"Did you see the new arrival at the Etra Gallery? I really love it!"

"I did! I did! I've already reserved Miss Blanc's necklace, but I wonder when it'll arrive?"

"Oh wow, really? How did you manage to reserve it?!"

Chatting nonstop and giggling, the female students filled the air with excitement.

Bang!

"Alright! That's a new record!"

"Wow~ This guy is seriously strong as hell!"

"Move aside, I'll break the record right away."

The male students showed off their strength by punching the punching machine.

"Back then, I said a word to that guy. 'Hey, if you're going to do it like that, get out.'"

"Eh~ Really?"

"Seriously. After that, he was trembling with his legs..."

A boy boasted about his exploits, while a girl chimed in with enthusiasm.

"... Is this what youth is?"

And there was Milia, soaking in her own feelings as she watched these boys and girls. She was at the student ballroom of Hernan Academy.

—To get to the point, there's a party at the ballroom tomorrow. Want to come join?—Pardon?—Here's the invitation. I invited you under my name, so you have to come. Got it?

The invitation was handed to Milia by Theodore, whom she had first met the day Luca collapsed.

After some hesitation, Milia decided to accept the invitation.

She knew well enough about the Partigel ducal house and was curious why he had gone out of his way to find her and personally hand her an invitation.

Besides, her own goal was to enjoy her youth. While she enjoyed spending time with Luca, she thought she should try out new experiences as well.

"Hey~ you look new here. Is this your first time at the ballroom?"

"Then we'll show you around! Let's have fun together!"

"Don't come any closer."

There were plenty of boys who tried to approach her as a first-timer at the ballroom, but they all retreated before Isella's icy protection.

Milia glanced at Isella and let out a sigh.

'Well, they certainly seem like unsavory types, so it doesn't matter. But I wish I could enjoy myself at least a little.'

Bam-ba-ba bam!

As she was having those thoughts, a song was heard from somewhere.

Looking puzzled, she saw several students jump up onto the stage in the center of the ballroom.

Among them were boys who stripped off their tops, showing off their firm muscles—all of them strikingly handsome youths.

Out of them, Theodore Partigel stood out the most with his refreshing smile that would make anyone look on with pleasure.

Doom! Doo-doom! Doo-doo-doom!

"Kyaaa!"

"Wow~ Theodore~ You're so handsome~."

"Look over here! Senior!"

As they danced to the intense beats, cheers erupted all around.

"Wow."

Milia couldn't help but be amazed. She watched their performance with her mouth slightly agape.

Though the passionate stage ended and the students came down, the lively music didn't stop.

"How did you like the stage?"

With the heat in the ballroom at its peak and Milia also swept up in the excitement, Theodore approached her.

"..."

Milia swallowed hard. Still slightly glistening with sweat from dancing, Theodore looked both vibrant and exuded a youthful sexiness.

"Don't approach the lady in such a filthy state."

Of course, that charm didn't work on Isella. However, Isella's face turned surprised as she felt someone push her away.

"Ah, my Lady?"

"Step aside, Isella."

"?!!"

Isella moved aside, and Milia cleared her throat to speak.

"Please forgive Isella's rudeness. I don't think you look dirty at all."

"Haha, thank you. Honestly, I was a little hurt."

"Thank you for inviting me. The performance was wonderful."

At Milia's words, Theodore beamed and took a drink from the table beside them, handing it to her.

"Have a drink. It's a fruit blend from Mitona. I had it brought in just for this party."

"You didn't put anything strange in it, did you?"

"Haha! Oh, right. You must be sensitive about these things."

Theodore took a sip first from the drink before offering it to her again.

"Is it alright now?"

"... You just said I'd be 'sensitive about these things,' didn't you?"

Milia's eyes narrowed a touch and Isella's hand went to her sword hilt. At that, Theodore shrugged.

"Oh dear, relax. If you cause a scene here, you'd be disciplined right away."

"... Could you explain? Why did you invite someone like me—a simple rural noble's child—to a place like this?"

At her cold words, Theodore smiled warmly.

"Because you're pretty."

"... Excuse me?"

"I invited you because you're pretty. Everyone who gets invited here is pretty or handsome. Take a look around."

Saying that, Theodore glanced around and then met Milia's eyes with a smile.

"I did, and you were so pretty I just had to invite you."

"... Please, don't joke around."

"I'm serious. Oh, and if I could add one more thing—"

Theodore subtly leaned in. Isella tried to stop him, but Milia signaled her not to.

"My father told me to take good care of you."

"!"

At his whisper, Milia's eyes widened and she stole a glance at his face.

"I'm not forcing you. But there's one thing I assure you: you'll have fun if you hang out with me. I can make sure you enjoy academy life more than anyone else. Look around."

Theodore stretched his arms wide as he spoke. The lively music, the dancing boys and girls, the delicious food and drinks—it felt to Milia as if the youthful experience she had missed out on was right here.

"..."

"My Lady."

Isella called out to her, not looking pleased, but Milia didn't answer. After a moment of thought, Milia took the drink from Theodore and sipped it. The beverage tasted good and there was no poison in it.

