Chapter 200 - Conspiracy (16)

Now that I look closely, I see a strange connection between Haley and Elliot. Not only their outstanding appearance... but above all, their hair color was exactly the same.

I thought they might be distant relatives, but there were many blonde-haired people, so I quickly dismissed the idea.

Even after waiting a bit longer, there was no one who seemed to be Elliot's partner. And, the silver-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

My mood sank. Anyway, my ball was ruined from the moment I saw the person I didn't want to see. Names and memories I wanted to forget came flooding back, and my heart, which had been excited by the festive atmosphere, turned to mud in an instant.

I wanted to stop sitting here, seeing the ghosts of the past and ruminating on painful memories.

I even thought it would be better if magic sword hunters invaded and messed everything up.

Just then, a girl appeared in front of us like a savior.

It was Luna. Wearing a white frilly dress, with her side hair tucked behind her ear, she had a fresh look unlike usual.

Luna lightly bowed her head to the two seniors.

"Hello, Seniors. Damian is my partner... can I take him now?"

The two seniors silently raised their eyebrows and glared at Luna. Luna didn't back down and stared straight back at the seniors.

After a brief battle of wills, Zenia unlinked her arm and said as if throwing something away, "Fine, we've had our fun, so take him."

The restraint on both my arms was finally released.

I stood next to Luna and bowed my head to the seniors. I felt a bit uncomfortable as if I was abandoning these two, but I wanted to quickly leave this ballroom.

Haley smiled lightly and said, "You two look good together. Have fun."

I bowed my head in greeting. Then I hurriedly left the ballroom with Luna.

***

Zenia and Haley stood still, watching Damian's retreating figure.

Next to him, Luna followed closely, subtly raising her arm to link with Damian's.

Zenia said amusedly, "The first-year is especially liked by the Magic Department and Magic Engineering Department kids. It's quite fascinating."

"The Combat Department is still firmly held by Elliot though. It's almost at a religious level."

"Ah, did you see that? The first-year's face hardened when Elliot was mentioned."

"Why would the first-year dislike Elliot? What's the connection?"

"Who knows? Maybe his competitive spirit was ignited because someone is better at swordsmanship than him. Seems like he's weak to provocation. It's cute."

"I'm unconditionally on the first-year's side, but..."

Haley trailed off.

"Why? The first-year is quite impressive in his own way, isn't he?"

"What he's shown so far is still lacking. It feels like there's something more, but it's just a feeling."

In terms of popularity or skill, Damian didn't match Elliot's level. Even if he was a cherished junior, they couldn't blindly praise him to cover up that fact.

Zenia chuckled and said, "But there's one thing the first-year s better at than Elliot."

"What's that?"

"The first-year has gained the attention of the Duchess, which Elliot couldn't obtain."

Haley muttered quietly, lost in thought, "Duchess... the Duchess' attention..."

It wasn't wrong. Even now, in a corner of the ballroom, the Principality's embassy was watching like eagles, glaring at the women accompanying Damian and writing something in their notebooks.

It was strange. Considering all conditions, Elliot held more value than Damian. But the Duchess had mercilessly rejected Elliot last year and showed no lingering attachment. And this year, she not only accepted Damian but fervently favored him.

Zenia observed Elliot, who had become the protagonist of the ball, and said, "I still prefer the first-year. Elliot... feels like a processed product meticulously crafted by the Empire using all their techniques."

"...That's not wrong."

***

The student plaza adjacent to the ballroom had been transformed into a neat garden thanks to the Planteras' overnight work.

Couples enjoying a stroll could be seen here and there.

We sat side by side, leaning against the ballroom entrance railing.

"Thanks for getting me out, Luna."

"...Yes. Today, you're my Damian."

"And today... you've changed so much I almost didn't recognize you."

Luna tucked her bangs behind her ear and lowered her face shyly.

"Candy needs to appear for the first part... so I'll wait somewhere else."

I handed Luna the mask. She silently took it and put it on her face. It looked like a perfect match as it was similar in shape and texture to mine.

"I'll be back."

***

I changed my clothes and switched to a rough wooden mask. Then I entered the ballroom. Inside, sticky music was already playing, and dancers occupied the center.

The edges of the ballroom were raised to overlook the center, and there, girls waiting for dance invitations were gathered.

Some were surrounded by boys, while others sat alone, pretending not to care... The scene felt bitter, like seeing a miniature of life.

I had quite a hard time finding Cecil. It was because all sorts of boys were gathered around her.

Cecil and Luna... weren't the kind of girls who would bear the dishonor of being wall flowers if I didn't ask them.

I spotted where Cecil was sitting and squeezed through the crowd of boys.

There, Cecil was... negotiating with the boys asking her to dance, "...No, I won't just accept dance invitations."

"Why, do you think I'm like that Billam guy?"

Another boy urgently cut in, afraid of losing his chance, "We worked together on the Magic Engineering Department project, remember?"

"Yes, I cooperated with you and everyone else, Senior."

"Cecil, are you waiting for someone?"

"No, I haven't promised anyone."

What do you mean you haven't promised anyone? 

Cecil glanced at me standing silently beside her and winked while pretending to rub her eyes.

What is she trying to do?

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Let's do it the traditional way. There's Eternia's long-standing tradition, right? Everyone turn around."

She waved her hands. Seeing the dazed boys, she urged them again.

"Quickly."

