If you asked whether attending a ball was that easy, that quick, and that much up to your own will, the answer would naturally be a tilted head.
Even when you make plans to meet a friend at the end of the year, you set the date two months in advance—so how could a sudden intrusion into an imperial celebration ball be possible? If that worked, this game wouldn’t be an RPG but a fighting game.
In other words, if you think about it carefully, you can infer that Count Glass had harbored the ambition from the start to have both me and Ayla attend the ball together.
Well, for now, I am Ayla’s fiancé.
From Count Glass’s perspective, his mindset was probably something like, “Go on, revolutionary duo. Go and annihilate the ballroom atmosphere.”
Anyway, when I decided to deal with the Tri-Star family, considering my own position, being this kind of propaganda mascot isn’t that big a problem.
The real problem is my stamina.
There’s no way I can comfortably change into these medieval clothes even with a servant’s help.
Hey, rookie. Don’t underestimate the Stamina 2 move.
I guarantee I’d collapse from exhaustion after changing clothes five times.
It’s genuinely unfair and frustrating. Before entering this world, I was at least a decent neighborhood youth who could bench 250. Of course, my back disc was completely wrecked, but even with that level of stamina, I wouldn’t feel this cheated. Sir Young-jin, how did you end up with Stamina 2?
That’s why my response was decisive.
“Count Glass. I will attend in Zefflin’s school uniform.”
“…But, Crown Prince.”
“Zefflin’s school uniform is, no matter what anyone says, the finest article.”
“There is concern that others might look down on you.”
“Count Glass. Let me ask you one thing.”
“Speak.”
“Does anyone in this empire dare to look down upon Tri-Star and Lohengrin?”
“…As Your Highness wishes.”
Hmm.
That’s how it should be.
Students should wear their school uniform when going to public places.
—
Of course, that alone wasn’t enough to put me at ease, so I had someone bring Patrasche out from Zefflin.
“What’s the matter, master? Didn’t you say the regular service didn’t need to run during summer break?”
“Something came up. You didn’t think you’d just be lazing around, did you?”
“Ha… Are you trying to make me, this noble wolf-fairy, work overtime?”
“A wolf that settles for food and is content with the present is called a dog.”
“……”
“To Patrasche, it means a proud guardian. A trustworthy companion.”
“Truth… indeed.”
Patrasche scanned me with magical power to verify my words, realized they were true, and let out a deep sigh.
“Return to being a wolf, Patrasche.”
“…Ha. Are you using that snout that crawled out of hell on me too?”
“Hmph. What I need is a strong companion who hides its fangs. I have no need for a dog that settles for food and is satisfied with the situation.”
“……Understood. I shall do so. I will show you the form of a proud wolf.”
Saying that, Patrasche began to spread red magical power around him.
No longer the dog that usually pulled a cart, but the great wolf that had roamed the battlefield alongside the First Emperor.
“Someone may be after my life. If you judge it dangerous, act on your own discretion.”
“Understood. I swear it on the meaningful name you gave me.”
Well.
We were originally going to freeze to death together with our master anyway—might as well go all the way.
—
“Let’s go, Wolfram. Hehe.”
“Yeah.”
Unlike me in my school uniform, Ayla was dressed in a deep purple dress.
With the shoulders cut out—what do you call it, an evening dress?
She had light makeup on and even a necklace.
If what she wore at Zefflin’s social gathering was casual, this time it was no joke.
That’s the real Ayla Tri-Star after receiving proper styling.
“What’s the matter?”
“No. It’s nothing. I’ve never seen you like that before, so I was quite taken aback. I hope you understand.”
“Hehe. Of course. Actually, I’m not used to this kind of attire either, but Father insisted that at least I should wear a dress.”
“I see.”
Truth be told.
I was slightly flustered by the sight of Ayla that I’d never seen before, but the necklace around her neck was unmistakably one wing of the Black Fallen Angel, so I thought, “Even dressed up, Ayla is still Ayla.”
