Cinderella (Second Update) / A Life-Debt Repaid

After a quick glance around the living room, the Lord El-Melloi II Prince turned his gaze to Lord Byron, who was standing to the side.

"Then, Lord Byron, I will now begin to prove my theory. If I offend [Iselma] in any way, please forgive me."

"... Please go ahead."

"That's what Lord Byron said."

Even if he was unwilling, arbitrarily rejecting the proposal would once again put him at odds with Atram Galliasta and the others... For this reason, he could only temporarily accept the Lord El-Melloi II's actions.

After obtaining the host's permission, the Lord El-Melloi II's gaze settled on someone in the crowd.

"Well then, Miss Karina... may I examine you?"

"Brother..."

Upon hearing the Lord El-Melloi II Prince's almost sexually harassing remarks, Reines frowned, but the Lord El-Melloi II's gaze remained fixed on Karina.

"... Um."

It was probably the Lord El-Melloi II's voice that snapped Karina out of her daze. After a brief hesitation, she nodded gently.

"Then I'm very sorry."

After changing his gloves, the Lord El-Melloi II approached Karina and carefully examined her face as if admiring a work of art.

After a while,

"Really."

The Lord El-Melloi II muttered to himself.

Although the voice was soft, the certainty in it drew everyone's attention.

"Any discoveries?"

Unable to contain his eagerness, Atram Galliasta asked the Lord El-Melloi II.

Let's get to the conclusion first.

Having returned to the center of the living room, the Lord El-Melloi II, under the watchful eyes of everyone, solemnly stated his deduction:

"Karina, that's [Golden Princess]."

Chapter 337. Cinderella (Second Update)

"Karina, that's [Golden Princess]."

As the Lord El-Melloi II's voice faded, the entire living room fell into absolute silence, as if by Magecraft.

A sudden, profound silence descended, as if all sound had vanished from the world.

"... Hey, what do you mean by that?"

After a brief silence, Atram Galliasta, as the representative, voiced the question that had been on everyone's mind.

"It means exactly what it says. If my guess is correct, the [Golden Princess] who appeared at the [Iselma] social party should be her."

No one asked any more questions.

Because the conclusions reached by the Lord El-Melloi II have gone beyond what is permissible to question.

While Karina is the personal maid of the [Golden Princess], it would be far too far-fetched to conclude that she is the [Golden Princess] herself.

"Lord, if you're still not fully awake, then I don't mind helping you wake up."

Judging from Atram Galliasta's somewhat unpleasant expression, he was in a rather bad mood. He had come here to obtain the [Bodhi Leaf], which was why he had suppressed his anxiety and stayed.

Although Atram Galliasta did not attend the social party, he had already learned about the breathtaking beauty of [Golden Princess] through the intelligence gathered by his subordinates.

Now, the Lord El-Melloi II is actually saying that the personal maid who has always been by the side of [Golden Princess] is actually [Golden Princess] herself, who appeared at the party?

This absurd conclusion left Atram Galliasta feeling like he had been fooled.

"I will explain how I came to this conclusion later."

However, the Lord El-Melloi II's disregard made Atram Galliasta's already brown skin even darker.

"When I examined [Golden Princess's] body before, I made a discovery: [Golden Princess] did not have a [tympanic membrane] in her ears. I also confirmed this with Lord Baruereta ..."

The old woman, who had become the focus of attention because of the Lord El-Melloi II's words, nodded to everyone with a smile.

"Many Magecraft involve training Magecraft by shutting down one of their senses, and the secret technique of [Iselma] is no exception, but it is used even more extensively. They have reached the point where even the shutdown of one of the five senses is etched into their genetic traits. That is why [Golden Princess] has no eardrum and [Silver Princess] has no retina."

However, because of the Magecraft, this does not affect their lives.

But then again,

If the absence of a tympanic membrane is an indispensable condition for the Golden Princess to achieve that beauty...

"..."

The commotion in the room had subsided into silence, and everyone present listened intently to the reasoning of the man standing in the center of the room.

"Therefore, Karina already possesses one of the prerequisites for becoming the Golden Princess."

"But this is too strange." This time, it was [Silver Princess] who raised the question; her voice was somewhat deep, but still melodious and captivating.

"If, as you say, Karina is the [Golden Princess], then what about the corpse of our sister Tia Escardos —the [Golden Princess]—that we saw earlier?"

"That is indeed the real [Golden Princess], but not the [Golden Princess] who appeared at the launch party."

The Lord El-Melloi II's convoluted conclusion, delivered in a serious tone, left everyone bewildered, but not everyone was completely unable to grasp it.

"I see, I see..."

The sudden sound drew everyone's attention.

It was Lord Baruereta. After slowly taking a sip of the refilled whiskey, the old woman, as if already knowing the truth, smiled with a hint of alcohol on her lips.

"No wonder it was chopped up. But if I were in that position, I probably would have done the same."

"It should be just as you think."

The Lord El-Melloi II Prince nodded politely and continued.

"The real [Golden Princess] had been dead for a long time by the time of the social gala. Her body was preserved until after the gala, when it was finally placed in the room."

"Nonsense!"

Lord Byron's cane pounded the ground incessantly, making angry thuds. But the only response he received was the Lord El-Melloi II's cold voice:

"Lord Byron, do you still want to hide it now? In the end, once [Galliasta] got involved, you could no longer keep this a secret."

