Chapter 96
After parting with Barney, Monica headed toward the school gates and soon found Lana. A stout middle-aged man was standing beside her. He was probably Lana's father, Baron Collet.
"Monica! Over here, over here!"
When Monica jogged over to Lana, Lana cheerfully introduced her father.
"This is my father. Father, this is Monica—the girl I always write about."
"Oh, so you're Monica-kun. It's a pleasure. I'm Lana's father."
Baron Collet twirled his mustache as he beamed amiably at Monica.
Baron Collet was a stout middle-aged man, but his flaxen hair looked very much like Lana's. His clothes were flamboyant, yet somehow not the least bit vulgar. He was probably simply skilled at putting outfits together.
That stylish quality of his was just like his daughter, too.
Though nervous, Monica desperately searched for words that would not sound impolite.
"Um, you've always been so kind to Lana...!"
"No, no. Thank you for being friends with my daughter... Hmm."
Baron Collet stroked his plump chin and narrowed his eyes as he examined Monica. His expression closely resembled Lana's when she inspected Monica's clothes and hairstyle.
"I see, just as I imagined from your letters... Yes, if it's the dress Lana wore when she was twelve, that spring-green one should suit you best. Oh, I've had the altered dress delivered to Lana's room, so go take a look at it later."
Apparently, Lana had asked her father to alter one of her old dresses for Monica to borrow at the ball that evening.
Baron Collet looked at his daughter with a slightly proud expression.
"That dress was a little childish around the shoulders for a girl your age, wasn't it? So I instructed the seamstress to remove the sleeves and give the bodice a clean, streamlined design. In exchange, I had her add a large ribbon at the waist, with ruffles and draping flowing diagonally from it to add volume."
"Exactly! Exactly! Elaborately draped dresses have been in fashion lately...!"
"Right? Right? I think I did excellent work myself. Look forward to it."
"That's my papa!"
"By the way, I had her make a ribbon from the leftover fabric. Wouldn't it look lovely braided into your hair?"
"Wonderful! I'm absolutely doing that!"
Monica understood almost none of what Lana and Baron Collet were discussing, but apparently he had made all sorts of changes to one of Lana's old dresses for her.
Still, the way they were getting so excited over this sort of topic was quintessentially father and daughter.
The way Baron Collet looked at his daughter was incredibly gentle. Just being nearby made it clear that he showered his only daughter with deep affection.
(Father...)
Monica's father, who had been out of touch with fashion and was not a social person, was nothing like Lana's father. Even so, the gentle look both fathers directed at their daughters was the same.
With feelings both nostalgic and painful, Monica quietly watched the father and daughter interact.
＊ ＊ ＊
Monica decided to go watch the play at the outdoor stage with Lana and Baron Collet.
The play could easily be called the biggest attraction of the school festival. Even though there was still time before the curtain rose, almost all the chairs that had been set out were occupied.
Some people were even watching from the school's balconies and windows.
When Monica sat in an empty seat, Lyns's voice rang out. He was waiting nearby in the form of a little bird.
'The Second Prince has taken his seat. He is sitting diagonally ahead of you, Silent Witch-dono.'
Monica moved only her eyes, just enough to avoid looking unnatural, and checked where Felix was sitting.
Felix was seated in a place of honor at the front, together with several nobles who appeared to be honored guests.
Lyns continued speaking.
'And Louis-dono, who slipped in among the general audience...'
(Louis-san...?)
'...is sitting directly behind you, Silent Witch-dono.'
"Hyaaah!?"
Monica let out an involuntary shriek, and someone kicked the back of her chair. With a tiny gasp, Monica timidly turned around. Just as Lyns had said, the Barrier Mage, Louis Miller, was sitting in the seat directly behind her with his legs crossed. His wife, Lady Rosalie, was sitting beside him.
When Louis met Monica's eyes, he gave her a beautiful smile.
"Excuse me. It seems my foot bumped your chair."
"N-no..."
When Monica awkwardly turned back around, Lana poked her in the arm and whispered.
"Wait! Isn't that Louis Miller-sama, one of the Seven Sages, sitting behind us!?"
"...Ah, um..."
"He's famous for slaying dragons! He's amazing! To think I'd meet him in person here...!"
Lana's voice was brimming with excitement.
Louis had an exceptional record of slaying dragons, making him a mage who had attracted attention throughout the kingdom even before becoming one of the Seven Sages.
His talent was impressive, but apparently his beautiful appearance also attracted the attention of women.
If someone asked you to name all seven of the Seven Sages, Louis Miller would be the first or second name mentioned. By contrast, the obscure Silent Witch, Monica Everett, was often met with, "Who was the seventh member of the Seven Sages again?"
Lana had no idea that the Monica beside her was one of the Seven Sages and kept bubbling, "He's amazing! He's amazing!"
(Uuugh, why is Louis-san sitting directly behind me...?)
As Monica clutched her churning stomach, she heard Lyns's voice.
'Incidentally, Louis-dono was seated there first.'
(Aah...!)
In other words, the kick to her chair had been Louis's way of saying, "Why on earth are you sitting in front of me, you idiot girl?"
(I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was a coincidence, I didn't realize, eeeee!)
Monica soothed her dull, aching stomach and waited for the play to begin.
Eventually, the curtain rose.
The play was the story of Ralph, the first king of the Riddil Kingdom. It was a famous founding legend that everyone in the kingdom had heard at least once.
It took place in an age when this land had yet to become a country, and seven tribes were constantly warring with one another.
Ralph, a young man of the Earth Tribe, was ordered by Arklaid, the Earth Spirit King, to "unite the seven tribes." After a long adventure, he accomplished this. Finally, he defeated the Dark Dragon in the land where dragons dwelled and founded the Riddil Kingdom there.
