Escaping the Ballroom
I slipped out of the ballroom without much trouble. It wasn't as if every single witch had stayed glued to her seat, so Lillia Cosette leaving early didn't draw all that much attention. Still, the fact that Lillia—the one person who actually seemed knowledgeable about noble etiquette—had vanished left me wondering whether the lone commoner special admit could withstand the crushing pressure of this place.
When I recalled the original story... let's see. This was the section where Erika was supposed to flaunt her "Prince Charming" attributes. She probably would have approached Elena, asking about how the girl had gotten lost earlier, then rescued or shielded her from the crowd. But after our conversation, Erika looked strangely unsettled. She merely swirled her wineglass with a complicated expression, chatting only with the noble ladies around her.
...That idiot. She hasn't even noticed Elena Kerru's predicament, has she?
"Do you think they're interested in the special admit, or are they trying to harass her? I'm worried they might be ganging up on her, calling her lowborn and hurling insults. Her expression looks so pitiful," Zophy said.
I tilted my head. "This is noble society, Zophy. People who haven't learned the basic rules of maneuvering don't survive. Think about it. When you encounter someone whose identity, background, and affiliations are almost completely unknown, what do you do?"
"Don't even mention it, my lady. The Polinbaroque family is full of pranksters. They've disguised their lesser-known children as beggars and sent them to test the loyalty of court retainers multiple times. One must always be cautious."
"Exactly. One must be cautious. And everyone in these upper circles knows that. If there's someone who doesn't quite fit in, you must never jump to conclusions about their depth. They aren't harassing her. But... Elena does look like she feels like she's being tormented."
"What if those young ladies gathered over there are fools who don't even know such basic rules?"
"Then they'll pay an appropriate price later. Still, it feels wrong to just watch. Shall we go rescue her for a moment...?"
I was about to walk toward Elena with Zophy when two young ladies I didn't recognize called out from behind me, stopping me in my tracks.
"Um, excuse me... Lady von Letiaponk? Could we possibly speak with you for a moment?"
They seemed to be noble daughters who wanted to get acquainted now that I had distanced myself from Erika and finished dancing with Zophy, leaving me free. ...Elena wasn't going to die anytime soon, and as the eldest daughter of the Letiaponk family, it was my duty to build connections with them.
"I am Maria von Letiaponk. May I ask who is addressing me?" I turned and gave a polite bow.
The two young ladies introduced themselves as Emily Praus and Cynthia Specter. Both were from count families in the capital whose heads served as imperial court retainers. In this world, they were considered lower in status than me but roughly equal to Zophy. After Zophy finished her own introduction, the four of us stood there for a while, discussing the academy's atmosphere, the circumstances of each family, and this year's list of remarkable new students.
Both Emily and Cynthia were clearly watching me far more than Zophy, obviously hoping to catch my favor. Zophy whispered to me.
"The Praus and Specter families have rather ambiguous standing within the Waldmark faction. They're probably trying to secure an escape route in case something unexpected happens."
"If they'd produced a witch, things wouldn't have turned out so badly. But I understand, Zophy."
So they wanted to get close to me for political reasons. Since Zophy—who had only ever shown cute pouting when it came to Lillia and had never issued such warnings before—was the one saying this, it was probably accurate.
I kept the conversation with them appropriately distant, matching their tone just enough to avoid making enemies. After all, these were characters who never even appeared in the original story. I didn't think they held any hidden significance.
"Conquering the Great Mother Dungeon... It doesn't feel real, but judging by the caliber of this year's new students, it might not be just a dream, just as Her Highness the Imperial Princess said," Emily remarked.
I chimed in. "Indeed, Lady Praus. Erika's skills are impressive, but there are rumors that the commoner special admit's abilities are every bit as remarkable."
"Is that true? But I was told that stronger magic usually flows from the blood of noble houses."
"Of course, when looking at lions, one might assume the ones with longer claws and bigger bodies are stronger. However, Lady Specter, if a single rabbit suddenly appears inside a lion's den and blends in naturally, shouldn't we question what that rabbit truly is?"
