Academy Entrance Ceremony (3)
Academy Entrance Ceremony (3)
The banquet, known as the Academy Entrance Ceremony, celebrated new students admitted through the noble track.
The congratulatory address at the entrance ceremony banquet was delivered by none other than the Empress herself.
-The Academy is a place of learning. And a place of connection. Here, all of you shall...
The Empress continued her speech in a fervent tone, the kind that seemed to pull you in.
But not a single person in the hall could focus on that speech.
'Young Lord Yune and the Crown Princess, together?'
Everyone's attention was fixed entirely on the members of House Nordkirchen—including Yune, seated right at the front of the hall—and the Crown Princess.
Part of the reason they were staring was to gauge the political significance of the future empress and the Grand Ducal House's precious youngest son entering together and listening to the speech side by side...
'...Still, Young Lord Yune really is handsome.'
But it was also simply because Yune drew their gazes irresistibly—he was the only male presence in this cohort.
...Yes. The only male presence. Yune was the sole male among his peers. He'd been the only debutante at his debutante ball when he was ten, so in a sense, this was only natural.
Perhaps that was why the eyes of the women around him held nothing but goodwill.
This immense goodwill toward him stemmed from his unique position.
He was the most attractive young man among the Empire's noble sons, with features in full, radiant bloom—and yet a mysterious figure who practically never appeared in high society.
To his classmates, young women at an age of robust desire, spending four years with Yune—a man like a flower atop a cliff—felt like a blessing in itself.
Moreover, Yune was the treasured youngest son of the Northern Grand Duchess's house, so getting close to him could only bring benefit.
As long as the status disparity wasn't too great—unlike the children of baronial houses, who couldn't approach—everyone was dying to befriend him.
So, with very few exceptions, everyone regarded Yune favorably by default.
Perhaps that was why those staring at the Crown Princess seated beside Yune had a hint of jealousy in their eyes.
Even members of the Pro-Imperial Faction were looking at her with jealous eyes.
But the one who was more jealous of the Crown Princess than anyone else in the hall...
Was Yune's fiancée, Kir.
'Yune. We promised to sit together, right? So why did you enter with the Crown Princess? Why are you sitting with her? The seat next to Yune is mine. Why is the Crown Princess sitting there?'
They had originally planned to sit together and enjoy the ceremony, but seeing Yune seated with the Crown Princess instead set her heart ablaze.
Yet she couldn't very well let her expression twist—not right in front of the Empress during a speech.
So she simply kept her face expressionless, only turning her eyes to keep staring at the two of them.
Intently enough that those around her felt a chill.
'Who do you think you are, sitting next to Yune? Are you his fiancée? No, you're not. I'm Yune's fiancée. He's my fiancé. So hurry up and get lost. Yune is mine.'
* * * * * *
Throughout the Empress's speech, Kir kept staring at me.
With a terrifyingly perfect blank expression. Her face stayed fixed straight ahead, but her eyes alone turned toward me—and in that gaze I felt something dreadfully furious.
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess listened attentively to the speech with the corners of her lips lifted, as if she knew nothing at all.
During the speech, she would shift her hips ever so slightly, inching closer to me. She probably thought she was being subtle, but with hips that large moving around, there was no way I wouldn't notice.
Still, she hadn't fully pressed herself against me, so it was an awkward situation where I couldn't exactly shove her away, either.
With her that close, I barely managed to suppress a sigh as I noticed the Magical Girl Wand lodged in her chest.
'Should I just yank that thing out? Ah, if her family were only a marquess house or something, I'd just snatch it. Why does she have to outrank me.'
The Empress I couldn't do anything about, but the Crown Princess was going around like that purely as a fashion choice.
I seriously considered just acting crazy, shoving my hand between her breasts, and snatching the wand.
But I gave up quickly. If I did that, Mother—glued to my other side—would strike me down.
Commit the sacrilege of shoving my hand into the future empress's chest right in front of my mother, who belonged to the Pro-Imperial Faction? I'd definitely receive a severe punishment. Probably get my pants pulled down and my bottom spanked.
Having suppressed that fleeting impulse, I tried to turn my gaze forward again...
'...Why has the Empress got hers wedged in there so conspicuously too?!'
The Empress, delivering her speech at the front, also had a Magical Girl Wand tucked between her breasts, so my gaze wandered off through empty air.
Ultimately, I stared at dust motes floating in the void and, unable to focus on the speech, began drifting into escapist idle thoughts.
'Chloe's probably tidying up my dorm room by now... Nibuer said she'd help too, didn't she? I'll have to repay them both somehow later. What does Nibuer like, I wonder? Come to think of it, where does Chloe even sleep?'
* * * * * *
I was diligently staring off into space and killing time, and before long, the Empress's speech ended.
-...I pray blessings upon the futures of the talents who will lead the Empire henceforth. May you gain learning and precious bonds at the Academy.
