Cloud Thinking

"Your eighteenth birthday party will be at the end of this month. Normally, we should have started preparing for it half a year in advance, but you haven't come back, so many things haven't been prepared yet. You should pay attention and arrange everything with Heigem this month."

"The invitations have been sent out. I have called all the nobles in the empire. The invitation list is with Hegem. Please take a good look at it after you go back to see if anyone has been missed or if there are still people you want to invite. Send the invitations as soon as possible." Claude reminded.

"Oh, I see." Helia agreed.

"Aren't you looking forward to it? Why do you look a little listless, Aya?" Eric asked.

It's not that she wasn't looking forward to it, she was just a little depressed. Mainly because when she thought about Starley coming, she, the vicious female supporting role, felt inexplicably uneasy. Even though she knew very well that she would not end up like the original owner, she still felt uncomfortable when she thought about it.

She occupied the body of the original owner. As for the original owner's soul, no one knew whether it was sent to her original body or was really gone. But no matter how you look at it, she owed the original owner. After all, this was someone else's body, and she should enjoy all the treatment.

So logically speaking, she should help the original owner to take revenge to repay the favor, but she didn't want to attack the heroine. If she really did, wouldn't she be confirmed as the role of the vicious female supporting role?

"I'm just a little tired. When I think about how many things I still have to do, I suddenly feel a little unhappy." Helia forced a slightly tired smile. She hadn't had a rest since she came back. She was really tired.

"Then you should go back and have some rest. There will be a banquet tonight. As the host, you have to entertain your friends well." Claude said.

"Well, I'll go first. Brother and father should also remember to have a good rest." Helia stood up and pointed at the bottom of her eyes. "You two can't hide the dark circles under your eyes."

Because she was so tired, after returning to her Amber Palace, Helia didn't have time to see anyone. She took a quick bath and went to sleep on the bed. The maids didn't dare to disturb her. They packed up the luggage Helia brought back quietly under Hegham's instructions.

When she opened her eyes again, the sun was already setting. She rubbed her eyes and reluctantly sat up amid the gentle voices of the maids, allowing them to help her wash and dress again for tonight's banquet.

Although most of the guests at the banquet had gotten to know each other on the road, it was a welcoming banquet after all, and in order to express the host's welcome and importance, it had to be held in a more formal manner.

"Oh no, Her Royal Highness the Princess has changed so much in size that her original dress is too small." Xia Sha said anxiously.

"Is there no suitable dress in the luggage I brought back?" Helia asked.

"Yes, there are, but they are... not formal enough." Xia Sha said with difficulty.

"Well, since there is no suitable skirt, there should be at least some clothes, right?" Helia glanced out the window. It was getting dark, and she was afraid that she would not be able to make it in time. It was impossible to alter the clothes on the spot, right?

It is easy to change a big one into a small one, but how can you change a small one into a big one?

"I remember I brought back the suit I wore at the investiture ceremony. It's the most formal one, so I'll wear it," Helia said.

Although I wore a layer of silver armor on the outside that day, I still had a proper shirt inside. I could just put on a vest and a coat, and that would be it.

"But Your Highness, it would seem informal if you don't wear a dress to the banquet..." Xia Sha said.

"My clothes are also considered formal wear. Who said that the princess' formal wear can only be skirts? I have the title of knight after all, so it is in accordance with etiquette for me to wear knight's clothes." Helia said, she touched the back of Xia Sha's hand, "Sister Xia Sha, don't be so rigid, rules are dead, people are alive."

After much deliberation, there was really no better choice at the moment, so Xia Sha ordered someone to iron the shirt and trousers quickly, and she started to do Helia's hair.

I originally thought that if I paired it with a dress, I could half-tie it up and half-let it down, after all, Helia's red hair looked really good when it was down, and it set off her fair skin. But now that I've chosen a dress, letting my hair down would look a bit casual, so I had to put it all up.

Everyone hurriedly rushed to get Helia to the banquet hall before the banquet started. Of course, someone with such an outstanding appearance as Helia would definitely be the focus of the crowd as soon as she appeared on the stage.

"Aya, why are you so late?" Eric was the first to come over. After looking her up and down, he leaned over to Helia's ear and asked in a low voice, "Why are you wearing this?"

"I've grown taller, and my old dresses no longer fit me. The clothes I usually wear aren't formal enough, so I had no choice but to change into this one, which took some time." Helia explained in a low voice.

Eric glanced at Helia, who was only a head shorter than him. Yes, his memory always stayed on three years ago. He still thought that Helia was a well-behaved and lovely little girl, but he didn't know that she had grown up a long time ago.

To be honest, when he saw Helia entering the venue wearing the standard knight's uniform, he thought she was some young master from Antonio's family. She was indeed very handsome.

The two protagonists of the banquet took their seats and announced the start of the banquet.

Claude usually didn't attend banquets or feasts. He was annoyed by seeing a large group of people eating, drinking and making noise. It made him feel like he was in a pigsty. He only showed up at Helia's birthday party.

Of course, this also highlights Helia's specialness to Claude. This is Claude's unique love for Helia.

Because Claude was not there, many people at the party knew each other, so there was no need to observe unnecessary formalities. Everyone talked and laughed, ate and drank, and the overall atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxed.

