Preparing for the Ball
At the same time Milia and Arze were deep in conversation, Schwarz and Dane were talking not far away.
"How've you been lately?"
"Me? Don't even get me started. Job hunting's about to make all my hair fall out. And on top of that, my family's been hounding me nonstop about whether I've thought about marriage yet…"
"Sounds like you've got it rough…"
Whether it was this world or the one he'd come from, people around this age seemed to have it pretty much the same. The only real difference was that marriage came a lot earlier here. Back there, people usually didn't start talking about it until their mid-to-late twenties; here, it was common to marry as early as the late teens, or at the latest by the mid-twenties. Considering the times, it wasn't hard to understand.
"By the way—isn't that the department head over there? And… the Lumenia Duke's daughter?!"
Dane turned his head, spotted Milia and Arze still deep in their counseling session on a bench a short distance away, and let out a startled noise before looking back at Schwarz.
"Hm? Yeah, that's right. Why?"
"What do you mean, why?! Does a duke's daughter look like someone with that much free time to you?!"
Schwarz tilted his head in mild confusion, and Dane practically shouted at him in disbelief.
"Well… when you put it that way…"
"You…"
Watching Schwarz nod along, Dane trailed off, looking utterly exasperated.
The five great houses that handled the kingdom's administration, military, commerce, magic, and diplomacy. Among them, the Lumenia ducal house was in charge of administration—and here was their daughter casually giving advice to an underclassman. Anyone would have reacted the same way.
"Fine, whatever. Leaving that aside—what the hell is going on over there?"
"Well… it's a little complicated…"
At Dane's follow-up question, Schwarz launched into an explanation with a sheepish look on his face.
A short while later…
"…And that's how it happened."
"I've always thought this whenever I look at you, but…"
The moment Schwarz finished, Dane narrowed his eyes at him in pure disbelief.
"What?"
"You really chose the wrong career path."
Dane rested a hand on Schwarz's shoulder and shook his head as Schwarz tilted his head again.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
What is he even talking about?
With that thought, Schwarz's eyes went round.
"If you'd become a priest, sainthood would've been a sure thing."
Feeling a level of frustration that was almost impossible to put into words, Dane opened his mouth. This isn't just dense anymore—he's straight-up an idiot, isn't he? He let out a short sigh. Even listening to it secondhand was enough to make his head spin; he could only imagine how Milia, the one actually living through it, must feel…
"What are you talking about…"
"Ugh… forget it. Just forget I said anything. The department head's got it rough too. Really rough."
"Huh…?"
"I'm out of here. Not my place to stick my nose in, and watching you is making my blood pressure spike."
With a low groan, Dane scratched his head and stood up.
"What? You can't just say your piece and walk off like that!"
"Well, do your best, my friend with zero social awareness."
Schwarz called after him, but Dane didn't even look back as he disappeared into the crowd.
"What on earth was that about…?"
Schwarz was still staring after him in bewilderment when he noticed Arze rising from her seat, their conversation apparently finished. She waved to Milia, then vanished into the throng with her attendant.
Milia turned toward him with a look of quiet resolve on her face. A vague sense of unease prickled at Schwarz as he started walking toward her.
That afternoon.
"Let's see… dance… dance…"
Muttering under his breath, Schwarz scanned the shelves. He was in the academy library—a place so vast it made the count's private study, where he used to sneak books, look tiny by comparison.
"Ah. Found it."
He pulled a single volume from the shelf. The cover was worn and fragile, clearly well-used. Climbing down from the ladder, Schwarz brushed the dust off and ran his eyes over the title.
Social Dancing Made Easy
"This should do it…"
He filled out the lending ledger, carefully checked his surroundings, and headed for the student council president's office.
"My Lady. It's Schwarz."
"Come in."
He gave a light knock; Milia's voice answered from inside. He carefully turned the handle. With a soft click the door opened, revealing Milia watching him with a stiff expression.
"The book? Did you find it?"
"Yes. Social Dancing Made Easy. This is the one, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
She nodded as he flipped through the pages.
"But why dancing all of a sudden? I thought you weren't interested in that sort of thing…"
Milia's usual interests were simple: training, weapons, and sweet snacks. Social gatherings and parties had always been well outside her sphere of concern.
"W-well… I'm almost nineteen. It's about time I started paying attention to this stuff. A-and… there's the ball on the last day of the Grand Festival, so…"
"You're planning to attend?"
Schwarz tilted his head, surprised, as she trailed off. It made sense—after the ball the year Arze graduated, she hadn't attended a single one since.
"O-of course! It's the last big event of school life, after all!"
"That's true. Understood. Then I'll write to the head maid and ask her to send a dress for you, My Lady. And I'll request a maid to help with your preparations as well."
Schwarz pulled out his notebook and began jotting down the tasks. A letter to the count's estate usually took about three days for a reply; if they moved quickly, everything could be ready before the ball.
"Forget the clothes. Just call one maid."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
Schwarz's voice rose in confusion at her next words.
"I'm buying a new dress. I've grown, so the old ones don't fit anymore."
"I see. I'll note that in the letter."
A dress left unattended for three years. Showing up to a party in something like that would make her a laughingstock for sure.
"When would you like to schedule it?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Understood."
He nodded and recorded the appointment. With her final duties as student council president already finished, her schedule was clear—but that didn't mean this could be handled carelessly.
"By the way, have you decided on a partner? Finding one in just a week might be a bit tight."
"That… I haven't thought about yet."
"Hmm… that could be a problem. Whether we can find someone in a week…"
As she shook her head, Schwarz let out a low hum and began mentally sorting through men who might suit her as a partner. A few names came to mind, but with only a week left until the ball, most of them had almost certainly already secured partners of their own.
"Idiot…"
Milia muttered under her breath as she watched him sink into thought, but Schwarz didn't hear her.
A short while later…
"It's looking difficult… finding someone of matching station for you, My Lady…"
"A partner's just someone you bring along. Anyone will do. We'll figure that out later."
"But My Lady…"
At social gatherings and balls, a partner's standing mattered. Partners were expected to be of equal rank. In the extreme, if a duke's daughter partnered with the son of some obscure baron or viscount, the rumors that followed would write themselves: She has no standards. Someone must have dirt on her. And so on. Such gossip was never pleasant for a noble house, which made securing a partner of matching status more important than it first appeared.
To Schwarz, the idea of Milia—more precious to him than anyone—being dragged into that kind of talk was completely unacceptable.
"That's not what matters right now. This is."
She held up the book he had just brought her.
"Ah, right. There was that too…"
Schwarz let out a quiet sound of realization as he looked at it.
Find a partner within a week and teach Milia to dance. The difficulty was pretty high… He shook his head almost at once. He couldn't start making weak excuses already. For the sake of her proper debut into high society—and so that the last big event of her school life wouldn't leave her with bad memories—this was something that simply had to be done.
"All right. Then let's get you able to dance first. I'll handle the partner somehow."
"What? Ah… yeah. Okay."
Milia looked flustered as he spoke with such determination. Her expression held a tangle of emotions too complicated to name, but Schwarz didn't notice. Watching him, she let out a short sigh and followed as he headed into the corridor.