...
The scene shifted.
Inside the grand main hall of the Royal Ballroom, the ball had already burned through its very last spark of passion.
Just as the atmosphere in the hall was about to devolve into the chaotic bustle of guests preparing to leave, an elderly man with graying temples, dressed in dark purple scholar's robes embroidered with gold thread, stepped forward beneath the giant mural of Muse in the center of the main stage.
He was the Chairman of the Royal Knight and Magic Academy.
The elderly man supported his withered yet deeply majestic hands on the brass podium. Amplified by magic, his voice echoed clearly in every corner:
“...To the future of our Kingdom of Barton.”
“Tonight's fleeting light is not only a social prelude, but also a testament to the growth of all of you students.”
“May tonight's sea of stars live forever in your knightly swords and magic circuits.”
“And now—”
The Chairman bowed slightly, performing the last solemn gesture of the night:
“Please enjoy this final, melodious and serene closing performance brought to you by the Royal Band. This is the last opportunity to make up for any lingering regrets tonight.”
As his words fell, the slightly restless crowd in the hall quieted down once more.
Behind the crystal railing of the second floor, the orchestra, composed of the kingdom's top musicians, struck up the closing piece right on cue. It was a melody so soothing and gentle, quiet yet continuous, like falling snow on a winter night.
It was the final waltz of the evening, and the gentlest farewell before everyone's departure.
And beside that massive white marble pillar engraved with the Goddess Muse,
Liliana stood all alone in a virtual vacuum, looking as though she had been forgotten by the entire world.
Tonight, she wore a light blue evening gown that looked almost unrealistically exquisite, which Secretary Meretskov of the student council had specially prepared for her. The silver satin on the pleats was beautiful and pure, yet this gorgeous hemline had now become her heaviest shackle.
She hadn't danced with anyone.
Not even for a single second of spinning on the floor.
Loneliness, disappointment, and a massive sense of helplessness from being silently ostracized by the entire noble class washed over the pink-haired commoner girl like a tidal wave, completely drowning her.
At this ball, where peerage and social status were the absolute law, the social ban privately issued by the Aldheim Ducal House carried a weight of thousands of pounds. No noble youth would risk bringing a devastating catastrophe upon their family for her sake.
Yet, even in the midst of such suffocating neglect, Liliana merely stared at the silver satin ribbon on her dress. This was the finest clothing she had ever worn, and it was a pity she hadn't been able to let it serve its purpose.
She quietly lowered her head, enduring it with a heartbreaking resilience.
“It's fine... At least the pastries here are really delicious.”
Liliana comforted herself in her heart.
Actually, she originally had a chance to escape this embarrassment.
Not long ago, Crown Prince Leonhart had personally condescended to walk over to this pillar. In a gentle voice as warm as a spring breeze, he had extended a private invitation to her.
At that moment, as long as she reached out her hand, she would have become the center of attention in the entire hall.
But Liliana had refused.
Because she knew His Highness Leonhart was Lady Loris's fiancé, the person Lady Loris cherished and adored most in this world.
In Liliana's pure and spotless worldview, if she were to accept His Highness's invitation and dance with him in front of all the nobles of the Royal Capital, how sad and heartbroken would his fiancée, Lady Loris, be?
As someone who cherished her classmate relationship... or rather, they weren't even classmates yet, but in any case, she absolutely could not hurt another girl's pure love due to her own selfishness.
So, she had refused.
Because she believed that only by guarding this innocence could she do what was right.
Yet, now that the ball was about to end, she still hadn't danced with anyone.
Liliana let out a faint sigh, and her gaze couldn't help but drift toward the uniformed figure chatting with upperclassmen in the distance—Secretary Meretskov.
This usually kind and rational senior had helped her so much, and he had specially prepared this beautiful dress for her tonight.
They had originally agreed to spend tonight together, but even now, the Secretary had not come to invite her to the dance floor.
Liliana did not blame him.
She knew Meretskov had duties to the student council; instead, her heart was filled with self-blame and reflection.
“Perhaps... what I said to the Secretary was indeed a bit too harsh...”
Thinking about it now, her senior had done so much for her. How could she blame him out of a moment's recklessness?
“But it's fine if I don't dance with anyone... I didn't belong here to begin with.” She smiled somewhat bitterly.
But the moment she turned her head, wanting to shift her attention away from the dance floor, her gaze froze dead on a scene not far away.
At the edge of the main ballroom.
Fiona and Sarah stood before a few young gentlemen, entirely devoid of any high-and-mighty noble lady attitude. Extremely bright and happy smiles graced their faces as they held their skirts, chatting excitedly with the boys they knew.
It was a pure, unadulterated happiness free from any undercurrents of interest, unique to peers of their age.
Looking at her good friends' sparkling, shy faces under the lights, and seeing their barely suppressible joy upon receiving invitations, the budding heart of the pink-haired commoner girl standing by the cold stone pillar suddenly skipped a violent, abrupt beat.
