Chapter 30
You and Not You
Aside from those things, not much had changed. Perhaps Melaine’s attitude had softened a bit.
Enzhe had also been quiet since the Jade Raymon incident. However, with the birth of her younger sister, Michaela, approaching, her words and actions were often sharp. There was nothing Sue could do about it, so she just tried her best to appease her. But that was something she had always done.
Every time she arrived at the academy and opened the door to the Black Eagle Class, the same scene greeted her.
A vast classroom that didn’t match the small number of students, desks arranged in tiers, a large podium. Since the seating was assigned, Krantz always sat next to her. They had never had a proper conversation.
Sue’s gaze lingered on the empty seat on the far right for a moment before moving on. It was Noel’s seat.
As she was about to sit down, suppressing a pang of loneliness, Hanjee would inevitably start bothering her. Calling her “Clot, Clot”, he was determined to provoke her. He must have been jealous of Noel’s friendly behavior towards Sue.
Sue would ignore Hanjee’s ridiculous taunts, and then class would begin. Aristocratic etiquette, manners, politics, magic, sports… Full Bloom, indifferent to academic achievements, was often called ‘a playground for nobles’, lacking in specialized education, but they still taught everything that needed to be taught.
Sue had set a goal of ranking within the top 55 for the winter evaluations. Her spring evaluation ranking had been 79th out of 85 students. The non-Skia students were quite studious, so Sue, who was far behind them, had to study several times harder. She even had a strange conviction that as her grades improved, she would somehow figure out her future.
As she was diligently writing down the magic formulas she had memorized the day before in her notebook, she overheard a conversation nearby.
“Have you decided on your dress for the September Festival?”
“No, they haven’t announced the theme yet.”
“But the basic format of the ball will be the same, won’t it? The other girls are already getting their measurements taken.”
It was the voices of Lady Vercia, the count’s daughter, and Lady Tucker, the baron’s daughter.
“Actually, we’ll be debutantes next year. So I’m more excited about next year than this year’s September Festival.”
Tucker chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand.
The September Festival.
As the name suggested, it was a festival held at the academy in September. It was called a ‘festival’, but it was essentially a ball.
It officially had a proper name, the ‘Golden Lion Festival’, taken from the golden lion, the symbol of the Fritz grand duke family, but for some reason, everyone called it the September Festival.
The unique thing about the September Festival was that only the sixth-year students could attend. This was because it was closely related to the annual debutante ball.
There was a grand festival held throughout the empire in September, the Harvest Festival. And on the last day of the Harvest Festival, the Imperial Family held a ball, which was the stage for the debutante ball. All the students enrolled in Full Bloom, regardless of whether they were Skias or not, could participate in the Imperial debutante ball.
In other words, the September Festival was a kind of practice and consolation for the academy students who hadn’t had their debutante ball yet. However, unlike the Imperial ball, which had strict rules of etiquette, the September Festival was a more relaxed event. You didn’t need to bring a partner, and most importantly, the students could decide on the theme of the ball themselves through a representative meeting.
“As long as it’s not the same theme as last year, I’m good. I don’t want the ballroom to turn into a funeral home.”
Tucker shuddered in disgust.
Coincidentally, the theme chosen by the student representatives last year had been ‘darkness’. As a result, as everyone had expected, the festival was filled with black dresses and black tuxedos.
Therefore, last year’s September Festival had left a deep trauma on the sixth-year students. The infamous name ‘Funeral Ball’ had even spread outside the academy.
If last year had been the ‘Funeral Ball’, what would the theme be this year? Sue was curious as well.
“Anyway, listen. What color do you think Master Fritz likes?”
Vercia suddenly asked Tucker. Even without seeing her face, Sue could hear the excitement in her voice. Suddenly asking about Fritz’s favorite color? It was a strange question, but Tucker responded casually, as if she was used to it.
“Well, obviously gold, right? It’s the symbolic color of the Fritz grand duke family.”
“Hahaha. Come on, that’s too obvious. So does that mean the Imperial Family all like white?”
“Hmm… I don’t know. Well, of course I don’t know. I’ve never spoken to him.”
