Academy Entrance Ceremony (4)

Thanks to Mom, I managed to slip out of the hall.

Overcome with a sense of liberation, I stretched as hard as I could.

"Nnghaa...."

"Oh dear, our little Yune. Already this popular with the ladies... what are we going to do with you?"

"...Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

My sister Albert had been muttering something while I was stretching.

When I asked her to repeat it, she denied saying anything and petted my head with a tapping motion, as if resigned. She smiled like there was no helping it.

"Goodness, our Yune. I'm really worried now."

"Albert, do you think Yune will be okay? All the kids in his year are girls."

"I don't know why everyone's worried, but I'll be fine. Mark of a manly man! Totally fine!!"

"...I was going to say he'd be fine, but hearing Yune's answer makes me a little uneasy again."

Seeing my sisters worry about me, I grinned and told them they had absolutely nothing to fear.

But far from reassuring them, the two of them crouched down, grabbed my shoulders, and fixed me with eyes full of concern.

"If anything happens, you tell your sister Mar right away, understand?"

"Yes. If a classmate so much as lays a finger on you, you shout immediately: 'No! I don't like it! Don't do that! My body belongs to me!'"

"...Charl, I think that might backfire."

"......You think? Anyway, be careful. All women are wolves."

"Why are you all acting like this? Fine, I get it. Mar is already coming to see me this evening anyway, so I'll just tell her then."

After that, the two of them walked around the Academy and gave me all kinds of advice.

Most of it was a fuss about not showing my armpits or my belly button.

'Honestly, I don't know why they make such a big deal about things like that. They've already seen plenty of my belly button and armpits anyway.'

I gently let the advice go in one ear and out the other.

We strolled around the Academy like that until Mom sent a telepathic transmission telling us to come back.

* * * * * *

While Yune laughed sunnily outside with his sisters, completely oblivious, a grave atmosphere had settled inside the hall.

The new noble students stared at the front, barely able to breathe. And there, bathed in everyone's gaze, Kir and the Crown Princess stood facing off against each other.

Watching their war of nerves, every kind of speculation was whirling through the minds of the surrounding nobles.

'What's this? Is the Noble Faction indirectly voicing their discontent with the Imperial Household?'

'No way. Are those two actually fighting over the young lord Yunes? ...Nah, impossible.'

Kir and the Crown Princess were just as lost in thought as everyone else.

'I went and did it in a fit of passion, but did I let things get too far? ...I made sure to say nothing that could be seized on politically, but the mood is pretty serious.'

The fire in Kir's chest, which had blazed fiercely with possessiveness, had begun to cool.

She replayed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her own recent actions in her head, scrutinizing them for any possible slip of the tongue.

Soon realizing she had picked a fight with the Crown Princess at a level that barely stopped short of outright insult, Kir had to forcibly restrain herself from smacking her own forehead.

'Seriously, I should have at least waited until Her Majesty left. You idiot! Ah. I miss Yune. I want to hug Yune. I want to make Yune do an arabesque....'

But as the heir to a ducal house, she couldn't show a look of complete embarrassment in front of the other nobles.

Managing her expression carefully, Kir began her escape from reality inside her own head.

And then... there was the Crown Princess.

Outwardly, she wore a relaxed smile, but inside, she remained flustered.

'I was hoping I might become friends with Lady Kirschblüte too... but why is she bristling at me? Did she misunderstand and think I was making a move on her fiancé? Nah. She wouldn't act like this over something so small. Especially when I wasn't even doing it on purpose.'

The reason for her bewilderment was that she simply couldn't fathom why Kir had sharpened her claws against her.

All she had wanted was to finally speak to Yune, who had been avoiding her, and suggest they try to get along better from now on.

Because of that, she hadn't even considered the possibility that Kir had turned on her so fiercely based on the simple fact that she had 'sat with her fiancé.'

Her fingers fiddled with the wand tucked into her chest. It was an unconscious habit that surfaced when she was troubled, and she was so deeply absorbed in puzzling over Kir's behavior that it had come out.

And so, the two were wildly at odds in their interpretations of the very same event.

Kir had planned to stick to Yune like glue from the entrance ceremony onward, declaring, 'This man is mine. If you touch him, you die.' But the Crown Princess had stolen that role.

And so, Kir had taken it a step further, deeming her a potential rake stealing her fiancé and viewing her with hostility.

The Crown Princess, on the other hand, had already earmarked Kir as the secretary of the next Student Council, and was bewildered by her hostility, having no clue what she had done. She kept guessing wildly, convinced there must be some political reason behind Kir's actions.

Their misunderstanding seemed destined to deepen.

That is, until the Northern Grand Duchess, Erengard, intervened.

'Really. Even if my Yune is that gallant and charming a man, for things to be in such a state on day one... as his mother, I have to help somehow.'

"It seems to me there is some kind of misunderstanding between Your Highness, the Crown Princess, and Lady Kirschblüte."

"...?"

At the Grand Duchess's words, Kir and the Crown Princess's gazes turned toward her. To be precise, they turned toward the chest she had been holding Yune against.

Seeing the very chest that had cradled Yune, both unconsciously let envy seep into their eyes.

The Crown Princess, just a little, unconsciously. And Kir, openly and without pretense.

'...They're even jealous of me? My, my. A son being too attached to his mother is quite the problem, it seems. But what can I do? Yune simply adores me.'

Reading that envy, the corner of Erengard's mouth twitched up ever so faintly.

But she immediately hardened her expression.

'This is no time for idle thoughts. I've truly gone soft.'

"...I ask your pardon for a moment, Your Majesty."

