Lex's POV
SEVERAL WEEKS PASSED
Since I was just a background character (at least I tried, there were no real life changing events or any of note that happened, and I started to get used to my daily life at the academy.
Anyway, I was growing accustomed to life at the dorm and enjoyed spending time Leon, Daniel and Raymond in trying to get wives.
We were all in a similar situations (still single).
Today, we were seated together on a bench in the school's courtyard, discussing the tea party coming up at the beginning of May.
"I guess we should be picking who to invite, right?" Daniel asked worriedly. "What are you going to do?"
Women got to relax during the long holiday in May, but not so the men.
Society expected us to take the opportunity of a break to invite a girl to an elaborate tea and get closer to her. And I'm not talking the kind of party where you indiscriminately invited every girl you knew. We were making overtures to check compatibility with potential partners.
While technically an unofficial event, we held the parties within school property. A course scheduled in advance taught men how to properly entertain a woman and behave like gentlemen. Those classes started at the beginning of our May holiday.
Raymond looked down at his lap. "I know we're financially well off but there's no way I can hold a fancy tea party. I don't care what girl attends, as long as someone does."
The academy sure got expensive. They required payment for tuition, room, board, or daily expenses, for only men we paid a dear, dear cost.
I had savings, but I couldn't treat those funds like a bottomless well from which I could freely pump. I didn't especially want to use any of it, if my only aim was to get in a woman's good graces, (Or so I thought until Jarvis told me he cold forge, the kingdoms currency exectly as is.
On the other hand, if you didn't hold a party, women had their own whisper network, just like we had our own group for solidarity. Everyone would know if you skipped out—even if you didn't have anyone you particularly wanted to invite. He doesn't even hold tea parties, they would say, or any other malicious rumor that popped into their head. It would inevitably damage your chances of getting married at all; men took a hit if they committed any faux pas.
Thus, the current problem.
Our accomplishments had landed us in a position where we would be fully independent upon graduation, and everyone viewed us as relatively wealthy.
Someone had snitched to them about those mountains of gold and silver treasure. Which meant… "We have to hold a ridiculously formal tea party," I moaned. "At least, that's what I was told. I'm dreading this whole thing."
As the four of us commiserated, we spotted
Crown Prince Julius Rapha Holfort, a boy with short, navy-blue hair, and if the rumers were true had the Ocean grace, I didn't know his Grade or Rank,Sauntering through the courtyard with his procession of female flunkies.
A few men tagged proudly along behind them—heirs of earldoms. The prince was also accompanied by his foster brother and best friend, an heir to a viscount house working within the royal guard. His name was Jilk Fia Marmoria. He had long, dark, forest-green hair. I almost wanted to ask him if he dyed it. His green eyes sloped down at the edges, giving him a far more gentle appearance than the prince he served. His Highness's eyes were sharp.
Despite Jilk's relatively low status, being close to the prince guaranteed he'd receive an important post in the future once he graduated.
The girls had hearts in their eyes as they chattered at the two men.
"Your Highness, will you be holding a tea party in May?"
"I'd like to join."
"M-me, too!"
The girls looked like a bunch of puppies wagging their tails in excitement.
It was a cold, hard look at reality for the rest of us.
Raymond covered his face with his hands. "With the prince and the other high-ranking nobility at the academy this year, the standards are going to be insane."
Daniel's shoulders slumped. "They're definitely going to compare us.
Ugh, 'Light'please have mercy."
We watched in envy as the prince basked in the attention. Suddenly, a woman appeared, followed by an enormous contingent. It was immediately apparent she was of high birth.
Her name was Angelica Rapha Redgrave. Her gleaming blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, the perfect complement to her beautiful white skin. Her red eyes exuded strength, her piercing gaze said clearly that she possessed something most did not. If some people in this world really were born to be special, then she and the prince definitely numbered among them, rumored to have the Grade S Inferno Grace.
"The prince's betrothed…?"
The girls surrounding the prince and Jilk made way for Angelica. None of them were foolish enough to make advances in her presence. I just wanted to tell all of them not to bother in the first place.
Angelica's eyes narrowed. "Your Highness, I would like to speak to you regarding your tea party in May. Would you permit me to join?"
We were warned against using our social positions or our parents' authority to influence life at the academy. It wasn't a realistic expectation; some things couldn't be ignored.
Prince Julius breathed a sigh. "Angelica, drop the intimidation act. This is the academy."
