Chapter 24

The sight of Lilian and Yulia dancing was dazzlingly beautiful. Noble? Perhaps that’s the word. Lilian, with her sharp gaze, wore a stunning smile as she stepped in rhythm with Yulia. Surprisingly, she was also quite good at the male dances.

Under the brilliantly shining chandelier, the ball was strictly attended by men and two women stepping together. One, two. One, two. The empire’s high society somewhat tolerated same-sex dancing, but that was usually reserved for children. As for Lilian and Yulia… well, it felt a bit precarious. Nevertheless, hardly anyone found it strange; they just frowned at Lilian for holding the hand of a commoner like Yulia.

In this world, the difference between nobility and commoners was like night and day. Especially in these times, commoners were gradually increasing their wealth. This only made nobles more determined to suppress commoners; otherwise, their authority would be increasingly threatened.

Of course, this didn’t relate to me. Redirecting my gaze, I looked towards the princess. She was the second most esteemed lady in the empire, and she didn’t hide her ambition for the throne. Always confident, yet she saw the empire as her life’s purpose.

With the royal family’s trademark purple hair and sparkling red eyes, she was an object of admiration for many. Whenever her fingertips moved, people’s eyes were drawn to her, and wherever she walked, a crowd would follow.

After the dance between the young lady and Yulia ended, people began to crowd around the princess again. With a smile plastered on her face, she tried to engage in conversation with everyone around her.

And then it happened.

“…Abolish it—! Abolish it!”

Voices from outside echoed. The music stopped, and people tilted their heads in confusion. Even the princess, possibly having heard the commotion, glanced out the window.

“What’s that noise?”

“Right?”

“F-fire!”

“W-wait a moment…! The building’s been sealed off!”

“What?”

While it was faster than I expected, it was a scenario I had anticipated. Momentarily flustered, the princess quickly regained her composure and began directing the people.

“Everyone! Please head to the guest rooms! Given the situation, it’s better to go in mixed genders, okay? Three men and three women per room to evacuate.”

“Yes, yes!”

The aristocrats, initially perplexed, regained their composure in an instant and dashed out of the ball hall. The structure of the Veles’tes Hall, where the ball was held, had banquet halls on the third floor and guest rooms on the first and second floors. Therefore, the nobles began to scramble down the stairs.

“Be careful! Maintain the dignity of nobility while evacuating! I’ll assess the situation!”

The nobles, who were originally in a hurry, swiftly formed a line and began walking. While still faster than usual, it didn’t feel like another accident was about to occur. Yulia and Lilian cautiously made their way among the crowd.

Once I confirmed that Yulia and Lilian were descending safely, I stealthily returned my gaze to the princess. It was slightly concerning being mixed in with those odd characters, but I figured it would be fine. Both Lilian and Yulia didn’t seem particularly interested in men.

“Uh, Your Highness! You should evacuate too…!”

As the remaining retainers shouted out, the princess fixed them with a determined gaze.

“I’ll be fine; focus on your safety first.”

“Your Highness…!”

The retainers looked at the princess with tearful eyes, seemingly moved. Hmm, is this the kind of moment that turns misfortune into fortune? I thought as I followed her as she moved, sometimes glancing up nervously at the ceiling, boldly heading towards the sealed main entrance of the building. By that point, some flames had already started to spread.

“Guards! Are the fire-fighting tools ready?”

“Yes. Fortunately, we had a fire inspection just a few days ago.”

The guards who had come with dry cloth, water, and sand began to throw them on the fire. Thankfully, it didn’t look like the flames had been ignited by oil, as they began to die down. But it certainly wouldn’t end there.

Bang—! The doors of the Veles’tes Hall were about to burst open. Then, angered students flooded in. Hmm, isn’t this starting to get dangerous? I thought as I glanced at the princess. But she only continued to gaze at the students with her usual confident expression.

Her purple hair tightly tied up, her ruby-like eyes instilled such fear that the students halted, unable to advance. The princess then slowly opened her mouth.

“What exactly do you mean by abolishing?”

“Y-your Highness?”

“…Hmm.”

“Addressing the princess actually works in our favor! Let’s talk! Your Highness, you’re involved with the Student Council!”

Voices of those visibly impatient came from all around. Then, someone who looked like the representative of the protesting students stepped forward. A bespectacled man adjusted his glasses as he gazed at the princess. He was a slight fellow but didn’t seem overshadowed by the princess’s formidable presence.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Hmm, you’re Harvard Duke’s young man, are you not? What’s the matter?”

The young man flinched for a moment, clearly not expecting the princess to know him. But soon he regained his composure and opened his mouth.

“We demand the abolition of the regular exams held at Apatem Academy.”

“…Heh. Even though this is a social venue, Apatem Academy is still a school. You want to abolish exams in such a place? What on earth are you thinking? Not just a simple suggestion, but bringing such a mob with you?”

“W-well.”

Under the princess’s barrage of questions, the young man from Harvard seemed momentarily at a loss for words. But having something prepared, he began to stammer through his explanation.

“First, as you mentioned, Your Highness… Apatem Academy is a social venue. Given that, it would be better if we weren’t burdened with academic stress… And the subjects taught there are not particularly practical. Things like territory management and accounting, these are things best learned within families… Well, subjects like language, history, and math are fundamentally not fields commoners should be learning.”

“Hmm. Is that what you think?”

“Yes… So us students are demanding the abolition of exams.”

After shutting her eyes for a moment and reflecting on the young man’s words, the princess opened her eyes two minutes later. During those two minutes, the Harvard young man anxiously chewed on his nails, while the princess simply smiled brightly before responding.

“Well, your logic is rather weak.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You’re claiming it’s weak just because it isn’t appealing to Your Highness!”

“Exactly!”

Was it because the young man from Harvard struggled to keep speaking? The crowd, which had been quiet under the princess’s pressure, began to roar again. But with a mere raise of her hand, the princess silenced them. It was truly astonishing. Was that the power of someone who had studied royal academy? Or maybe it was just something she was born with.

“First. This may be a social venue, but it’s still an academy. The academy has the purpose of educating students. Regarding exams, you might think they are a burden… but fundamentally, exams are to assess a student’s level to provide suitable instruction, not to torment them.”

“B-but….”

“To prove my point, the exams at Apatem Academy don’t impose any significant penalties, even if there are supplementary classes. The supplementary classes aren’t meant to embarrass students, but to help those struggling to keep up.”

“….”

Oh, it got quiet all of a sudden. As I watched the discussion unfold, the young man from Harvard bit his lip and protested.

“B-but what we learn at the academy isn’t really useful!”

“Who decides what’s useful and what’s not? Don’t you think that what you’ve learned thus far has been entirely unhelpful?”

“…”

“Even if it seems unhelpful now, can you confidently say that none of it will be of any use in your lifetime? I doubt it.”

“…”

The students remained silent, like they’d been struck dumb. I kind of felt like they were losing this argument. Just as I thought that, a clapping sound sounded from within the crowd. And with that, the gathering of students parted like the Red Sea. Slowly stepping forward, the princess bit her lip.

“…Ugh!”

What’s going on? I can’t see well. As I moved around to get a better look at the advancing figure, I realized why the princess bit her lip.

A man wearing a monkey mask. The very same brazen fellow who had been conversing with the princess earlier.