Tucker mumbled, her voice trailing off awkwardly.
Then Vercia said,
“Really? Master Fritz has been listening to me lately! Isn’t that amazing?!” She bounced in her seat excitedly.
“Yeah, yeah… Sigh. You say that at least three times a day.”
Vercia smiled smugly at Tucker’s exasperated expression.
“Oh my, have I?”
Indeed. This was the fourth time Sue had overheard this conversation.
Ever since the Sports Festival, Lady Vercia had been noticeably praising Fritz. And apparently, she had even tried to talk to him one day.
Was she that ecstatic about being on the same team as him and practicing together? Sue knew people like her. And she knew how they ended up. They claimed to ‘respect’ Fritz, but they didn’t realize that their respect itself was the problem.
“Master Fritz is amazing. Truly amazing!”
“I know he’s amazing.”
“No, I know him much better than you do! Want to hear about it?!”
“No, it’s fine… Let’s talk about something else.”
The girls’ lively chatter had turned into a noisy commotion. Sue closed her eyes heavily. Her hand, which had been writing down formulas in her notebook, had stopped moving.
This is going to be troublesome.
The uneventful days went by like a hamster on a wheel, and the day of the summer evaluations finally arrived.
Summer vacation started a few days after the summer evaluations. They were free to spend the two months however they liked. Most of the provincial nobles who weren’t Skias went back to their hometowns, but some stayed in the dormitories. The main reason was to build connections with the nobles of the capital and establish a foundation for their future as nobles. But that had nothing to do with Sue, who didn’t have any friends at the academy.
Sue left the dance hall after finishing her dance evaluation. The moment the heavy doors closed with a bang, she let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s finally over…”
The tension that had filled her body melted away like cotton candy in water. The summer evaluations were done. It hadn’t felt that different from the spring evaluations, but her performance in the dance evaluation had boosted her spirits.
Having completed a semester at Full Bloom, she looked up at the sky, which she hadn’t seen in a while.
The high, summer sky. Sue stretched, taking in the clear, watery scent unique to Löhn. A refreshing feeling spread through her body.
‘I need to enjoy some leisure time once in a while.’
She even hummed a little tune as she walked down the academy corridor.
Hmm, hmm, hmm.
“Oh my.”
She spotted a familiar face, a boy as blue and tall as the sky she had just been admiring.
“Noel!”
He was just about to leave through the entrance hall on the first floor. Sue, unable to contain her excitement at seeing him after so long, called out his name. Noel turned his head reflexively. He seemed surprised to see her, his eyebrows raised, and he stopped in his tracks. Sue, feeling a surge of happiness, hurried towards him.
“Byron.”
“It’s been a while. You came for the evaluations?”
A month. Or maybe a little more than that.
“…Of course. I don’t want to get held back.”
Noel hesitated for a moment before smiling warmly, as he always did.
Sue felt relieved.
He was her only friend, the only person she was close to. She didn’t want them to become distant just because they hadn’t seen each other for a while.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes. I’m done with the evaluations. I’m going back to the Knights’ headquarters.”
They started walking slowly down the corridor. Sue’s destination naturally shifted towards the academy gate to see Noel off.
But Noel didn’t take his eyes off Sue as they walked. She had noticed before, but he had a habit of staring intently at people. Sue, still not used to it, unconsciously averted her gaze.
“Byron, how were the summer evaluations? Did you do well?”
Noel asked, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand.
“Better than last time.”
Sue lifted her chin proudly, a smug smile on her lips. She chuckled and continued.
“I only stepped on my partner’s feet three times during the dance evaluation. And I didn’t fall.”
She had stepped on her partner’s feet seven times during the spring evaluations, so it was a significant improvement. This would guarantee her at least a B in Basic Etiquette. Sue was genuinely proud of herself.
“Hahaha. Three times? That’s great. You’ll only step on their feet once at the September Festival.”
“…Hehe… Just you wait. I’ll be ranked much higher than last time.”
His cheerful laughter sounded a bit like mockery, so she boasted even more out of spite.