Chapter 186 - Conspiracy (2)

Luna didn't say anything and returned her body, which had been leaning towards me, back to its original position. Then, restlessly pacing, she walked towards the exit door. But as if changing her mind, she turned back and sat in the caregiver's chair next to my bed.

Then she spoke in a calm voice, "I... didn't do anything."

I hadn't even asked what she did, but Luna seemed to feel guilty about something.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"No... yes, I mean... I was here taking care of you..."

"Just now, that was..."

"You were mumbling something faintly in your sleep... I was trying to listen."

"Did you hear what I said?"

"It was just... sleep talk..."

It felt like I was missing something, but I didn't probe further. Luna sometimes showed clumsy behavior, but she wasn’t the type to do strange things to me.

"More importantly, is it okay for you to be here like this? We're not supposed to act too friendly, right?"

That aside, how long had Luna been here until this late at night? Did she just endure that boring time silently?

Luna nodded confidently.

"Yes... You saved me... It would look worse if I did nothing."

"...I see, if we say we became closer because of this opportunity, there's nothing to be suspicious about."

"I... thought so too."

Now that I looked, she still hadn't untied the handkerchief ribbon. She must have liked it quite a bit.

A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked about what I had requested of her.

"What happened with... Senior Olivia?"

"It seems it will be resolved well. The children guided the Principality's ambassador to Senior Ruscus."

It wasn't a special request. All Luna's spirits had to do was find Ruscus and Olivia's private meeting place and send the Principality's ambassador there.

Now that he was in a situation where even his family's honor could be tarnished, he probably wouldn't act recklessly anymore. The position next to the Duchess was likely gone forever.

Luna smiled faintly as if everything had been resolved well. It seemed the violent offender had been caught in the act, just as I had intended.

"What about Senior Olivia?"

"...She wasn't seriously hurt. Senior Ruscus will soon be referred to the disciplinary committee."

I had unknowingly tensed up, but hearing her words, I relaxed.

"By the way, Luna, it's late, don't you need to go back?"

Even with restorative treatment, tissue didn’t heal in a day after a penetrating wound, so I had to rest for a full day. Because of that, I had to lie in bed bored, but Luna didn't need to do the same.

"...It's okay. If I go back to the dormitory... I'll be alone again."

I had been thoughtless. Luna's dormitory was also isolated, so she'd be alone if she went back.

"Then, want to eat cookies together?"

I picked up the cookie box from Haley that was on the bedside table.

"Okay..."

But looking closely, there was another box about the size of a fist next to it.

"I haven't seen this before, did you put it there, Luna?"

"No... it was there before I came."

When I opened the box, it was full of candy. But there was no name indicating who left it. Someone must have come while I was asleep, but seeing the contents made me oddly uneasy. 

Surely it wasn't left by someone who knows I'm Candy. Could it be Cecil?

"What's... wrong?"

"Nothing."

***

Before it got too late, I sent Luna away and spent the night alone.

Most important matters had been resolved, but there were still things to think about. I needed to interrogate Trisha about Cecil, and I wanted to find out more about the wooden sword that broke my enchanted sword.

The meaningful dream, whether it was prophetic or not, also weighed on my mind.

And an even more terrifying schedule than the sparring evaluation was now within arm's reach.

Eternia... was about two weeks away from the ball event.

Just thinking about it makes me break out in a cold sweat.

It was such a cruel event. Having to find a partner and dance publicly in the ballroom.

I did get a dancing crash course from Teacher, but if a song with a different tempo from what I learned played, I would be helpless.

Moreover, I remember stepping on Teacher’s feet about ten times while dancing. It was obvious I'd make a lot of mistakes helplessly at this ball too.

The biggest problem was selecting a partner.

Traditionally, male students were supposed to take the initiative in selecting partners.

In fact, it was rare for women to ask first in any culture, so I had to accept this part, but the problem was that I had to choose a partner myself.

I was agonizing over who to choose.

