CH 30

“Why does the party person look so sad?”

“Bro ……!”

“Happy birthday, Herwin. Here’s your present.”

The person who slapped Herwin on the back was none other than Lucas. His nicely dressed appearance attracted a lot of attention.

When he received the gift from Lucas, Herwin was the first to smile.

“Thank you, it’s been a long time since I’ve been congratulated by my brother in person.”

“I didn’t get to congratulate you in person while I was at the Academy, but I still sent you a bunch of gifts?”

“Haha, I know, thanks for the gift.”

“Oh, well, I didn’t get you a present. I apologize for that, Phoenaeus.”

A hand appeared on Lucas’ shoulder.

“Lydia.”

“Lucas asked me to the party, so I just showed up and I’m empty-handed. If I’d known it was your birthday, I would have gotten you a present.”

“No, thank you for coming.”

Ares smiled, then looked around.

“Isn’t this the first big birthday party in Academy history?”

“They even rented a mansion for your birthday. Maybe it will become a trend.”

Lucas looked around for a while talking about things.

“But where’s Lucia? Didn’t she come with you?”

“Well, I haven’t seen her yet…….”

“She’ll be here soon, the girls decided to come separately.”

“Uh, so you…….”

Ethan answered for him, making Lucas feel awkward. Ethan smiled his trademark sweet smile.

“I’m Ethan Belluna. I’m best friends with Lucia.”

“Oh, I saw you in the nurse’s office the other day, and I’m sorry about that because I lose my shit when it involves my sister…….”

When he mentioned the last time he’d gotten slammed in the nurse’s office, Ethan waved him off.

“No, your sister got hurt, that’s reason enough.”

“I’m Brian Chersis. Mr. Agnes, I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, Lucas Agnes. I’ll be looking out for Lucia and Herwin.”

“I’m Ares Lydia, and I see you and Arista are close.”

They introduced themselves to each other, having met briefly in the infirmary.

Bianca, standing awkwardly a few feet away, glanced at Lucas and Ares.

She recognized them as Lucia and Arista’s brothers.

Bianca frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable somehow.

“Ah! Here it is!”

“Hah, I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

“I know. So many people.”

Familiar voices sounded in the distance.

“Hey, guys, we’re here…….”

Ethan turned around, realizing the girls had arrived. For a moment, he couldn’t speak.

Neither could the others. The dull red eyes slowly widened.

The crowd pushed back a little, revealing the three women.

In the center, Arista stood stiffly in her uniform, Christine to her left, and Lucia to her right.

All three were stunningly beautiful.

“Lucia!”

“Huh? Brother!”

Lucas called out, running up to Lucia.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was invited by Herwin.”

Lucas smirked and looked Lucia up and down.

“……Why, did I get something on my face?”

“No. Ha ha…….”

Lucas let out a deep sigh and wiped a hand across his dry face. He soon stroked his chin with a serious look in his eyes.

“My sister’s so pretty, I don’t want her to get mixed up with some punks like this!”

Lucia’s face flared up. She could feel the people around them glancing.

“Don’t you think you’re looking too pretty today? Of course, my sister is the most beautiful girl in the world, but today she looks like an angel who has descended!”

“You are quite loved, Lucia.”

Christine’s murmur brought Lucia to her senses, and she pinched and twisted Lucas’ arm without anyone noticing.

“Don’t say any more than that. I’m not going to see your face when we get home.”

“Okay.”

Lucia finally breathed a sigh of relief when Lucas’ arm stopped flailing. She looked around and could feel her friends staring at her.

“I’m sorry, guys. My brother was exaggerating a bit…….”

“No, he’s right, you look pretty today.”

“Yes, you look pretty today. Christine, Arista, you too.”

Lucia felt embarrassed as Brian and Ethan complimented her on her beauty. Ducking her head unnecessarily, she glanced at Herwin behind them.

When she met his red eyes, she crossed her legs, hidden by her skirt.

“You’re …… pretty.”

Herwin smirked, and Lucia felt a flash of heat rush through her.

Thank goodness she’d brought a fan, Lucia hastily covered her face with it.

“Uniforms, you were like that when you were a kid, haven’t you gotten over it?”

“Ugh, Ares…….”

Ares let out a small sigh that made Arista notice. Arista narrowed her shoulders and scowled at him.

“You really can’t tell whose sister is whose, can you, Lucas?”

Arista opened her mouth to protest when Ares brought up Lucas. Lucas rolled his eyes awkwardly for a moment, then smirked.

“Why. It looks good on her.”

“Still, one has to cover up, and she’s probably the only one here not wearing a dress.”

“Ares, don’t you dare.”

Arista said through clenched teeth, and only then did Ares shut up.

Glaring at her enemy-like brother, Arista quickly looked away as her eyes locked with Lucas’. She clutched the hem of her dress tightly.

