Chapter 51 - Balls and curiosities
Scarlett looked out over the throngs of people beneath her, all of them occupied in their matters and conversations. Essentially none paid any attention to her, though she hadn't exactly situated herself so that people would anyhow.
She stood at the edge of a large, circular terrace that had a red granite floor—polished to the level where you could basically see your reflection—and a low marble railing running along its edges. Small plants and trees were placed at even intervals next to the railing in ceramic pots.
Her terrace wasn't the only of these platforms around. There were dozens of them, spread out at different elevations, before her, connecting to each other with stairs here and there. Some of the terraces had lavish fountains at their center, while others were home to a wide assortment of impressive displays and exotic-looking plants that Scarlett was pretty sure didn't exist back in her world. A lot of people were walking around amongst these platforms, taking in—and seemingly enjoying—the atmosphere around them.
This was the imperial garden. If memory served her right it was named 'Rosa's Garden', or 'Rosalind's Garden'. Something along those lines, at least.
And this space was large. Absolutely massive, in fact. The throne room they'd been in earlier—the 'Chamber of Elysia', as it were—might have been big, yes, but this place was on a different level. It was probably over fifty meters to the ceiling, and the entire outer wall of this space was made out of glass, giving an incredible view of Rellaria Lake. The sun hadn't quite begun to set yet, but it was moving towards evening. Still, some ships could be seen out on the gleaming water. And if you really squinted your eyes, you could just barely make out land on the other side of the lake.
But the grandeur of this place aside, Scarlett wasn't really 'enjoying' herself. The terrace she was on was close to one of the entrances, but definitely one of the more boring ones when it came to the decor. The only ones here, except for her, were a male servant who'd served her a glass of wine earlier and an old couple that sat on a bench a few meters from her.
She had considered moving on to one of the other platforms, but she didn't really know what more to do so she'd just ended up staying here. It did give her a good view of the venue, at least.
After the Proclamation ceremony itself had ended—if that was what that whole thing earlier had been—Scarlett, and the rest of "His Majesty's loyal servants" had been led to a few rooms similar to the Inaugural Chambers they'd been led to at the start. There, they had been given some time to refresh themselves and interact, but that hadn't resulted in much for Scarlett. No one had bothered to approach her—she wasn't completely sure how those who hadn't witnessed her display already seemed to know something was up—and she didn't feel certain enough in her current situation to purposefully try and interact with others, so she had just whiled away time by herself in a corner.
Eventually, a bunch of servants had arrived to announce that the Elysian Ball was about to begin, which was when all of them had been slowly led to this section of the palace, where the rest of the aristocrats who didn't have titles had also started appearing.
The other nobles had been quick to begin their mingling, spreading out among the different miniature gardens scattered across the room. And while Scarlett hadn't done much yet, it was clear that people were avoiding her.
Some did it naturally, as if she wasn't a person they would have known to begin with, but others clearly did it intentionally. She'd seen several people throw glances her direction, only to then pretend she wasn't there. At one point her eyes had even coincidentally met with those of Viscount Clapham—the noble she had met at the wedding in Ambercrest—on a neighboring terrace, but the older man had awkwardly looked away after the minor interaction.
Even Evelyne was ignoring her. Although she wasn't quite sure if that was due to the same reason. She'd often spotted the younger woman, walking around between groups, trying to strike up conversations.