If Teacher were here, I would have asked her without hesitation, not caring about others' views, but unfortunately, she wasn’t here. How nice it would be if Duchess Bibi were an Eternia student. I felt I could match dance steps with her easily. We had done even more than that together.

Unfortunately, those two who would suit me well were too far away.

Since physical contact requiring holding the waist was needed, it might be too much with Luna.

Trisha... honestly, as someone who had to see her face every day, I didn't have the confidence to look her in the eye seriously and match steps.

With Art Club seniors like Zenia or Haley, the pressure would definitely be less. But the question was whether they would accept my invitation. How would I know if they already had other partners?

As morning came, Trisha burst through the door before the nursing maid.

"Damian!!"

She approached and sat in front of me, carrying a large basket.

"What brings you here?"

"What do you mean! I brought snacks thinking of my stupid friend!"

Trisha put the basket on my belly and opened the cover. It was full of dried fruits.

"How is it? I did well, right?"

"Yeah... you did well."

"Should I feed you?"

Trisha's face looked a bit excited.

"Suddenly?"

"Why? Are you shy?"

"...Shy?"

"Here! I'll feed you. Say, ‘Ah!’"

As Trisha held out the dried fruit, I reluctantly ate it.

She watched me nibbling with a pleased expression.

What is this strange feeling?

Usually, it was my role to take care of Trisha, but now it was reversed. Was that why?

Did she cause some trouble without me knowing? Why did it feel like she was suddenly being nice?

"Trisha, you..."

"Ah! Right. Professor Candinella said she wanted to see you today."

"...I see."

"Damian, you caused too much trouble yesterday, so people keep coming to me asking about you. It's so tiring!"

"...You must be having a hard time."

"That's why, how could you throw your body around recklessly!"

"It wasn't recklessly—"

"I don't care! I have to go to class! I'm leaving!"

Trisha consistently interrupted me and just said what she wanted to say.

Then she left hurriedly as if being chased.

"..."

It felt like there was something going on.

***

Knock knock.

I knocked on the door of Professor Candinella's office. She might be the professor I met most often after Professor Georgia of the Art Club.

"Come in."

As I entered the office, Professor Candinella, who had been working, stood up from her seat.

"Our mask boy is here."

"...You said you wanted to see me separately, so I came."

"Yes, yes, sit down."

As I sat on the reception sofa, she also sat down across from me.

"How's the Art Club? Are you getting along?"

"It's good."

"How about with Trisha?"

"There's no problem."

"Can you tell me a bit more in detail?"

"About what?"

"How it is with Trisha."

"She's my closest friend."

"Hmm... It's not about that, but there are people in a far country who manage Trisha. Those people want to know how Trisha is doing. Who she's closest to."

A fact I usually forgot resurfaced—Trisha was more precious than anyone else.

"Is it not good if we become too close?"

She shook her head lightly.

"No, the opposite. It's good if you become very close. Those people don't want Trisha to get hurt and grow up twisted."

"Even if she sometimes acts in ways I don't understand... Trisha isn't a bad person."

Why is she suddenly asking about this? Could it be related to Trisha suddenly being nice to me?

"Yes. That's good. Yesterday, we conducted an academic adaptation assessment for students in each dormitory. It was a simple questionnaire, and Trisha wrote you as her closest friend."

"Do I need to do it too?"

"You seem to be adapting well, so there's no need. But... just a moment."

She pulled out some documents from the bookshelf and said while flipping through them.

"Damian, there's something suspicious related to you."

"Is there a problem?"

"Fifteen students answered your name to the question asking who their closest classmate or senior/junior is."

"...Pardon?"

"Don't you think that number is strange too?"

"It's very strange."

If I think about people close to me, it was just Trisha, Luna, Cecil, and the Art Club seniors. I didn't have the opportunity to form relationships with others.

"Yes, most of them probably just wrote it down hoping to become close. But the problem is..."

Candinella sighed with a rather serious face.

"What's wrong?"

"Most of those kids wrote Trisha's name in the section for friends who are difficult or uncomfortable to be with."

"..."

"To express the hidden meaning of that question more bluntly, it means the student they dislike the most."