Chapter 192 - Conspiracy (8)

Lilith walked beside me with noble, refined gestures and asked, "Why do you want to dance?"

The wall of awkwardness between us was still solid, so the conversation wasn't very smooth.

"The reason?"

"Yes. The reason."

"There are many places to use it, including the ball."

"Quite practical. Have you decided on a partner?"

"Not yet."

"But you're learning to dance because you have someone in mind, right?"

"That's not wrong."

"Then have you thought about why women dance?"

"Because they like their partner?"

"Liking the partner is a secondary issue. Women dance for social advancement."

"..."

"Sounds materialistic? You're right, most are materialistic. There are hardly any girls who come to the ball simply because they like dancing. They go to the ball to get a chance to be chosen by a noble from a rich family of higher class and become a lady."

Hearing Lilith's words made me feel like cold water had been poured over me, even though the Eternia ball hadn't even started yet.

"..."

"Does it dampen your spirits? Eternia's ball might have less of that tendency, but most other balls will operate that way."

"Interesting."

"Think of dance as a tool. A tool to win the favor of naive members of the opposite sex who don't know anything."

"..."

"Then you can do it well without trembling. Put aside fancy modifiers like “harmony of soul and body”. Even children, drunkards on the street, and market vendors can dance. Don't assign too much importance to it. If you do, your body will stiffen and your steps will get all tangled up."

It was nutritious advice born from experience.

Lilith suddenly stopped while walking and turned towards me, grabbing me.

"This place looks good. Let's do it here today."

This was just in the middle of an ordinary Eternia walkway. It was dark because the sun had set, but there was a possibility that someone passing by might witness us dancing.

"Shouldn't we at least avoid people's eyes?"

"Look, there's no one here. Let's do it here. I don't want to go far."

"..."

"Come on, take your position."

Lilith tried to check my posture, getting very close to me.

"..."

"Put your hand on my waist."

When it came to actually doing it, the pose didn't come naturally. Lilith impatiently grabbed my arm and pressed it firmly to her waist.

"A woman agreeing to dance means she's willing to entrust her body to her partner. So, thinking of the woman who has thrown everything to you, the man should hold her firmly and lead strongly. Women are so sensitive that they can tell even with just a few steps. This man is unstable. This man doesn't have the guts to deal with me and is weak. They can feel it. It shows in the body language. Then you'll end up as a boring man and the next song will never be played."

Every piece of advice had a sting to it. It made me feel a bit bitter as I remembered dancing with Teacher.

"Hold my hand and waist and move. One, two, three, one, two."

And so the lesson began immediately.

"Don't look elsewhere. Look into my eyes."

Lilith firmly pointed out my mistakes. I stared straight into Lilith's eyes.

Lilith was certainly an expert in this area, if nothing else.

Except for one thing.

I didn't tremble, but contrary to her advice, Lilith trembled slightly. Like a frightened baby bird.

I could feel it. But I didn't know why she was doing that.

***

Dance lessons were set to be held every day until the day of the ball. Despite it being quite a laborious task, Lilith didn't seem to mind much. Well, she would extract payment for her hard work from me later, so there was no need to think too hard about it.

So, late that night, when I returned to the Thorn Garden dormitory, Trisha, who was half-asleep on my bed, rubbed her eyes and got up.

"Why are you coming in so late..."

Before changing my clothes, I tidied up my desk that Trisha had thoroughly messed up. She had freely explored everything from the cloud iron stone to alchemy books and left them in disarray.

"Why has this become like this?"

Trisha sat on the edge of the bed, fidgeting, and said, "I was planning to clean it up...!"

How shameless.

I had fully expected her to rummage through my things, so I had already stored important items like letters from Teacher and the Duchess elsewhere.

"I'll do it, so go up and sleep."

"No, I waited because I have something to say today...!"

"What is it?"

"I don't like that blonde girl these days!"

"...What?"

I stopped tidying the desk and turned to look at Trisha. Had she ever expressed dislike for someone so openly before?

Judging by her expression, she wasn't joking.

"I've become close with the senior who writes scripts lately, and when I'm hanging out with her, that girl keeps looking at me in an unpleasant way."

"Who's the blonde?"

"Her! The one who follows you around!"

It wouldn't be Haley, so she must be talking about Luna from the Drama Club. They had been in the same club for quite a while, but if she wouldn't even call her by name, she must really not want to get close.

"You mean Luna?"

"Yes. Her."

"Did Luna do something to you?"

"No, but when I go and ask why she keeps staring at me, she doesn't answer and ignores me."

"If you call her by name instead of 'blonde,' wouldn't she answer?"

"...I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't like me either. Damian, you tell her instead. Tell her it's not polite to act like that no matter how much she's jealous of me!"

