Academy Enlistment - 6
I thought Donnesia had shown up as the relief pitcher.
But her eyes weren't smiling at all. Her tone was sharp as a knife, and she looked seriously pissed off somehow. Without thinking, I activated Insight Eye.
Insight Eye has activated.
Insight Eye showed Donnesia's status. The weird part? She's jealous right now.
Jealous of what? Why the hell is she jealous of me? Did things not go well with the male leads? I remember, before I escaped, there was a line of guys and ladies trying to talk to her.
But that means none of them were male leads. With that many people around, at least one should've approached out of curiosity.
Unless... there were no male leads among them at all...!
No way, what's wrong with Donnesia...! A girl who's been through hell and back, with top-tier skills and looks—where else are you gonna find one like that!
And folks seem to be misunderstanding something here. Does this look like flirting to you? The lady I just saved from getting slapped didn't even say thanks—instead, she's grabbing my tuxedo collar and won't let go. And the girl next to her? She's my accomplice in peeking, but now she's acting like she doesn't know me.
Whether she knew how I felt or not, Donnesia approached slowly with her lips pressed tight.
Finally, she looked at Isabella and spoke.
"Mind if I take Ian? Lady Eterna."
She pointed at me with her thumb as she opened her mouth. Her voice was still sharp, and though her mouth was smiling, her eyes weren't.
Donnesia really was the relief pitcher. But...
Isabella's grip on my tuxedo collar tightened even more.
What the hell's her deal?
"Sorry, but I can't do that, Lady Logres."
Why not? Why the hell not?
Donnesia's eyebrow twitched at her response, and she tilted her head. Her mouth was still smiling, but her eyes definitely weren't.
"Why?"
"If it's related to the ball, I can't lend him out, Lady Logres."
I was getting treated like an object, which pissed me off big time, but I couldn't get a word out.
I could feel Donnesia's mood tank hard—maybe Isabella's words were the trigger. Was she mad on my behalf for being treated like a thing?
Damn, Donnesia, your family love is overflowing! Yeah, keep getting mad like that.
"May I at least ask the reason?"
"This guy saw my dirty laundry. If he starts flapping his mouth carelessly at the ball, it'll put me in a really awkward spot."
Donnesia's eyebrow twitched again. But... wasn't she planning to announce the broken engagement publicly anyway? Shouldn't that make it irrelevant?
I whispered softly into Isabella's ear so Donnesia couldn't hear.
"But it was all gonna come out anyway, right?"
Isabella stared at me like I was an idiot and whispered back.
"An official announcement is different from rumors starting from your mouth. If extra crap gets tacked on, it'll make things messy for me."
Ah, got it. She straight-up slapped a Second Prince, after all.
But wasn't the Second Prince gonna admit it himself anyway? Rumors or not, her position shouldn't really be threatened.
With his personality, he's not gonna bring up getting slapped unless he has to. And if he officially confirms it, who the hell would dare accuse her?
Not unless they're as crazy as me.
That's when it hit.
"You two seem awfully close?"
Donnesia spat it out like it left a bad taste. Now I was sure. Something must've gone wrong for her today.
Seeing me grabbed by a girl sparked her jealousy. Probably 'cause things really didn't go well with the male leads.
"Doesn't matter. I need Ian right now. Lady Eterna, I don't care about your dirty laundry. Just let go of him."
"If he opens his mouth, it'll screw me over big time."
"Then I'll keep an eye on him. Make sure your secret doesn't leak."
Donnesia emphasized "dirty laundry" like she was mocking her, and Isabella's eyes narrowed.
Angelica just watched blankly, like she had no thoughts.
And me, stuck right in the middle.
With these girls glaring daggers over my head, I felt like the wine I'd drunk earlier might come back up.
Why the hell were they having a stare-down with me in the center? Couldn't they do it somewhere else?
The tense standoff lasted a few seconds.
Someone waved the white flag first, and it ended.
"Fine. It's not my place to argue anymore."
Isabella surrendered first. She let go of my collar, and Donnesia's stiff expression softened a bit.
Finally free. I let out a tired sigh, looking drained. My tux was this close to ripping.
But...
"Hold on."
Looks like we weren't done.
"One last thing I want to ask you..."
She stared at me with those red-painted eyes, like she wouldn't tolerate lies.
"Can you answer?"
Isabella suddenly threw a question my way.
I figured Donnesia would hurry her up, so I glanced over, but she just gave me a "hurry up and answer" look—no action.
Funny how I'm the one checking Donnesia's mood. But I couldn't ignore it—I'm the weakest here by far.
Angelica goes without saying, Donnesia too, and Isabella's got that regressor prologue edge, so she's stronger than me now.
Bottom line: my proud biceps are useless here. Guess if I'm pissed, I just need to level up faster.
"What?"
"Why did you help me?"
Why help her? The voyeurs up top told me to.
"No big deal, Lady. Just felt like it."
"Just felt like it... But that was way too reckless for such a casual reason. And we're practically strangers."
Isabella's tone wasn't interrogating—it was more like scolding.
"Your choice didn't just risk you. It could've dragged your family—the Logres name—and even Lady Logres into danger."
She wasn't wrong. I straight-up challenged royalty.
If this weren't a romance fantasy, I wouldn't be standing here. Even factoring that in, I survived only because it was the Second Prince.
Anyone else, and I'd be dead. Lucky it turned out okay, but if not for those crazy voyeurs, I wouldn't have stepped up.
"You said you want to be a knight. Does knighthood tell you to do reckless shit like that?"
Surprisingly, yes. Those crazy voyeurs ordered it.