Thank goodness.
“Wolfram? What’s wrong?”
“No. …It’s just that now that we’re about to leave, I wondered if we were prepared enough.”
Before getting on the carriage, I realized it.
Today is the real deal.
A glimpse of life outside Zefflin.
That is, my first step outside the academy, where Lee Young-jin’s攻略 information doesn’t exist.
Even though I’ve decided to live as Wolfram von Lohengrin, my body doesn’t move easily.
At that moment.
There was a hand casually extended toward me.
A soft, slender warmth that took my hand.
“It’s okay. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“…I suppose so.”
There was an unwavering smile.
“Besides, unless we were at a disadvantage from the start, today is our solo stage.”
“That’s true too.”
Feeling a strange sense of relief, I took Ayla’s hand and climbed into the carriage.
—
Eve von Lohengrin held her throbbing head.
She still had an enormous number of books to read—did she really have to attend this useless and bothersome ceremony?
But not attending was also awkward.
To aim for the throne as an imperial grandchild, one naturally needs supporting factions.
Some have the dwarves at their back, others have the elven forest—that is, the traditional elves.
Magic 22 is more than enough to crush everything and declare, “I will stand in the heavens,” but the path of an emperor Eve had set for herself was that of a sovereign, not a tyrant.
And there was another problem.
Even if she walked the path of the tyrant and stood in the heavens with her own magic, Eve’s life would be in danger.
Pure mages excel at wide-area magic, but they can also lose their lives to an assassin’s unexpected blow.
That is, she had to move politically and compromise to some extent.
And the family that oscillated between friendly and neutral toward Eve von Lohengrin was the Siela family.
She knew the eldest daughter unilaterally disliked her, but she had achievements and ability.
Now she had to repay that debt.
Because she had given some help when Regina Siela tried to usurp the student council presidency from Wolfram, she now had to attend the ball hosted by the Siela family to alleviate their anxiety.
“I don’t have time for this…”
Honestly, she hadn’t even found a single clue to the fortuitous encounter that would allow her to obtain the great ancestor’s arrangements.
She firmly believed that if Wolfram could do it, she certainly could, but since summer break would end and she’d have to return to Zefflin, she couldn’t help but feel her blood draining day by day.
Still, she had to do what needed to be done. Once she destroyed friendly relations, it would take too much time to rebuild them.
【Next, Her Highness Princess Eve von Lohengrin, the Sixth Princess, will enter!】
Hearing her name called, Eve moved her feet.
She needed no escort. There was no man yet worthy of the emperor’s path she walked.
No, rather, if some mediocre man tried to escort her, it would cause political problems.
So she walked the red carpet alone and took her seat on the throne prepared for her.
Two seats had been prepared at the highest table for an escort, but no one sat beside her.
A pure white dress trimmed with gold thread. At her waist, a staff imbued with the First Emperor’s arrangements. Her hair tied up and her blue-glowing eyes. Unhesitating steps.
Eve von Lohengrin sat aloof, straightened her back, and nodded.
No one met her eyes.
Even the eldest daughter of the Siela family, who had treated her as a rival, could only bow her head in such a situation.
The intimidation of the Magic 22 stat and the weight of the Lohengrin bloodline made even her older brothers—rivals for the throne—unable to treat Eve as a mere student.
Before she knew friendship, family love, cooperation, or romance, she had realized her purpose and ambition.
A terribly lonely path.
There was not a single person in this world who could stand at the same eye level as her.
【Her Highness Princess Eve von Lohengrin, the Sixth Princess, currently serves as the student council president of Zefflin, leading the students with outstanding talent. Also…】
She had grown accustomed to that loneliness.
She should have been accustomed to it.
“Hoo.”
Why was she sighing?
It seemed like it would be a dreadfully tedious banquet.
As she thought that, and was chewing over the worthless thought of whom she should meet first to be of some help to the allied Siela family—at that moment.
