Lana Colette, a second-year student in Serendia Academy's advanced course, was heading to her first elective classroom when she spotted her friend Lillian from behind.
Lillian was wearing her white lab coat over a simple dress. She was walking down the hallway, carrying medical supplies.
Although Lillian remained mostly indifferent to it, Lana knew that there were many students who were jealous of her and harassed her in small ways. Lana was furious when she learned, but seeing as Lillian didn't seem to mind them one bit, she decided to keep quiet. However, as of late, those people seem to have realized the sheer difference between them and her.
Lillian never forgets to be herself no matter the situation. Even if some say her actions are unbecoming of a young lady, her priorities didn't change. This was because, even after all that, she still put on the same smiling expression as a lady that was holding down on her dress while playing in a breeze.
However, Lana noticed that Lillian seems distracted by something ever since Casey suddenly left the academy two days ago. Lana had heard about the situation only through the grapevine, but apparently, Casey had been urgently called back to her homeland to deal with family affairs. That wasn't an uncommon occurrence at Serendia Academy—one noble girl or another was always leaving school because she suddenly had to get married. However, Lillian has so few friends; Casey's departure must have been an awful shock for her. Not even her snapping at Claudia during lunch could break Lillian out of it.
"Lillian, heading to art class?" she asked.
"Lana?" responded Lillian. "Oh. No, I'm on standby today for the practical combat courses."
She showed her the medical bag, then lowered her eyebrows and smiled uncomfortably. Lana wondered what she should say to a friend who was depressed like this. She tried to come up with a topic, but all she could think of were the latest fashions and trends, and she knew Lillian wasn't overly interested in that.
Something she'd know about...she thought. The academy, the festival...Oh right! All the girls were excited about one thing in particular right now. Lana's voice bounced as she asked Lillian about it.
"Have you decided what dress you're going to wear to the ball after the school festival?"
Lillian tilted her head, confused. At the very least, Lana had been expecting to hear something like 'I haven't gotten one yet,' but judging by her friend's expression...
"Lillian, you do know there's a ball the night of the school festival, right?"
"Yeah," replied Lillian. "I saw it on the schedule, but I thought we'd be participating in our regular uniform..."
Lana was suddenly reminded that her friend only came to Serendia a few months ago. In general, students attend events at Serendia Academy in their uniforms. But for the ball that followed those events, of course, each student would don formal dress of their own choosing. Those held after the school festival and graduation ceremony were particularly lavish. Everyone would be dressed to the nines.
"Lillian, you're part of the student council." Lana looked pointedly at her. "You must attend with a proper dress."
Lillian groaned. The student council members were in charge of the ball. She couldn't sit it out, and if she skipped it, it would doubtless harm their reputation.
"Do you have any dresses, Lillian?" asked Lana.
"A few, but I don't think they are suitable for the occasion. I'll send a letter home and ask them to send one over which is suitable." Lillian paused before asking, "Have you decided yours, Lana?"
"I know which dress I want, but I want to make a few adjustments." Lana put a hand to her forehead. There were two weeks until the school festival. "Oh, do you want me to make adjustments to your dress as well?"
"Huh...but..." Lillian looked down.
Lana glared at her. "What? You don't like the idea of wearing what I choose?"
"No, it's just..." Lillian's voice shook. "You're always helping me out, and...I haven't repaid you at all."
Lillian's head hung low. Eventually, all Lana could see was the whorl of her hair. She pressed her finger to it.
"I'm not doing this to be repaid, you know."
"But..."
Lillian was always so serious. Apparently, she'd been worried about repayment this whole time. Lana removed her finger and snorted.
"I...I don't need a reason to do nice things for my friends, do I?"
She'd tried to be cool as she said it, but her embarrassment caused her to stumble over the words a little. She twirled a clump of hair around her finger to hide it.
Lillian slowly brought her face up to look at her friend. "Lana, you're so cool..." she murmured, full of admiration. Lana sniffed proudly, and Lillian's face broke into her beautiful smile. "Lana, thank you."
