Chapter 20
“What are you, anyway~!”
The underachiever came rushing over, making a huge fuss.
“What do you mean? I’m your friend.”
“My friend can’t dance that well, though?!”
“You didn’t know I could dance? I’m a little disappointed.”
I answered as though it were nothing, wiping the sweat from my brow with a handkerchief. I leaned back deeply against the chair and downed the nonalcoholic champagne set out in front of me.
“So where are Eli and Julia?”
“Julia went to greet some upperclassmen she knows. I don’t know where Eli went.”
“You don’t know? You mean Eli didn’t dance either?”
“Yeah. When I came to, she’d disappeared at some point.”
The underachiever shrugged once, then suddenly changed expression and leaned her face right in front of mine.
“But seriously, what’s with those dance skills? Didn’t you hate wearing that dress because you didn’t know how to dance?”
“If I didn’t know how to dance, I would’ve said so from the start.”
If I tried to brush it off like this, she’d surely keep pestering me, wouldn’t she?
That sounded troublesome too, so I simply told her the truth.
“It wasn’t dancing I hated. It was the dress itself. This outfit is way too revealing.”
“Huh? Isn’t that pretty normal?”
“It’s not. Just look at Eli’s—there’s barely any skin showing.”
If only my shoulders had been covered, I wouldn’t have hated it this much.
Still, I couldn’t exactly complain openly while borrowing Teacher Justina’s dress.
“Anyway, Ria, you really didn’t have a partner after all?”
“Of course I did! Three people signed up, you know?”
“Really?”
“Naturally. I make quite an appealing impression.”
The underachiever chuckled and puffed out her chest. My eyes instinctively drifted toward her ample bosom.
……Somehow, I thought I understood why three people had asked her.
“Then did you dance too, Ria?”
“No?”
“What, you didn’t like any of the three?”
“It’s not that. I just wasn’t in the mood to dance.”
Ria calmly answered and popped a snack from the plate into her mouth.
“The snacks here are really delicious, too. I guess Mrs. Friesna must be a good cook.”
“Good grief… I told you not to call the lady of the house that.”
By now, I wasn’t even angry anymore. All I could do was sigh.
I brushed my bangs back and popped a snack into my mouth as well. It was crisp and sweet—probably Luna’s handiwork.
“So was the next thing on the schedule the interview?”
“Probably? I don’t remember exactly.”
The underachiever gave a noncommittal nod.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind us.
“Students.”
“……Ah.”
My back stiffened involuntarily at that voice. The underachiever immediately set down her snack and bowed politely.
“S… Secretary….”
I turned my head with a creak, like a broken doll.
There stood my older sister, watching us with a faint smile, dressed in an elegant black dress as always.
“That was a wonderful dance, Miss Rene. And I’m glad you enjoyed the refreshments, Miss Ria.”
Her voice was calm yet kind. My sister seemed to have come not as a secretary of the Ministry of Magic, but in her capacity as the party’s host.
“No, no! We’re the ones who should be thanking you! Those were the best snacks I’ve ever eaten in my life!”
The underachiever kept the conversation going with her characteristic sociability, but I couldn’t bring myself to say a word. My heart was pounding.
What did my sister think of me? Did she suspect me because of the incident involving her brother? Was she planning to abduct me even now? All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind.
“Kairos said he’d be stepping away for a moment… Are Julia and Eli still away?”
“Yes, they both stepped out to take care of something for a while.”
The underachiever answered.
“I see. Then I’ll have to brief you on your next engagement again in a little while.”
My sister said that without even meeting my eyes. I couldn’t tell whether it was because she had negative feelings toward me or simply because I wasn’t saying anything.
“Then I’ll return shortly. Until then, please relax and enjoy the food and music.”
My sister turned away gracefully and walked off without meeting my eyes one last time.
As I sighed with a mixture of inexplicable relief and unease, the underachiever sidled over and whispered.
“The secretary really is gorgeous, isn’t she?”
“She’s beautiful. Very.”
Was that really something she needed to say?
I lifted my champagne glass to moisten my parched throat. After briefly saying “Hmm” and stroking her chin, the underachiever continued.
“Her younger brother isn’t particularly handsome, though.”
“Pfft… Cough, cough….”
“R-Rene?”
Startled, the underachiever patted my back. I waved a hand to show I was fine and lowered my head. The champagne had gone up my nose, stinging badly enough to bring tears to my eyes.
After coughing for quite some time, I finally raised my head with tears in my eyes.
“Ria, you know Evan?”
“Of course I do. He’s famous. Senior Evan.”
The underachiever handed me a handkerchief.
“I heard he was Petrus’s most handsome man, so I was really looking forward to it… Sigh, I’m telling you, it was a waste getting my hopes up.”
“B-but he’s pretty good-looking, isn’t he?”
“What, Rene? You like that type?”
The underachiever made a face that seemed to say, ‘You have such strange taste….’
I wasn’t into her type either! I barely managed to hold back the urge to snap that at her and continued.
“I-I like that type. They’re always so confident. And they’re skilled, too.”