She oddly noticed that the ballroom had fallen silent.
She understood that no one would dare make noise during the introduction of Lohengrin, but it was strange that even the emcee introducing her had gone quiet.
Just as Eve realized the anomaly and opened her eyes to look at the emcee, the emcee was staring at the ballroom entrance with an incredulous look. Eve’s gaze followed where the emcee was looking, and the moment she saw who it was, the silence of the ballroom was broken.
【His Highness Prince Wolfram von Lohengrin, the Fifth Prince, and his fiancée, Lady Ayla Tri-Star, will enter. Also accompanying them is his familiar, and… the great wolf who once roamed the battlefield alongside the First Emperor, the venerable fairy queen’s elder, Lord Patrasche, also enters.】
“…Huh?”
Eve, at this very moment, felt the most intense emotional change of the day.
You? Why? Do you even know where this is? Are you crazy?
He held his fiancée’s hand and walked the red carpet she had walked, toward her.
Everyone was prostrating, but Eve von Lohengrin could see.
This was a banquet hosted by Eve von Lohengrin’s ally.
And the very person who had been usurped shows up?
That’s unthinkable without being insane.
And what’s with that attire?
Why is he wearing his school uniform?
He’s proclaiming with his whole body that this banquet is invalid and that he was never usurped.
Astonishment and suspicion flow out with her magical power.
And all those emotions pierce Wolfram.
His magical power is 3.
That’s not a burden that can be handled with such a meager number.
Yet, he doesn’t waver.
Without stopping, without being swept away, he approaches her.
When he reached just below the throne, the two stopped in place.
Only Wolfram walks up the steps, to the empty seat beside her.
And then, he casually sits down next to her.
Crosses his legs, sinks deep into the chair, interlocks his fingers, and wears that oily smirk as always.
He glances sideways at Eve beside him.
And only with his lips, he says:
*’What are you looking at.’*
And he very slightly twitches his middle finger.
Only Eve von Lohengrin knows what that means.
She thought she had grown accustomed to this man’s madness, but this was truly unexpected.
A gathering where everyone except the two of them is an enemy.
Yet only he looked at her from an equal eye level.
“You’re insane. What are you trying to do by ruining this place? Is this also your plan? You know this ball is hosted by the Siela family, right?”
“【What. Spare me your useless worries. I merely came as an escort for my fiancée. I have no intention of doing anything.】”
“……Do you expect me to believe that?”
“【I’ve told you time and again that you worry too much. If that’s the case, I’ll make a declaration here.】”
“You—”
Before Eve could say anything, Wolfram von Lohengrin reached out his hand and continued.
“【I am Wolfram von Lohengrin. Let all those present listen. This is the golden word of an imperial grandchild. I, Wolfram von Lohengrin, congratulate my younger sibling of the same bloodline, Eve von Lohengrin, on her inauguration as student council president of Zefflin, and I have absolutely no intention of undermining her rule. Rather, I would even wish for her to continue leading Zefflin through graduate school. Glory to the reign of Eve von Lohengrin.】”
At those words, the tension in the ballroom eased.
He truly had come as Ayla Tri-Star’s partner.
Wolfram sat in his seat, glanced at Eve, and muttered softly, just loud enough for her to hear.
“【Do you believe me now?】”
“…Are you really insane?”
“【What. It’s the unvarnished truth. I truly wish that you, Eve, would continue as student council president even through graduate school.】”
“……Meet me separately later.”
“【No. I’ll sit here and then go back.】”
“…I’ll really kill you later.”
His shameless words make her blood pressure rise.
She wants to flip both middle fingers and stab him in the gut with a Holy Light Spear right now.
She can’t even guess what plan this is, what scheme he’s plotting.
Yet.
Strangely enough.
Perhaps because of that one man who brazenly meets her gaze at the same eye level.
The boredom and loneliness that had been gnawing at Eve von Lohengrin had, before she knew it, washed away without a trace.
