Fireworks

When the first free dance finished, the Duke and a group of elders, including bishop, left. They knew the young people weren't having as much fun with them around, so they went upstairs to drink tea and play cards.

Kaydelin fanned herself with a fan made from the feathers of a Level 2 magical beast, the Flame Bird, and followed Grand Duke upstairs. Watching others play cards was one of her few hobbies. Seeing no one was paying attention to her, Alice skipped over to the baby face priest and tapped his shoulder.

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

"I am a clergyman, it's not convenient to dance," Elwin replied.

"Does your Holy Light God control that much? Even dancing?"

"No, look..." Elwin tugged at the long hem of his priest's robe. This wasn't his usual robe; it was a moon white and gold-embroidered formal dress. "I'd trip myself if I danced."

"Alright, dancing is boring anyway. I'll stay here and have tea with you." The girl pouted, squeezed past the still-dazed Edward, and sat down on the lounge chair next to Elwin.

Edward, nudged by the girl, snapped back to reality. He had entered a state similar to bullet time from his past life's movies, seeing all the movements of everyone on the dance floor. He memorized everyone's actions, compared them, and finally deduced all the movements of the entire dance.

When Alice woke him, his head felt a bit dizzy from the massive drain on his mental energy. He shifted to the side and sat down on the lounge chair. He closed his eyes slightly, beginning a shallow meditation to recover his energy and consolidate his gains.

This time, he had entered that state after bishop's reminder, the same feeling he had when he first became a formal Alchemist. It was only a fleeting moment then, but this time it lasted for an entire dance, about five or six minutes. This state had a specific name: "spell focus". All scenery turned into slow motion, no wonder spellcasters greatly increased their casting speed and success rate when entering this state.

However, his state this time was a bit too intense, mainly because he had collected too much information and his brain couldn't keep up. He only needed to focus on one pair of dancers. The more he focused on a single point when entering spell focus, the less mental energy it consumed. He'd be more careful next time to avoid such a large expenditure. At the same time, this state could be used for rapid learning, which would be very effective in combat. He summarized internally.

After an unknown amount of time, he quietly opened his eyes. The fireplace in the hall was burning hot to keep the thinly dressed nobles from freezing. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He took out a handkerchief to wipe his brow, just as a fair, slender hand offered him a drink. The drink was red, topped with a cherry, and smelled wonderfully fruity.

"You're all sweaty, have something to drink!"

The person was Princess Andrea, dressed differently from the banquet. She had changed into another dress. Although also blue, it was adorned with much lace and ruffles. The hoop skirt was large, more suitable for twirling during a dance. When she danced, her spins were like a blooming blue rose.

The dress had a very narrow waist. Edward could tell it wasn't cinched tight like other noblewomen; her slender waist was naturally that small, a result of years of training as a knight.

From Edward's perspective from his past life, Princess's dress was somewhat conservative. While not a high collar, it only revealed her collarbones. The exposed skin was fair and translucent, with fine blood vessels visible beneath. A gemstone necklace sparkled under the light.

She smiled a peculiar smile and said:

"You're the only one meditating at a New Year's ball. You must be thirsty, have something to drink."

Edward took the cup without suspicion, removed the small cherry from the rim, and drank it down in one gulp.

"Hiss..." Smooth on the entrance, a fire down the throat. This wasn't a drink; it was a strong liquor, no less potent than burning knife or Qisi Mendaolv.

Edward almost spat it out. He coughed hard a couple of times, his face and neck instantly flushing red.

He looked at Princess and asked:

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

Princess chuckled gleefully and said:

"A cocktail recipe from Ailande. They call this drink a 'Bloody Rose', made with Northern Distilled Liquor and Cherry Juice. How is it?"

"You're poisoning a spellcaster, do you know that? Strong liquor is poison to spellcasters!" Edward was exaggerating, but after the incident where he got drunk and leveled up last time, he hadn't touched alcohol. He was a bit like a person bitten by a snake once, fearing a well rope for ten years.

