In recent weeks, Helia had not taken a moment for herself, absorbed by the final phases of the bait's development. But now, the project was nearing its end, and she needed to prepare to present their work at the Imperial Palace alongside Cédric.
The day before, the tailor and the hairdresser had finally come, after weeks of delays caused by her relentless work on the bait.
Lucille, uncompromising, had firmly insisted that she finally consent to this transformation before her meeting with the Emperor. She had also invited Sera to benefit from her wise advice. Thus, she was able to choose several new dresses, as well as jewelry, perfumes, and various other beauty products under Lucille and Sera's attentive supervision.
Helia now stood before the main mirror of her dressing, observing her reflection with a certain reserve. Behind her, Lucille was brushing her long hair, freed from its usual strict buns. The day before, the hairdresser had refreshed her haircut. He had slightly thinned the lengths to give them more volume and transformed her fringe into delicate strands that now framed her face.
She was wearing a dark red dress with a slightly plunging boat neckline. The fabric, a delicately stretchable silk velvet, hugged her upper silhouette, emphasizing her waist. Unlike the dresses with overly wide skirts she was accustomed to, this one flared just enough, falling to elongate her figure and make her appear taller.
She had followed Lucille and Lady Sera's advice in making this choice. Although she still felt uneasy in this new, more revealing style, a certain confidence was beginning to emerge beneath her hesitation.
Lucille adjusted one last strand before stepping back to admire her work.
"You look perfect, Miss," she stated with satisfaction.
"It's... different," Helia murmured, lightly touching the fabric of her dress. "Thank you, Lucille."
After one last glance at her reflection, she left her quarters and made her way to the carriage that would take her to the Imperial Palace. Upon her arrival, she saw Cédric Belmont waiting in the hall with Doctor Caisus, the official head of the project, although he had mainly overseen its progress.
As she approached, a slight nervousness crept in. Doctor Caisus, impassive as usual, greeted her with a simple nod. Yet, she noticed a faint glimmer of curiosity in his eyes before he resumed his neutral expression.
Cédric, on the other hand, suddenly looked away as he saw her approaching.
This behavior no longer surprised her. Since the day her notebook went missing, which she still hadn't found, he had been acting in a way she no longer tried to understand.
"Good morning," she said calmly as she reached them.
"Lady Sterallis," Doctor Caisus replied politely.
Cédric merely gave a brief nod, his lips tightly pressed. A heavy silence settled between them, quickly interrupted by the arrival of a palace steward.
"His Majesty and the Imperial Council are expecting you. Please follow me."
The heavy carved door opened with a muffled creak, revealing the imposing audience hall. She immediately noticed the throne where the Emperor sat. Around him, men she had never seen before were seated below, their solemn expressions reflecting their status on the Imperial Council. The air was charged with a solemn tension.
She discreetly inhaled and bowed respectfully, followed by Doctor Caisus and Cédric.
When the presentation began, Doctor Caisus spoke first, briefly outlining the project's progress and emphasizing the importance of the magical bait for border defense. When her turn came, Helia started detailing their work.
"The main objective of the bait is to attract the boars. When they consume it, it triggers the release of specific chemical compounds that disrupt their endocrine system. That is, the system responsible for producing and regulating hormones of..."
She paused as the sound of a door drew everyone's attention. The entire hall rose at once as the Prince entered, dressed in his training attire. His hair, still slightly damp, hinted at a recent exercise. His gaze swept across the room before landing on the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I apologize for my lateness."
The Emperor nodded and gestured for him to sit and he took his place near the throne.
"You may continue, Lady Sterallis."
Helia nodded and resumed her presentation.
"These chemical compounds are amplified by magic to maximize their effectiveness. As such, they reduce the production of hormones necessary for reproduction, significantly slowing the boars' proliferation."
When she looked back at her audience, she met the Prince's gaze.
As she expected, he was scrutinizing her with his usual nonchalant air, his eyes tracing her from head to toe as if trying to solve a riddle. Yet, despite the apparent casualness of his demeanor, his eyes remained focused on her words.
This attention suddenly made her nervous, but she swallowed her unease and continued, until an almost imperceptible change in his expression caught her attention. He had turned his head toward Cédric, a slight frown creasing his face.
Instinctively, she followed his gaze.
