[42.2] A Summer/Winter Wonderland

I hovered midair on my ice chunk as I hummed and placed decorations. I heard the door open to the ballroom and looked down to see Cyrus and Felix.

I lowered the ice chunk and landed on the ground. I waved my arms around the room, "Well? What do you think?"

Cyrus and Felix both stood speechlessly with their mouths hanging wide open.

Cyrus was the first one to speak, "What… What is this?!"

"Well. Every party needs a good theme, right? Since it's the middle of summer, I thought… What about a winter wonderland? It will keep the room cold instead of sweltering hot and it's a cool theme." I chuckled to myself, "Heh, literally."

Felix reached out to an ice sculpture as if he couldn't believe his eyes, "...Why isn't it melting?"

"Oh! I got the idea from that sculpture we saw at the auction. All of these decorations won't melt. Even the snow banks will stay as forever snow."

Felix rushed to a table and picked up a centerpiece. The ice reflected his stupefied look, "H-How!? How is this possible!? How can you do this?!"

I scratched my cheek feeling proud and embarrassed at the same time, "Honestly, it took a few attempts to get it right. I made a whole bunch of mistakes before I finally figured it out."

Cyrus checked it out looking impressed, "How long have you been working on it?"

"Just one day."

He looked at me in shock, "Seriously?!"

I laughed and shook my head, "No. It's been at least a year… I think."

Cyrus smiled softly, "It's an impressive feat. You can become famous for inventing this."

I shook my head, "I didn't invent it. The great fairy supposedly-"

"-This can't be." I paused and looked at Felix. He stared at the centerpiece with a strange look on his face. He muttered to himself, "Impossible… It's impossible…"

I tilted my head, "What did you say, Felix?"

He flinched at the sound of his name and calmly put the ice sculpture down. He turned to me with a big grin, "The renovations for our art museum are almost finished… What if we have a modern exhibit featuring some of these?"

My face lit up, "Y-You think it's good enough to put on display?!"

He nodded, "Of course! It's magnificent."

I pursed my lips, "You're not just offering because I'm your friend… Right?"

He laughed and shook his head, "I'm not. It's honestly genius work. This kind of thing could really get people more interested in art."

Somehow, I still felt a bit cautious, "Are you sure?"

Cyrus grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, "I agree with him. This kind of invention would not only shake the entire magic community, but it could also enlighten people to the idea that not only demons can make beautiful art."

I suddenly felt self-conscious and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I changed the subject, "Since everything is finished here, I'm going to go get ready. The guests should arrive soon."

I left the two of them behind in a scurry and followed the maids who led me to a spare room where my dress was already laid out and waiting. It was a sleeveless gold satin dress covered by a chiffon top that flowed as you walked.

They quickly helped me change and did my hair and makeup. It was a bit awkward, so I tried to have a conversation, "How long have you all been working for the Newman family?"

"..."

"...Do you like it?"

"..."

I cleared my throat, "You're all a bit introverted, aren't you?"

"..."

Okay…

This just got more awkward.

Ugh… I should have had my mother and Zephyr do this for me!

They can at least make conversation!

These people act like they are just puppets or something!

I closed my mouth and let them finish getting me ready while I sat there awkwardly. Once they finished, I let out a sigh of relief. I stood up, "Thanks for your help… I guess."

I quickly picked up the hem of my long silk dress and walked down the hallway. As I walked down the hall, I noticed Cyrus standing by a window adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. He heard the sound of my heels and turned to look at me.

He paused for a moment to soak in my appearance before slowly smiling, "I swear you look good in everything."

I laughed and skipped over to him. I gave him a twirl, "Do you like it?"

He nodded, "It's very nice… I don't think I've ever seen a dress like that before. Is it a new style?"

"I had Caldwell custom make this from a drawing I made. It's the kind of dress I would wear to fancy art galleries or an expensive restaurant in my other world."

He bent down to kiss the top of my hand, "I'm honored that you think it's worthy enough to wear to a small party."

His eyes looked up at me with a gaze that caused my body to heat up and my heart to start thumping. I cleared my throat, "You know what the best part of it is?"

"What's that?"

