I've Arrived at the Entrance Ceremony
I had arrived at the entrance ceremony! The atmosphere was far closer to a formal ball than any high school entrance event I'd ever imagined. The ballroom itself wasn't especially large compared to the garden, but since only a limited number of witches enrolled each year, the space didn't feel cramped despite the crowd.
Seating had been arranged mostly in the corners. Beneath the enormous chandelier, witches who looked more like faculty than students stood on the gleaming marble floor, offering personal greetings to every young lady who entered. The moment I stepped inside I received near-salutes from the entire professorial staff and returned a casual wave. There was no blatant discrimination, yet the depth of their courtesy was clearly different. For now I decided to savor my status as one of the powerful, plucked a slender champagne flute from a tray, and retreated to a corner to sit.
Zophy followed as a matter of course, but Lillia, apparently terrified of being left alone, toddled after us on her stubby legs. It was obvious she couldn't reach the tray, yet the servant on duty never lowered an arm to help her. It wasn't harassment, merely indifference; still, that indifference would never have been shown to the daughter of a ruling ducal house.
With my free hand I lifted a second glass and offered it to her. "Is it all right to remain only with me? I intend to rest until the ceremony begins, so if you wish to look around, please feel free."
It was a thoughtful gesture on my part. The instant I had entered the room, the faces of the early arrivals had made the power dynamics painfully clear. Everyone wanted to speak with me. Zophy would screen them skillfully, but in this hall where Erika had not yet appeared, I was the strongest figure present. As for why Erika, who had left ahead of me, was running late… well, someone who knew the original story could make an educated guess.
In any case, until the imperial princess arrived, most of the people here would be coveting the seat beside me and stealing glances. The way the lazy calm had vanished from Zophy's eyes, replaced by a sharp, watchful gleam, told me my maid had reached the exact same conclusion.
In a situation like this, the young lady who laughed with such a bold Wahahaha!… would she truly be all right? Her laughter sounded hearty, but her mentality did not seem particularly robust.
"I-I, that is… so you are telling me to scram right this instant, is that it?"
"I didn't phrase it quite that way, did I?"
The unexpectedly harsh distortion caught me off guard. Lillia tilted her head left and right with a deeply thoughtful expression, then, as if something had suddenly clicked, she burst out in a rambling torrent.
"Th-that is because of the compensation issue, I say! The carriage, the textbooks, especially the textbooks—if we cannot prepare them quickly it will be a disaster, and there are various other matters to consider, so until we reach an agreement…"
Aha. This petite noble lady is simply afraid of being left by herself. Whether the other young ladies in the room were engaged in a silent battle of glances, or what my status happened to be, none of it mattered. She was simply terrified of standing alone beneath this chandelier.
I had been about to say Then stay beside me in a cool tone, but the sight of Lillia mumbling as though she might burst into tears at any moment was so adorable that a mischievous impulse took over.
"If that worried you, we could have discussed it while riding the carriage up the mountain path. Yet you didn't say a single word. Is this truly a conversation that can only happen now that you're glued to my side?"
"Hiiik! Y-yes, I understand, I say! Then I shall…"
She gave up faster than I expected. I hadn't actually meant to drive her away. I swept my golden drill curls to one side, caught the trembling glass in her hand before it could spill, and pulled the retreating Lillia back.
"On the other hand, it would also be troublesome if rumors spread that Maria von Letiaponk accidentally shattered the village baron's daughter's carriage due to a mishap in magic control. Until the situation is resolved smoothly, it is wiser to keep everyone capable of spreading such a rumor close at hand."
"Ah, aah, if that is the case then it cannot be helped, I say."
"The smoothest resolution would be immediate full compensation, wouldn't it? Zophy, there should be a purse in the outer pocket of my coat. Would you take out some gold coins? There ought to be a sufficient amount."