"You're welcome. We'll have to tailor the dress a bit, so come to my room the next chance you get. Oh, and by the way, do you have a corset?"
"I've never needed one..."
"What!?" exclaimed Lana, her shock robbing her of any semblance of ladylike modesty.
Lana was, at this very moment, wearing a simple corset under her uniform. It was perfectly normal, a basic aspect of grooming, for any girl their age. Even when she studied Lillian's body more closely, she thought that Lillian was wearing one under her dress. Not realizing that the girl's figure was simply natural.
"Well, I suppose you do have a balanced diet to keep such a slim figure," observed Lana.
That said, styling her hair and losing those glasses would probably make Lillian look more feminine. Lana decided then and there to come up with a style that would complement her friend's features.
............
Nero, Lillian's familiar, generally wandered around outside the school building during the day. Being a remarkably talented familiar, as he was, he certainly didn't spend his time lying around and soaking in the sunlight.
No, right now, he was eavesdropping on a class to further his study of humans—and to watch for any suspicious characters who might be near the second prince. A lot of outsiders were coming and going these days, so Nero was being especially cautious of Felix's surroundings.
However, upon noticing his master during practical magecraft class, the familiar casually hopped onto her shoulder and started asking questions about human magecraft. Lillian, as calm and knowledgeable as she was, answered each one of Nero's questions to the best of her abilities. She watched over the students with a neutral expression, stepping in to treat the injured.
"You're on duty, I see."
As Lillian was finishing patching up a student who fell down a horse, she recognized the voice coming from behind her. Why is he always catching me by surprise like this? She turned around, and just as she'd expected, two gorgeous blue eyes met her own.
"Your Highness..."
Felix Arc Castina, the empire's second prince and the one Lillian is supposed to guard, covered his mouth and chuckled. This took her by surprise. Had the prince chosen horseback riding as an elective? As she stood there in puzzlement, he hopped up onto the horse. Not onto the saddle, though, but into an unstable position right behind it. Then, he extended a hand toward her. "Come."
"Pardon?"
"It's my job as your senior to guide you, isn't it?"
Lillian wanted to avoid the negative attention she'd surely get by allowing Felix to be close to her. But more than that, she sensed that Felix wanted to talk to her about something, so she agreed.
"It is a beautiful horse." Instead of accepting Felix's outstretched hand, she turned her gaze to the horse.
"Its name is Gale, which means a gust of wind."
"Then he must be pretty fast. Nice to meet you, Gale. Will you let me ride on your back?"
Gale's big eyes looked at Lillian. As Lillian looked back and waited, Gale closed his eyes in comfort, allowing her to pat his nose. They didn't seem to have bad compatibility. Lillian then stood on the life of Gale, put her left foot on the stirrup, and straddled the saddle with her right foot. Gale let Lillian on its back without any fuss.
"Oh, so you can mount it alone without needing assistance."
People who were familiar with horseback riding wouldn't be able to do so without assistance, but Lillian sat comfortably on Gale's back. Felix muttered a bit with an impressed tone.
"How about we go for a walk, Gale?" she asked, with a soft whisper.
The horse gave a whinny, as though it appeared to have understood her, and he walked down the riding path at a steady pace.
As Felix watched, he seemed a little surprised. "Are you not scared of horses? I thought most women were."
"Huh? No, I'm not."
She was a bit scared of falling off a horse but not of the horse itself. And frankly, Lillian finds people more terrifying than the horses or even dragons.
"Hm," Felix hummed in response. "I heard from Elliott that you chose chess as one of your classes. What was the other one?"
"Fine arts, sir."
"Are they okay with you skipping class?"
"I talked to the instructor, and he said that as long as I can make two exhibitions for the school festival, it is alright if I'm not in class."
"Oh, then I'm looking even more forward to seeing it." Felix gave a little smile and said, "Actually, I'm surprised you chose arts. Was there a specific reason?"
In the Castina Empire, although there were many women working now, there were still certain areas where women weren't given distinguished roles. This was especially the case for the daughters of nobles.
