Fifth Prince’s Birthday Banquet (1)

About two weeks had passed since the second year at the Academy began.

It was a time when nearly half of Part 2 of 『Luminor Academy』 had already flown by.

Contrary to my worries that there might be a significant crack in the story due to the numerous events at the end of last year, the second semester of the Academy proceeded more smoothly than expected.

Natalie and Thomas rejoined the Hero Party, which had momentarily fractured, and they seemed to be trying to mend their awkward relationship.

And I also heard directly from Agnes that she had started interacting with the Hero Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt again.

“…We need to work together because of the successor. If it’s not him, it’s either the Fourth Prince or the Fifth Prince, and the Hero is better than them.”

“That’s a good thought, Agnes-yang. Especially Prince Machart, he’s soon to be… pa……”

“Pa, what?”

“…He’s famous for frequently holding parties, isn’t he? And only inviting noblewomen. To be honest, he doesn’t leave a very good impression.”

…I almost unconsciously blurted out that he would soon be ruined. I need to be careful.

The fact that Machart conspired with the Demon Tribe among the Imperial family and was involved in the First Prince’s death had not yet been revealed.

It was a remark that almost slipped out because I didn’t want to see Agnes get entangled with a strange guy and fall together, but if I were to get caught up in troublesome matters due to slandering the Imperial family, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

“I don’t really know about parties or whatever. But I dislike Machart because he’s greasy. I only saw Antonio once before, and I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

“Is that so?”

…Was there an episode where Agnes met Prince Antonio? I’m not sure, but it seems there was something.

Originally, Agnes wasn’t a heroine I primarily focused on in my previous life, so there were probably dozens more episodes I didn’t know about.

The fact that Antonio’s name came out of her mouth suggests they didn’t just not talk at all, and there’s no way for me to know what happened between them in places I’m unaware of.

“Compared to Gyeotmwa…. Ah, I forgot again.”

“You mean the Hero Kyetmajosyegigot Bolt-nim?”

“Yeah, that kid with the weird name. At least I can see what he’s thinking. He’s also close with Seraphine. In that regard, he’s better.”

Seeing that Agnes doesn’t feel competitive towards Seraphine at this point, it seems she won’t be going down the heroine route.

Personally, it wasn’t a bad feeling. No matter how ill-tempered Agnes was, I couldn’t easily hand her over as a member of the Hero’s harem.

Other than that, I mostly grasped the general flow of the plot by hearing about the Hero and the surrounding characters through Agnes.

First, there were no plans to approach the first-year freshmen, Lilia and Kael. This was, of course, a given.

In the case of Barbarian Lilia, there was already Thomas in the party, so there was no need to recruit another spear-wielding character.

Lilia was originally just one piece for creating an ‘all-female party’ and had no value beyond that.

Being a woman who could wield a spear was her entire character, and her performance was significantly inferior to Thomas, who was in the same position.

Similarly, there was no real need to recruit Kael. After all, if he was in a combat position, he would be openly outmatched by Seraphine.

While he could be used occasionally in episodes where Seraphine was absent, his performance was definitely lacking for the final battle.

On the other hand, Seraphine was an essential companion and main heroine, with good performance and beauty, so there was no way he could compete.

‘Considering the number of party members the Hero has gathered so far….’

Currently, the number of companions the Hero had definitely gathered was five.

Celista, Silena, Natalie, Thomas, and Agnes were likely the companion characters he would take to the ending.

Seraphine, an essential companion, would definitely be added, and Luke, who had synergy when recruited with Seraphine, would also be included.

Including the Hero himself, that made a total of 8 people.

As I said before, the maximum number of members for the Demon King Subjugation Force was 8.

So, at first glance, it might seem like all 8 slots were already filled, but….

‘…I still need to fill one or two more slots.’

According to the teachings of the Aurelia Church that the Hero and the Saint are one body, Celista was counted as one person when combined with the Hero.

And while Seraphine was an essential companion who had to be taken along, Luke hadn’t been confirmed yet, so there was at least one, and at most two, slots remaining.

‘I hope he doesn’t bother me by trying to take Lilith too.’

Of course, objectively, taking Lilith would be the right choice in terms of performance, but I would stop that route no matter what.

The original story, where Ethan was killed and Lilith was ‘saved’ and taken along, was naturally out of the question.

I also didn’t particularly want a future where I was recruited normally, regardless of Ethan.

Wandering around the world for several years after graduating from the Academy was enough just experiencing it in the game.

‘Please, if you’re going to recruit someone, recruit Orion instead of me. He’s good at magic too. He can even use support magic.’

Seraphine and the other female characters would probably welcome Orion with open arms. At least from their perspective, it would mean one less heroine to contend with for the Hero.

As I pondered my future conduct with such thoughts in mind,

Perhaps because we had just been talking about Prince Antonio, Agnes’s conversation naturally flowed in that direction as well.

“…Speaking of Antonio, it reminded me of something.”

“Yes? What did it remind you of?”

“His birthday banquet, which is in two weeks.”

