Chapter 16
“It might be too dangerous right now.”
“I already talked it over. Don’t worry, Kendrick.”
“It’s not as simple as you think.”
Kendrick didn’t seem like he would back down easily. He was probably saying all this out of concern for her.
‘I can’t exactly say I’m going to awaken.’
Maya frowned as she recalled Kendrick’s eventual fate.
“There’s a monster lurking nearby, completely different from any beast we’ve seen before.”
“Of course there is. The North is home to beasts.”
“Then why are you still going?”
“Because I can defeat it.”
“Maya, let me handle this monster.”
“How do you know so much about what’s going on in the North?”
The magic tower Kendrick belonged to usually observed from afar and stayed out of most matters.
It was one of the reasons the imperial knights had reached even Maya in her past life.
At this point in time, Kendrick had already joined the tower, so he hadn’t been able to help her.
“…I overheard a guest from the North talking about it.”
Kendrick saw no reason to hide it from Maya and explained honestly, just as he had to Tristan—though he softened the details.
“I offered to help.”
Maya’s expression hardened.
“That’s not going to happen, Kendrick.”
It wasn’t the monster they’d soon face that led to Kendrick’s death—but that didn’t mean she could relax.
“What?”
Kendrick looked confused.
“I’ll be the one to kill the monster. I may not be strong enough yet, but I’ll come back a whole different person.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just trust me.”
Kendrick trusted Maya Pendragon.
But that didn’t change the fact that she sometimes felt like a different person entirely.
“If you can’t trust me, I’ll bring a witness.”
Having decided to take precautions to stop Kendrick from following her, Maya called someone who could vouch for her abilities.
“…I have no idea why I’m here.”
It was none other than Commander Alec—the one she had beaten up.
“You’re the only one who’s fought me seriously. I just need you to confirm that I’m strong enough to enter the mountains.”
“Pardon?”
After getting thoroughly beaten by Maya and consulting further with Tristan, Alec’s tone had become markedly more polite.
Maya stood next to Alec, sword at her side.
“Shall we fight once more?”
“I’ll pass.”
“See? Even the commander refuses to spar with me. That’s how strong I am, so don’t worry. I’ll be back in a week.”
“But the mountains…”
“You’re going into the mountains for a week?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
This time Alec chimed in. He had been conflicted after returning empty-handed.
‘I was thinking of heading out again anyway.’
Having fought Maya, he had already recognized her immense potential.
“May I come with you?”
“Well, I’m going there to awaken, so…”
“Awaken?”
“Yes. As a descendant of the Pendragon family, I need to awaken to become truly powerful.”
Only then could she save Tristan.
As Maya confidently spoke of the legendary ‘awakening’ of the Pendragon bloodline, Alec felt a new sense of trust in her.
‘She’s not the type to bluff.’
In that case—
“May I accompany you?”
Maya responded like a blade.
“Nope.”
Alec’s own life was uncertain, so she didn’t want to take an unnecessary risk by bringing him along.
Of course, Alec had no way of knowing that.
His expression dropped at her blunt reply. Whatever personal affection he’d started to feel for Maya plummeted again.
That day, Maya went out and successfully bought a gift for Tristan. While she was at it, she got something for Kendrick too.
After all, she really liked the cloak he had given her.
The next morning, when she woke up at dawn, soft snow was falling from the sky.
The butler, Robert, greeted her bright and early.
“It might be best to skip training today.”
“Training?”
“Yes.”
“We’re fully prepared!”
The maids appeared behind Robert, smiling sweetly at Maya.
Surrounded by five maids, Maya looked confused. What on earth was going on?
“Well then, shall we start with a bath?”
Before she knew it, she was being led to the bath, which smelled different from yesterday. On top of the floating petals, it seemed like perfumed oil had been added.
Though it was cold outside, the warm bathwater relaxed her.
‘I could fall asleep like this…’
“We’ll wash your hair too.”
