Chapter 9: Humiliation Ritual 1

I strutted into that tea party like I owned the damn venue.

I couldn’t help it, and I wasn’t going to apologize for it.

Yes, the timeline was on fire. Yes, I was failing to push the apocalypse away. But, I spent my whole life like a gremlin hunched over a desk, and now I’m here with a rack some people have to pay for, a fluffy tail, and a pretty green dress.

I think I’m allowed to enjoy myself.

Several heads turned toward me. One boy poured punch directly onto his shoes as I walked by.

[That was the correct reaction. Thank you for your service.]

Lily followed half a step behind me, doing the exact opposite of strutting. She had both hands wrapped around my elbow and was trying to hide behind my shoulder. That strategy didn’t work when she was wearing pale blue and looked this good, though.

"Everyone is staring," she whispered.

"At me, sweetheart. You’re fine."

That might have been a little cruel, but her being nervous was actually useful tonight. The whole point of this event, from a plot-infrastructure standpoint, was for Lily to look small, sweet, and out of her depth in front of one particular professor. So, the shrinking-wallflower act, which wasn’t even an act in her case, was EXACTLY what the pity pipeline needed.

Marisol’s "intimate garden gathering" was larger than most weddings. Manicured hedges surrounded the lawn, a string quartet played beside the fountain, and three long tables held food that looked absolutely delicious.

I spotted her. Our hostess was over by the fountain, chatting up some of her fellow nobles.

Dark curls, a dress of tailored silk. She noticed us at the entrance, looked over our dresses, and visibly ran the numbers. Once she arrived at "just barely acceptable," she returned her attention to her audience.

[She’s gonna be important later... But right now, all my focus is on the professor.]

I grabbed drinks for both of us, parked us at a good vantage point, and started working on the evening’s secondary objective. Which was...

[I’m gonna do a bit of market research.]

"Okay, Lily, we’re going to play a quick game." I turned us toward the crowd. "I’ll point at a boy, you tell me your gut reaction. No wrong answers."

"Are you serious?"

"What? Girl talk is mandatory at parties. It’s the law."

I began the tour, and I was thorough. I gave every eligible male at that party a fair chance, a flattering introduction, and a full highlight reel.

"Do you see him? He’s a viscount’s son in the Knight Course, and his shoulders are suuuper wide! What do you think?"

"He seems... nice?"

"Nice is a respectable start. What about that one? Silver hair, mysterious, reading a book at a party. That means he desperately wants someone to ask about the book!"

"That’s a little sad, actually."

"It’s called BROODING, Lily. It’s an entire genre." I pointed across the garden. "We are moving on. Do you see the third boy from the fountain? The one who’s laughing. He has great teeth. Come on, those are objectively excellent teeth."

"I suppose?" She shrugged.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Fine. One more candidate. Look at the tall boy by the dessert table. He’s in the Mage Course, he placed in the top ten during the entrance rankings, and he’s been sneaking looks at you for the last ten minutes."

Lily glanced over. She gave him genuine consideration before delivering her verdict.

"His ears are boring."

"Wha- his ears???" I stared at her. "What are you comparing them to, Lily?"

"I don’t know! Ears can be nice!" she said, her voice turning defensive as she blushed.

[What kind of person has "interesting ears", I wonder? That’ll be an enlightening day when I see those.]

Then she took a large sip of her drink, as if emptying the glass would end the conversation. Somewhere deep inside my brain, alarms had started ringing in a department I had deliberately avoided visiting.

[Something is seriously wrong here, and it isn’t only happening tonight. I wrote this girl to be boy-hungry. Canon Lily blushed at male forearms regularly. Canon Lily had a fluttering heart every third paragraph. Where is the flutter? Who took the flutter out of my heroine?]

The string quartet stopped playing.

Every person at the party suddenly turned toward the entrance.

The prince and the ice queen stood there arm in arm. Aldric wore white and gold, and his jawline looked prearranged for a royal portrait. Serena wore deep red, and, good lord, it was all I could do to keep my jaw from falling.

[Okay, here we go. This is the scene.]

This moment was the actual clockwork of the evening, the story beat I had come here to protect.

In canon, certified hater Serena swept through the party, found Lily in her village rags, and delivered a masterclass in public cruelty. She mocked Lily’s clothes, her manners, and her entire existence. Lily fled to the powder room in tears.

Professor Sabine Corvane just happened to be freshening up in there. She was a certified genius from the Mage Course faculty, and she found the sobbing scholarship girl, listened to her story, and became so moved by Lily’s quiet dignity that she took Lily as a private apprentice on the spot.

That apprenticeship carried Lily through the entire middle section of the story. It gave her spells, mentorship, two power-ups, and a rescue during volume four.

Humiliation went in, and mentorship came out.

Serena separated from the prince and began making her rounds, looking for prey like... well, like a wolf.

She glided between the tables and handed out greetings cold enough to chill the punch. One conversation at a time, she worked her way toward our side of the garden.

I nudged Lily out from behind me and placed her in clear view.

The bait was ready and the trap was armed. Serena would arrive any second.

Her eyes passed over our position.

Her gaze found Lily, then moved over her as if she were part of the hedge.

Then those red eyes landed on me.

"Ah," Serena said. She stopped and gave me one slow look from head to toe. "They dressed the mutt. Do try not to shed on the food."

Then she kept walking.

That was the entire visit. Serena was already three nobles away and being cold to a countess, while I stood there with my drink halfway to my mouth.

[Wait, you cannot insult ME and then leave! OI! You forgot someone! The entire heroine is standing RIGHT HERE! Get back here and bully my friend!]