Lillian opened her mouth, then closed it again, trying to put together what she wanted to say. When she arranged for Casey to leave the academy, Lillian had been conflicted. However, Casey has asked Lillian to gift her a painting the next time they meet.
"...I have a friend whom I promised I would draw a portrait of one day."
"Would that friend happen to be Lady Casey Grove?" Felix responded gently. "She did leave school very suddenly, didn't she?"
Perhaps her panic traveled through the reins, because Gale began to step a little more awkwardly. Felix soothed him and said quietly, "You haven't been yourself since that day."
"...You think so? I don't think I was trying to make it known."
"It is. Cyril even told me that you were starting to become a very image of Lady Claudia. So, I'm relieved to see you take on painting with a positive attitude."
Positive attitude? Those words don't describe how I feel at all. Still, if Lillian was looking ahead even a little right now...then it was because of all the kind people like Lana who had given her courage and spurred her onward. It was thanks to them that Lillian could hold on to the hope of meeting Casey again one day. She imagined herself smiling and proudly telling her friend she'd drawn her in the most magnificent way possible. That would be her goal.
"...May I ask why you choose this class, Your Highness?"
The second prince was said to be a multitalented genius. She'd heard he was a very skilled rider, and yet he'd still taken this class as an elective. Was there a reason behind it?
"Actually," replied Felix, sounding rather pleased, "this is the one class I always make sure to take every year."
"Every year? Do you like riding?"
"Well, yes, but… Okay, I'll make an exception and tell you why," he said mischievously, giving the horse a light kick on its sides. In response, it veered off the basic practice course and headed for the woods—where the advanced course was located.
"S-sir? Uh, um, errr, where are we going?"
"You'll just have to wait and see," he answered, his voice strangely spirited.
The woods behind the academy were filled with oak trees planted at even intervals, currently in hues of red and yellow. Since this area was designated as a horseback-riding course, it was maintained somewhat to make it easier for horses to traverse.
However, just as Lillian began to think they were in for a nice, easy ride through the woods…the horse veered off the course and began proceeding through the trees.
"Um...Sir?"
"Don't worry. This is the way to our destination."
As Lillian tilteed her head in confusion, Felix looked upward. He was wearing his usual gentle smile, but for some reason, the corners of his lips were turned up a little more than usual. He seemed almost excited.
"That's right. Look up there."
His upturned blue eyes shone in the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Lillian followed his gaze and looked up as well.
The clear autumn sky seemed so far away, so high up. But then several figures cut through the scattered clouds—a flock of birds and a boy with dirty-blond hair. It was the ever-energetic Glenn Dudley.
"Gyah!" he yelled. "Stop, stop! Stop pecking me already!"
The flock of birds appeared to be chasing him. Lillian looked back at Felix. The prince continued watching Glenn with vague amusement on his face as the boy fitted around in midair. As Lillian wondered what to say, the prince broke the silence.
"Oh, looks like he's going to fall."
Her eyes went back up to the sky in a panic as Glenn, still being pecked, hurtled towards the ground...before catching himself just in time and coming to a stop in midair fore gently floating the rest of the way down. There were several students near the spot where Glenn had landed.
"They're having practical magecraft class over there," explained Felix, pointing. "Although Dudley's about the only one who can use flight magecraft."
Following the line of his finger with her gaze, Lillian understood. The other students were all practicing basic spells.
"Dudley's incredibly talented," he continued. "The formula for flight magecraft isn't that complicated, but it requires precise mana control and an impeccable sense of balance, so even many high mages can't use it."
Lillian understood what Felix was implying. Even among the Seven Sages, who had perfect theoretical understanding of the flight magic formula, and control over their mana, but sadly, no one aside from her and Louis, has the sense of blance to use flight magecraft properly.
