Part 1, Ethan's Pov
I waited for three hours in the waiting area for her to come out...and couldn't stop myself from giggling the entire time.
Her expression was filled with surprise and nervousness, it was an amusing sight to see...but everything was for her benefit. I wanted to let her shine the brightest and as planned it should start with the way she maintains herself... She needed a makeover.
"I think we are about to be done with her...I am sure you will like her new look. As you said she is truly a natural beauty, otherwise it would have been very difficult for us since she told us to not use any makeup."
"Don't listen to her...she at least needs light makeup," I replied.
I knew this was forceful but I wanted to break her out of her shell, she needed to pay more attention to self-care and her appearance, this was a necessary step.
After waiting for a few minutes she finally walked out...
Her hair was no longer a mess, they were straightened out and beautifully cut.
Her face looked more relaxed and all the impurities were washed off. There were a few speckles but due to the light makeup, they just added to her charms and made her look more appealing.
Slowly she got closer to me and grabbed my hand, I knew she would be thankful...
But I was wrong, it was a powerful grip. How could those gentle hands have such strength? And, when I looked at her again she looked ...Pissed.
" You look beautiful...The most beautiful girl I have ever seen." I complimented her thinking that she would be like other girls who liked being complimented but instead her grip tightened.
" You two look great together! I have never seen a more lovely couple." The shopkeeper's complement seemed to have ignited her anger even further.
"Is that so? Thank you, lady Jeanne...you truly are the best. I will make sure to send a gift to you for your amazing service today..."
"Yes...Thank you so much big sister." Luna spoke and called Jeanne big sister, they bonded well in such a short time. I guess this can also be considered progress...it would be better for her to make some female friends as well. In the long term, it should help her become socially more active.
Maybe Jeanne can also help her become more friendly with others...
After saying goodbye to the shopkeeper we got out of the salon and quietly walked for a few minutes...I noticed she also smelled very nice.
"I hope you didn't forget that we are just pretending." She spoke coldly, " I will forgive you just this once ...so stop doing the meaningless things."
" I was just repaying for the favor today...and you also helped me out in the Alchemy class. I promise I didn't have any anterior motives."
I lied, there was no need to mention a favor, It would just make it sound more like a deal and less like an act of friendship.
"...is that so? Then you don't have to do anything else from now on."
Was I saved...I thought I had ended everything between us. Luckily she seems to be a little tolerant about this time...maybe she liked the treatment from Jeanne.
" Do you like it...your new look?" I asked trying to not look in her direction.
" How much did you pay for it?" She asked.
" I don't know, I just gave her half of what I had with me."
" Should it cost that much, idiot...they were gold coins, not silver...you spent gold coins and a lot of them."
She asked, making me scratch the back of my head, maybe I paid a lot. It was my first time spending in a salon for girls and I didn't know what is the usual price for their best service. [Note 1]
"...She said that It was too much...Like 50 times their income in a day...do you not value your own money?" She added.
" Money is important ... But you will have a lot of that in the future and then you won't even consider this a big thing. Let me do these things as a friend now since these types of gestures will become irrelevant in the future."
I spoke and looked toward her and she looked toward me through those glasses...
" I like it ...I am a girl as well but I still don't think that I would be wasting my money in the future to just look good" She answered.
" Only talent and hard work are not enough!" I sighed and replied to her, hoping she would understand it in the future.
. . . . .
Part 2, Ethan's Pov
"...Why are you eating so little?" I complained.
" I am not eating less...this is what I usually eat during lunch." She glared at me.
" I mean, we didn't even have breakfast so why don't you eat more?"
As I was complaining suddenly she grabbed my hand and changed her expression like she was enjoying our time together...I got confused by this sudden change in her.
" What happened?" I whispered.
" The students from the academy are also here... You and I have to pretend, remember? ...so act happy." She spoke while maintaining that smile that can fool anyone.
" I don't need to fake being happy... I am really happy today."
.
.
.
After we finished our lunch time together, we got up from our seats, I didn't notice it before but the students were looking our way. I recognized some of them...when my eyes met with them I smiled and helped escort Luna out of the restaurant.
When we came out Luna looked the happiest I have seen her today...
" You look happy," I asked.
" They recognized us, I just want a certain someone to know about this."
" Is it because of a boy?" I wondered since It could be possible that she is using me as a shield to keep the other guys away or maybe she is interested in someone else and just want to make them jealous.
I didn't know Luna well during this time, the only reason I knew which class she attended was through an administration staff by bribing them to tell me.
'She might have a crush on someone at this point...but who?' I wondered.
However, she shook her head telling me that it wasn't because of that. I dismissed such thoughts from my mind and changed the topic.
"So what should we do next?" I asked.
"Let's go somewhere we can help you form a mana vessel." She suggested.
" I have already arranged a place for that but we still have a lot of time for that why don't we go shopping...do you want to buy something?"
" No." She replied instantly but I wasn't going to give up that easily.
" But I do...let's go...I need to buy something important."
. . . . .
Part 3, Luna's Pov
"...You have such beautiful hair but why are they so messy, have you never had a proper haircut in your life?" Jeanne complained.
" They are beautiful?" I asked.
" Yes...your boyfriend is right about you having a natural beauty. We just needed to wash these hairs and didn't even need to use any cosmetic product. The same is with your skin...I am sure when I remove this mask we will see your true beauty."
" How long it will take? We have been doing this for an hour..."
" Have patience girl... We will first do your haircut, some simple but nice updos, and braiding of hair. Let the mask stay on your face and do let me know if you feel uncomfortable at any point...I will try to be as quick as possible but there is much to be done after we had received such a big sum of money as payment. As expected of someone from such a big family...you are lucky to have won him over, though I am very curious as to how it happened."
All of this felt good, I have never been treated like this ever before...not even I have taken care of myself in such a way. However, thinking that so much time would be wasted on things like this made me think about whether or not it was worth it.
" How much did he pay?" I asked out of curiosity.
" 53 gold coins!" She answered, " Honestly ...at first I wanted to return the money... but my assistant suggested that we do otherwise."
" That much! ...he is an idiot, I can't even pay him back this much money." I shouted. " And, why do you need to pay him back...he is your boyfriend you should get let him do as he wishes with his money. Such a caring boyfriend is hard to find."
" Don't shout...the mask will get damaged. I told you to keep your face relaxed." She scolded.
I was told not to even move until she instructs me to, she ordered some other girls to take care of other things while she washed my hair.
As time passed, I learned more and more about how bad my condition was. Jeanne kept complaining but she was also nice when I acted as she said.
" How would you like your hair ...curly or straight."
" I don't know, anything that looks better."
" Let's ask him what he wants," Jeanne suggested.
" No wait!" I moved.
" I told you not to move...sigh...you are not ladylike at all."
" I am sorry but don't ask him...It's embarrassing."
" Pft! Fine, I will straighten your hair, I think that will help you manage them easily...I will also teach you how you can take care of things by yourself..."
.
.
.
Ethan noticed me as soon as I came out after the VIP room...
" Look how intently he is looking at you...He is already so lost." Jeanne whispered into my ears making me shiver because of embarrassment.
I had to go through this because of him, although I liked my new look, why did he have to do it for me? After all, we are just... pretending? I got closer to him and grabbed his hand to squeeze them as punishment.
" You look beautiful...The most beautiful girl I have ever seen." He said something unexpected, and surprisingly those words defused my anger but the embarrassment made me tighten my grip.
'Damn it...he won't even let me be angry at him.'