-Clap, clap, clap, clap!
The moment the Empress finished, thunderous applause erupted. Well, she was a good speaker.
As I clapped soullessly along, the Crown Princess, who had been applauding beside me, suddenly thrust her face toward me.
"How was it? Her Majesty's speech? Was it not magnificent?"
"...Yes. It was a moving speech."
'Don't shove that wand at me!'
Her posture made her breasts droop downward, and the Magical Girl Wand was firmly wedged between them.
The jewel at the tip of the wand sparkled, and I unconsciously followed it with my eyes. The self-loathing that welled up almost made me lose control of my expression.
I'd gifted the wand with the genuinely good intention of saving the Empress. Why was it coming back to me like this...?
'...Wait, isn't it about time I slipped away?'
Then it hit me—the speech was over, so I could stand up now.
The Empress hadn't yet left her seat, but I figured I'd stand first, even if it was a little forced...
-Step, step.
...I tried to stand, but Kir approached me first, and I had no choice but to give up and sit back down.
"Crown Princess."
Kir, arms folded, stared at the Crown Princess.
It was a rather irreverent posture for addressing the Crown Princess, and I opened my mouth in shock, wondering if this was really allowed.
'Even if Kir is the heir of a Noble Faction house, can she really act like that toward the Crown Princess? ...Honestly, it's satisfying to watch, though!'
-Murmur, murmur.
Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking this, because everyone's attention instantly snapped toward us. Even the Empress, who hadn't yet departed, was looking this way.
This left me unable to even think about running, so I pressed close to Mother's side.
-Squeeze.
'...Whatever. If something happens, Mother will protect me.'
The warmth I felt from Mother, who reflexively pulled me into an embrace, erased my bewilderment and fear in an instant.
Reassured that I'd be safe no matter what unfolded, I began calmly observing the situation.
Despite Kir's provocative expression, the Crown Princess smiled and rose.
"Lady Kirschblüte. A pleasure. To think we would enter the Academy together like this...."
"...Trivial pleasantries can wait, I believe."
'Kir?!'
But Kir went so far as to commit the irreverence of cutting off the Crown Princess's words.
Startled, I burrowed a little deeper into Mother's embrace.
"Oh-ho. Bold enough to interrupt me mid-sentence. You must have an urgent matter indeed."
"No. I have no business with you, Crown Princess. I merely have something to attend to with 'my fiancé,' Yune."
"...You do place considerable emphasis on your words, don't you? Even without such emphasis, I am well aware that Yune is your fiancé."
"I worried Your Highness the Crown Princess, with your many public and private duties, might have forgotten. I spoke out of unavoidable concern."
'...Is this really the same timid, boyish Kir I first met?'
Seeing her so completely different from the person I first met made me freshly aware of how terrifying the passage of time was—though I was also baffled as to why Kir was being so sharp-tongued.
The Crown Princess let out a short, incredulous laugh, then grabbed the jewel at the end of the Magical Girl Wand tucked into her chest and started rocking it up and down.
...What?
-Sliiiide... plop.
'Wh-what is she doing now?!'
Every time she lifted and lowered the jewel, the wand moved. The shaft's friction directly against her breasts made them rise and fall slightly, and the sight short-circuited my brain.
I mean, seriously, why was she doing that? Why was she doing this to me?
"I am aware, so fret not."
"...Were you."
Kir, watching this, also raised her crossed arms slightly upward, as if emphasizing her own chest.
'Why is Kir doing it too? Wait, are they seriously competing over breast size right now? ...Nah, no way.'
After that, the two began glaring at each other. Or more precisely, only Kir was glaring. The Crown Princess merely smiled and met her gaze.
Growing a little uneasy at their standoff, I began burying myself deeper into Mother's embrace for reassurance.
In the end.
"At any rate. Then I shall excuse myself for a moment. Yune... huh?"
"...Hmm?!"
By the time the two of them, after their lengthy war of nerves, cast their gazes toward me...
I was outright buried in Mother's chest.
-Soft.
"...Ahem, Your Grace? However close you are with your child, holding a young noble son like that even at an occasion such as this strikes me as somewhat... inappropriate."
"Indeed. Do pull away a bit."
The two stared at Mother and me with uncomfortable expressions.
Mother briefly turned her gaze toward the Empress, then subtly nudged me outward.
Toward the opposite side from where Kir and the Crown Princess were facing off.
"Yune. It seems you should not remain here. It appears a conversation is needed between your fiancée and the Crown Princess, so take a brief stroll outside. Charlotte and Albert, see to it that Yune does not lose his way."
"...Yes! Maman, I love you!"
-Squeeze.
"...!!?"
Mother had naturally created an escape route for me.
Beaming, I repaid her by hugging her tightly, then dashed out of the hall.
'...Truly, there's no one like Maman. Maman is the best!'