Chapter 29

Translator: Nox

<Episode 29>

“Wow, you rented such a big mansion?”

“Yes, it’s much bigger than I expected……”

“Right? That’s why I tried so hard to persuade Herwin.”

Just before entering the academy, Lucia and her friends went to see the mansion that Bianca had supposedly reserved in advance, guided by Bianca.

It wasn't particularly large compared to their respective family estates, but it was relatively large among the mansions in Terban Street, at least.

“Would you like to go inside and take a look if you’re okay with it?”

“Huh? Is that alright?”

“Yeah, I got permission. Some people come to look around sometimes, so it’s fine.”

Following Bianca inside, a charmingly decorated garden could be seen in the distance. The overall condition of the mansion was good.

“This is big enough to accommodate a lot of people.”

“I know, the hall is nice and spacious.”

As Christine and Arista looked around the inside of the mansion, Lucia also glanced around.

At that moment, Bianca subtly approached Lucia.

“Did you buy Herwin’s gift?”

“Yeah, of course, I bought it.”

“Really? What did you buy?”

Bianca lowered her voice, as if worried someone else might hear, and Lucia burst into a soft laugh.

It felt like they had returned to the old days after a long time.

“It’s a secret!”

“What, you can’t tell me?”

“Haha, check it out later. I bought something that suits Herwin perfectly.”

“Hmph, you saying that makes me even more curious.”

Bianca narrowed her eyes and glared. After a moment of silent eye contact, the two burst into laughter at the same time.

“Herwin said he didn’t want it, but it will definitely be the best birthday. Many people are going to celebrate Herwin.”

Bianca, staring at Lucia’s shimmering brown hair, smiled brightly.

“If it’s going to be a wonderful day like you said, aren’t you thinking of confessing to Herwin?”

Lucia shuddered and turned around abruptly.

Lucia looked around, worried that Christine and Arista might have heard. Fortunately, the two were far away.

“Why are you saying that so loudly?”

“They’re far away. Are you really not going to confess? Even though it’s Herwin’s birthday party, it’s also a graduation party, so most people will be dressed up nicely. That goes for you and Herwin too, right?”

As Bianca said, the focus of the party was on Herwin’s birthday, but it was also a graduation party since there wasn’t much time left until vacation.

Most students would probably dress up in fancy clothes to enjoy the party.

Lucia had also prepared a light sky-blue dress to match Herwin’s birthday.

“Isn’t it a waste not to confess on such a good day? It’s a shame to just pass it by when you’ve dressed up so prettily.”

“That’s……”

“You’ve prepared Herwin’s gift too, so confess while giving him the gift. He might accept you this time.”

“But, Herwin likes Arista……”

“He likes her, but they’re not dating yet. Are you going to give up on Herwin like this?”

“……….”

Lucia pressed her lips tightly. She was a little shaken by Bianca’s words, but she still had no intention of confessing to Herwin.

Bianca looked around for a moment, then grabbed Lucia’s hand and led her out of the mansion.

“Lucia, I’m in charge of this party, you know?”

“In charge? I thought you were just helping the others?”

“It just turned out this way. The important thing is that’s not it. Since I’m in charge, I can create a separate space just for you and Herwin.”

“……How?”

“Come here.”

Led by Bianca, they arrived at the garden located behind the mansion.

“When the party is in full swing, I’ll lure Herwin here. You wait here and confess to Herwin. I’ll block others from entering this place.

“The place is nice, but… isn’t it too open?”

“When the party is in full swing, it will be dusk, so it won’t be easy to see from inside. And I told you, I’m in charge of the party. If I write ‘No Entry’ here, the kids won’t come here, and we can put curtains in the hall. How about it? Isn’t it a good idea?”

It was a tempting offer. Unlike her usual confessions, giving a gift in a fancy place while dressed up would definitely be a memorable confession.

However, on the other hand, she was worried about whether it was okay to confess on his only birthday of the year.

“Think about it carefully. I’ll take measures to prevent anyone from entering here for now.”

“Okay… I understand.”

“Lucia! Bianca! You were here. We should go now.”

Christine, who found Lucia and Bianca, urged them to leave quickly.

The sunset had already begun to cast its glow in the sky.

Lucia quickly wrapped up her conversation with Bianca and approached the two.

Herwin’s birthday was only a week away.

* * *

“Hoo……”

Lucia took a deep breath of nervous air and fiddled with her hair.

She felt like she had been standing in front of the mirror for 30 minutes already, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

“Lucia, what are you doing? We’ll be late if we don’t go now!”

“Huh? Uh-oh! Just a moment!”

From outside the room, Arista knocked and urged her to hurry.

Lucia hurriedly grabbed Herwin’s gift and her handbag.

And just before leaving, she stood in front of the mirror again and fiddled with her hair.

“……Isn’t it too much?”

Lucia, reflected in the mirror, had her abundant brown hair neatly braided into one and decorated with small beads, and her face was made up with simple color makeup to create a lively atmosphere. In addition, she was wearing a cool and airy sky-blue dress suitable for summer, making her look very beautiful.

She had put more effort into dressing up than usual, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it was too much.