The story was quite long, so the play was divided into two parts: the adventures leading up to the unification of the seven tribes and the final battle against the dragon.
The student playing Ralph, the protagonist, was a tall blond boy. Apparently, Felix had originally been chosen for the role, but he had declined because the student council president was too busy.
"Ah, Ralph-sama, please take me with you. Even if it means violating the laws of my Water Tribe, I have found a single ray of light in you."
The heroine speaking to Ralph, Amelia, who would later become his wife, was a delicate and lovely young noblewoman with an almost ethereal air.
Her skin was white as porcelain, and her soft, fluffy hair was the color of wheat. Her large eyes were a pale blue-gray.
Lana quietly told Monica that she was Eliane Hyatt, one of the academy's three great beauties alongside Bridget and Claudia.
She was small and slender, with an almost fragile air—a presence entirely different from the glamorous Bridget and the mysterious Claudia.
As the play progressed, Ralph united the seven tribes and received the blessings of the seven Spirit Kings.
But the farther the play progressed, the more Monica could feel the audience's interest waning. Quite a few audience members were absorbed in conversation or even getting up and leaving their seats.
It was a long play, but the script itself was by no means bad. It condensed the lengthy original story skillfully, and the highlights were easy to understand.
The stage sets were elaborately constructed, the fireworks were spectacular, and even the costumes looked excellent, having adapted traditional clothing into a modern style.
──Yet the actors themselves lacked star quality.
The student playing Ralph was reasonably convincing in the action scenes, but he was not very good at delivering his lines. His diction was poor, and his voice lacked projection. As a result, he fell short of the general image of a "mighty hero king."
The same could be said of Eliane, who played Amelia.
Amelia was a strong, noble, beautiful woman. But Eliane, the actress playing her, was a fragile, delicate young lady who looked like the sort of sheltered noblewoman everyone would want to protect.
Eliane's acting was not bad, but she was far from the image of the strong and noble Amelia. In other words, she was completely miscast.
Eventually, the first half of the play ended, and the audience applauded. The applause was not exactly sparse, but there was no real emotion behind it.
Everyone knew the story already, and the applause was offered because the sons and daughters of notable nobles had acted it out.
──His Highness would have been perfect as Ralph.
──They should have had Bridget-sama play Queen Amelia.
──Eliane-sama would have been better suited to the role of the shrine maiden.
──Oh, I wanted to see His Highness play Ralph!
Such comments could be heard here and there.
(As I thought, His Highness and Bridget-sama really are a perfect match...)
Felix and Bridget had such glamorous appearances that simply sitting beside each other made a beautiful picture.
Above all, Felix's dignified bearing and Bridget's proud, resolute air both perfectly suited the images of Ralph and Amelia.
If those two had taken the stage, the quality of the applause would surely have been different.
"Monica, there's a little time before the second half, so let's go get something light to eat."
"Oh, okay."
Prompted by Lana, Monica stood up, craned her neck to look for Felix, but he had completely vanished into the crowd.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Eliane-sama, that was a wonderful performance."
The servants called out to Eliane one after another after she withdrew backstage.
Eliane responded with a short, distracted "I see" and thrust the veil she had been wearing into a servant's hands.
The audience was clearly visible from the stage. So, naturally, was the person she was most fixated on—Felix Arc Riddil.
Eliane had followed Felix with her eyes throughout the performance. During the scene where Amelia confessed her feelings to Ralph, she had even ignored the director's instructions and performed while facing Felix.
Felix had indeed watched Eliane from the audience... but he had looked at her only as one of the actors onstage.
It was the same way he looked at the student playing Ralph and the other supporting actors. He had not been looking at her specifically.
(That's not right. Felix-sama is going to become my husband someday.)
Eliane let out a wistful sigh with a dreamy expression on her face.
(This won't do. Felix-sama has to look only at me... He has to love only me, more and more.)
Wanting to stand on the same stage as Felix, Eliane had repeatedly begged the director to cast Felix as the lead, but her wish had never been granted.
The reason given was that he was too busy with the student council—a curt excuse.
(I need to be loved more. Great-Uncle-sama said so, after all. Felix-sama has to love me more and more. That's what he should do.)
Eliane brushed off the servants and went alone toward the edge of the stage. A set resembling a balcony stood there. By climbing a ladder at the side of the stage, hidden from the audience, she could reach the balcony.
Eliane placed a hand on the ladder and chanted a short spell. It was not a particularly impressive spell—just a wind spell that put a small crack in one of the wooden planks.
When she was done, Eliane let go of the ladder, pulled the hair ornament from her wheat-colored hair, and tossed it onto the balcony onstage.
Then, when the student playing Ralph passed nearby, she put on a scream.
"Eek!"
The male student playing Ralph noticed Eliane's scream and immediately ran over, calling, "What happened!?"
With tears glistening in her eyes, Eliane pointed up at the balcony.
"A bird... It took my hair ornament... It's on the balcony."
"Oh my, surely even that bird wanted Eliane-jō's attention badly enough to play a prank."
The male student laughed cheerfully and began smoothly climbing the ladder leading to the balcony. He had probably wanted to show Eliane what he could do.
But when he was almost at the balcony, a crack appeared in the ladder beneath his foot.
"Waaaaaah!?"
The male student reached one hand into the air as if seeking help. But no one reached out to grab him, and his body crashed headfirst onto the floor.
Eliane pressed both hands to her cheeks and let out a scream like silk tearing.
"Aaaahhh—! Somebody! Somebody come quickly—!"