speed and success rate.

But he'd pushed himself too hard this time, mainly because he'd tried to take in too much information for his brain to process. He only needed to watch one pair of dancers. The more narrowly he focused while in Caster's Focus, the less Mental Power he used. He'd have to be more careful next time; he shouldn't wear himself out so badly. The state could also help him learn certain things quickly, and it would be very useful in battle, too. He silently reviewed his conclusions.

After some time, he opened his eyes. The fireplaces in the hall were blazing to keep the lightly dressed nobles warm, and he was sweating. He took out a handkerchief to wipe his brow. Just then, a slender, fair-skinned hand offered him a drink. It was red, with a cherry on top, and smelled wonderfully fruity.

"You're sweating so much. Have something to drink!"

It was Princess Andrea. Unlike at the banquet, she'd changed into a different dress. It was blue as well, but decorated with lots of lace and ruffles. Her wide skirt was better suited to spinning as she danced. When she twirled, she looked like a blooming blue rose.

The dress was tightly cinched at the waist. Edward could tell that, unlike the waists of other noblewomen, hers wasn't squeezed into shape. Her waist was naturally slender enough to fit in his hands—a result of years of training as a knight.

By the standards of Edward's Previous Life, the princess's dress was rather modest. Though it didn't have a high collar, it exposed only her collarbones. Her exposed skin was so fair and translucent that he could see the tiny veins beneath it. A gemstone necklace glittered in the light.

She wore a strange smile as she said,

"You're the only person meditating at the New Year's Ball. You must be thirsty. Have something to drink."

Edward took the glass without a second thought. He removed the little cherry from the rim and downed the drink in one go.

"Hiss..." It went down smooth and burned all the way. This wasn't a soft drink—it was hard liquor, every bit as strong as Shaodaozi or Qisi Mendaolv.

Edward almost spat it out. He coughed hard twice, and his face and neck turned red at once.

He looked at the princess and asked,

"What... what did you give me?"

The princess smiled gleefully.

"It's a cocktail recipe from Ailande. They call it a 'Bloody Rose.' It's made with Northern Distilled Liquor and Cherry Juice. What do you think?"

"You're poisoning a Caster, you know? Hard liquor is poison to Casters!" Edward was exaggerating a little, but after his last experience of leveling up from drinking, he hadn't touched alcohol since. He was wary, like someone who'd been bitten once and feared ropes for ten years.

"Didn't you drink when I first met you? You talked a lot and acted so strangely. You weren't like that the other times I saw you, when you were always so serious. Elwin told me you'd said that whenever you drank, you became really talkative, so you never touched alcohol. I wanted to see if drinking really turned you into a completely different person."

Edward looked at the princess speechlessly. "You're too naive. If you'd told me, I would've been on my guard. How would I have started talking so much?"

"But I've heard a famous saying. Want to know what it is?" Andrea raised her pretty eyebrows and looked at Edward provocatively.

"What saying?" Edward immediately played along.

"Have you heard that liquor gives cowards courage?" She looked at the Young Alchemist with a half-smile.

"So you're saying I'm a coward? How am I a coward? Back when I roamed Ailande, I was never afraid of..."

He suddenly realized he'd said too much and hurriedly stopped himself.

The princess covered her mouth and laughed, her whole body trembling. Elwin was right. This guy really does blab when he drinks.

She tried to hold back her laughter and said,

"You watched for so long. You must have learned the dance, right? So why haven't you had the nerve to ask me? Are you pretending to meditate so you can hide here? Or are you feeling guilty?"

"Who said I was feeling guilty? I really did gain some insight, and I was meditating to consolidate it," Edward protested.

"You've been consolidating for quite a while. Half the night is already gone. There's only one dance left. I'll be watching to see what you do." Princess Andrea glanced at the Floor Clock by the staircase.

Just then, the dance music began. Edward hurried to his feet. He leaned forward slightly, put his left hand behind his back, and raised his right, speaking in the theatrical style he'd learned from plays in his Previous Life.

"Beautiful Princess, might I have the honor of this dance?"

"With pleasure."

Andrea's emerald-green eyes curved into crescents as she gently placed her hand in Edward's palm. She rested her other hand on his shoulder, and the Alchemist lightly put an arm around her waist. The two of them began to spin with the music.

The song ended. The time had felt both very short and very long. They stopped dancing and gazed silently at each other.

Edward thought, Going by the usual movie scenes, should I make the first move and kiss her now?

But perhaps he hadn't drunk enough. He still couldn't summon the courage.

Just then, a bell rang in everyone's ears. It was the New Year's bell from the Holy Light Church. Elwin and the bishop had already gone back to prepare for the New Year's bell-ringing ceremony and the grand Sermon Ceremony afterward. It was an annual tradition.

Edward suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, "Is there somewhere we can see Fountain Square? The surprise is about to start!"

The princess understood. Excitedly, she lifted her skirt with one hand, took Edward's hand with the other, and ran upstairs, ignoring everyone's astonished looks.

The bells kept ringing. As tradition dictated, the New Year's bells had to ring twenty-four times. The first twelve chimes marked midnight, and the remaining twelve represented the past twelve months. It was a way of remembering the past and looking ahead to the future.

The bells rang one after another. The two of them quickened their pace and hurried across the second floor, past the astonished older guests. As the final bell rang, Andrea pushed open the glass doors to the third-floor balcony.

A cool breeze brushed their cheeks, calming their racing hearts and breathless gasps.

Just then, in the center of Fountain Square, a silver streak of fire shot up from the ground and burst into a Milky Way of stars. It lit up the land, transformed into a beautiful flower, and then slowly fell.

Just as everyone began to feel disappointed that the beautiful sight had come so suddenly and vanished so quickly, another streak of fire after another shot into the sky.

The sky filled with flowers of every color. They turned into showers of stars and fell to the ground.

"What is that?" Andrea stared up at the sky without blinking, still holding his hand.

"Fireworks."

Edward turned to look at the princess. The fireworks cast shifting light across her profile, while her eyes shimmered brilliantly. She was breathtaking.

"Fireworks... They're beautiful!" The princess turned to look at Edward too, her starry eyes like the moon and the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

"Mm, beautiful."

Edward nodded, then continued,

"And happy New Year!"

"Mm, happy New Year!"

They say fireworks are fleeting, and people part easily. Yet they don't know that a moment's brilliance can live forever in the heart...