episode_0126

A celebratory party held to commemorate the successful first semester of the new students and to wish them well in their future academy life.

Having been held consistently since its founding, it was a somewhat traditional event.

Students or faculty.

Anyone who was simply a member could participate in the ball.

Perhaps because it had no particular restrictions, it was quite popular among students.

After all, social activities experienced at a young age usually become special memories.

Especially for commoner students.

Originally, balls were the exclusive property of luxurious nobles, and it was generally impossible for those of lower status to even catch a glimpse, but this ball was an official event where even such children were qualified.

Was it due to the academy atmosphere that valued individual skill more than family prestige?

This policy contained the ideology of minimizing discrimination based on status and evaluating students solely by their grades.

An endlessly strict meritocracy.

This was the intention put forth by Gaston, the dean and founder.

Thanks to this, the children were allowed a wide range of experiences.

—I heard the ball is being held again this time.

—It’s my first time at a ball… I’m really looking forward to it!

—Is it already that season?

Commoner students got a glimpse into a world they hadn’t known.

Noble students enjoyed an extension of their social activities.

Faculty members, tired from work, shed their burdens, built bonds with students, and spent a short period of relaxation.

It was a time when all academy members were liberated from pressure.

The slightly excited atmosphere was not strange.

—Who are you going with as your partner?

—Hmm… I suppose I’ll go with my fiancé.

—Kyaa~! You two are so romantic!

—W-well, it’s the Gallimard Ball, after all! I guess I want to spend it with someone special…

—You’ll definitely look great together!

Of course.

External factors also contributed to the fervent popularity.

Children often enjoyed giving special meaning to things.

Especially when it came to budding love stories.

Meanings accumulated in this way would, after a suitable amount of time, settle as a legend or a superstition.

The Gallimard Ball, which boasted a long tradition, was no different.

The superstition associated with the event was:

‘The fruit of love.’

If a maiden and a virgin danced together, their love would be realized.

A good subject for fresh young minds to ponder.

To adults, it might seem like a trivial superstition, but it was precisely because they were children that they could breathe meaning into such triviality.

Whether sincere or playful, it was a notion deeply rooted among the students.

One week until the ball.

The academy was already filled with boys and girls requesting partners.

Such youthful enthusiasm was similar even among the original protagonists.

“So… who are you going to choose?”

The Fox subtly posed the question.

All eyes focused.

Girls stood nearby, exerting silent pressure.

They had been hesitant to ask, watching for the right moment, but it seemed they had discussed asking together at this opportunity.

The Snake only let out an awkward laugh.

“Ha, haha…”

Perhaps he didn’t quite grasp the situation.

The boy responded awkwardly.

He wanted to answer lightly, but the chilly atmosphere made it difficult to open his mouth.

While his innocent gaze flickered between his closed eyelids, one of the girls spoke up.

The first to step forward was none other than the protagonist.

With trembling green eyes, she said, “Um… if I were to ask for such a favor, I could only think of the Young Master.”

“Miss Regia?”

“W-well, of course, it’s an presumptuous request! But I also received a ring last time… How should I say it? I thought it would be nice if you were by my side…”

“You don’t have to speak so nervously.”

“I’m sorry… my mouth isn’t moving as I want, so, th-that…”

One might say, it was just like her.

The pilot rambled for a while, then, as if defeated by himself, he dejectedly retreated.

Without a moment to comfort the girl, the villainess, who had been standing next to the protagonist, stepped forward.

She swept back her blue hair and spoke.

“Well… I just followed along, you know.”

“You did?”

“I wasn’t originally planning on attending some ball, you know? But if you really need a partner, I can go along with you.”

“For someone who says that, your face seems quite flushed.”

“Be quiet!”

“The Young Lady is also speaking of a partner.”

“Ahem, ahem… Well, you were the one who… took my first time, after all.”

“Pardon?”

Her voice grew softer and softer.

In the end, perhaps due to the lowered volume, the boy didn’t hear her last remark.

Only a mumble brushed past his ears.

As he tilted his head, not understanding, Irene, who had been lingering nearby, subtly cut in.

The Fox pushed aside the villainess as if she were an obstacle and latched onto the Snake.

Her eyes were cold.

“If you can’t even speak properly, move aside.”

“W-wait, you…! How rude of you!”

“It’s stifling.”

She replied coldly and took the spot.

Beyond her dark pupils, only the blonde boy was fully reflected.

The Fox whispered.

“I’m also an option.”

“Miss Irene, too…?”

“There’s no rule that says a partner must be a student.”

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in this kind of event.”

“I’m also a girl, after all.”

The self-proclaimed girl chuckled softly.

The distance was close.

As he felt her breath graze his ear, the last person who hadn’t shown herself grabbed the Snake’s sleeve.

It was none other than the young Princess, who had been quietly keeping her place.

The Princess spoke with an emotionless voice.

“I want to dance with Yuda, too.”

“Your Highness Charlotte?”

“Seeing the atmosphere, everyone was saying a word or two. Do you need some kind of pledge?”

“I don’t think it’s an issue that requires a pledge.”