Even without a scientific autopsy, Magecraft specializing in Clock Tower would likely notice the discrepancy in the [Golden Princess's ] time of death immediately.

"... Um, do you... can you produce any evidence right now?"

With a flushed face, Lord Byron remained adamant on this point. "If you can't produce it, then stop using your ridiculous fantasies to tarnish [Iselma's ] reputation!"

"Evidence? If you want it--"

As he spoke, the Lord El-Melloi II turned his head and focused his gaze on the most conspicuous Magecraft present—a woman with a cigarette in her mouth and dark red hair.

"Huh, so you've come to see me?"

Speaking with interest, Touko Aozaki stepped to the Lord El-Melloi II's side. Then she heard his question—

"Miss Aozaki, if Lord Byron were to commission you to perform plastic surgery on [Maid Karina] to transform her into [Golden Princess], what method would you use?"

"Um?"

Perhaps it was the Lord El-Melloi II's question that piqued Touko Aozaki's interest, for after he finished asking his question, Touko Aozaki smiled happily, "That's certainly an interesting idea. But putting it into practice..."

It's important to understand that Iselma has been searching for several generations in order to reach the Root through Beauty. Golden Princess and Silver Princess, for example, underwent secret techniques that nearly tore their bodies and souls apart before achieving this level of Beauty.

Even Touko Aozaki, as a [Grand], wouldn't dare to confidently say that he could overcome this chasm built up over time.

"What if we add [that thing] that Iselma and Galliasta fought over before?"

Seeing Touko Aozaki frowning and deep in thought, the Lord El-Melloi II gave her a hint—

"What if we use [the Bodhi Leaf] as a medium to perform [that spell]?"

"Oh?"

Touko Aozaki subconsciously raised an eyebrow, a hint of realization flashing in her eyes:

You mean...?

Seeing that Touko Aozaki had understood his meaning, the Lord El-Melloi II Prince stated his final deduction decisively—

"That's right, it's [Cinderella]!"

Try to finish the Twin Towers storyline tomorrow.

(Above)

Chapter 338. The Grace of Saving a Life

[Cinderella] refers to the fairy tale Cinderella.

Compiled by France Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm of Germany, it is one of the most widely known fairy tales in the world.

Cinderella is the name used in some versions of the story, and it's also the name of the main character in "Cinderella." Although the versions differ, the main storyline and elements are largely the same.

In the story, Cinderella is a kind but unfortunate girl. The death of her mother and the constant mistreatment she suffers from her new family members, forced to do heavy work and often covered in dust, earning her the nickname "Cinderella," are devastating. One day, with the help of a magical force (perhaps a witch or a wishing tree), Cinderella transforms into a noblewoman unrecognizable even to her family, attends the prince's ball, and ultimately finds happiness.

To ordinary people unrelated to the concept of "mystery," it's just a beautiful fairy tale. But in the world of Magecraft, this magical power takes on a new definition—

Transforming Karina from a [maid] to a [Golden Princess] perfectly embodies this process.

"But what does this have to do with [Bodhi Leaf]?"

Atram Galliasta frowned and asked. [Cinderella] was not some secret spell; even he, who had spent a long time in the Middle East, had heard of it, not to mention the elite members of the Mage's Association gathered here.

"Because of the special nature of [Golden Princess], simply using [Cinderella]'s spells is absolutely no match for [Iselma]'s secret techniques, which is why—"

"Really? Using [Bodhi Leaf stained with dragon's blood] as a [medium] to perform the [Cinderella] spell? The compatibility is amazing!"

Touko Aozaki, who interrupted the Lord El-Melloi II Prince's speech, smiled with excitement.

The story of Siegfried bathing in dragon blood is less about a human gaining immortality and more about a human being reborn as an immortal hero.

If this concept is applied to the Cinderella (plastic surgery) procedure, then the Bodhi leaf, symbolizing a transformation, would be the perfect incantation.

"Little sister, let me check you out."

Without asking for consent, Touko Aozaki walked up to Karina and began to examine her with her hands.

Unlike Lord El-Melloi II previous serious demeanor, Touko Aozaki only gently touched a few parts of Karina's face with her slender fingers.

"Although it's only the bare minimum, there are definitely traces of magic being used..."

After muttering a few words under her breath, Touko Aozaki finally came to a conclusion:

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but judging from the result, it was indeed me who completed it."

After listening to Touko Aozaki's speech, the atmosphere in the living room unconsciously became restless.

As a [Grand] level Magecraft, Touko Aozaki would never mistake her own spellcasting technique. However—

Why would I forget something so important?

"Or perhaps it's not that I've forgotten."

Seeing Touko Aozaki's furrowed brows and somewhat unpleasant expression, the Lord El-Melloi II replied, "Perhaps she just didn't remember."

"... oh?"

Touko Aozaki frowned, seemingly not quite understanding what the Lord El-Melloi II meant.

Where is Mao?

The Lord El-Melloi II's gaze swept over everyone present, but he did not find the person he was looking for.

[Mao Bricissan Kleines], whose family is one of [Iselma]'s staunchest allies, is nowhere to be seen at this crucial moment.

After seeing the Lord El-Melloi II's searching gaze, Wang Xiaoming suddenly spoke up:

Are you looking for that pharmacist guy?