Episode 104. Ball (2)
Chloe’s footsteps echoed through the hall.
Again, again, again.
For some reason, the music had become slightly quiet.
Chloe approached Rubin with quick steps and stood in front of him. It had been two years since they had met properly. Instead of the arrogance typical of nobles, she still exuded innocence.
However, the gaze that was looking at Rubin now was filled with complex emotions. That was why he thought he could no longer pretend not to know.
“… … .”
Chloe didn’t say anything at first.
‘Soundproofing. What on earth are you trying to say?’
A soundproof screen created with Chloe’s simple gesture. It was an internalized whim, but only Rubin, who was wearing Glayton’s bracelet, recognized it.
The soundproofing curtain wasn’t a single layer. Selesne, who was separated from the two people, also overlapped the soundproofing curtain to allow them to talk more freely.
Only then did Chloe’s lips part.
“That’s right.”
“huh?”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Luden?”
“Oh, Chloe. You’re always surrounded by people.”
It was half true and half a lie. If he had said that he knew each other, anyone would have opened the way. It was just that Rubin didn’t want to.
“… Well, that could be the case.”
Fortunately, Chloe also passed it by without saying anything. She looked around, observing Rubin, who had grown up so much in two years. Her gaze was filled with not only surprise but also worry.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
“Are you hurt?”
“You mean nothing happened in Philimond?”
While Rubin delayed answering, Chloe let out a deep sigh.
“What the hell happened… I thought you were dead. In Philimond, you know. The vassals checked for themselves… Celesne was there too… … .”
Rubin just shrugged his shoulders at Chloe, who was mumbling to herself. He made a gesture that said he didn’t know what she was saying, but in reality, he didn’t. He even guessed the details that Chloe didn’t know.
‘After I left Philimond, I guess my family took some action.’
I remembered my mother’s instructions to enjoy the Philimond Festival for a week. Perhaps the vassals of my family moved around that time.
It was a routine task when involved in a large-scale or historical event. Creating fake corpses and fabricating deaths was not difficult for the assassins.
“By the way, Chloe.”
“… … ?”
“I guess we should talk about this later. There are too many people around. Everyone is looking this way.”
Chloe realized it too late.
If you just look at the scene unfolding in the hall, the two of them were like performing a play on stage. The incoming freshmen and the distinguished guests were watching.
But Chloe was a young lady of the imperial nobility who had never cared about what others thought of her. Even in this situation, she didn’t budge.
“I really need to check it out, right now.”
“Confirmation?”
“Are you really the Luden Poinen I know?”
Then Chloe held out her hand.
“Dance with me. I’ll check on you while we dance. I’ll check if there’s any dark magic involved, and if you’re really alive.”
“… … .”
At that moment, Kuze’s impatient voice rang in Rubin’s head. The Kuze that Rubin was looking for had finally appeared.
Kuze was standing in front of the second floor railing where the guests were crowded together, sending out a telegram based on the dark smoke.
-I’m sorry, Your Majesty!
-Kuje, what happened? I’ve been looking for you for a long time.
-I was caught by Lady Celesne and… I was interrogated for quite some time. She even seemed to be using interrogation magic, so I told her a bit about our presence.
-So that’s why Chloe noticed me.
-Miss Chloe said that after the Philimond incident, she suffered from a great sense of guilt, thinking that we were dead… … .
Why the guilt? I was curious, but I couldn’t talk to Kuze calmly. Chloe was still reaching out and asking for a dance.
I don’t know why I felt guilty, but right now I had to do what Chloe wanted.
As Rubin wrapped his arms around Chloe’s outstretched hand, the two began to dance. The freshmen’s astonished looks and whispers were also evident.
“That’s ridiculous. Witherspoon asked me to dance first?”
“Who is he? Is he from a famous family?”
“I don’t know about that, but I heard he was a third-class noble. What on earth happened?”
The two of them walked through the crowd of freshmen and into the middle of the ballroom. At the same time, the music changed slightly. The two of them moved smoothly amidst the more solemn music.
“You… are really Luden. It seems like your mana has become a bit dizzy over the past two years… but you are right. I’m really glad.”
“You sensed my mana? Oh, you helped me settle my mana on the Blue Cat.”
“Yeah, I remember! Anyway, I’m really glad.”
The reason Chloe felt dizzy was probably because of the fake mana injected into her by the Imperial Order.
But to Chloe, all that mattered was that the boy in front of her was Luden. Not a corpse resurrected by black magic, but a living Luden Poinen.
From this point on, Chloe’s expression brightened noticeably.
“Luden, how did you end up in the magic school?”
“Thanks to you. Of course, Celestia warned me not to even dream of becoming a wizard… but I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.”
“You can forget what Celestia said. This is Capotini. Anyone with talent will be trained to become a magician. You made a good decision.”
The two of them chatted about various things while dancing. It was a small talk between friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.
“How is your dorm roommate?”
“He’s a good guy. He’s a very funny and unique guy, and his magical abilities are amazing.”
“Really? What’s your name?”
“Oscar Tounio.”
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“Tunio? This is the first time I’ve heard of that family.”
Since the conversation had been going on for a while, it was time to stop dancing. He couldn’t keep everyone’s attention like this. Rubin slowly began to gauge the timing of the dance.
“There are a lot of outstanding students among this year’s freshmen. You’ve heard of Eric Ielos and Dahlia Delin, right? There’s also the Melanie family and the Herman family.”
“Maybe Oscar is better than those guys.”
“Is your roommate like that? Even worse than Eric?”
“maybe.”
“When you say it like that, I’m really looking forward to it? Of course, it’s highly likely that you didn’t recognize it properly, Ruden.”
It was understandable for Chloe to think that, since Rubin seemed to be a child with virtually no knowledge or experience with magic.