“Goodness, Rene, all sorts of things come out of your mouth, don’t they?”
The underachiever opened her eyes wide in surprise, then chuckled.
“But confidence aside, isn’t his skill kind of questionable? I heard that senior lost to Kairos despite being a third-year.”
“…….”
It was a perfectly aimed shot straight to the heart.
My breath caught, and the back of my head began to throb. I emptied my champagne glass in one gulp and shook my head hard.
“That bastard Kairos definitely cheated.”
“Now you’re insulting your own buddy?”
“What does being my buddy have to do with anything!”
“W-whoa, you startled me… Why are you suddenly shouting?”
The underachiever pressed a hand to her chest in surprise, then soon broke into a sly grin.
“But anyway, our Rene really is a girl after all~”
“What’s with that expression…? It’s creepy.”
“I thought our Rene would never be interested in romance or anything~”
I deftly avoided the underachiever’s attempt to wrap her arms around me; I was used to it by now.
Without showing any disappointment, she continued.
“But Senior Evan is kind of surprising. If we’re just talking looks, isn’t Kairos much better? You see his face every day, too.”
“……What?”
“Hm? What?”
“My… I mean, Evan’s face is worse-looking than Kairos’s?”
“……? Yeah.”
The underachiever nodded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
This time, my head throbbed for an entirely different reason. I pressed between my brows for a moment, then snapped at her without even bothering to control my expression.
“Are you blind?”
“……Huh?”
“I said, are you blind, you—”
“What are you two having such an interesting conversation about?”
“Ah.”
Only then did the lid of the pot that had been about to boil over finally settle back down.
Whew, I almost swore. I shook my head and shut my mouth. Ria, who had been tilting her head, immediately turned to Julia and asked,
“Julia, who do you think is more handsome, Senior Evan or Kairos?”
“Kairos, obviously.”
It was an immediate answer, without a second’s hesitation.
Ria turned back to me with an expression that said, ‘See.’
“…….”
A complete KO. With my mental state in tatters, I couldn’t say anything more.
※※
“Ah, it’s Eli.”
“How have you been, ma’am?”
Eli bowed politely. Agnes, the hostess of House Friesna, welcomed her with a gentle smile. It was a quiet sitting room away from the noisy banquet hall.
After finishing her greeting, Eli took a step closer, and Agnes gently took her hand. Her voice was just as warm.
“I heard you received the highest score on the exam. What an accomplishment.”
“Oh, it was nothing. It’s all thanks to Evan teaching me.”
Eli answered as though it were only natural and raised her head.
But what she saw in Agnes’s eyes was a subtle sadness hidden behind her faint smile.
“Ma’am?”
For an instant, Eli felt her heart sink. It seemed like the ominous premonition that had been uneasily lodged in her chest was becoming reality.
Eli unconsciously placed a hand over her chest and asked cautiously,
“Evan… Did something happen to Evan?”
It had already been ten days since Evan disappeared from school. Eli had firmly believed that she would surely be able to meet him here, at the Friesna estate.
But even after searching every corner of the banquet hall until her feet felt as though they were on fire, and looking down from the second-floor terrace at the ball he had loved so much, she couldn’t find even his shadow.
Agnes lowered her gaze without a word, then tightened her grip slightly on Eli’s hand.
Agnes struggled to lift her head and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Evan is actually….”
“Eli.”
Just then, the door opened, and a cold voice cut in.
“Ah… Sister Erica.”
It was Erica who entered the room, wearing an utterly serious, almost chilly expression.
As Erica exchanged a brief glance with her mother, the strength slowly drained from Agnes’s hand, which had been gripping Eli’s tightly. Eli clasped her hands together and looked at Erica in a daze.
“What…?”
“Evan has fallen into an A.C. state because of the accident ten days ago.”
“……What?”
Eli merely blinked blankly, her expression unable to catch up with reality.
Agnes covered her face with both hands and began to sob softly, but Erica’s expression did not change at all. She continued in a voice without the slightest tremor.
“Stage four. The chances of recovery are… hopeless.”
“……Ah.”
The strength suddenly left Eli’s legs, and she staggered. She almost sank to the floor, but barely managed to brace herself against the wall.
“W-what… What kind of a-a-accident was it?”
Her thin, trembling voice continued, as if she simply could not believe it.
Erica hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
“I don’t know exactly, either. For now… all we have is circumstantial evidence.”
“C-circumstantial evidence?”
“…….”
Erica bit her lip, then fell silent in thought.
‘Yes, there’s no need to hide it anymore.’
The person she was speaking to was Eli Klostermann—the girl who looked up to Evan more than anyone and liked him more than anyone.
And… the daughter of one of the Seven Great Houses, who was considered the most likely to end up with Evan someday, even though that fool Evan had paid her no attention at all.
“Even that suspicion remains unconfirmed. Nothing has been clearly established.”
Erica looked straight into Eli’s trembling brown eyes.
“But one thing is certain….”
She paused to catch her breath. Then she slowly, but firmly, opened her mouth.
“Rene. There’s a good chance that student is involved.”