"Didn't you drink when I first met you? You talked a lot then, and you were acting quite strange, unlike the few times I saw you later, always so serious. I heard from Elwin that you told him you talk a lot when you drink, so you never touch alcohol. I wanted to see if you really become a different person after drinking."

Edward looked at Princess speechlessly and said, "You're too naive. If you told me, wouldn't I be on guard? How could I talk so much?"

"But I've heard a famous quote, do you want to know it?" Andrea raised her beautiful eyebrows, looking provocatively at Edward.

"What famous quote?" Edward responded immediately.

"Liquor emboldens the timid. Have you heard of it?" She gazed at the young Alchemist with a half-smile.

"So you mean I'm timid? How am I timid? I, Edward, was fearless when I roamed Ailande back in the day... I was afraid of..."

Suddenly, he realized he'd said too much and quickly stopped himself.

Princess covered her mouth, laughing uncontrollably. She thought, Elwin was right; this guy really becomes a blabbermouth when he drinks.

She stifled her laughter and said:

"After watching for so long, you must have learned to dance by now, right? Why don't you have the courage to ask me to dance? Are you hiding here pretending to meditate, or are you feeling guilty?"

"Who's feeling guilty? I really had a moment of insight and was consolidating it through meditation," Edward retorted.

"That consolidation took quite a while; it's almost midnight. There's only the last dance left. I'll see how you do." Princess Andrea glanced at the grandfather clock by the staircase.

At that moment, the prelude to the dance music began. Edward quickly stood up. He leaned forward slightly, placing his left hand behind his back, and raised his right hand, speaking in a tone reminiscent of plays from his past life:

"Beautiful Princess, may this humble one have the honor of asking you for a dance?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Andrea's emerald-like eyes narrowed into crescents. She gently placed her hand in Edward's palm, resting her other hand on his shoulder. The Alchemist lightly placed his arm around Princess's waist. The two began to twirl to the music.

The dance ended. Time felt both short and long. The two stopped dancing and gazed at each other silently.

Edward thought, based on typical movie plots, should I make a move now and kiss her?

But perhaps he hadn't drunk enough, as he still didn't muster the courage.

At that moment, a bell chime reached everyone's ears. It was the New Year bell from the Holy Light Church. Elwin and bishop had already returned to prepare for the New Year bell-ringing ceremony and the subsequent large-scale Sermon Ceremony, which was an annual tradition.

Edward suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, "Is there a place where we can see Fountain Square? The surprise is about to begin!"

Princess understood. Happily, she lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand and grabbed Edward's hand with the other. Ignoring everyone's astonishment, she ran upstairs.

The bell chimes continued. According to tradition, the New Year bells would ring twenty-four times. The first twelve chimes represented midnight, and the subsequent twelve represented the past twelve months. This was a way to commemorate the past and look forward to the future.

The bells chimed one after another. The two quickened their pace, passing through the second floor amidst the surprised gazes of the 'elders'. As the last bell chimed, Andrea pushed open the glass door of the balcony on the third floor.

A cool breeze brushed across their faces, calming the two who were panting and whose hearts were racing.

Just then, in the center of Fountain Square, a silver line of fire shot up from the ground into the sky, exploding into a galaxy. The galaxy illuminated the land, transforming into a beautiful flower before slowly descending.

As everyone felt a bit disappointed that the beauty had arrived so suddenly and vanished so quickly, more and more lines of fire shot into the sky.

The sky bloomed with flowers of all colors, then turned into falling star showers.

"What is this?" Andrea gazed at the sky, her hand still tightly held in his.

"Fireworks."

Edward turned to look at Princess. The fireworks cast flickering light and shadow on Princess's profile, her eyes shimmering with a captivating brilliance.

"Fireworks... so beautiful!" Princess also turned her head to look at Edward, her starry eyes like the moon, her lips curved in a smile.

"Yes, so beautiful!"

Edward nodded and continued, "Also, Happy New Year!"

"Yes, Happy New Year!"

They say fireworks grow cold easily, and people drift apart. Yet, they don't know that fleeting beauty often resides in the heart...