“Mmm. I’ll think about it too.”

“You weren’t listening at all.”

The boy smiled wryly.

A pledge, she said.

It seemed she had gotten fixated on another outlandish idea.

Soon, the girl slowly opened her mouth.

The answer she came up with after some serious thought was enough to fluster those around her.

Not a hint of wavering lingered in her blue eyes.

“Do you want to touch my chest?”

“…?”

“As a partner pledge.”

A voice that boldly demanded the partner spot.

Naturally, the atmosphere froze.

The girls were aghast at the shocking remark.

Even the Snake, who hadn’t lost his composure until the Fox’s turn, couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose at the Princess’s bombshell.

In the frozen time, only the person concerned tilted her head.

An innocent expression.

“………”

Where should he even begin to point this out?

As everyone remained silent, contemplating this, Charlotte asked as if there was no problem.

It was a reaction indicating she wasn’t aware of the words she had just spoken.

“Why is everyone like that?”

“………”

“Men usually like it, they say.”

“Your Highness.”

“Yuda, you don’t?”

“I apologize, but… where did you hear such a story?”

“It was in a book Tanya was reading.”

“Good grief.”

Tanya.

The exclusive maid who had assisted the Princess sisters since childhood.

He knew she was only about fourteen… Had she gotten her hands on a forbidden book at such an early age?

The boy thought he would need to have a serious talk with her later.

“Or do you prefer another part? Like, below…”

“Please refrain from saying anything further. I might lose my head if you don’t.”

A swift halt.

He didn’t want to become a madman who had insulted the Princess of a nation.

The boy steadied his dizzying thoughts.

‘She’s definitely four-dimensional.’

There was no telling where she would bounce next.

It was fortunate that she was fundamentally docile; if she had been even slightly more cheerful, she would have been a headache in many ways.

The outrageous remark.

Perhaps because she had no interest in such matters, Charlotte made her statements without hesitation.

One thing was for sure:

It was not content befitting the second most noble being in the empire.

The Snake lightly cautioned her and then took a breath.

“Phew…”

As he cleared his head for a moment, someone poked his cheek from beside him.

It was Rose, with her red hair draped down.

She had been watching the entire scene and wore a smirk that said, ‘Serves you right.’

Her uniquely sarcastic tone lightly tapped the boy.

“You’re popular.”

“It seems even I get days like this in my life.”

“You should have been more moderate in charming people, then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Always pretending not to know.”

“Humans cannot live without pretense, you know.”

“You talk well.”

Elize chuckled quietly.

With mischievously curved eyes, the girl muttered complainingly, “It’s a bit disappointing.”

“Hmm?”

“If I wasn’t stuck in this wheelchair, I would have contributed to your troubles.”

“………Your Highness.”

“With this body, I can’t even stand on my own.”

A somewhat melancholic atmosphere.

It was the shackles left by her illness.

The boy subtly extended his hand and took Rose’s hand.

And then he conveyed a word of certainty.

“I will surely cure you.”

The Snake had been constantly researching methods.

How to decipher the curse without causing strain on her body, without any after-effects.

It was an illness with many unsettling aspects if treated recklessly.

Since he had heard that the translation of the data submitted to the headquarters last time was nearing completion, it seemed he would be able to uncover the secret of the curse in the near future.

The boy extended his pinky finger towards the subtly shadowed girl.

It was a promise.

“If the opportunity arises again next time… you will be able to stroll freely through the hall.”

“It’s not like I doubted my physician, you know.”

“I speak on my life.”

“You really are something… to say you’ve never charmed anyone like this.”

Rose grumbled as she linked fingers.

The somewhat heavy air also brightened.

The girl, seemingly in a better mood than usual, nodded as if it didn’t matter and then asked a question.

It was a question that addressed the part he had wanted to explain earlier.

“Anyway, it’s about time you decide, right? Who you’re going to choose. Everyone’s just waiting for your answer.”

“I was about to tell you just that.”

“What? Do you already have someone in mind?”

“Well, actually…”

I hesitated but then spoke.

A story I had wanted to tell from the beginning, but had missed the timing due to the hectic conversation.

It was about the partner I had already decided on.

“I’ve already thought of someone to ask. But the problem is…”

“The problem is?”

“It’s someone who isn’t here.”

“………?”

The girls, including Rose, simultaneously displayed question marks.

All five gazes converged.

I forced myself to maintain a brazen smile and spoke.

As if I had no particular thoughts from the start.

“I plan to ask someone I’ve always been grateful to.”

The atmosphere froze instantly.

“So… you mean *I* am that partner?”

Purple hair cascaded long over her office desk.

Her red eyes blinked blankly.

The mature woman, rarely flustered, had even pushed aside the bottle of alcohol she had been drinking.

Beyond her liquor-hued gaze, the blonde boy was reflected.

“That’s right.”

The Snake nodded.

“Will you accompany me, Teacher-nim?”

Selena Drunkerd.

Towards the person who served as his teacher, and the drunkard who would be his partner for this ball.

His subtly narrowed eyes curved into a meaningful smile.