I was debating whether I should go back to the alcove or not.

The image of Mother's reaction when she saw us dancing was seared into my mind. Her wine glass cracked under her fingers, may I remind you.

Going back there now felt like voluntarily walking into another pit. So, I did what any sensible person with self-preservation instincts enabled: I waited for things to cool down.

The next set of dances began while I wasn't looking; a new piece was being played by the orchestra. While I was wandering mindlessly in the crowd, sometimes taking in the view from the large windows around the hall, I heard a sudden familiar voice on one of my ends.

"Feyt! Is that you?"

The voice was energetic, cutting through the soft noise of the orchestra. I turned and saw a familiar face sporting a neatly tied dark red hair walking her way toward me.

"Attila!"

I was worried she wouldn't pass for a moment, but seeing as she was here, I was glad I was wrong. She was wearing a simple, but nice, blue dress that looked a little stiff on her, as if she wasn't used to wearing one. Her grin was as wide and beaming as it had been in the forest.

"It is you!" she said, stopping before me. "Almost didn't recognize you! You look so different!! Congratulations on getting sixth, by the way! I didn't expect you to be so high up!"

"T-Thank you," I said, easing some of my tension. "Same goes for you, too. I'm glad you made it."

"Barely scraped by, but a pass is a pass!" She gave a thumbs-up.

"That's, uh, a nice dress," I complimented out of etiquette.

She blinked, casting a quick glance down at her dress, then smiling warmly at me. "Thanks! My older sister saved up for months to get this for me," she said. "It's… kinda itchy though."

Figured that would be the case. She… didn't seem to be the type to go to parties often. I had the luxury of being funded by a literal Duchess for my clothes, so they felt right.

Her expression then shifted to one of concern. "Hey, seriously though. What happened back in the forest? You just took off in the middle of our hunt. Everyone was worried sick. We looked for you for ages."

Ah. Right.

"Y-Yes, about that. Allow me to apologize," I said, dipping into a deep bow.

"W-What's with the sudden bow??" she flustered. She then shook her head. "N-No need for apologies, I'm just… curious, that's all. What made you run off so suddenly? I had a hard time explaining your disappearance to the others, you know?"

I caused more trouble than one, it seemed.

It was clear I needed to be honest with her. But I couldn't just say "Oh, yeah. You know, my other self is in a pit, so I gotta do what I gotta do."

But, as usual, I could just phrase it differently.

I straightened, rubbing the back of my neck, putting on an awkward smile. "S-Sorry about that. I heard a code from a close friend of mine. They were in danger, so I needed to save them. Sorry for not explaining things well back then."

"A friend, huh?" Attila's eyes narrowed, but not with suspicion. It was more like she was curious. "Must be some friend to make you ditch our group like that." Then, her smile returned. "But you managed to snag twenty points even without our help! We all barely passed, too, so things worked out in the end, right? I'm glad!"

The guilt took a choke hold on my frail little heart. Had I not worried the group, they wouldn't have wasted so much time looking for me. They could've scored a fair bit higher than just barely passing.

I sabotaged a lot of people that day, huh?

I instinctively dipped into another deep bow. "I'm… truly sorry."

Again, she was flustered, leaning back in surprise. "S-Seriously, what's with the bowing?! We all passed, that's all that matters, right?"

Truly, a gentle soul stood before me.

But it was clear this topic was leading both of us nowhere. So, with the grace of a rock, I shifted the topic.

"By the way, back during the exam, how did you know I trained in the sword?" I asked. "You pointed it out right away."

It was a random little question. The answer was pretty obvious on my end, after all, I was carrying a sword. What else could I have trained in?

Thankfully, it worked like a charm, but not in the way that I thought.

"Ah, that!" She puffed her chest with pride. "It's 'cause I've got an [Advanced Sword Mastery] Talent!" she said with a bright smirk.

I blinked. Feyt's face was as still as Carine's.

Advanced…?

Ain't that pretty rare?

"Ah," I said, instinctively, realizing I was cold silent for a handful of seconds. "That's… cool."

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"Right?" she agreed, completely ignoring my stunned reaction. "There's nothing more natural for me to look at and hold than a sword, so I saw you as a proficient trainee right away!" She took a step to the side, looking all around me before muttering, "It looks like you improved your posture somewhat since last time, too."

Well, yeah. Even after the exam, Mother never slowed her training down. In fact, it had been intensifying each passing day.

"By the way, where did you train?" she suddenly asked. Before I could answer, she let out a theory of her own, delivering it with her usual smirk. "Let me guess, the Sareid estate?"

…Yeah, I guess it was obvious. She must've spotted me when the spotlight was put on Carine earlier tonight.

I gave a silent nod, coupled with an awkward smile.

She beamed with excitement. "Oh, my! I've always wanted to fight a Sareid practitioner! We'll have to spar sometime at the academy!" Her expression then shifted to a more curious one. "Hey, what class did you get placed in, anyway?"

"Class... A?"

"No way! Me too!" she beamed even more energetically. "Oh, that's a relief!" she said, her grin widening. "This is perfect! We can spar all the time, then!"

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "That sounds good."

I'll be dead if I go up against her, won't I?

…

In another location, right around the same time Feyt was being grilled by Attila, a familiar and far more welcome group found me.

"Lady Carine! There you are," Eveliana's gentle voice was a balm after Mirabelle's… intensity. She, Kyro, and the others formed a protective, conversational shield around me, easing the weight of the countless stares heading my way.