However, even though he has never been a wizard, Rubin has encountered many wizards before his return.
‘The Oscar contender will be Chloe, not Eric or Dahlia. Oh, and there was also Per Lorenzini.’
Per, who has yet to be revealed. If he is the mad wizard who instilled fear in the assassins, then who knows? It is impossible to imagine how far he must have come during his days as a magic student.
Rubin found himself recalling the past.
I had never met him before, but he was the blue-haired wizard who stood alone on the battlefield far away.
At first, I vividly remembered the sight of her whole body covered in the assassin’s blood, so much so that I mistook it for red hair.
“Oops, I made a mistake.”
Rubin was so lost in his thoughts about Per that he had to stop dancing for a moment because he missed the movement of his feet. Chloe playfully giggled and led Rubin along.
“Anyway! I wish we could be in the same class. You too, and that kid named Oscar too.”
When Chloe said this.
Among the magic students staring intently at him, Rubin felt someone grab his attention. It was the person he had just spoken about. It was Oscar Tunio.
“Chloe. Hey, my roommate’s here. Do you see that green-haired boy next to Eric?”
“Next to Eric… green hair… ? Oh! Is that Oscar?”
Oscar, who had been cruelly rejected by Dahlia, was somewhere soothing his wounds and only now realized the situation.
As I was walking towards the ballroom, wondering why so many people were gathered there, I witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Roommates who dance with imperial nobility!
“… … !”
Oscar, who had forgotten that he was joking, even dropped the glass he was holding.
Clang!
“Ha… Oscar must be giving you a hard time.”
“I think that drink is Caponiglia. You shouldn’t get that on your hands and clothes.”
Oscar’s hands, which were busy picking up broken glasses, were covered in Caponiglia drink.
As Chloe had worried, the drink had the property of stripping away dye, but fortunately, Oscar’s clown-like ball gown was intact. Even though the design was very poor, the blue fabric itself seemed to be of high quality.
But at that time.
“… … !”
“What’s wrong, Luden?”
Chloe suddenly looked up at Rubin, who had stopped dancing. Rubin was looking at Oscar with surprised eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“No, Chloe. I think it’s because of us that the other friends can’t dance.”
“Huh? Everyone is dancing well?”
“wait for a sec.”
Rubin spoke calmly and released Chloe’s hand. Right now, the important thing isn’t to let go of the regret with Chloe.
‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
Thud thud.
Rubin walked straight towards Oscar. Now, Oscar was running his caponiglia-stained hands through his hair.
Due to the unique properties of the Caponilia flower, Oscar’s hair color returned to its original color when he touched it.
‘That Perga could disguise his identity. That he could change his hair color… … .’
It was a complete mistake on Rubin’s part.
At that moment, Oscar realized that he had Caponiglia on his hand and hurriedly removed his hand from his head. It was too late to undo his mistake.
“Ludon! What’s going on, am I dreaming? How did you… No, no. Why did Witherspoon’s daughter… …?”
“Oscar. Your hair color has changed.”
“Oh, no! It shouldn’t have come off with Caponilia, but it looks like the magic I put on it has run out.”
Oscar smiled awkwardly. It meant that he had used magic in addition to dyeing his hair.
Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Oscar’s natural hair color is blue.
‘Who are you?’
Rubin held back the words he wanted to ask right away. He had to calm down for now. For now.
* * *
A space for VIPs located on the upper floor of the ballroom.
After the ball began, the cheerful atmosphere seemed to remain the same as before, but a subtle tension had descended.
Who on earth is that black-haired boy? Ever since the youngest daughter of the Witherspoon family danced with an unknown boy, all the VIPs’ attention has been focused on him.
“Is it true that men at Americmana Magic School accept ball dances?”
“How could that be? I don’t think Miss Chloe attaches much importance to such formalities.”
“Just looking at that cadet’s clothes, I’m sure he’s a commoner.”
“They say she’s a third-class noble, but she spilled drinks on her clothes. I can’t even fathom Witherspoon’s thoughts, man.”
“The important thing is that the black-haired cadet was able to have a natural conversation with the imperial noble lady, right?”
Of course, no matter how much I tried to talk about it, it was useless.
The guests didn’t even realize that the man named Kuze standing next to them, sipping his drink, was one of Rubin’s men.
Among the guests, only two people knew about Kuze and Rubin’s relationship: Chloe’s maid, Celesne, and Rosenthaler, an officer in charge of the Imperial Secretariat.
“… … .”
As soon as his eyes met with Kuze’s, Rosenthaler raised his glass toward him.
It’s a kind of signal.
I didn’t know Rubin was connected to the Imperial nobility, so I was very surprised, so as Rubin’s Roynenser, I will have to explain it clearly later.
Kuze nodded slightly so as not to reveal it to others.
-Kuje, there’s something I need you to do.
-Please speak, Your Majesty.
I recalled the conversation with Rubin earlier. After finishing the dance with Chloe, Rubin called Kuze over and gave him some instructions.
“Watch Rosenthaler. You have to make sure you know who he approaches. He certainly wouldn’t come to the initiation ceremony for no reason.”
“All right.”
“And one more thing.”
“Yes, your highness.”
“Starting tomorrow, learn about the Tunio family.”
Meanwhile, Rubin delivered a note through the transformed Tina.
It contained all the information Rubin had so far gathered about Oscar Tunio. Of course, the source of all this was his conversations with Oscar.
“… … .”
If it’s Oscar Tunio, wasn’t he your roommate? He wasn’t someone you were particularly wary of until now?
But Kuze did not ask for the reason for the investigation. He knew Rubin well. He knew that when the time came to know, he would explain.
So, I humbly accepted the assignment, thinking it would breathe some life into a time when I was feeling frustrated just staying in the bookstore.
