THE COMING-OF-AGE CEREMONY is a tradition that marks the transition of a noble from childhood to adulthood. The ceremony also honors and celebrates a young noble’s growth and increased responsibilities as they turn 17.  While the debutante ball is a banquet to celebrate a young noble’s debut to society, which can take place at the age of 10 to 13.

More often than not, noble families plan their children's coming-of-age ceremony together with their debut to society. And some would have their children’s societal debut after they turned 10, which was ideal as it allows them to attend banquets and parties.

On the other hand, the Grand Debutante Ball is a kingdom-wide banquet for young nobles who are about to come-of-age and are set to debut for the season, as well as for those who happen to debut late in society. In truth, not every noble can afford to host two separate balls, hence why most would wait for the opportunity to attend the Grand Debutante Ball.

Only one of the powerful families can host this event, and in terms of fairness, they do take turns in hosting it. A meeting would be held in the royal court and along with the kingdom’s concerns, this seasonal banquet will also be discussed. Anyone could say that this is like a collaborative event of the royal family and the nobles.

The royal family provides the location where this special banquet will take place, and the chosen noble family will be the one hosting it.  And it appears that this season is the Beaumont Ducal family’s turn to host the Grand Debutante Ball, which will be held in the Orion Hall in 4 weeks time. I honestly think they chose that hall because of its fancier structure and wider space, and how it can accompany over a hundred nobles. Last season’s grand ball was held in the Hall of Ara, a smaller and less fancier version of the latter.

I squinted my eyes whilst watching Amelia rummage through the cabinet in my room. Should I just disappear at the date of the ball? Or perhaps travel to some neighboring country for a while? This could be too much, but I really don’t want to make my own debut. I have been avoiding this for the last two years. Unfortunately, my brother had already debuted last season, and there was no other way for me to skip the upcoming one.

“If you may allow me to ask, my lady…” Amelia trailed off as she placed the few old dresses I had over the chair in front of my bed. I nodded as I allowed her to continue. “May I ask why you are avoiding this debutante ball? Isn’t this something that every noble lady should be looking forward to doing?”

My eyes fluttered closed for a second as I sighed heavily. “As you know, I’m not exactly like every noble lady in a sense. I have this invisible responsibility of making our lives better. And I won’t be able to accomplish that if I’d be thrown into that battlefield called society.” There was nothing to hide between us with how close we are, so I just decided to tell her the truth of my defiance.

At least one person would understand my reason.

Amelia smiled bitterly at me and gave no further response to the subject. I have already burned the letter from earlier and just finished with my bath. I suppose I will need to use the jewelry I personally designed moving forward. With my upcoming appearance to society, who knows what shitful mysteries are bound to happen.

The next day came in a blink and before I knew it, mother had already dragged me outside along with my dearest sister. I wanted to refuse as I needed to complete a few more things before this coming week, but mother blatantly displayed her distaste with my answer. I did insist on just using the other dresses they got me last month.

“Can we really get newer dresses for the ball, mother?” Beatrice asked, whilst holding onto mother’s hand.

“Yes, my sweet child. We can also get some new accessories to match your dress,” mother answered.

Looking at them both, one would mistake this girl as my mother’s youngest child or Aizen’s twin sister. But in truth, Beatrice is my cousin, the only daughter of my father's younger sister. After her parents’ died from a mysterious accident, father had decided to completely adopt her into our family. She’s quite the angelic type with her sweet-looking features that highly resembles Aizen’s honey yellow eyes and light brown hair.

Beatrice is like a sweet little candy that would make you smile, but would also break your teeth if you try anything bad towards her. In the original novel, she only appeared once and was forgotten after. Just like me.

I wasn’t closely paying attention to my surroundings as I was busy watching my mother and cousin talking with each other, and didn’t realize that we'd already reached the main district. The carriage stopped at one of the famous boutiques in the capital and I can see a few familiar nobles inside of it through the glass window.

“Can we really afford the dresses here, mother?” I whispered as I stood beside her.

Mother turned to face me and held both of my hands. “Trust me, my child. We can get at least one dress for each of you and a set of jewelry, if needed.”

I guess we’re doing this. I inhaled then exhaled softly, mustering all my energy as we set to enter the building. It was probably the sound of the bell ringing across the first floor or the image of the three of us entering this lavish boutique that took the other nobles' attention. I tried to ignore them the best I could, but hearing their screeching whispers made my ear twitch in irritation.

“Aren’t they one of those poor noble families?”

“Why are they here?”

“Do they possibly think they can afford this place?”

Why don’t you all just say those words in front of us instead of whispering like insects on the side? I can feel Beatrice’s bloodlust pouring from her, and I swear I’m with her if she decides to just pull one of these annoying noble's hair.

“Don’t mind them,” mother muttered and I could see her smile never leaving her lips as we made our way to the fancy dresses.

Her tolerance of these shitful remarks only made me realize how rich I need to become. I’ll make sure to become the wealthiest young noble in this kingdom so no creature can mock our family.

IT WAS AN EVENTFUL DAY for us. The sun was already setting when we got back to the manor, bringing home two dresses for Beatrice and me. I had just thrown myself on my bed when Amelia knocked on the door. It appeared she had also just returned from the trip I sent her to.

“I have the invitation now, my lady, and the few things you needed for the auction,” she said and handed a huge box to me.

The invitation letter was inside the box, along with the clothes I’ll be needing: a black cloak, and a flower decorated mask to hide my face. “You’re truly amazing, Amelia. Go ahead and rest in your quarters now, we have a long day tomorrow to prepare for the ball too.”

“Yes, my lady. Have a blissful night.”

And I was alone in my room again after Amelia left. I hid the box under the compartment in my dresser. I can just dispose of it once the auction is done. With a sigh escaping my lips, I threw myself back on the bed. I know I won’t be able to sleep yet with these bothersome thoughts running around my head.

I didn’t have any business background back in my previous life, but I guess I could say it’s the practicality from being poor back then too that’s currently driving me to achieve my goals. Additionally, with the help of the economics books I stole from my father's small office.

I managed to make my writing adventure a success and made a hefty fortune from it. Now, I will just need to expand it by investing in another business. The plan was to purchase one of the buildings in the main district that will be sold in the auction. My most desired one is the building at the center, but if luck’s not with me, I can work on the building near the entrance of the main district.

The building at the center is the best option given how it is somewhat the heart of the district. People will surely surround that spot. Whereas the building near the entrance is another option since it will be located to where most carriages pass through. And once we have secured a place, plan two will commence, and that’s building networks. With my knowledge of the story, I can secure two or three people that will have an important role in the future of commerce.

“I’ll continue to make money from my books, invest them in the future of commerce, and be rich with them. Should be a win-win situation for all of us, right?” I chuckled at the thought and rolled to the other side of my bed.

It sounded easy to my ears, but I know the challenges I would encounter as I make all these plans happen. And one of those challenges is hiding and keeping all these a secret to my family. Until it is the ripe time to reveal everything, I will need to keep my mouth shut and think of ways for me to leave the manor every now and then.

“That should be easier than keeping myself holed up in here.” I must have been too drowned in my thoughts and the fancy daydreams in my head that I eventually fell asleep.

Time flew by quickly, and before I realized it, this week had already ended. The excitement for my upcoming adventure at the auction house was coming near and I couldn’t wait to experience a real life auction party. I must have been too excited that the next few events came to me fast, making not only my jaw drop but my head spiral a little.