"Couldn't that rabbit be the foster mother who raised the lions on her own milk?" Zophy interjected with an absurd comment.
It was a decent idea in its own way, but with the rabbit symbolizing Elena Kerru right now, the metaphor didn't quite fit. A killer rabbit, maybe. Though there was no Monty Python in this world, so using that analogy would be difficult.
"Zophy, that rabbit's appearance is right over there... Hmm?"
I glanced sideways toward Elena to scold Zophy, only to see Elena Kerru—who had been sweating bullets among the young ladies—stealthily slipping out of the ballroom.
So in the end, she leaves without speaking further with Erika? I'd done quite a few things differently from the original story, so it was natural for the plot to change, but this made me wonder if the entire story was already diverging from the very beginning. I couldn't take my eyes off her.
Zophy, noticing my gaze, whispered, "...Shall we follow her?"
"No, Zophy, it's fine. I'm just a little concerned."
"Go ahead. I'll handle these two young ladies."
"I'm not that much of a womanizer, so it's okay. It's just..."
I thought Zophy would pout again and poke my side, but her expression was unexpectedly serious. My face must have shown considerable worry as I watched Elena's retreating figure.
...Of course it would bother me. In the original story, she was the person who became the catalyst for Maria's downfall. That unavoidable concern had probably shown clearly on my face and worried Zophy.
"It's not for that reason. It just seems like you have something you need to say to that special admit. Go talk to her for a bit. I won't mind."
I didn't have anything in particular I needed to say, but... I had a feeling that exchanging at least a few words would be necessary. I gave Zophy a small bow, left the two young ladies in her care, picked up a champagne glass in one hand, and quietly stepped into the corridor to follow Elena Kerru.
I assumed she was heading toward the dormitory. If so, I planned to use the excuse of giving her directions to cautiously strike up a conversation. However, after leaving the ballroom, Elena turned in the complete opposite direction of the dormitory and walked briskly down the hallway.
"Did she get lost again? Hey there, that's not the right way..."
But my voice didn't reach her. The Elena Kerru I had expected to wander around lost had instead opened the door to an empty lecture hall near the ballroom—where the entrance ceremony was being held—without hesitation and slipped inside.
What kind of school leaves its facilities completely unguarded on the first day? Ah, maybe most of the professors had gone into the ballroom to make an impression on Erika, leaving this nearby corridor poorly guarded?
Anyway, Elena was Elena. No matter how bad she was with directions, she couldn't possibly mistake the neighboring lecture hall for her dormitory. I couldn't understand why she had done that.
I quickly followed Elena Kerru, opened the door to the lecture hall she had entered, and stepped into the dark room.
"Hey, special admit. Wandering in and out of school facilities as you please on the very first day will cause problems. You'll be suspected of being a thief, or the person in charge will have to write a report. But..."
At that moment, the lecture hall door—which I hadn't closed—slammed shut with a heavy thud. I'd confirmed there wasn't even a breeze in the indoor corridor before entering, so I was startled. If it had stopped there, I might have dismissed it as coincidence. But the instant I heard the click of the lock engaging behind me, I realized I'd fallen into some kind of trap.
With a snap of fingers, the unlit chandelier in the lecture hall flickered to life. The person who had snapped their fingers was, naturally, the witch who had entered the room just before me—Elena Kerru.
The black-haired girl standing only about three meters away held her snapping finger high in the air, staring straight at me. I could see that one of her hands was bare. She'd removed one of her gloves and tucked it into her coat pocket—a sign that, for a witch, she was ready to use magic at any moment.
"You're more playful than you look," I said, keeping my composure.
But Elena acted as if she couldn't hear me at all. One step. Two steps. She slowly approached me. I wanted to back away, but the locked door was right behind me. There was nowhere to go.
The moment I tried to set down the champagne glass I was holding so I could remove my own glove, Elena—who had closed the distance until she was right in front of me—grabbed my wrist and thrust her face close to mine.
"Caught you."
The protagonist said. But the eyes staring into mine glowed with an unnaturally vivid pink. They looked less like a protagonist's eyes and more like the eyes of a demon king.