The sudden change in the atmosphere of the Oleander servants towards Owen's criticism was quite noticeable. Their complaints against his nitpicking shifted to them perfecting their works. Those who had once flown into a rage at him pinpointing even the tiniest error were now intently listening and following his instructions.
Amidst all of it, Luna couldn't grasp what had happened for the staff to change drastically overnight. It was as if they were under a charm to be so submissive towards his words.
"It's too good to be true." Luna rested her face on the palm of her hand, lost in thought as the urgent documents lay on her desk.
"Might I ask what may be bothering you?" Damian asked, seeing her stare at the door of her office for quite some time.
"The staff. They're following his orders without fussing." Her sharp gaze went from the door to her butler, "Is it possible for someone to change overnight?"
Damian chuckled, "Not really, no. I guess a few words did change their attitude."
"A few words? From whom?" She inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"Lord Owen asked me to gather the staff last night to have a word with them after dinner." He squared his shoulders as a grin appeared on his face.
"Well, what did he say?" Luna's eyes glinted as the sun rays reflected through them through the window.
"The banquet will have guests arriving from not only Evimeria, but from across the seas and distant lands. It's up to you how you want others to perceive and treat this duchy as you're the staff that works directly under its lord." He repeated the exact words Owen had said the prior night.
"Impressive!" Luna clapped her hands, "Short speech, big impact!"
"He does have a way with words." Damian couldn't help but compliment.
Things went smoothly with the preparations. All that was left was the arrival of the ordered dress and the main dance. Owen made Luna take time off her schedule to prepare for her first dance at the banquet. As per the customs of Oleanders, the debutante's first dance was always with a family member thus being the most important part of the banquet.
"Now step apart gracefully and bow facing each other." Luna and Hans bowed on Owen's instructions as the music died down. "Perfect."
The two sighed with relief that they had finally managed to complete the dance without making an error. The musicians were also relieved after playing the instruments for four hours straight on the same song.
"Phew. Are we good for today?" Luna blinked at him expectantly for she was too tired with the dance practice alongside her usual vigorous routine.
"Yes. " Owen's words made Hans flop on the ground. To Hans, research on magic was far easier than Owen's strict lessons.
"Madam Tabitha would've arrived by now with your dress." Owen turned to face her, "Do check if there's anything wrong. We've only got five days, better if we fix any problem soon."
"Alright." Luna left the ballroom with a glance at a magic crystal in Owen's hand.
Owen studied the crystal and placed it back into a box in the servant's hand where there were many others like it. "They're good. Put them at the corner of the left staircase." The servant followed his order.
"What would you need those mana crystals for?" Hans inquired as everyone else left the ballroom.
"They're required for the banquet."
"You do know that they're dangerous. What are you up to with them?" His red eyes squinted with caution.
"You'll know it soon enough." He walked past him to the door leaving him as the only one left in the vast room.
It was another usual morning for the three as they ate their breakfast when Vladimir, the knight commander of the Oleander, knocked and entered the dining room.
"Everything alright, Mir?" Hans cut a piece of a kipper with his fork and knife.
"Afraid not, young lord. Sightings of Chupacabra near Sunvale." His reply was fast.
"How many of them?" Luna inquired as she placed her fork on the plate.
"Twenty, maybe more. The knights in Sunvale requested backup."
"That's a lot." Hans' eyes widened, "Measures to protect livestock?"
"Not much effective since the Chupacabra sniff their way to them."
Hans stood up from his chair placing the napkin on the table, "I'll go with the knights. As a mage, they might need more than just steel to stop them. I'll try my best to make it back before the banquet."
Luna nodded but Owen's brow furrowed as he spoke, "You're currently the only male in the Oleander. If you can't come by the time of her first dance, who's going to cover for you?"
"Hmmm. That's a nice question." Hans spoke playfully, "You can do it."
Owen glared at him, "I'm not Owen Lilian and she's not Elizabeth Oleander. I can't have her first dance."
"They changed the customs of the Oleander didn't they?" Hans smiled as those names were brought up. He patted his shoulder with confidence "Don't worry. You're plan B if I can't make it back in time."
"Let's hope there's no need for plan B." Luna tapped her napkin on her lips.
"I'll be back soon." Hans waved his hand in the air as he left with Vladimir.
"Can he really come back in two days?" Owen sighed as he watched the door shut behind the two men.
"Have some faith. He is the former head of the magic tower. A handful of beasts is a walk in the park for him." Luna consoled herself more than she consoled him.
Owen's gaze went towards Luna and he felt something in her eyes. The eyes that once denied holding a birthday banquet were now actually looking forward to it. He heard something in his subconscious saying ,"Women are good at hiding their desires for the sake of the needs of those around them. She too didn't want a birthday banquet for her people. But look at her now: the bubble of excitement is visible in her eyes. Adorable."
Owen recoiled from his thoughts with surprise. Adorable? Do I find her adorable? She's amusing in her own way but that doesn't mean she's adorable. Yes, she's respectful; nothing more, nothing less.
The eve of the banquet had come and there was no news of Hans' return. Luna had faith that he'd arrive before the first dance if not any sooner. The night was restless for her so she made her way to the banquet hall.
"Lord Owen?" She saw Owen coming down the stairs in the hall, something she hadn't expected. "Everything alright?"
"Ah, yes. Just giving final touches to the ballroom." He made his way to her.
There was a brief silence between the two. Luna fidgeted her fingers due to the awkward silence while Owen was lost in thought for a moment.
"I see you're wearing your debut dress." He broke the silence.
"Wanted to practice the dance one more time. Thought wearing the dress would make me more confident." She held the hem of the skirt.
Owen raised his hand midair, "May I?"
Luna smiled at his gesture and accepted his hand. The two began to dance without the tunes of music in a perfect rhythm until-
Crack!
Luna felt cold air on her back as she twirled. The two stopped dancing as the realisation hit them. Owen placed his coat on her pale, elegant shoulders to cover her back.
Luna flumped to the floor in shock. "No way." Her voice cracked, "It didn't tear when I wore it a few days ago...so why now?"
Owen held her shoulders and shook her to make her face him, "It's a good thing we realised it wasn't flexible enough to move in for a dance before the banquet. There's still time, we can fix the dress."
"But it's torn horizontally, the stitch will be visible." Her voice quivered.
"There's fabric in the storage. We can craft a new one." Owen tried calming her.
"But how? The seamstress isn't at the mansion." Luna tightly clutched the coat around her, her face red as she bit her lower lip.
"Owen will make one." A tiny voice came.
"Yes! He's good at it. Not to mention, he's fast as well!" Another tiny voice.
The two looked around and found a pair of pixies looking fondly at Owen.
"We'll help too!" The pixies declared in unison.
"I'll provide the fabric, she'll give you gems." One of the two spoke.
Owen didn't question who they were and how they got there. What mattered was they were helping. Time was of essence.
By morning, the news of the ripped dress had spread through the mansion making everyone panic. Luna had ordered the maids to bring out her mother's debut dress in case the dress wasn't done by the evening.
Owen meticulously stitched the fabrics on the mannequin on the other side. His work grew faster as one of the two pixies called out some other pixies for help.
By lunchtime, Luna had taken a bath and the maids applied fragrant oils on her. As the sun began to descend, the guests started to arrive but there was no trace of Owen and the dress.
Luna knew she had to go to the ballroom as soon as the sun was to set so she called the maids to help her get ready.
As the sun came to set, she breathed in deeply as she opened her room's door to go to the banquet hall.
"It's ready." Owen's voice softly touched her ears as she had taken a step out of her room.