Choice (2)
Gallimard Banquet.
A celebratory party held to commemorate the freshmen's successful first semester and to wish them well in their future academy life.
It was a fairly traditional event, having been held every year since the academy's founding.
Student or faculty member.
Anyone who was simply a member could participate in the banquet.
Perhaps because of its characteristic lack of restrictions, it was quite popular among the students.
Social activities experienced at a young age often become special memories.
Especially for commoner students.
Originally, banquets were the exclusive domain of extravagant nobles, and those of lower status usually couldn't even get a glimpse, but this banquet was an official event where even those children were given the opportunity to participate.
Perhaps it was due to the academy's atmosphere, which valued individual skills over family prestige.
This policy embodied the ideology of minimizing discrimination based on social standing and evaluating students solely on their academic performance.
An endlessly strict meritocracy.
This was the principle advocated by Gaston, the academy's headmaster and founder.
Thanks to this, the children were allowed a wide range of experiences.
-I heard the banquet is happening again this year.
-A banquet is a first for me... I'm really looking forward to it!
-Is it that season already?
Commoner students get a glimpse into a world they didn't know.
Noble students enjoy an extension of their social lives.
Faculty members, tired from their work, can relax and build bonds with students, taking a short break.
A time when all members of the academy are liberated from the pressure.
It wasn't strange that the atmosphere was gradually becoming excited.
-Who are you going to ask to be your partner?
-Hmm... I guess I'll go with my fiancé.
-Kyaa~! You two are so romantic!
-W-Well, it's the Gallimard Banquet after all! I guess you want to spend it with someone special...
-You'll definitely look good together!
Of course.
External factors also play a role in its fervent popularity.
Children tend to enjoy attaching special meaning to things.
Especially to budding love stories.
The meanings that accumulate over time eventually settle as folklore or superstition.
The Gallimard Banquet, boasting a long tradition, was no exception.
The superstition associated with the event was:
'The fruition of love.'
If a virgin and a virgin dance, their love will be fulfilled.
A good topic for young, fresh minds to ponder.
Adults may see it as mere silly superstition, but it is the children who breathe meaning into that silliness.
Whether in earnest or as a joke, it was something that had taken root among the students.
One week until the banquet.
The academy was already filled with boys and girls asking each other to be their partners.
Even the protagonists of the original story were no different in their youthful innocence.
"So... who are you going to choose?"
The fox casually threw the question.
All eyes were focused.
Beside her stood girls who were exerting unspoken pressure.
They had been hesitant to ask due to being mindful of the situation, but it seemed they had discussed asking together at this opportune moment.
The snake could only offer an awkward smile.
"Hahaha..."
Perhaps he didn't quite understand the situation.
The boy reacted awkwardly.
He wanted to answer lightly, but the chilly atmosphere made it difficult to open his mouth.
While his closed eyelids darted back and forth, one of the girls spoke up.
The first to step forward was none other than the protagonist.
She spoke with trembling green eyes.
"Um... if I were to make such a request, you're the only one I can think of, Young Master."
"Lady Regia?"
"O-Of course, it's a presumptuous request! But since I received the ring last time... well, how should I put it, I thought it would be nice to have you by my side..."
"You don't have to be so nervous."
"I'm sorry... my mouth isn't moving the way I want it to, th-that's..."
That was just like her.
The pilot stammered for a while, then retreated, dejected, as if giving up on herself.
Before there was even time to comfort the girl, the villainess who had been standing next to the protagonist stepped forward.
She tossed her blue hair back as she spoke.
"Well... I only followed along."
"Followed along?"
"I wasn't planning on attending the banquet in the first place, you know? But if you really need a partner, I can humor you."
"For someone who wasn't planning on it, you seem quite flushed."
"Shut up!"
"So, the duchess is also asking me to be her partner."
"Ahem... well, you are the one who took my first..."
"Huh?"
Her voice grew softer.
In the end, the boy didn't catch her last words because of the diminished volume.
Only a mumble brushed past his ears.
As he tilted his head in confusion, Irene, who had been hovering nearby, subtly intervened.
The fox pushed the villainess aside as if she were an obstacle and clung to the snake.
Her gaze was cold.
"Move if you can't even speak properly."
"W-Wait a minute, you... what kind of rude behavior is that!"
"Annoying."
She replied coldly and took her place.
Beyond her black pupils, only the blonde boy was fully reflected.
The fox whispered.
"I'm also an option."
"Lady Irene, too...?"
"There wasn't a rule that your partner had to be a student, was there?"
"I didn't expect you to be interested in this kind of event."
"I'm also a maiden, for now."
The self-proclaimed maiden chuckled softly.
The distance was close.
He could feel her breath brushing against his ear. As he was processing this, the last person he hadn't noticed grabbed the snake's sleeve.
It was none other than the Little Prince, who had been quietly standing his ground.
The emperor's daughter spoke in an emotionless voice.
"I want to dance with Judas too."
"Your Highness Charlotte?"
"Looking at the atmosphere, everyone is saying something. Do you need some kind of pledge?"