Seeing many people coming over here, guessing they were here to chat, Helia pushed her brother out without any burden: "Brother, please help me take care of them first. I'm starving. I'll eat a few bites first."

She picked up several food plates and crawled into the corner like a tentacle monster. When no one was paying attention, she went behind the dining table and started eating.

The first person to discover Helia was Angert. He and Glinton came to the party purely for the sake of stuttering. They were representatives of Carter College and it was not convenient for them to deal with other noble young masters and young ladies.

So the two of them brought a lot of food and were about to find a secluded corner to hide. When they passed by a dining table, they heard a strange sound. Following the sound, they found Helia hiding behind the table, eating and drinking voraciously.

Angert looked across the dining table at Helia, who was sitting on the floor without any image and stuffing small cakes into her mouth directly with her hands like a starving ghost. He didn't know what to say for a moment.

And Helia felt it getting dark above her head. She looked up and met two pairs of curious and puzzled eyes.

Awkwardness spread between them.

"Haha, Your Highness, are you eating here secretly?" In the end, it was Angert who greeted first with a smile.

Helia glanced at the plates they were holding and realized they were also here to eat and drink, so she asked, "Want to join us?"

Anget unceremoniously squeezed in from the gap beside the dining table. Helia moved a seat for him, and he sat down and started eating with Helia.

Greenton looked around and saw that no one noticed anything unusual here. After thinking about it, he also went in and joined Helia's eating and drinking circle.

Although Anget and Glinton are teachers in the academy, they are still relatively young compared to the two old men, Mobicius and Levita, and can be called uncles instead of grandfathers.

And Angert himself is a person who likes to join in the fun. He is not an old-fashioned person who likes to follow the rules. He is very open-minded. And for some reason, Greenton always follows him. The two of them are like conjoined twins.

"Why don't you go out and meet new friends?" asked Angert while eating.

"I'm hungry. Let's eat first." Helia swallowed the cake in her mouth, but choked. She quickly picked up the wine beside her and gulped it down.

Anget caught a glimpse of the rank badge on Helia's chest. The five stars were very conspicuous. "Hehe, I have always forgotten to say congratulations to Your Highness. Congratulations on your promotion to a fifth-rank magician."

"You are the only one in the academy who can jump to the fifth level in one go." Greenton added.

"Does the college have any honor roll or something like that? With my grades, I should be able to make the list, right?" Helia asked curiously.

"Of course there is! Tsk! Isn't it placed in the aisle next to the main entrance? You've never seen it once?" Anget nudged Helia with his elbow. "I've seen you up there several times just by passing by. You really don't care about anything else except studying."

Helia stopped eating, thought about it carefully, and muttered, "It seems that except for the time when I entered school and returned to school, I went out through the back door or climbed over the wall at other times."

"Climb over the wall? How come I don't know where you climbed over the wall?" Seeing that Helia didn't have much food left, Angert pushed the plate in his hand over to her.

Helia glanced at him dimly and said, "I haven't forgotten that you are a teacher at the academy. Are you trying to get information from me and then catch the student who climbed over the wall? I don't want to be a bad guy."

"That's not the case." Angert was never the kind of guy who spoiled the fun. It was none of his business whether students climbed over the wall or not. The college wouldn't give him a bonus if he caught them. He only cared about it because he had nothing better to do.

"It's just that sometimes I need to sneak out, and flying magic is too conspicuous. Every time I can only use concealment magic to go out through the back door in fear."

Helia: Teachers also need to climb over the wall?

Sensing Helia's confusion, Anget said with a hint of sadness, "Well, you know, I don't have many projects, and the college's funding is... well, very tight. I have elderly parents and young children to support, so I have to make some extra money..."

Helia: So he climbed over the wall to work part-time... No wonder he's so sneaky and humiliating.

She looked at Glinton who was eating quietly on the other side and asked, "Does Teacher Glinton also take private jobs?"

"Tsk!" Angert groaned in dissatisfaction, nudged Glinton with his shoulder, and explained for him: "His family is rich, and he pays for the students to do the project himself, so why bother..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw darkness above his head and a familiar voice came from above: "What are you doing here?"

The three of them looked up at the same time and found that it was Alfie. He seemed to be here looking for food, but he heard a strange noise. He looked over the dining table and saw two adults and one child sitting on the ground with many plates in the middle.

"You don't mind having me join you, do you?" His eyes rolled around, as if he had discovered something interesting. He also squeezed in from the gap beside him and brought down the leftover food on the table.

The space here was originally small. It was enough when Helia was the only one here. After Angert and Glinton came, it was just barely enough. The three of them couldn't do anything big. Now with Alfie coming, the four of them almost filled up the space.

"Why are you squeezing here to eat for no reason?" Alfie said this, but his expression was very excited. He squeezed Helia while eating with a plate.

"Then why did you squeeze over here, teacher..." Helia was speechless. Why was it so difficult for her to eat her fill in peace?

This location is obviously very remote, and the banquet hall is so big, how did they find it...

"I heard you guys were talking about some interesting topic. You know me, I like to join in the fun." Alfie explained with a smile.