I put my hands into pockets that looked like they were just ruffles on the dress, "It has pockets!"

He laughed playfully, "That's really useful."

"Isn't it? I can put my wand inside for easy access and it's perfect for holding gifts."

Cyrus suddenly looked curious, "Gifts?"

I grinned and pulled out two small pieces of jewelry. I made him hold out his arms and attached one to each cuff. I tapped the shiny surface, "Here. A celebration gift for passing the first test."

He looked at each one with admiration, "Cufflinks? It looks nice… Is it a carving of a rabbit with the number 1 inside of it?"

I nodded proudly, "We got first place so I had to commemorate it."

"And why the rabbit?"

I reached out to poke his cheek, "Because I will never forget how cute you looked as a bunny."

He grabbed my hand and wiggled his fingers through mine, "Maybe I should ask Caldwell to do it again so we can take another bath together."

I felt my cheeks burn at the memory and averted my gaze. I mumbled, "L-Let's go to the main room… People should be arriving soon."

Cyrus laughed quietly and followed behind me. We returned to the main area where Felix was staring at one of the main ice sculptures I had made. He was staring at it so intently, he didn't even hear us walk in.

Cyrus cleared his throat.

Felix spun around to look at us in surprise, "O-Oh! You're both finished getting ready… You look wonderful, Reika. That dress is really nice on you."

Cyrus pursed his lips jealously but didn't say anything.

I placed my hands into the pockets, "It also has pockets."

Felix laughed cheerfully, returning back to his smiling self when there was a knock on the door. The butler walked into the ballroom and spoke in an unnatural voice, "Sirs and Madams… I would like to announce the arrival of Miss Hazel and Mister Zephyr."

Hazel and Zephyr strolled in wearing party casual clothes. Zephyr was in a white ruffly long-sleeve shirt with a red bowtie to match his eyes. He wore bright red suspenders, but instead of wearing them properly, he had taken them off so they hung down to his knees while still being clipped onto the waist of his brown pants.

I almost had to hold back my laughter as I stared at Zephyr, "Why do you look like you work at the stock market?"

Zephyr smugly played with his bowtie, "Isn't this nice? Della made it just for me! It clips on so I don't feel like I'm getting strangled anymore."

Hazel smiled tenderly, "He was trying to take off his shirt, so we compromised on the suspenders."

Zephyr clicked his tongue and mumbled under his breath, "It's a casual event so I should be able to go shirtless."

My face twitched, "That's your idea of casual?"

Hazel looked around the room in surprise, "Wow! These decorations are so wonderful! Did you do them yourself, Reika?"

I rubbed my nose arrogantly, "Hehe. I did. How'd you know?"

She walked over to an ice sculpture and touched it with her index finger, "Only you are capable of creating such a thing."

I tossed my hair proudly, "Well I'm relieved you agree."

After we chatted for a little while, the butler entered the room again followed by Priscilla and her friends. Priscilla still looked arrogant and full of herself, but the friends behind her looked around with a hint of nervousness.

Felix went to greet her, "Welcome Priscilla. I'm glad you and your friends could make it."

She beamed with joy, "How could I not come? I just had to see where you will be living, so I can make sure it's good enough for you."

I scoffed and muttered, "What a joke."

Felix led her inside, "Please get comfortable. We have more than enough food and drinks for all of you. How do you like the decorations? Reika did them herself."

Priscilla looked around the room trying to refrain from looking impressed, "T-These decorations are… Mediocre."

I snickered, "You know it's so great that you can't even come up with an insult."

She let out a growl and pushed past me.

Cyrus gave me a look, "You can't hold back for one second, can you?"

I smiled proudly, "Nope!"

A few more of our classmates filtered in and filled the room. They all looked at me precariously, but when they noticed the decorations in the room their expressions changed. Eventually, all of their nervousness seemed to disappear and they started to have fun.

I looked around proudly, "We did a good job. Although it seems a bit more formal than I intended."

Cyrus stared at them all in indifference, "They seem to be enjoying themselves."

Felix nodded in agreement, "I'm just relieved that people actually showed up. They seemed a bit apprehensive when I invited them."

A knock sounded on the door interrupting us.