"I don't think it's a matter that requires a pledge."
"Okay. I'll think about it."
"You weren't listening at all, were you."
The boy gave a complicated smile.
A pledge, she said.
She seemed to be fixated on another strange idea.
Soon, the girl slowly parted her lips.
The answer she arrived at after some serious consideration was enough to bewilder those around her.
Not a hint of wavering could be seen in her blue eyes.
"Want to touch my breasts?"
"........?"
"As a partner pledge."
The voice confidently demanding the partner position.
Naturally, the atmosphere froze.
The girls were speechless with shock at the outrageous remark.
Even the snake, who hadn't lost his composure until the fox's turn, could only pinch the bridge of his nose at the emperor's daughter's bombshell.
In the frozen moment, only the person in question tilted her head in confusion.
An innocent expression.
"........"
Where should one even begin to point out the problem?
Everyone was silent, contemplating that thought, when Charlotte asked, as if there was something wrong.
It was a reaction that showed she was unaware of the implications of her own words.
"What's wrong with everyone?"
"........"
"I heard that men usually like it."
"Your Highness."
"Doesn't Judas?"
"I'm sorry, but... where did you hear such a thing?"
"It was in the book Tanya was reading."
"Oh dear."
Tanya.
The exclusive maid who had been serving the emperor's daughters since they were young.
He believed she was only about fourteen years old... Had she already gotten her hands on forbidden books?
The boy thought he would have a serious conversation with her later.
"Or do you prefer the other part? Like below..."
"Please refrain from saying any more. I might lose my head if you do."
A quick interruption.
He didn't want to become the madman who had flirted with the emperor's daughter of the empire.
The boy regained his dazed senses.
'Definitely a unique individual.'
There was no way to predict where her thoughts would lead.
He was glad that she was fundamentally a quiet person; if she were even slightly more outgoing, it would be a constant headache.
Her statement had been shocking.
Perhaps because she wasn't interested in such things, Charlotte didn't hesitate to voice her thoughts.
What was certain was that the content was not something that should be coming from the second most noble being in the empire.
The snake lightly cautioned her and then took a breath.
"Whew..."
As he was clearing his head, someone poked his cheek.
It was a red rose, accompanied by red hair.
Elize, who had been watching the entire scene, wore a smile that suggested she found it amusing.
Her characteristically sarcastic tone lightly tapped at the boy.
"You're popular."
"It seems such a day has finally come in my life."
"You should have been less of a tease."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Always playing innocent."
"Humans can't live without pretending, can they?"
"You're good with words."
Elize let out a soft chuckle.
With a mischievous curve to her eye, the girl muttered as if complaining.
"It's a bit of a shame."
"Hmm?"
"If I wasn't stuck in this wheelchair, I would have contributed to your predicament."
"Your Highness..."
"I can't even stand on my own two feet in this condition."
A somewhat bitter atmosphere settled in.
It was the shackle left behind by her illness.
The boy gently reached out and took the rose's hand.
Then, he conveyed a word of certainty.
"I will definitely cure you."
The snake had been constantly researching methods.
How to interpret the curse without putting too much strain on her body and without any aftereffects.
It was a disease with too many unsettling aspects to simply treat it carelessly.
He had heard that the translation of the materials he had entrusted to the headquarters last time was nearing completion, so it seemed he would be able to uncover the secrets of the curse in the near future.
The boy extended his pinky finger towards the girl, who had a strange shadow over her expression.
It was a gesture of promise.
"If there's another opportunity... you will be able to freely stroll through the hall then."
"It's not like I doubted my physician."
"I swear it on my life."
"You really are something... and you say you haven't been teasing."
The rose grumbled, but hooked her finger around his.
The slightly subdued air also brightened.
The girl, who seemed to be in a good mood as usual, asked with a casual nod.
It was a question that addressed the point he had wanted to clarify from the beginning.
"Anyway, you should decide soon, right? Who you're going to choose. Everyone's just waiting for your answer."
"I was just about to say something about that."
"What? Do you have someone in mind?"
"The truth is..."
I hesitated but started to speak.
It was a story I had wanted to bring up from the beginning, but I had missed the timing in the whirlwind of conversation.
It was about the partner I had already decided on.
"I've already thought about who to ask. But the problem is..."
"The problem?"
"That person isn't here."
"........?"
The children, including the rose, simultaneously displayed question marks.
All five pairs of eyes focused on me.
I tried my best to maintain a brazen smile as I spoke.
As if I hadn't had any particular thoughts from the start.
"I plan to ask someone I'm always grateful to."
The atmosphere instantly froze.
"So... are you saying that partner is me?"
Purple hair that fell long down her work desk.
Her red eyes blinked blankly.
The mature woman, rarely flustered, even pushed aside the wine bottle she had been drinking from.
Beyond her tipsy gaze, the blonde boy was reflected.
"That's right."
The snake nodded.
"Will you accompany me? Teacher."
Selena Drunkard.
The person who served as my teacher, and the drunkard who would be my partner for this year's banquet.
Her usually narrow eyes curved into a meaningful smile.
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