Cédric seemed pensive, his eyes lowered toward…
She paused, realizing that his gaze, though seemingly lost in thought, lingered a little too long on her dress's neckline.
She finished her sentence in a slightly sharper tone, raising an eyebrow in his direction, reminding him it was his turn to speak. He blinked, realizing too late that she was watching him with a faintly bitter expression.
Caught off guard, he straightened abruptly and, in a clumsy reflex, cleared his throat before speaking.
"Indeed, the purpose of the project is to reduce proliferation, but we also adjusted the mana-stone requirement even if it meant compromising the bait's overall potency."
He froze, as if he realized too late what he had just said.
Helia, who knew every line of the project by heart, felt a jolt.
Compromising the potency of the bait? Had he just implied the bait would be less effective?
She turned her head slowly toward him.
Cédric paled instantly, understanding his mistake. He opened his mouth, ready to correct himself.
But the Prince spoke first.
"Compromising the potency?" he repeated with deliberate slowness, his glacial tone cutting cleanly through the discussion.
The entire assembly turned toward him, who had leaned slightly forward.
His eyes never left Cédric.
"Interesting choice of words, Lord Belmont. One might almost think you deliberately designed a less effective bait, had I not read your report and seen the optimization calculations clearly favoring maximum efficiency."
The silence grew dense.
Cédric swallowed with difficulty.
"I…that's not what I meant, Your Highness. I wanted…"
"It seems rather," the Prince interrupted, his gaze sliding briefly toward Helia, "that your thoughts wandered somewhere else during this presentation."
The jab was sharp. Intentionally so.
And this time, Cédric couldn't hide the flush of embarrassment burning across his face.
Prince Arthur straightened, expression perfectly impassive.
"If you cannot stay focused for five minutes to present your own project, explain to me how the Empire could trust you to lead it in the field."
A shiver ran through the room.
Even the Emperor lifted his gaze slightly.
Helia felt her fingers tighten around the documents she held.
Mortified, Cédric attempted a shaky apology.
"I… I apologize for my mistake, Your Highness. I assure you I take this project very seriously. Let me just… resume…"
He began flipping through his pages, trying to find where he had left off. He stammered once, then twice, interrupted himself again as he frantically shuffled the sheets.
Helia, attentive to every detail, immediately noticed Cédric's rising panic.
She was genuinely shocked, Cédric never made mistakes like this. It was completely unlike him, he who prided himself on perfectionism.
She had spent much of her studies with him as a classmate, and although his incessant provocations often irritated her, she could perfectly recognize the signs of his discomfort. Cédric, with his arrogance and taste for provocation, was never short of witty retorts, but now he was loosing his footing, his confidence was cracking, giving way to a nervousness he struggled to conceal.
He tried to maintain a facade, but the tension in his eyes and the way he avoided Arthur's gaze betrayed his state of mind. She knew he wouldn't be able to get through this on his own.
Without hesitation, she intervened, striving to mask the nervousness knotting her insides. Her voice, though slightly more strained than she would have liked, remained calm and assured.
"Your Highness, what he meant is obviously that the mana-stone quantity was optimized for maximal effect on the bait, as you read in the report."
He stared at her for a few moments, scrutinizing her face. A faint sigh escaped his lips.
"Very well. Continue, then." He responded in a measured, almost relaxed tone.
At that precise moment, the atmosphere in the room shifted. The pressure gradually eased, and the meeting resumed smoothly.
She felt slightly relieved, although her heart was still racing. She cast a quick glance at Cédric, but his face was blank, he was staring into nothing, as if still frozen in shock.
The discussions continued, detailing every aspect of the project, from the resources needed to the logistics of testing, from the production of the baits to their distribution in the field. Finally, after a moment of silent reflection, the Emperor spoke, his voice calm yet authoritative.
"Very well. The project is approved. An expedition to the border camps will be organized next week. You will depart to test the effectiveness of the baits directly on the field."
The announcement echoed through the room like a concluding signal. Helia felt a weight lift from her shoulders, although the magnitude of the upcoming task was already weighing on her.
As the meeting drew to a close and the Emperor rose, each attendee followed his example with measured grace.
Helia first turned to Dr. Caisus, who gave her a brief nod of approval. But when she looked back at Cédric, he was gone. Just a moment earlier, he had been standing beside her, yet now his place was empty.