Ena slowly made her way down the stairs, step by step, making sure she didn't slip whatsoever. On her path was her father; multiple guests had their eyes on her, the main protagonist of the whole event.
Ena sweated a bit; she felt the darting eyes from all across the room. She had never gotten so much attention before.
Ena turned her head back at Lisa, standing properly on the balcony. Lisa met her gaze and nodded slightly in response. Ena took a deep breath and made her way to her father's side; she met all their gazes, pure pressure weighing her down slightly as she tried to compose herself.
Leon took a glance at Ena, smiling before putting the mic back to his lips.
"I don't want to waste more of your time. In the next hour, exactly at midnight, we'll begin the ceremony. So for the time being, please enjoy and make yourselves comfortable."
Leon clicked his microphone, turning it off completely. After the announcement, many of the visitors returned to doing their own things. Many chatted, many rested, and many were isolated, whether it was of their own volition or not. But after most of them had taken their eyes off both of them, Leon would turn his head to his daughter before gently resting his hand over her head, patting it.
"Are you nervous?"
Ena clawed through her dress, her head down, her mouth gaped open slightly, she tried to speak, but no words came out, so she nodded to compensate for her lack of words.
"It's your big day after all, it's only natural for you to be nervous. She would've been so proud..."
Ena looked up to see his father with a bright smile etched on his face, but at the same time, he had such a saddened expression.
"Come on, let's go, we wouldn't want our guests to wait; there are many people who want to meet you in person."
Ena nodded again, grabbing her father's hand as he took her down the stairs. Many people filled the ballroom. She had seen many parties before, but never of this amount and on her special day, too. She stayed close, not daring to stray far from her father. Most of them wore expensive clothing, while others adhered to a more conservative, formal, and strict dressing code.
She could tell they were important figures, figures she didn't want to anger, or worse, not meet their expectations. She might've been young, but she knew the importance of reputation and status; even if they stood at the top, everything could stumble down in just a single moment.
This made her feel even worse. Even more cautious and even more nervous. She held her father's hand tighter, not allowing herself to stray far from him.
"Leon, how've you been!"
A strange woman spread her arms outward, making her way to Leon. She dashed forward to hug him, and she felt contact... With air, Leon only smiled at her gently, bowing his head once.
"It's rude not to accept hugs, you know!"
"Haha! The last time I hugged you, I nearly lost my life..."
The woman let out a loud laugh that multiple people could hear. "I see you still hold grudges, huh?"
That's when a strange man grabbed the woman's shoulder, putting his finger on his lips.
"Are you trying to embarrass us!? If you're going to laugh, do it more silently, where no one would judge us." He whispered.
The woman only swayed her hand at him. "Who cares about reputation in this day and age? Power is the thing that decides everything nowadays."
"You're a fool if you think we have enough power to control the media."
"It's nice to see you too, Arnold, and Mairen."
Ena glanced at the unknown man and woman, who both stood with absolute confidence. Their eyes did not falter once.
The lady wore a beautiful, velvet red dress that traced her figure elegantly, complementing her blonde hair that stretched on to her shoulders; Her skin was as white as the shiniest silver. She had sapphires for eyes, pulling you deeper as they shone. While her companion, the tall man who towered over Ena's father, had golden-brown hair that waved like the ocean, it matched perfectly with his golden eyes.
Ena looked at them for a while until Mairen saw her gaze; their eyes met for a short few seconds before Ena dashed to pull her head away. Mairen changed her face entirely to something more excited and warming; she spread out her arms once more, reaching out to Ena.
"Oh my god! If it isn't little Ena!—"
Leon pushed Ena lightly to his back, creating a tiny distance from the lady. Mairen widened her eyes a bit, her smile still there, before darting it toward Leon. Both glared at each other with animosity. Mairen fixed herself, returning to her straight posture.
"What are you doing? I remembered... Saying that it would be rude to reject a person's hug."
"Well, it would've been 'nice' to see you, but I don't really remember inviting either of you to her ceremony..."
All three of them emitted a hostile aura, even to the point of frightening Ena to her limit, and yet many people hadn't placed their stares at them, nor had a single whisper entered yet. Ena caught sight of this and immediately read the room... These people were dangerous.
"Pfft, so what if I came unannounced?" Mairen shrugged off before leaning to Leon's ear. "Are you still mad about what happened?" She giggled.
She turned to the other direction, putting her arm over Arnold's shoulder, walking away with a glass of liquor in her other hand; seemingly appearing out of thin air before turning her head back to Leon, allowing him to take a good look at her side profile. "Don't mind us, we'll just be watching from afar... And if I recall, it's about to turn midnight soon."
And just like that, they disappeared. Leon tightened his grip slightly before redirecting his glance to Ena.
"From now on, you're no longer allowed to let go of my hand til the ceremony, okay?"
Ena nodded. After that, they moved on with the others. Many people were introduced to her, and she tried to make an impression. There were times when she needed to let go of her father's arm, but had to stay close and within his vision whilst she did.
A whole twenty minutes has passed, and nearly five minutes are left before the ceremony begins. She felt a tang of uneasiness wash over her; she sensed people staring at her with great intensity, though she knew a lot of people would, but two particular people outshone their gazes. And the worst part was, she knew who they were.
She saw them from different parts of the room; some would contradict where they last were. If they were previously at the entrance, they'd suddenly be at the other side of the room later—staring at her—then vanish again.