“Lucia!”

“Yeah! I’m coming out!”

Lucia hurried out. Arista and Christine were standing in front of the room.

Christine was wearing a light greenish-yellow dress that suited her, making her look like a forest fairy, and Arista, for some reason, was wearing a knight’s uniform instead of a dress.

It suited Arista perfectly, so it didn’t feel out of place.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

The two, who had been talking, widened their eyes when they saw Lucia.

“……Cute.”

“Lucia! You’re so pretty!”

Arista stared at Lucia in a daze, and Christine was full of praise, saying she was so pretty.

“Isn’t it… too much?”

“No! You look so pretty?”

“Yeah, all the guys are going to fall for you.”

Lucia’s face flushed as both Christine and Arista, who was called the most beautiful woman in the academy, praised her.

“Where’s Bianca?”

“She went ahead to prepare for the party.”

“The guys said they’ve already left, so we just need to go.”

Lucia and the two hurried out of the dormitory.

Today was Saturday. There were quite a few students walking around the academy, which would normally be quiet.

Whether they were all attending Herwin’s birthday party, they were all dressed up, both men and women.

A strange atmosphere flowed among the students.

“Wow, I feel like a lot of couples are going to be born today?”

“Maybe attending the party is for that purpose.”

Lucia listened to the two whispering and looked around.

As they guessed, some female and male students were already talking.

The male student cautiously approaching and the female student shyly answering looked very good together.

Lucia projected herself and Herwin onto the unfamiliar two people she didn’t even know.

His face, smiling brightly at her questions, felt wonderful even though it was an illusion.

“Lucia, what are you doing not coming?”

Lucia, who was in a daze, turned her gaze at the sound of someone calling her. Arista and Christine were already standing far away.

Turning her head again, she saw two men and women having a pleasant conversation in the place where she and Herwin had been.

“Yeah! I’m going!”

Her steps were light as she turned away without regret.

* * *

“Happy birthday, Duke Peneus.”

“I prepared a gift! Please accept it!”

“Happy birthday, Herwin! Wow, I thought you were popular before, but this is beyond imagination? It must be nice to be so popular!”

Herwin looked at the many people passing in front of him with a tired expression.

They were all academy classmates who had attended to celebrate Herwin’s birthday or to enjoy the party.

When he received the attendance list from Bianca, he thought it wouldn’t be easy, but he never imagined there would be so many people.

If he had known it would be like this, he would have made some excuse to come late.

Ethan approached Herwin, who had firmly resolved not to participate in such events again.

“Herwin, you’ve already piled up a mountain with just your gifts. It’s going to be a lot of work to unpack them later, isn’t it?”

Looking at the place Ethan was pointing at, he could see a mountain made of the gifts he had received so far.

It was a number that ordinary people would be happy about, but Herwin frowned.

“Haa, I want to go to the dormitory.”

“Just bear with it a little longer. You’re the main character of the party, so you have to dance at least once, right?”

“That’s right. Those beautiful ladies are waiting for you to dance.”

Brian, who had been having a good time with the girls, approached with a sly smile.

“You seem to be having more fun than Herwin?”

“Hehe, the ladies just won’t leave me alone. This body is just too popular.”

“Ew, you’re so cheesy.”

Ethan cringed at Brian’s boasting. It was the same conversation as usual, but there was a strange excitement between them.

Herwin sighed, wondering if he was the only one who hated this party.

“Why are you sighing? Don’t you like the party?”

“……Bianca.”

Bianca appeared with the guest list in her hand, accompanied by a faint scent of perfume. As soon as he saw her, Brian whistled.

“Oh~ you put some effort into it today?”

“Hehe, how is it? Pretty, right?”

Bianca countered Brian’s words and flipped her reddish-brown hair back.

Bianca was also quite a beauty, and she looked much more alluring than usual in her red dress.

Looking around, he could see some men glancing at Bianca.

“Bianca, it seems like there are more people than the list you gave me?”

“Really? It should only be about 10 more people?”

“What, so there are more people.”

“Hey, this isn’t even that many. And the more people, the better.”

“Haa, then when will the party end?”

“Hmm, we’ll start the party in earnest when everyone has gathered. We’ll have a dance time for about an hour, and then we’ll have a small event… it should end in at least 3 hours?”

“No, that’s too long. Shorten it right now.”

“What? Of course not. How much have I prepared for today?”

“If the party ends in 3 hours, it’ll be 10 o’clock. The time you can go out is until 9 o’clock, and if this many people go in late, the academy will definitely sanction it, right?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve already talked to the academy about going in by 12 o’clock. That’s why there are some professors over there.”

Ethan was disgusted by the place Bianca pointed to.

“Ugh, really? I thought I was seeing things wrong……”

“Weren’t the professors here to monitor the students in case they caused an accident? But……”

Brian couldn’t continue his words.

The professors, who had attended to prepare for any possible accidents, were holding wine glasses in their hands.

“……They must be enjoying a long-awaited deviation.”

Suddenly, a stinging pain was felt from behind as he was looking at the professors laughing and talking with sullen expressions.

Herwin widened his eyes and grabbed his back, turning around.