"I am aware. But this fuss and bother you trail has begun to grate." School grounds or not, Angelica was the daughter of a duke.
No one was stupid enough to defy her.
"So that's the protagonist's rival, huh? She does look formidable," I heard someone mutter that besides
Suddenly, I noticed a girl standing apart from the crowd. The moment I spotted her, my eyes narrowed. Where Angelica stunned with exquisite beauty, this blonde-haired, blue-eyed viscount's daughter came off as dainty and cute.
Marie Fou Lafan.
I just couldn't get over my unease about this girl. Looking at her made my hackles rise. It wasn't hate—it was something more complex. I couldn't put it into (Leon was feeling it too).
Jilk noticed Marie's gaze and got the prince's attention. "Your Highness…" "Hmm? Oh. Marie, perfect timing." The prince smiled at her. "I was looking for you. Would you join me?"
Angelica's brows twitched, then furrowed as one of her followers whispered in her ear.
The tension hung thick in the air. Most people would have read the room and stayed back, despite the prince's invitation. Marie stepped forward.
This standoff unfolded just a few meters from our bench.
Daniel wrapped his arms around his stomach as if about to be sick. "Can…I just go home?"
Raymond slightly shook his head. "No. We'd attract attention if we tried to move. So that's the girl from the rumors, huh?"
"You know about her, Raymond?" I asked under my breath.
"You really don't know?" Raymond looked at me in surprise. "The story's pretty infamous by now. Marie slapped Prince Julius across the face."
Daniel was flabbergasted. "You're kidding, right? That's not what I heard.
I heard she was eating lunch with a prominent nobleman, and she ordered a steak and ate it like she'd never seen a knife and fork before."
It was Raymond's turn to be taken aback. "Seriously? I hadn't heard that one. But the one about her slapping the prince is definitely true. Apparently Prince Julius just laughed it off."
Maybe the prince could shrug off being slapped in the face, but surely the rest of the nobility couldn't dismiss it. And for a noblewoman to have such poor table manners… Hey, wait.
"A slap…and a steak?" Leon cried out asking for clerification
Leon's POV
'That sounded familiar, somehow. Had I heard these rumors before? I couldn't remember.'
Marie's adorable voice cut through my thoughts. "You called for me, Your Highness?"
"Boys at the school will be holding tea parties in May. I don't want to do anything too elaborate, so I planned to just invite acquaintances. I was hoping you would join me."
"Prince Julius," Angelica objected, "there are regulations. I don't mean to say that you must have an elaborate party, but it ought to be at a scale appropriate to your status."
Then I had it—well, I had something: this was one of the main story events in the game, wasn't it? But the protagonist didn't seem to be present.
Curious, I surveyed the area.
Raymond noticed my distraction. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just looking for someone… Is the scholarship student around?"
He glanced about, then shook his head. "Nope. Besides, she wouldn't hang out here. Now be quiet and watch. We have to hold out until the storm passes."at that Lex laughed,
"A storm that Leon can't clear with his grace that's a first." he added laughing, which instigated a cascade of laughter from the rest.
Other students looked at us like we had balls of steel to laugh in such a tense situation.
Others had attempted to enter the courtyard, only to notice the tension in the air and turn on their heels. I envied their ability to escape.
"Enough, Angelica!" the prince snapped. "This is the academy. I'm just another student here. You may be my betrothed, but that doesn't give you the right to interfere in my life."
Angelica's pinky twitched, and she inclined her head. "I overstepped my bounds."
With those words, she stepped back, though she glowered at Marie. Then she took her leave, her entourage sneering at Marie as they followed.
"I'm sorry, Marie," Julius said. "I hope that didn't upset you."
"N-no, I'm fine. But are you really sure it's okay for me to attend your party?"
"The prince isn't fond of formalities. He wants to hold a more casual affair. We would love for you to join us," Jilk shrugged, then chuckled. "Plus, this is the first time I've seen the prince be so insistent on inviting a lady."
Embarrassed, the prince averted his gaze. "A-anyway, I do hope you'll come. Let's go, Jilk."
As the prince and Jilk began to withdraw, their little minions followed close behind. Unlike Angelica's followers, their expressions were conflicted as they glanced at Marie.
Daniel and Raymond breathed a sigh of relief that we were finally free, but I kept my gaze trained on Marie. No one else had seen it, but for a fraction of a second, she relaxed her facade. A smirk crossed her face.
I finally peeled my eyes away, followed my two friends, and left.