"Your dance was… quite remarkable," Clarissa said. "Not only did you take first place, you also danced with the prince… I'm jealous," she said with a gentle smile, her jealousy clearly more of a flattery than an actual one.

I offered a slight, weary nod. "It was… a mere coincidence."

Before I could say more, a flash of red entered my periphery. Mirabelle, who was no longer stunned from the shock of her own ignorance, had latched onto my side, staring at the group before us.

"Allow me to introduce myself," she said, giving an elegant curtsy. "My name is Mirabelle Vareid, a friend of Lady Carine. May I know who you are?" she said with an almost possessive tone.

"Forgive me, allow me to introduce myself." Evelian straightened, raising her chin as she addressed Mirabelle. "I, Eveliana Limineid, have also had the honor of being a friend to Lady Carine, including supporting her during the practical exam. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Mirabelle."

For some reason, there was a strange tension in the air. I swear I saw sparks flying around in between the two girls before me.

Whatever the tension was, I felt the urge to break it before it could spread. I turned to Villius and asked, "By the way, Villius. You were about to ask me something before His Highness came. What was it?"

My question seemingly caught him off guard as he took an instinctive step back. "I-It was nothing, Lady Carine," he said with an awkward smile.

I was about to press further before Kyro interrupted me.

"Lady Carine, may I ask? That young man you danced with… isn't he the same one who fought the instructor with you during the exam?"

The topic was inevitable, I supposed.

"He is," I confirmed, hoping that answer would be enough.

"Yes, it is," a new, calm voice joined in. Villius, who had been lingering at the edge of our group, stepped closer. "His name is Feyt. His reputation within the Sareid estate is quite significant. He's something of a prodigy among the trainees. The Duchess herself is personally overseeing his training now."

Hey, hey! I wanted to keep things simple and discreet, you know?

Also, when did he start paying attention to me? Feyt, I mean.

"Ah, I nearly forgot," Eveliana added. "You trained with Lady Carine, didn't you? I guess that makes sense." She then lifted her brow slightly, pondering in the air. "I had no idea there was someone so capable in the Standardized section… He must be quite exceptional."

The direct praise made me a little bit tingly.

"Ah, right." Eveliana then turned her attention fully back to me, a look of sudden realization on her face. "I meant to ask this before, but, with your score, you must have been placed in the Honors class, correct, Lady Carine?"

I nodded. "I have. Thank you for your help during the exam. I would not have secured first place without the support of all of you." Acknowledging their hard work was the least I could do.

Eveliana chuckled. A proud, warm smile graced her lips. "I'm honored to inform you that I will be joining you there. I received my acceptance into the Honors class along with today's invitation to the ball."

Wait, she's in Honors? Really?!

I knew she was capable; her written exam score was one of the highest out on the board, but after seeing her practical exam's score…

…Could it be that the Honors class is recruiting students not just based on total score?

"Congratulations, I'm… delighted to hear that." A part of me was relieved. It would seem that my worry about "accidentally" sabotaging them held no ground… Or was it?

My gaze carefully swept over the rest of the group. I wanted to ask about their class placements, but before I could even ask, they took the initiative.

Kyro puffed his chest with pride. "I, myself, have been admitted to the Ox class. Though… it is a shame I won't be in the Honors class."

Clarissa stepped forward with a timid smile. "V-Villius and I were assigned to the Raven class."

Villius gave a silent nod as confirmation.

So they weren't in Honors, after all…

Kyro's puffed chest quietly flattened as he realized. "Wait, I'm the only one with none of you guys in my class??"

"N-Now, now, Kyro," Clarissa said, keeping her voice soft despite her timid stuttering. "We will still be able to meet each other during meal breaks, a-and we can still meet together in our free time!"

"A-Ah, you're right." Kyro calmed down. "Well, there's nothing to worry about, then!"

Then, Eveliana shifted her focus onto Mirabelle. "What about you, Lady Mirabelle? What class were you placed in?"

Mirabelle blinked in silence for a moment before puffing up her chest with a gleeful pride. "Ohoho! Allow me to regale you with my brilliance, for I am assigned to the special Royal Mages class!"

A look of genuine surprise washed onto Eveliana's face. "My, what an honor! I didn't realize you had a Magical Talent!"

"Ohoho!" Mirabelle laughed, holding her chin high in pride. "Indeed, I am!"

"I heard the Royal Mages class has quite the packed schedule, though," Eveliana added, still smiling elegantly.

Mirabelle's laugh stopped dead in its tracks.

"I also heard they operate in a separate building up north," Villius added.

Mirabelle's body went rigid.

"I think they even have their own dorm and food court?" Kyro jumped in.

Hey, you guys are killing her right now. Stop it.

Before any of them could deliver the final, killing blow to Mirabelle, the orchestra music swelled, then died away to its final note. The third and last dance of the night had passed without my notice. Around us, the crowd began to shift, and I could hear murmured goodbyes as some of the attendees took their early, permitted leave.

I let out a silent sigh of relief. The night was officially over, finally.

The relentlessly stressful ball was done. Now, it was simply a waiting game. There were only a few short, precious weeks of calm before the storm of academy life began for real.

But before the semester would even start, there was still another matter to attend to. My birthdays.

But before I could even worry about those… I still needed to bear the wrath of Mother as we made our way home.

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