Love... what did it actually feel like?
Was it like Fiona, who couldn't help but bury her face in Sarah's shoulder the moment that boy was mentioned?
Or was it like Sarah, who, no matter how conservative she usually was, had her eyes light up with a mesmerizing brilliance upon receiving an invitation?
Standing alone in the corner during tonight's final closing piece, Liliana, for the very first time, developed a yearning desire that bordered on adoration for that unknown throb of emotion called 'love.'
Now that... was a love worth longing for.
Unfortunately, in this fast-approaching end, she had nothing.
...
With a deep draw of the bow, the violin bows of the second-floor musicians were pressed to their fullest arcs, and under the dim lights, the final piece of the evening—signaling the absolute end of the Summer Ball with an exquisitely melodious and tranquil melody—resounded.
This was the final curtain call, and the last chance to make up for all of tonight's unfulfilled regrets.
In the shadows of the corners, the gazes of the two male leads, who had remained stationary the entire time, changed simultaneously the instant they heard the music begin.
“...Should I go?”
Leonhart was hesitant.
He had already perfectly appeased Loris and the Ducal House with the first dance. Now it was the final piece of the ball, and none of the family elders would care about this concluding dispersion.
However, he had already been rejected earlier.
Perhaps out of pride, he understood that he logically shouldn't care, yet he simply couldn't let go of this commoner girl.
He wanted to personally pull that gentle girl standing by the pillar out of her boundless isolation!
At almost the exact same time, Secretary Meretskov, standing in the corner on the other side, slowly set down his glass.
He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. Behind the rational lenses, the emotion he had suppressed for half the night finally broke free from its shackles.
He should... just go.
He thought to himself.
“At least for this final piece, I shouldn't let her stand there alone,” Meretskov silently thought.
He hoped she would no longer care about what happened earlier and forgive him. Perhaps in her eyes, Loris wasn't that bad. His previous chat with Waldenburg had also made the Secretary realize that there was something called prejudice.
He would still protect Liliana.
In short, at this very moment, the two young, handsome male leads, destined to be prominent figures in the future of the Kingdom of Barton, took their first steps at the same time, driven by both a desire to snatch away love and a yearning for tenderness, striding from two different directions in unison toward the pillar where Liliana stood.
Actually, there was a third.
However, having already admitted defeat in their earlier competition, Waldenburg merely watched the performance expressionlessly. If neither of them took action, he would step in at the final moment.
Yet, before either of their hands could reach out to the somewhat stunned pink-haired girl—
Slam!!
The heavy oak doors in the exact center of the main ballroom's first floor, carved with intricate Baroque patterns, were pushed open without warning.
With a terrifying, oppressive force like a passing hurricane, they were violently flung open.
Under the stunned, shocked gazes of all the noble ladies, young lords, and even upperclassmen who were preparing to leave, a 【beautiful platinum-blonde youth in a black suit】, clad in a sharp suit and radiating a cold, noble, and absolutely aggressive aura, strode out from the shadows of the doorway with sharp steps, the hem of their coat fluttering in the wind.
At that moment, all the dim wall lamps in the hall seemed to instantly lose their luster in front of this beautiful youth's platinum-blonde hair.
A few strands of platinum-blonde hair over their forehead swayed slightly with their steps, half-concealing those emerald eyes that were as brilliant as the aurora borealis, yet cold to the absolute extreme.
The black tailcoat jacket accentuated their slender, upright waist like an unsheathed blade, and their legs were long and elegant under the sharp black trousers.
This was indeed the female protagonist, fully changed and here to make amends.
Loris von Aldheim!
Voiceover: The villainess.
“Wh-holy crap?! Which house's young master is that?!”
“When did the Royal Capital get such an incredibly handsome youth?! This look... this appearance is practically even more bewitchingly gorgeous than His Highness Leonhart!!”
“Oh my god... My heart is about to jump out of my chest... Wait, he—he's walking toward the commoner representative!”
In an instant, the surrounding noble ladies completely erupted. They clutched their chests, a blush of sheer infatuation shining in their eyes.
Misha felt a wave of self-reproach in her heart, because she was already uncontrollably nosebleeding with a hehehe chuckle, feeling an odd sense of familiarity even though she didn't recognize the youth.
Logically, so many people shouldn't have been paying attention.
But aside from the sheer handsomeness, there was also the foil of those two clowns, Alden and Klaus, who were marveling from the sidelines.
“Oh my god!”
“So cool!”
Those loud exclamations of awe just now had actually come from the two of them spouting off at the top of their lungs; otherwise, the actual discussion would have only been in quiet whispers!
And under the riotous gazes of everyone present, the platinum-haired, black-suited youth completely ignored Leonhart and Meretskov, who were blocking the middle of the path, and walked right up to Liliana.
Rate on N.U.