Then, Erengard snapped her fingers with a flick.

A crisp snap rang out, and in that same instant, transparent mana spread in every direction.

The mana soon took the form of a hemispherical barrier. One that enveloped Kir, the Crown Princess, Erengard... and the Kaiserin.

The Kaiserin's eyes gleamed with interest as she observed the barrier, flawlessly transparent without a single ripple.

'Oh-ho. The Grand Duchess's mastery has touched the heavens.'

It was a technique the Grand Duchess had sometimes employed during private audiences whenever there was a confidential matter to convey: a mana barrier that blocked sound.

Inwardly marveling at how much cleaner and more perfect the barrier had become compared to the past, the Kaiserin slowly walked over to stand beside the Crown Princess.

"Isabella."

"...Your Majesty. What is the meaning of this?"

The Crown Princess approached the Kaiserin, her steps clearly betraying her bewilderment.

Only after the Kaiserin explained that this was a soundproof barrier cast by the Grand Duchess did she relax and raise her voice a little.

"I see. ...Grand Duchess. Why the barrier so suddenly?"

"Would you please look at those outside."

"Outside, you mean... ah."

At Erengard's suggestion to look outside, Kir and the Crown Princess looked past the barrier.

What they saw were their classmates, who couldn't even meet their eyes and were hastily turning their heads away.

Unlike Yune, whom the Northern Grand Duchess had allowed to slip outside, the other nobles had been unable to escape and were still walking on eggshells.

Realizing they hadn't been alone in this place, that other nobles had been present, the two women's expressions hardened slightly. In many ways, this wasn't what either had intended.

Erengard gently tapped the particularly stiff-backed Kir on the back, then inclined her head slightly toward the Kaiserin.

"On behalf of Duchess Schmut, I apologize for the discourtesy shown to Her Highness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Crown Princess by Yune's fiancée, the Lady Kirschblüte von Charlottenburg."

"Enough. In my eyes, it was not discourtesy. ...And, I presume there was a reason she reacted that way. There must be certain circumstances."

"Yes. I suspect there is a misunderstanding on both sides. And the fastest way to clear up a misunderstanding is to speak openly. That is why I risked the breach of etiquette and raised this barrier."

"Well done. Had their voices been audible to the other nobles, it would have been difficult to speak openly of anything."

Erengard had upheld the dignity of the Imperial Household by apologizing on Kir's behalf for her inappropriate conduct.

She then looked back and forth between Kir and the Crown Princess.

Recalling a saying Yune had once taught her: 'Most misunderstandings can be resolved through honest conversation.'

"Kirschblüte. The reason for your actions, I assume, was Yune?"

"...Yes."

"Explain that first. Not to Her Majesty nor to me, but to the Crown Princess."

And so, Erengard laid the groundwork to clear up the misunderstanding.

Kir cautiously voiced her thoughts.

She was his fiancée, and she had promised to sit with him and enjoy the entrance ceremony banquet. But the Crown Princess had broken an unwritten rule by entering with Yune and then sitting beside him, leaving Kir utterly bewildered, she explained.

"Thinking you might not have known he is my fiancé, and were taking an interest in Yune, I acted to protect him. Because Yune is my fiancé."

"Ahh...."

Realizing that Kir's sharp hostility stemmed from nothing more than protecting her own fiancé, the Crown Princess let out a sigh.

"...First, allow me to apologize. I was not aware you had a prior promise to sit with Yune. Time was short, so I seated him near me, but it would have been better to send him to you. I am sorry.

"Does that mean...."

"But regarding the rest, it is a misunderstanding."

The Crown Princess then began to address Kir's misconception.

Entering with Yune had been an unforeseen accident because he took so long picking flowers; she had never intended such a thing. Moreover, she had only wished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to become friendly with Yune and Kir, whom she would soon be working with on the Student Council.

Hearing this, Kir sighed as well, unable to help herself at such a typically Yune reason.

"Haa... My apologies, Your Highness the Crown Princess. Our Yune has caused you trouble. And I apologize for my unbecoming attitude toward you based on a groundless misunderstanding."

"Very well. I am sorry too. It is a matter I should have been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more mindful of, but Yunes caused me such a fluster that my thoughts did not reach that far."

The two exchanged apologies, facing each other with a lingering sense of awkwardness.

"No, it is not. ...But, come to think of it, how did you end up escorting Yune even to the restroom?"

"A-ah, ahem. I was trying to give him a tour of the Academy, when Yunes...."

After that, the two began to converse, albeit a little stiffly.

The Kaiserin and Erengard met each other's eyes and quietly lifted the corners of their mouths.

'I was planning to watch a little longer, and if they kept bickering, have them settle it with a duel. But to resolve it so well through dialogue. It seems Erengard is indeed a step above me in matters of child-rearing.'

'With this, Yune should have nothing left to feel uncomfortable about. Heh. How would Yune ever get by without his mother? Truly, you are so much work.'

Erengard smiled, sensing that the atmosphere had returned to one in which Yune would not be ill-at-ease.

She withdrew the barrier and called Yune back with a telepathic transmission.

* * * * * *

I'd been getting some fresh air when Mom called for me again.

Together with my sisters, I headed back to the banquet hall and cautiously pushed open the door.

-Creeeak.

'Are they still fighting...?'

But the atmosphere inside the hall was noticeably different from before.

The Crown Princess and Kir were talking in a mood that wasn't hostile, and buoyed by that, the other students were also chatting softly amongst themselves.

When I opened the door and stepped back inside, every gaze fell on me.

Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek.

"...Uh, hi?"