“Ah, it’s that time already, isn’t it?”

“…That time?”

“…Ah, no. It’s nothing, Agnes-yang.”

Antonio’s Birthday Banquet was an episode I had experienced many times in my previous life, so it was quite familiar, and I instinctively blurted out a phrase that sounded like I had experienced it often.

After the incident at Seraphine’s birthday Masquerade Ball several years ago, events where nobles gathered at the Imperial Palace had ceased for a while, but they began to resume with Antonio’s Birthday Banquet as the starting point.

It was an event that I, who had played 『Luminor Academy』 25 times, naturally wouldn’t forget.

“Since you know Prince Antonio-nim’s birthday, it seems Agnes-yang will be attending?”

“…Aren’t you going, Lilith?”

“I am merely a Noble Lady of the Rosewood Baronet Family. I am far too lowly to be invited to His Highness’s Birthday Banquet.”

“Lowly… I, I’m just a Viscount’s Daughter, but my main family told me to go. Our statuses are similar, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“…Yes? Ah, yes.”

Well, that would be the case. It was illogical for Agnes to intentionally make time to attend such a social event in the first place.

Considering her personality, she would likely awkwardly hide in a corner and return, just like at Seraphine’s birthday.

Furthermore, she must have been scolded by the elders for hiding her identity with disguise magic at Seraphine’s birthday banquet, so she wouldn’t be able to hide in a similar way this time.

Hearing that I wouldn’t be attending, Agnes mumbled with a slightly disappointed expression.

“…I thought Lilith would come too.”

“My status doesn’t allow it. Besides, an invitation didn’t even come for me.”

“…Can’t be helped, then.”

“Since it’s an Imperial family-hosted banquet, won’t Princess Seraphine-nim be there? I believe you have a personal acquaintance with her.”

“…Seraphine is busy. She can’t stay with me the whole banquet.”

…Does she think someone else isn’t busy and will stick by her side the whole time?

But then again, if I imagined myself attending, I probably wouldn’t be busy at all.

After all, the only way I would attend such an event is if I were moving with Ethan, and Ethan wasn’t the type to busily go around meeting people.

“Still, something’s off. Are you really not going? An invitation must have come for your fiancé, right?”

“Of course, a letter of attendance came for Young Master Ethan-nim.”

“…Then is Blackwood not attending? The Prince’s Birthday Banquet?”

“No? Young Master Ethan-nim will probably attend. Separately from me.”

“……What?”

Agnes looked at me with increasingly strange eyes at my reply.

I roughly understood the nature of her misunderstanding, so I added an explanation to prevent unnecessary confusion.

“I’m only explaining this specifically to Agnes-yang, but Young Master Ethan-nim and I are not fiancés.”

“……Really?”

“Everyone misunderstands Young Master Ethan-nim and me as fiancés, and I just don’t bother correcting them. In reality, Young Master Ethan-nim and I are merely in a relationship of exclusive maid and employer.”

“Then sharing the same room in the Marriage/Engagement Dormitory is….”

“It’s due to personal circumstances. It was an unavoidable choice for me to attend the Academy while also serving as Young Master Ethan-nim’s exclusive maid.”

Agnes stared at me with a blank expression, as if my words were a bit shocking.

Then she mumbled something under her breath, as if dumbfounded.

“…Last time, anyone could tell you were a couple. Was that all an act too?”

“No, we are indeed a couple.”

“…Are you teasing me again?”

“Why? Being a couple doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be fiancés, does it? Surely Agnes-yang isn’t someone who believes you have to get married just from holding hands?”

“N-no, but….”

Although it was a temporary romantic relationship, it was still a relationship between me and Ethan.

Agnes, still finding my answer difficult to comprehend, asked me a final question with a somewhat confused expression.

“You share a room and are even dating, but you’re not fiancés? Isn’t that a bit strange?”

“Dating and marriage are different, Agnes-yang. Young Master Ethan-nim should find a better match than me in the first place. How could the only son of a Ducal Family marry a Baronet’s Noble Lady from a branch family?”

“…Are you satisfied with that? I’d feel really empty.”

“The Elizabeth Family, who can be adopted into the main family if they have the ability, is special. This is how the relationship between the main family and a branch family usually is.”

“…….”

In truth, if I were to be precise, my status was that of a commoner, so I wasn’t even a branch family.

Agnes wore an expression as if she had asked something she shouldn’t have, so I tried to lighten her burden a little.

“And besides, Young Master Ethan-nim and I aren’t even that deep into our relationship. We haven’t even had the sexual intercourse that common lovers share, you know?”

“…C-cough, hack! W-why are you telling me that?!”

“Well, because sexual intercourse between a man and a woman is usually common in a typical fiancé relationship. I was trying to explain that Young Master Ethan-nim and I haven’t crossed the line between fiancés and lovers from the beginning….”

“I don’t need it…! And I didn’t want to know…!”

She might look young on the outside, but she must be an adult.

Agnes’s unexpectedly innocent reaction made me chuckle.