"Alright, Theodore Partigel. I'll spend time with you."

"My Lady!"

"Good decision. Now, can you give me your comms code?"

And so, Milia joined Theodore's faction.

* * *

"My Lady, that man is rather sly. You should not get close to him!"

"It's fine, Isella. He's on our side."

"But..."

Milia had thought Isella would understand if she said 'our side'.

That Theodore was a "gift" sent by 'Duke Partigel', their ally, so Milia could enjoy academy life.

However, Isella's distrust of Theodore prevented her from realizing this.

'If it becomes known that the Partigel house supports Her Highness, the opposing camp will try to tear us apart. There's no way they would have told the fifth son, Theodore Partigel, about that.'

In fact, that's what Isella thought, which made her very uncomfortable about the fact that Theodore Partigel might know their true identity.

Since Milia only thought Isella's discomfort was because of Theodore's frivolousness, she decided to be honest with her.

"Isella. You know that Luca was attacked, right?"

"... Yes."

"It's probably because of us. They said the attacker's identity couldn't be determined."

Milia misunderstood, believing Luca was attacked because of her.

"The info must've leaked from somewhere. That must be why they sent an assassin. Attacking those close to me would seem more effective at breaking my will than coming at me directly."

"That's... true."

Isella couldn't argue with that. It made sense that targeting Milia would only get blocked by Isella, so psychologically attacking her by killing close friends might be more effective.

"Since this is Hernan Academy, I don't think it will happen often, but I don't want to put Luca at any more risk. In that sense, Theodore Partigel is safe. If he died, the consequences would be huge."

"... Indeed, assassinating him would be a complicated issue."

"Right?"

The death of Luca Traverse, the second son once outmatched by Wylde Traverse, the Return of the Fangs, would cause much less of a stir than the death of Theodore Partigel—one of the academy's most famous figures and a member of the Partigel ducal house.

"I came here to enjoy life. To make memories, not collect sad ones."

"My Lady..."

"So, Isella."

Milia gave a bitter smile.

"Let's enjoy ourselves too."

Frightened of being hurt, she decided to choose fleeting joy over everlasting friendship.

* * *

From then on, Milia distanced herself from Luca and Ottbo. She ate lunch with members of Theodore's faction and spent her afternoons at the ballroom.

On weekends, she visited ballrooms in Havok, boutiques belonging to the Partigel Merchant Group, and the most trendy salons.

She gained more friends whose faces she knew but whose names she didn't. She learned all sorts of juicy gossip and expensive fashion brands.

"By the way, Milia, what perfume do you use?"

"Oh? I..."

"Now that you mention it, Milia doesn't wear a ring. Why is that?"

"Oh, rita! You shouldn't say things like that~."

"..."

And naturally, she began to lose ground in the girls' pecking order. Despite being the Fourth Princess, she couldn't drape herself in luxury items.

There were other places where her money was more urgently needed.

"If there's anything you want, pick it."

"Uh? But..."

"Haha, it's fine. Aren't things a bit tiresome if you don't have stuff like this?"

Theodore, always smiling, gifted her many things. Her room gradually filled with clothes, accessories, and cosmetics, and she spent more time adorning herself.

"Oh my, Milia! Isn't that the new release from Madame Lébidon?"

"Ah, hehe, yes."

"Oh, you little vixen, you're so talented~ How did you get it?"

"How else do you think? Her boyfriend must have given it to her."

"B-boyfriend? No, that's not true."

Milia blushed and frantically waved her hands, and those friends whose names she still didn't know teased her on.

"Theodore doesn't have a girlfriend right now. Isn't this your chance?"

"What? But..."

"He's handsome, fit, fun, and on top of that, rich. He's perfect!"

Objectively speaking, Theodore was perfect. Good personality, lots of money, fun to be around. Milia had to admit that herself.

"But I don't really know what it actually means to date someone."

"Dating is dating—what more do you need?"

"Milia, you're too innocent."

"R-really?"

"These days, everyone just starts dating without knowing much. You have to try it during academy, since after graduation you'll often marry someone you don't even like, in a political marriage!"

She had indeed seen many people at the ballroom meeting and parting repeatedly.

People who were lovers yesterday might be strangers today, and lovers again tomorrow.

"Anyway, unless girls like us have a clear path in life, it's best to marry someone you meet at the academy."

"Right. I don't want to marry some strange old man I've never even met!"

"In that sense, Theodore's the best! Even if you only date and break up, I want to try going out with him at least once."

Hearing these things, even Milia became a little curious. After all, it might be her chance to be the protagonist of the kind of romance she only ever read about in books.

'But Theodore is only helping me because Duke Partigel told him to.'

Even so, she couldn't help but wonder:'Still... what does Theodore actually think of me?'

Theodore always smiled at her when their eyes met. At first, Milia had felt nothing, but now she noticed her heart beat just a bit faster every time she saw his smile.

'Could this... be love?'

One day, as her thoughts deepened, Theodore spoke up.

"Milia. Want to go out, just the two of us, tomorrow?"

"... What?"

It was the first proper date invitation she'd ever received in her life.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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