Bianca, who had watched the exchange, raised her hands.

Even…

“I think we’re all almost here, so let’s get the party started, shall we?”

Hearing Bianca’s applause, another organizer gestured to the band and they changed the song.

This signaled the start of the party, and the dancing began.

The people in the hall naturally moved to the edges, clearing out the center, and all eyes turned to Herwin.

“Now, shouldn’t the party owner be the first to announce the start?”

Bianca laid out the board, and Herwin looked around in confusion.

He didn’t want to, but he knew that if he didn’t dance, no one else would, so he had to pick a partner.

As he glanced around, the women nearby blushed.

But Herwin didn’t let his gaze linger on them, instead turning his attention to those in the immediate vicinity.

As his gaze settled on the four women, one of them, Arista, raised her hands.

“For your information, I have no intention of dancing, and I’m not wearing a dress.”

True to her word, it was hard to ask Arista to dance when she wasn’t wearing a dress.

Herwin looked away, then cautiously extended his hand.

“Lucia.”

“……?”

Lucia hesitantly pointed to herself, and Herwin nodded slowly.

Lucia glanced around nervously.

When her eyes met Arista’s, she blinked brightly.

Lucia hesitated, then took Herwin’s hand in hers.

They stood side by side, hand in hand, in the center of the empty hall.

Using what they had learned, they began to dance in time to the music.

As they raised the curtain, one by one, paired people began to appear and fill the empty seats.

Lucia felt like she was dreaming.

If Arista had worn a dress today instead of her uniform, Herwin would surely have offered her his hand.

‘I’m a substitute for Arista.’

Despite knowing this, Lucia’s mind races.

Even if she thinks about one thing or another, Herwin’s first dance partner today is herself. The fact does not change.

“Lucia.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me tonight?”

Something to say? In the middle of a dance?

Lucia was taken aback and then realized that she hadn’t spoken to Herwin today.

The blue-walled eyes softened.

“Happy birthday, Herwin.”

He’d heard happy birthday from many people, but he’d wanted to hear it from her more than anyone else.

Herwin laughed softly, feeling a flood of emotion.

Lucia was lost for a moment, just a moment. The image of him smiling at her was exactly what she had imagined before she came here.

For some reason, it felt good today.

“Arista, are you sure you’re not going to dance?”

Ethan asked, sneaking up on Arista as they watched people dance.

Arista smirked and looked down at her outfit.

“You can’t dance in this, can you?”

“You didn’t come in uniform for this, did you?”

“Oh, I got caught. How did you know?”

Arista giggled playfully.

Many of the boys just stared at her and didn’t approach her.

Arista was pleased with how well her plan had worked, but she had a faint regret that she should have just worn a dress.

“Hmm?”

Arista, leaning against the wall sipping her non-alcoholic champagne, looked up to see a familiar face in the distance.

“……Bianca?”

While everyone was focused on the people dancing, Bianca was in the middle of nowhere.

She was with a group of girls, deep in conversation about something.

* * *

“…… What the hell are you doing?”

Arista stood quietly, breathing heavily as she followed behind someone.

That someone was Bianca. Earlier, she had been talking to some other girls in the hall, and she had followed her without realizing it.

She was wearing a pink flower on her chest, so she assumed she was an organizer.

If so, she was just moving on to the next event, but an unexplained hunch kept tickling the back of her neck.

The sixth sense tingled and a sense of foreboding crept up. Whenever she felt this way, something was about to happen, and Arista wiped her sweaty palms.

She followed Bianca to the garden at the back of the mansion.

“…… is ready…okay?”

“Now…install…….”

In the distance, she could hear Bianca and the girls from the organizing committee chattering away.

She tried to listen, but it was hard to hear them because they were quite far away.

Bianca and the girls seemed to be discussing something secret, and then they hid something around in the grass.

“……Crystal ball?”

It looked like a crystal ball, but she couldn’t figure out what it was for.

She wondered if she was trying to set up a surprise, but her behavior was very suspicious.

She was visibly wary of her surroundings, and she kept her voice low in case anyone heard her.

Arista wondered why they had to be so stealthy when everyone knew they were organizing the party anyway.

‘Can I get a little closer?’

Arista asked, creeping closer to them.

Crack-

“Princess Lydia, what are you doing here?”

Arista shuddered at the voice from behind her and swung her arms reflexively.

“Oh my!”

A woman let out a small scream at the suddenly flying fist. Arista’s fist skidded to a halt before it could reach her.

“You ……surprised me.”

“Well, that’s on me! How can you shake your fist all of a sudden?”

“Sorry. I just heard a voice behind me and thought…….”

Arista shrugged and held out her hand to the woman, asking if she was okay. The woman grunted and took Arista’s hand, pulling herself to her feet.