Trisha's cheeks puffed out slightly in a pout.

I didn't suspect Luna would harbor bad feelings towards Trisha, but I had also been concerned about Luna's spirit lurking around lately... I thought I should probably visit the Drama Club soon.

"I'll go talk to her tomorrow."

***

It was after finishing the Art Club lecture that started early in the morning, and I was tidying up my things.

"First-year!"

While moving towards the storage room with a wooden easel on my shoulder, I heard someone calling me from somewhere.

"First-year!"

A familiar voice. Only Zenia and Haley called me like this. But unlike usual, the voice was small and cautious.

Looking around, I saw Zenia peeking her face out from inside the storage room and gesturing to me.

"Come here, First-year!"

I checked my surroundings for a moment and then walked silently into the storage room where she was. She let me in and then closed the door.

It was a small space where three people could barely squeeze in. Plus, all sorts of odds and ends blocked the sunlight, and there was a moldy smell from the old wood.

And there, Haley was crouched down, busily putting something into her mouth.

Zenia half-forcibly sat me down in front of her.

"Sit, sit."

Haley, while busily eating something, expressed her delight at seeing me.

"Oh, the first-year came? Eat some of this."

Then she took out a handful of something from her pocket and shoved it into my mouth.

"Mmm, mmph!"

"That's right, chew. Chew!"

A sweet fruit scent wafted strongly. What entered my mouth were dried fruits.

What on earth are these women doing here?

I swallowed all the dried fruit and opened my mouth.

"Senior, what exactly are you..."

"Shh!"

Zenia suddenly made a hand signal to be quiet.

Soon after, hurried footsteps and a servant's voice echoed from the corridor.

"Miss Haley! Miss Haley! Where have you gone!" 

After the servant's voice faded away, Haley said, "They make me dance with a woman, and then they bring a corset one size too small saying I need to maintain dignity at the ball, and they're starving me a lot."

So that was why she was secretly hiding and stuffing herself with snacks.

"That's pitiful, Senior."

"Yeah, thanks. Try this too."

Then she rummaged for something and shoved it into my mouth. I barely chewed and swallowed it, then said, "Senior, are you busy by any chance?"

"Why?"

"Since we've met, I'd like to get some advice about a concern."

"What is it? Tell me."

"My friend and another friend are in the same club, but they don't get along at all. I need a way to make them become friends."

"Are they both girls?"

"...Yes."

As soon as she heard the answer, Zenia shook her head.

"Can't do it. Just leave them be."

Haley nodded in agreement.

"Give up. No matter what you do, they won't become friends."

I was at a loss for words as they came to a firm conclusion without even knowing the circumstances.

"...Is there really no way?"

"It's not that there's absolutely no way. If you create a common enemy or something, they might connect. When the exchange tournament season comes around, even enemies band together and cooperate."

"A common enemy...?"

"Yeah. But that's not something you can create by doing anything, so just leave it alone."

"...I understand."

Yes, they seem to be right. Thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem like Luna and Trisha would become friends no matter what I did. Perhaps the best I could do right now was mediate if conflicts arose.

***

Drama Club rehearsals were held either early in the morning or in the evening after daily activities were finished. Since each member had a different major department and class schedule, it was virtually impossible to gather during the day.

However, during their free time between classes, members would gather at the small theater to memorize scripts and practice monologues.

Luna had also made it a habit to come to the small theater when she had gaps between classes.

On a lazy afternoon just after lunchtime. A few students were gathered in the small theater, quietly reading scripts. Luna was also spending time there quietly.

Suddenly, a female student ran out to the center of the audience seats and shouted, "Hey, hey, prepare the ropes!"

"...?"

As others looked at her with sleepy eyes, she continued, "Hey, today’s not just some day. Damian is asking if he can come into the small theater? Bring ropes and torture devices. Just get him to promise to join the Drama Club and then let him go. If we have him, our ticket sales..."

As she made a fuss mixed with jokes, someone booed from the side.

"You crazy girl, how could that work?"

"I don't want to do it, I'm scared of the Art Club seniors."

Then the girl dropped her playful tone and called Luna in a calm voice, "Ah, right? Everyone looked sleepy so I just tried joking a bit. More importantly, Luna, that friend Damian says he wants to see you?"

At that moment, the atmosphere in the small theater became heavy. Everyone perked up their ears to see how she would react to hearing that a boy was looking for Luna.

She was someone who hardly even talked to any men, whether classmates or seniors.

And it was that notorious figure who was looking for Luna, so they couldn't help but be curious.

The male students sitting scattered in the audience seats reading scripts momentarily stopped what they were doing and glanced at where Luna was.

Luna closed her book and calmly opened her mouth.

"Can I... ask him to come here?"