Of course, the maids had no intention of letting her sleep.
After vigorous brushing, her usually wavy hair was now almost straight.
Considering how curly her hair normally was, that was quite an achievement.
‘What exactly is happening today?’
Maya had only expected to eat breakfast, and she had no idea what Tristan had planned.
“Let’s head to your room.”
Back in her room, Maya changed clothes.
The dress surprisingly fit her body well.
“The duke has excellent taste. It was arranged in quite a rush.”
The pale green dress had an elegant vibe. The ruby decorations resembled the color of her eyes.
‘I always thought I had nothing to do with this kind of thing.’
The whole experience felt like a dream.
And the dream didn’t stop there.
For the first time in her life, real cosmetics touched her face. They patted, applied, and smoothed on various things.
The sensation of color being added to her face was unfamiliar and new.
Soon, standing in front of the mirror, Maya felt like a noble lady on her way to a ball.
In the reflection stood a version of herself she had tried to erase and believed she could never become.
She looked no different from any other noblewoman.
“Please come with me.”
Robert escorted her to the castle’s banquet hall.
It was still dawn, but the hall was already lit brightly.
In the center stood Tristan, looking like an adult, dressed in a snow-white suit.
“You may enter.”
With a satisfied smile, Robert guided her inside.
“You’re here.”
“…What is this?”
“It’s my gift to you, Maya.”
“The dress?”
“No. This moment.”
After Robert closed the door, Tristan played music.
“You once said this, didn’t you?”
The sky outside was still dark, like night, and the scene looked like a grand party was about to begin.
“It’s just an old gramophone and no other guests, but I wanted to create the feeling.”
Tristan took Maya’s hand and gently kissed it in a formal greeting.
“For the debutante ball you never got to attend.”
A memory neither Maya nor Tristan ever had the chance to experience.
His gift was a recreation of that moment—something she never got to live.
The chandelier sparkled in the banquet hall. The waltz played by piano and violin was cheerful and elegant.
It was like a perfectly choreographed scene.
Maya bit her lip.
She didn’t cry—but something was stirring deep inside her.
Now she understood what people meant when they said the meaning behind a gift is what matters.
And the heart of the one giving it, too.
“How could you give me something like this…”
“I’m glad you like it.”
How did Tristan know about the debutante ball Maya had always quietly longed for?
Was it obvious in her expression?
As he gently guided her to the center of the hall, Tristan murmured:
“If you listen closely to someone’s words, you begin to truly see them.”
Tristan remembered what Maya once said when she first spoke about herself.
“I wasn’t even well-known enough to be invited to a debutante ball.”
“I’m practically useless and unknown.”
That’s why he prepared this.
“Maya, did you know?”
He wanted to show her, who judged herself by ordinary standards—
“I never had a debutante ball either.”
—that such standards were meaningless.
“I’m still living just fine without it, aren’t I?”
Honestly, it was something he had wanted to hear himself.
Tristan saw himself in Maya.
Someone who pretended to be fine on the outside but was haunted by a curse-like sense of worthlessness.
“Don’t think of yourself as useless.”
He told her the words he had always longed to hear.
“Everyone is born into this world for a reason.”
Because he thought Maya needed that same comfort.
Especially on the day she was born.
Maya gripped Tristan’s hand tightly.
A first in her life.
Words she’d never heard before.
“Tristan, I’ve been thinking…”
Her eyes sparkled.
“Yes?”
“The greatest gift I’ve received this birthday… is you.”
Otherwise, how could all these wonderful things have happened?
‘I really do need to devote myself fully… and then quietly leave.’
She wished for a perfect woman to appear for the perfect Tristan—and then she would exit.
She could feel his gaze lingering on her.
Feeling flustered, Maya added awkwardly:
“Also, this is my first time dancing. Watch your feet.”
Tristan, of course, didn’t let that slide. His perceptiveness was far too sharp.