The boys hesitantly turned their backs. Cecil waved at me to turn around too.

After a moment, Cecil said, "Everyone can turn back now."

Cecil hurriedly tied the straps of her dress. And in one hand, she held a rolled-up white cloth. I couldn't guess her intention.

"You all know Eternia's tradition, right? I like men of action. So I'll dance and spend the whole night with the man who finds this."

Then she unlocked the latch of the large window behind her and threw the unknown object into the bushes outside.

Soon after, the boys who had been eyeing each other rushed towards the exit as if in a competition.

Looking at the scene elsewhere, I could understand what was happening. This wasn't just Cecil's eccentricity. Popular girls were throwing something out the window one after another, and nearby boys were rushing out busily to find them.

I stood alone in front of Cecil and asked, "This is different from our promise."

Cecil smirked and stood in front of me, dusting off my chest and kindly fixing my bow tie.

"No, this is also a promise. You agreed to be my slave, right? Go. Go and win my item. Today is a day for me, so make me happy."

"But what did you throw?"

Cecil slapped my chest with her palm.

"Don't ask, just go! You'll miss it. If you miss it, I'm really going to play with someone else!"

Why are there so many traditions in Eternia that I don't know about?

I sighed and immediately threw myself out the window.

***

Because most of the boys had rushed into the bushes for the partner competition, those remaining in the ballroom were mostly girls.

Cecil joined the popular group in a corner of the ballroom's waiting area.

Martha, Elias, Brisel, Iris, and others. Including Cecil, a group of about fifteen first-year girls gathered to chat.

Their main interest was the boys who would become their partners.

Elias, one of Cecil's friends, said, "There's this guy named Fontaine in our Magic Department class, and he blatantly asked to be partners right in front of Victor."

"And then? And then?"

"I was going to go with Victor... but accepting right away would make me look too easy. So I threw my underwear out the window and told them to compete."

"Oh my."

"What if Victor doesn't find it?"

Elias whined, "That's why... I'm dying of anxiety."

"But he's in the top five of the Combat Department, so he'll probably find it. Surely."

"Victor is... haa, you're lucky."

Since Victor had a good reputation among the first-years, Elias received a lot of envy from the other girls.

Soon after, Martha complained, "All the good ones are taken. Victor is taken by this girl, Varianne has a fiancé, Hubert is taken by a senior, and the only one who seemed available was Damian..."

"Didn't he come in with two seniors?"

"No, Damian just entered and then disappeared somewhere again."

"I saw him. He was with Luna."

"What? With Luna? Damn it."

Damian's reputation had improved recently after the sparring evaluation, but due to his poor sociability, there were still those who held antipathy towards him.

Naias started gossiping about Damian.

"That Damian is so rude. He just ignored my greeting before."

"He ignored my greeting too. Is he trying to be mysterious or what? I hope Luna gives him a hard time."

Cecil just rested her chin on her hand and listened to their gossip without saying anything.

Soon after, Brisel casually asked Cecil, "Cecil, who was yours again? Isn't it that guy who always wears a mask and never comes out?"

"Ah... yes."

"Judging by how he acts, he seems really shy. I wonder if he can even fight well?"

Cecil smiled brightly and answered leisurely, "You'll be surprised when you see him. He's really rough when fighting, but very gentle with women? Guys like Damian or Hubert wouldn't dare to mess with him."

"...That's unusually high praise from you?"

"Good-looking guys lack substance."

Soon after, the boys who had gone out to secure partner positions rushed back into the ballroom.

And in response, the girls who had been waiting stopped their chatter and stood up.

They looked at the boys with eyes mixed with fear and expectation.

As the boys approached, reeking of sweat, everyone held their breath with excitement. But they were shocked to face an unexpected result.

Most of the boys were empty-handed.

"What? Where's my handkerchief?"

"No one brought my underwear?"

"Wave my sock. Who's my partner?"

Amidst the confusion, the boys complained nervously.

"Some... crazy guy..."

"Yeah. Some weird guy took everything white."

"I could have won, but that guy just barely..."

The girls also couldn't grasp the situation and could only roll their eyes around.

Martha shouted in disbelief.

"One person? One person took everything?"

Soon after, a man wearing a wooden mask belatedly entered the ballroom.

As he walked in with heavy steps, the area fell silent.

His clothes were covered in dirt and some buttons were missing. He had roughly rolled up his sleeves, and blood was dripping from his forearms as if he had been in a brawl.

In the man's hands were all sorts of white items including underwear, socks, and handkerchiefs.

He approached where the girls were gathered and laid out the items he had collected on the table one by one.

Cecil said with wide eyes, "Candy... what is this?"

"You didn't tell me what you threw?"

"...So you brought everything you could find?"

"Yes."

"You just needed to bring one bra. Why did you go to all that trouble?"

"...There was more than one."

"You should have brought the biggest one."

The girls flinched for a moment at Cecil's words.

"..."

Candy rolled his eyes away as if trying to hide his embarrassment, pretending not to have heard her words.

Cecil covered her mouth and chuckled, then said, "Well, anyway, since you brought everything... who are you going to choose?"

The girls swallowed nervously as they looked at him.

He opened his mouth without much deliberation.

"Cecil. Let's go."

All eyes turned to Cecil.

Cecil suppressed her smile and stood next to Candy, linking arms. Then she turned to the girls and calmly said, "I told you, didn't I? He's amazing."