I felt Lillia's captured hand droop with visible disappointment. Zophy, however, looked mildly puzzled. No one knew better than my personal maid that I carried no purse in that pocket and that all usable currency remained inside the luggage. Still, a single light wink from me was enough for her to realize I was toying with the girl. She obediently slipped her hand into the pocket.
"My lady, there is nothing in the outer pocket."
"Really? How strange… Ouch!"
"Oh dear, I am terribly sorry, my lady. Something brushed my fingers so I squeezed with all my strength, but it appears to have been the flesh at your side. My deepest apologies."
"Anyone listening would think I have fat on my sides…"
Her tone held not the slightest trace of remorse. While playing along with my prank, Zophy had exacted her own petty revenge for being dragged into such a silly joke. What a maid, always ready to yank hair or pinch a flank.
"In any case, the only currency I had on me was that. Come to think of it, I must have forgotten in the frantic rush of preparations before departure."
"Indeed, my lady."
"Th-then…"
"It cannot be helped, Lillia Cosette. Until a proper method of compensation occurs to me, you will have to remain at my side. Is that acceptable?"
I lightly pressed my lips to the back of her latex-gloved hand. Around us several young ladies audibly gasped, and the sound secretly delighted me.
"Y-yes… I understand, I say. Wa… waaa…"
Not her usual Wahahaha!, just a dazed waaa. While I steadied her champagne flute with a fingertip so it wouldn't spill and guided the stunned girl into a chair, Zophy leaned close to my ear and whispered.
"Is this the sort of girl you prefer?"
"You know the first person I ever give my side to is always you, don't you?" I murmured back.
Zophy took a tiny sip from her glass and shook her head. "Is that always certain? Your young lady's ex-lover is walking in right now."
"That's exactly why I called it a joke…"
As I turned my head, Erika Waldmark was indeed striding confidently toward the center of the ballroom. Every seated young lady rose at once. The professors bowed nearly to the waist the moment she appeared. Erika waved her hand in clear annoyance, ordering them all to sit.
Because of that, Lillia—who had been too dazed to stand at the proper time—froze in an awkward half-risen posture as if suffering an invisible-chair penalty. Zophy and I, however, had never risen in the first place, so it hardly concerned us.
It wasn't deliberate pride on my part. This was simply the first time since my possession that I had faced the princess in an official capacity, and I had momentarily forgotten the etiquette. No one called my behavior rude. The unspoken consensus seemed to be that if it was Maria von Letiaponk, such things were permissible.
Fortunately Erika arrived just as my teasing of Lillia ended, sparing me the need to make small talk with unfamiliar young ladies. The problem was that Erika herself, after finishing her greetings with the professors, was now walking straight toward me.
The onlookers who had been hovering with the intention of speaking to either of us saw her approach and hastily withdrew from the area. Even the professors made subtle movements to distance themselves from the two of us.
"It's been a while," Erika said.
I tilted my head. "How long, exactly?"
Erika drew a pocket watch from her breast. She flipped open the lid, checked the time, and declared, "Forty-five minutes. Ah, it has just become forty-six."
"People don't usually call that 'a while,' Your Highness. Zophy and I are apart for that length of time quite often."
"There was a time when we were not. Well, it's an old story now."
The conversation seemed headed somewhere strange, and I could feel Zophy's glare on the side of my face, so I changed the subject quickly. "Why were you so late? You entered the garden before I did."
"Ah, on the way I encountered one lost young lady. Someone you don't know."
I do know. It's the original story's development.
"How do you know I don't know her?"
"You yourself said at the entrance that you didn't know her. Come, greet her. This is Elena Kerru, this year's commoner special-admission student."
At Erika's words, the small black-haired girl who had been hiding almost completely behind the princess cautiously sidled into view. She was taller than Lillia but still noticeably shorter than me, shoulders hunched with low confidence, moving sideways in an awkward crab-like gait.
…Was Elena this kind of character? She seemed even darker than the impression I'd gotten from the novel. Perhaps the protagonist's own viewpoint prevented an objective view of the other characters.
"E-Elena Kerru. I-it is an honor to meet you…"