Anxiety slowly filled her mind until she found her friend getting bullied by other kids. They tossed food, utensils, and other materials there, and she just took it to herself. She knew the consequences of going against nobility; many peasants knew that they were just at the mercy of people of a higher class.
Ena, without thinking, marched up to the kids who bullied her friend; at that time, she wasn't holding her father's arms because he needed to talk with an important person as a gesture of respect and formality. Each step only created an even greater gap between them.
As Leon took a glance at his side, he saw Ena getting farther and farther. He's eyes slowly widened, his expression dropping almost immediately. Time had slowed down; his movements felt heavy. Arnold held him by his waist—Slowing down his pace even more—making Leon unable to move.
A black wall separated Leon from him and his daughter. That's when all his joints became stiff, nearly impossible to move entirely, everything became dull, no color, except for his own eyes.
"Arnold... You were always the reasonable one... Even if you weren't right in the head, you still had some morals."
"Just let her have it, she won't hurt her. Y'know, whenever she wants something, she won't stop until she gets it."
"I've already lost too much... Two was already enough, please don't make it three..."
Leon pleaded, but it was futile... He knew, deep down, he knew that Arnold was the same; once he decided, there's no turning back.
"Will you take accountability if she does? Will both of you do?"
The space around cracked, Arnold stayed firm and only clenched his jaw, blood leaking from the edge of his mouth. In the end, Arnold stayed silent, not a single word to answer Leon's question.
***
As Ena marched forward, the entire place became surrounded by darkness, engulfing her in a single bite. She saw nothing except her own body. She looked around just to see the same color.
Ena felt a warm object touching her neck, slowly rising to her cheek. Mairen caressed her cheek with diligence, with a slight hum echoing through the room. Ena stood still, afraid to move just an inch.
"You have such fine skin and unique features, too. I'd expect nothing less from a semi-pure." Mairen slowly circled Ena's ear before curling her finger through Ena's Hair. "Such silky hair, you'll grow up to be a fine woman one day."
She walked around Ena, circling like she was observing a doll. "It's only natural after all. You are his offspring... Sadly, I wasn't the one who struck his heart—such a pity indeed."
Mairen stopped in front of her, their eyes meeting once again. Ena felt helpless, powerless; she was a bunny in front of a tiger.
"There's no need to be so nervous, honey... I'm not here to hurt you, just... here to give you a present, that's all."
A warm embrace was given to her by Mairen, and Ena sweated profusely. With that, Mairen pressed her skin just below her ear and beside her jawline, creating a tiny black dot that disappeared into her skin. Mairen stood up, smiling at her before snapping her fingers. In an instant, she was gone. And everything was normal again.
Ena fell to her knees on all four, breathing heavily, as if she had just allowed herself to breathe. Arnold had also disappeared, which made Leon nearly trip because he was supported by Arnold's arm.
Leon rushed forward to Ena's side, checking her in every possible way. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Many of the guests hadn't seen them in such a state, as if they were invisible. The effects still haven't worn off yet.
"What did she do? Are you okay? Did something happen?" Leon questioned, his face as pale as his own daughter's.
Ena looked up to still see her friend Edith getting bullied, and she remembered the same powerlessness she felt during Mairen's interaction. She tightened her fist and threw food at the bullies; this time, many of the guests saw it. Many whispered, many were furious.
Leon's eyes contracted, not because of people, but because this was the first time he saw Ena getting out of character. He saw her expression, she was angry, sad, impulsive... She had never acted this way before.
"Ena!" Edith rushed over to her side, tugging her arm slowly. Ena snapped back to reality, looking at Edith.
"You really didn't have to do that! really..."
Ena couldn't tell what she was saying; she only saw her mouth open and close. Her ears were ringing; nothing but her own groans was heard. Leon saw the crowd, whispering, gossiping, and complaining, even. Ena was already on the brink of a breakdown; with no other choice, he had to calm down the crowd, filling them with little lies and honest truths.
After things cooled down, Ena regained her hearing and came back to her senses. She sat down on a chair, taking all the stress in and out. Edith accompanied her and remained quiet for a long time after realizing she wouldn't respond.
Leon walked to Ena's side, grabbed her hand tightly, and dragged her away.
"I'm sorry. L-let's just continue your ceremony another day."
Ena only stopped, halting both of them.
Leon tried to say something, but the lights had already shut off; a single was shone down in the middle of the ballroom, then another one came, highlighting both Ena and her father. She let go of his hand and walked toward the spotlight. There she was, face-to-face with a perfect sphere on a pedestal.
She placed her tiny hand on it, and there it exploded large amounts of mana in the room like a wave. All that mana then gathered in one spot before splitting into two spheres, just above the orb.
The two spheres descended to Ena's sides, on her right—the sphere represented her body and its ranking. The color turned brownish; most guests anticipated it. She was still a child, so it made sense that the color would be brown; she was still weak.
That's when the main show began—the left, the sphere representing soul or ability shone into a bright color. The sphere illuminated the entire room; when the shining calmed down, two golden spheres spun around each other, making everyone stand in silence.
"... She's a genius!"
"One in a million!"
Many cheered and appraised her; she had an SS-rank ability. A rank most people weren't born with, everyone celebrated—all except Ena herself.
She still had the same face from before, from when she met with Mairen... Terrified.