Still...
"Lady, there's one error in what you said."
"Error?"
She's not a total stranger. She might've seen me for the first time, but I've lived her life seven times over.
Through seven playthroughs, romancing her route, laughing at wins, raging at losses. Even digging wikis to get a regressor like her to a happy ending from her shitty life.
After all that playtime, she's no stranger to me. So, penalty or death by prince? No regrets picking the knightly path.
"Even without knighthood, I'd have done the same."
"...I see."
The lady paused, then spoke like she'd figured it out.
"So, you fell for me after all?"
"Narcissism has limits, Lady."
Nope. Sure, she's gorgeous like a protagonist should be.
But which lunatic goes all-in for one girl? I only went knight-mode because she slapped the Second Prince.
If it'd been the First Prince, I'd have taken the penalty and puked right there.
"Hilarious."
Isabella let out a hollow laugh at my answer.
"You're the first to say something so rude since they started calling me the Flower of Eterna."
Flower of Eterna, self-proclaimed. Even if it's a socialite nickname, saying it so boldly... Real narcissism, or just no shame?
"Not embarrassed by that?"
"If you can't avoid it, enjoy it."
Guess it embarrassed her at first. Now she's numb to it, reached enlightenment.
"That answer your question, Lady?"
"One more."
What now?
Is that really all? Did you really challenge the Second Prince to a duel for that alone?
Knowing failure meant losing everything— what drove you to that gamble? For a stranger, no less.
Throwing your whole life on the line? Just like the Second Prince's bullshit about seeing the future?
You saw through that far, so you acted? Why? Knowing the future doesn't mean you have to step in.
There's a world of difference between knowing and making it happen. No matter how detailed your foresight, mistakes happen.
And for you, a mistake means death. Did you really need to risk it, betting yourself and your whole family?
You spoke so confidently, but your face and hands screamed tension. Not some suicidal thrill-seeker who doesn't value their life.
You knew better than anyone what defeat meant—losing it all. It wasn't even sincere.
Not self-motivated, but like you had no choice. Not "I should," but "I had to." A brash fool hiding behind bluster.
Yet for a stranger in trouble, you bet everything? If it was to win my favor, you'd have comforted me after the slap.
Not idiotically challenging royalty. So I asked why, and you said you just wanted to.
I thought maybe my charm, but "narcissism has limits"...
So you dueled a prince over a stranger in a pinch? Crazy.
Bluffing to help someone, risking it all. Reckless. Insane.
What did you stand to gain? Knight training saying charge at anyone in trouble?
Not everyone bluffs through obvious bullshit to uphold shitty chivalry... Even without it, you'd have saved me?
Not because I'm Isabella von Eterna—just because I was in a bind...?
First time. Not for favor. Not pure goodwill either.
But betting everything on that whim, bluffing all the way. My world was just Kyle de Astoria, that bastard.
For the first time, this guy in front of me piques my interest.
More than that, Ian de Logres. I owe you words first.
I don't know your motives for dueling the prince. But thanks to it, I didn't get slapped.
So...
"Thanks, Ian."
For helping me.
With that, Isabella left like she had business elsewhere. Angelica...
"That was pretty entertaining."
She dropped that and vanished, probably to find the First Prince.
Left behind: Donnesia and me.
Felt like ages had passed, but the ball wasn't over yet.
"........."
Insight Eye has activated.
Donnesia's jealousy hadn't faded. The chill she was giving off surpassed even Sanco's eerie vibe by miles.
What the hell was her problem? Really just bad luck with the male leads?
"Ian."
"Y-yeah?"
"You seem pretty close with those ladies."
Were we? I owed Isabella one, and Angelica? No clue what she's thinking.
"Nah, just seen their faces around."
"So you bet our family on a face acquaintance?"
Sounded sarcastic, but what could I say? I shut my mouth tight.
Thinking about it, if this reaches the family head... GP tribunal incoming? Headache.
Right then, music started playing. It filled the ballroom quick.
Nobles found partners and started dancing to it.
Dance time, huh? I stood still, but suddenly Donnesia offered her hand.
"What's this?"
"Dance with me, and I'll forgive you."
Dance? No partner? So she really struck out with all the male leads...!
"What've you been doing this whole time?"
"I looked while you were chatting with those two ladies. Just dance with me."
What bullshit is this? If the heroine doesn't snag a male lead, how do future events even happen... Headache.
Why didn't you flirt with them? No way you didn't even try...
Headache—screw thinking.
Plenty of protagonists besides her anyway.
"Problem is, I can't dance."
"Guys who can't dance aren't popular."
"Look at this face—does it scream popular?"
With this mug and build, no one's approaching.
Donnesia laughed at my words.
"I'll teach you. Come on."
She grabbed my hand and pulled.
Dunno how it happened, but Donnesia and I ended up dancing.
Awkward, clumsy steps. Obvious I suck at dancing.
Heard murmurs around us, but I was too busy not stepping on her feet to listen.
Step on a water spirit body? Disaster.
Still, her face looked less pissed, so I figured it was fine and kept up the sloppy steps.
Not letting her mood tank again.
And the next day.
The day before Dawn Star Academia's entrance ceremony.
Tired from the train and carriage, I hadn't checked rewards yet. Time to open inventory.
Toughest chivalry act so far—better be good stuff. Better than Carnwennan maybe.
Suddenly.
"Young Master Ian, it's Alfred. I've come. Thought it was the usual daily schedule, but no.
"Young Master Ian, the family head summons you."
Yeah. The head's call dropped out of nowhere.