This Damn Party
"Bullshit."
In the Benedict Academy infirmary, a woman sat slouched in a chair, spitting out the curse. She had one leg propped up on the seat in a manner utterly unbecoming of a lady in a skirt, her chin resting on her opposite hand as she leaned back at an angle. Anyone who saw her would have doubted their own eyes, but Jealousy of the Seven Deadly Sins—disguised as Clara Propol—couldn't have cared less about appearances. His mood was far too foul.
"A party? What kind of party? Again?"
Never since meeting the young lady had he felt such resentment toward her. Even when the Master had been away and he'd reluctantly agreed to infiltrate the palace, it had already been a headache.
At least back then she never left the princess's room, so watching from outside the window was enough.
The palace was one of the safest places in the Ellemental Kingdom. There had been the occasional dinner incident with King Raymond's family, but Jealousy had been certain nothing inside those walls could ever harm Arina. Even hiding outside the window to keep an eye on Marily and Arina had only been to avoid the disgrace of neglecting the young lady while the Master was in the underworld.
A party is completely different!
The continent was crawling with rotten nobles. They were better than the Fan Empire, where even the emperor was trash, but nobles were all the same at heart. Just counting those secretly in contact with the underworld was endless. If someone dumped the list of their drug deals and slave trades onto the news, the world would flip upside down. And they wanted to throw the young lady into the middle of that?
There were limits to nonsense.
I can't even trust the mage corps.
The palace had been safe because no external threat could reach her. That safety had never included friction with nobles at parties. Even as the Death King's niece, her status was still that of a commoner. The Grant Company's shield, no matter how prominent, couldn't protect her from noble conflicts. The only thing he could rely on was her friendship with the princess.
"You think I'd send the young lady into a den of shady trash just because of one little girl?"
Jealousy knew full well this was blatant overprotectiveness. As he'd said, the royal mage corps would guard everyone's safety, and Marily would stay by Arina's side the entire time. Unless something truly unexpected happened, Arina would be fine. But what was wrong with being overprotective? What if that unexpected thing actually occurred?
"Does that princess even think before she acts?"
How could she be so bad at refusing? Just because the young lady begged, she went along with it? She should have flatly said no!
"Haah."
But what could he do? The damage was already done. With a sigh, Jealousy slumped forward onto the desk.
"So in the end, I have no choice but to sneak into the palace myself?"
He really didn't want to because of the Majoan. That damned man had layered the palace with so many spells it was suffocating. Back when Jealousy worked as a thief, he never went near anything related to the Majoan. Even infiltrating Benedict Academy had required forging an identity and an absurd amount of effort.
Are they hiring any new attendants or something?
Frustration and irritation welled up from deep inside. Still face-down on the desk, Jealousy let out another long sigh.
＊ ＊ ＊
"……With this much, we really don't need to prepare new clothes."
After school. Following their usual routine since Kain had left for the underworld, Marily and Arina entered the palace. Marily peered into the extradimensional pouch Arina had taken out in her room and couldn't help but laugh.
She'd said she'd emptied an entire department store, and there hadn't been a single ounce of exaggeration. When she shook out the pouch, a mountain of luxury clothes poured out. Most of them were brand new, price tags still attached, as if they'd been waiting for the day Arina would finally wear them.
"Looking at the styles, these are mostly spring clothes. You must have bought them during that last trip to the Grant Department Store, right?"
Though the memories of that time had been erased by Kain, Marily already knew Arina had been at the Grant Department Store then, so the deduction was simple.
"There are a lot of clothes, but most of them are suitable for May through early June. You should ask your uncle for summer clothes separately later."
"It's fine. I barely go outside anyway."
Honestly, Arina's wardrobe consisted almost entirely of her academy uniform and comfortable clothes for home. The only times she'd worn anything else were for Layla Ruby's concert and the recent trip to buy Kain a new smartphone. Since those outings happened maybe once a month, her claim that she didn't need new clothes made sense. Besides the clothes in the pouch, she still had several outfits from before.
They feel a little tight lately. Maybe I've grown.
They were still wearable. She could keep using them a bit longer before replacing them. It was a level of frugality rarely seen in children these days. But perhaps that very sight frustrated Marily. She grabbed Arina by the shoulders with a deep sigh.
"Arina, take a look around my room."
"……?"
At Marily's words, Arina glanced around the room she'd seen for the past few days. When she'd first entered, she'd been amazed by how much larger it was than her own living room. Then she'd been amazed again by the ridiculously expensive furniture and luxury items filling it. It felt like stepping into a princess's room straight out of a fairy tale.
"What do you think? Everything looks expensive, doesn't it?"
Was she bragging? Was Arina supposed to say she was jealous? But one look at Marily's eyes told her that wasn't the answer she wanted.
"I decorated this room from top to bottom with my own allowance. It's listed as 'maintenance of royal dignity' expenses. A few things were gifts from my brother, but most of it I bought myself. That's an undeniable fact."