But that aside, something about this situation struck Lillian as odd. Was it her imagination, or did Felix seem awfully knowledgeable about magecraft? Everyone knows flight magecraft is difficult, she thought. It's not strange he would, too. But…
As she was mulling this over, the horse began to clip-clop off in another direction. Where are we going now? she wondered, when suddenly she felt goose bumps rise up on her skin.
It was like they'd just passed through a thin, invisible film of some sort—the unique sensation you got when you crossed a barrier.
This isn't just any defensive barrier, either… Wait!
A rush of cold air brushed across her cheek as she brought her head up in surprise. The gust was blowing out from deeper in the woods, chilly as a winter wind. She peered in the direction of the wind and saw two figures in a clearing.
Both were Serendia Academy students, and both were rapidly chanting. One of them was a blond young man. The second, facing him, wore his silvery hair tied back behind his neck—it was the student council's vice president, Cyril Ashley.
The blond one finished his chant, then held his fingers up toward Cyril. From those fingers leaped a fireball big enough to just barely put your arms around. Cyril finished his chant at the same time; his spell produced a wall of ice in front of him that blocked the fireball. The flames dissipated, throwing out puffs of steam, but most of the ice remained unmelted.
"That's…," murmured Lillian.
Felix leaned in toward her and whispered, "And this is where they hold advanced practical magecraft classes. They're engaged in something called a magic battle—mock combat using only magic, carried out inside a special barrier."
Magic battles were something Lillian was extremely familiar with. After all, they were first developed and used at the greatest mage training institution in the empire—her alma mater, Minerva's.
As a general rule, in a magic battle, you were permitted to use only attacks imbued with magic, via magecraft or magic items. Inside the barrier, you wouldn't be hurt even if an attack struck you; instead, it would drain an equivalent amount of mana. The higher the attack spell's power, the more you lost. Ultimately, the last competitor with mana remaining won the battle.
Back at Minerva's, there had supposedly been a student who used magecraft alongside physical attacks during these magic battles. That student had employed magecraft to dazzle, then punched and kicked their opponent. This outrageous fighting style had caused a lot of trouble for Minerva's teachers. In the end, they'd upgraded the barrier to prevent physical attacks from dealing damage.
Thinking about magic battles really takes me back, thought Lillian. I had to take part during the qualifiers for the Seven Sages, too…
Inside the barrier, you would never be injured by a spell, no matter how strong it was—but you would feel the pain and impact. Lillian hated painful, scary things, so she hadn't exactly been excited to join in. She'd had to participate several times as a student at Minerva's as well.
As she gazed toward the competitors, a far-off look in her eyes, Cyril finished locking down his opponent's offensive spells.
"He's up against the president of the magic-battle club," remarked Felix. "He's really something."
"Lord Cyril is quite strong," she agreed.
"Right? He's the only one who can use quick-chanting at the academy… Mm, I think he might be the strongest student here."
As she listened to the prince speak, Lillian lazily tracked Cyril with her eyes. It had been a few months, but Cyril is still looking for the girl she supposidly fell in love with. Whenever he confided in Lillian about being unable to find that girl, she felt guilt pegging her. However, it isn't as if she could go and reveal herself...Especially not after considering that he saw me naked.
Lillian hung her head as she remembered the events of that day. I wonder if there's something I can do for Lord Cyril...she mused. he was always helping her out, teaching her about the student council tasks, answering her questions and more.
Lana had already said she wasn't helping in order to receive something in return, that she didn't need a reason to be kind to her friends. Would Lillian ever be strong enough to say something like that to another person? She really hope so.
Felix tapped her on the shoulder, interrupting her private thoughts. "This has been a nice little walk, but let's return now," he said, turning the horse back the way they'd come. She glanced back at the prince and noticed he seemed in especially good cheer.
"Did you choose horseback-riding class as a way to secretly watch practical magecraft classes?" she asked.
"All part of my studies," he answered. "By understanding what can be achieved with magecraft, I can more quickly make decisions in emergencies."
"I see…"
He said it was for his studies, but Lillian got the feeling that wasn't
the only reason. After all, his eyes had been positively glowing as he
watched Glenn and Cyril.