It’s finally time for Athanasia to debut herself. Our princess has done nothing but fret and worry over her big day, so it has to go well, right? Meanwhile, Duke What’s-his-face gives Jennette the impression that she’ll finally be able to connect with both her father and her sister at the ball. But it’s not her father nor her sister. I’m all for bashing Claude whenever he’s being a deadbeat, but I also gotta be fair when the time calls for it. And while I’ve been clamoring for Athanasia to make a female friend her age, this isn’t the right time for it. Most of all, this whole scheme feels ill-conceived right from the get-go. If Duke What’s-his-face really wanted to exert his influence over the emperor, why do it now during Athanasia’s debut? If you’re telling me I have a long lost sister, I wouldn’t want to meet her at a fancy-ass ball in front of a bunch of strangers. I’d want to meet her privately. Yeah, I know the same thing happened in the previous timeline, and it happened successfully. But the circumstances then were different. Claude didn’t adore that Athanasia. He adores this one. It seems kinda stupid to try and rob the spotlight from the person the emperor loves and cherishes the most. To put it in simpler terms, read the damn room.

The episode starts with visions of Athanasia’s disastrous past life still haunting her dreams. The next day, she redoubles her effort to practice her dancing even harder than ever. She’s still desperately seeking her father’s love and approval, which is mostly Claude’s fault for being such a deadbeat. Nevertheless, a line of thought occurred to me as I watch the poor girl trip over her feet in practice. It’s funny when you compare this coming-of-age stories with Western ones. When I think about those harrowing teenage years, I’m reminded of grotesque transformations, physically and mentally. I’m reminded of ostracization. Alienation. Experimentation. Struggling to find one’s identity among peers. But none of these are concerns for Athanasia even though she’s about to debut herself at the age of fourteen (still such a baby). Grotesque transformation? Puh-leeze. She’s the spitting image of her mother through and through, so physically, she’s absolutely flawless. No awkwardness. All grace. Athanasia doesn’t trip in dance practice because she’s getting used to her rapidly growing body. She trips because she’s trying too hard. Does Athanasia feel rebellious? Or forlorn? Or like a stranger in her own body? Like someone who doesn’t know what she wants to become when she grows up? Nope. She has a one-track mind and it’s all about father’s love and approval since the day her young self stopped being scared of him. Her raison d’être hasn’t changed one bit over the years. Granted, she’s not a modern teen girl, so we’re comparing apples to oranges a bit here, but are you seeing the picture I’m painting? Growth and change are often interlinked, but does it feel like Athanasia has changed at all? She can cast basic spells now. And she’s taller. But honestly that’s about it. Where’s the growth?

We get another timeskip, so Athanasia is now a teenager on the cusp of turning fourteen. As a result, she’s going to have a grand, ol’ party where she makes her “debut” to society. There’s going to be lots of dancing in front of lots of ass-kissing nobles. I’m not exactly sure what else it means to “debut” other than that it usually signifies that a girl is old enough to be married off. At fourteen? Well, people were pretty weird back then. But hey, say no more. I don’t really care to learn anything else about this antiquated practice. I mean, it’s nonsense that the upper class or aristocracy used to do, right? So enough said.

Athanasia can already levitate small objects like her own teacup. But like most kids, she lacks patience and already has big dreams. I dunno, considering where she started at the beginning of the series, this is pretty crazy progress. Then again, magic isn’t real, so I’m just talking out of my ass.

Athanasia has upgraded to being able to cast spells, but they’re not very effective. She essentially has little to no control over them. Her frustration boils over, and Lucas ends up in her crosshairs. I can’t exactly blame her, because like all the tutors before him, he doesn’t seem like a very effective teacher either. All he ever says over and over is that she needs to figure things out herself. Sure, that could work, but then what exactly is he here for? Anyone could’ve told her that same piece of advice. Moreover, this is why they often say the best athletes typically don’t make the best coaches. I’m not sure if this is true, but you can sorta understand the logic. Things come so easily to them, so they can’t understand their students’ struggle. And right now, Lucas isn’t being very sympathetic to Athanasia. She hits the nail on the head, which somehow riles him up.