"Yeah."
"Yet the clothes you just pulled out are far more numerous than the ones I bought this year."
In other words, Kain's spending power in a single go exceeded even that of Princess Marily.
"When royalty or nobles spend money under the pretext of maintaining dignity, it's not just to display their authority with wealth. The bigger reason is the virtuous cycle of the economy."
Money had to be spent for the economy to move. If the wealthy hoarded everything without spending, consumption would stop and inflation would inevitably follow. In short, to prevent economic collapse, the rich had an obligation to spend. That was why if someone didn't spend a certain portion of their income, the country collected the difference as taxes at year's end.
"From what I've heard, you and your uncle spend far too little compared to what you have!"
"Uh-huh."
Marily's passionate economic lecture continued like an attack. But the difficulty was far too high for a twelve-year-old who had barely experienced society. Arina nodded along with a dazed expression, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.
"So basically, you're telling me to spend more money?"
"Exactly!"
Still, Arina had understood the core message. Satisfied, Marily nodded vigorously.
"But that money isn't mine. It's my uncle's. So spending it however I want feels wrong."
"If we're going by that logic, then I'm also using money I received from my father, not money I earned myself."
"No, that's different."
That was maintenance money given to royalty. To Arina, her situation and Marily's felt clearly distinct.
"How is it different?"
Marily frowned, genuinely unable to understand.
"You're still a minor who hasn't entered society yet, so it's only natural to receive money from your legal guardian. That's common sense."
Marily herself was still young and lived off money from King Raymond. Once she became an adult, her maintenance expenses would have to come from her own earnings. In other words, there was no difference between Arina's and Marily's situations at all.
"That's what family does. If you keep refusing out of consideration for the other person, it actually becomes rude to them."
"……."
Arina's eyes widened in shock at Marily's words. Then Kain's usual line flashed through her mind.
"If you want something, just say it, kid. I'll buy it for you."
The smartphone had been the same. Every time she tried to refuse, Kain would tilt his head like he couldn't understand. At the time, she'd felt guilty accepting so much from him, but maybe—just maybe—her refusals had actually hurt him, exactly as Marily said.
Was I the one who hadn't fully accepted him as family, not the other way around?
When she was younger, she hadn't been like this. Even if not every day, whenever she needed something like a magic book, she'd asked her father without hesitation. Unlike her uncle, who always refused first.
Uncle has always thought of me first.
Looking back, he had never once refused anything she'd asked for. This time, he'd even suggested they go on a trip together—the same uncle who hated leaving the house. The only reason she could think of was her.
Just the fact that they were going for a walk in the park together had made him so happy back then.
"……."
The realization came suddenly. Marily's words filled Arina's face with shock and resolve.
"Okay. Thanks, Marily."
She'd been so caught up in the fact that her uncle was gone that she'd forgotten—they'd promised to go somewhere together during summer break. When he came back, she should ask him to go buy clothes for the trip.
"Mm, your expression is much better than before."
Marily nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"We should probably decide what to wear to the party after dinner."
Then, with a playful smile, she turned to Arina.
"What do you think? Father said he wants to have dinner with you again."
"……!"
Arina's face went deathly pale at Marily's words. The memory of her first day in the palace flashed through her mind. Marily had dragged her to the dining hall without warning. When the attendant opened the door, the king had greeted her with a smile. The queen and Marily's brother, the prince, had been there too. The king had laughed loudly and even joked around to help her relax, but the moment she'd seen them, her heart had dropped straight into her stomach. She hadn't been able to tell whether the food was going into her mouth or her nose, even though the table had been covered in delicacies she'd never tasted before.
"Well, I'm joking."
At Marily's next words, color returned to Arina's face. She puffed out her cheeks and glared at Marily as if to say, How could you make such a terrifying joke? Marily laughed and poked her cheeks repeatedly.
"With such a small stomach, how did you manage to beg to go to a party full of nobles?"
"That's completely different from this!"
"I feel like I've said this before, but how is it different? It's a palace party, so of course the nobles will be there—and the king will show his face too."
"……!"
She was right! That was true! Arina's face went pale again at Marily's words. She looked genuinely shocked, mouth hanging open as if facing an unexpected problem. Marily chuckled and stretched Arina's cheeks even further.
"If Father saw your face right now, he'd be so sad. He seemed to like you quite a bit, calling you my first friend and all."
"……It's not like I hate him or anything."
"I know. You're just overwhelmed. That's probably why Father hasn't invited you since that first day. Thanks to that, I haven't had to attend family dinners for the past few days either."
So that had been consideration. Arina's eyes widened at the unexpected words.
"Alright, enough small talk. I'm hungry, so let's go eat."
"W-wait?!"
"I won't accept refusal."
If they kept talking like this, they'd definitely miss dinner. Thinking that, Marily spun Arina around—already on her umpteenth shock of the day—and pushed her toward the dining hall at a run.