"The Spring Festival Tournament…"
Elline slowly lifted her forehead from his shoulder and began to tell him about the letter.
A message to enter the Spring Festival Tournament and win.
And a note saying that a meeting with the Tower Master had been arranged for after the tournament concluded, so she should come to the estate in the summer.
"…That's it?"
"Yes."
"You're not summarizing?"
"That's everything."
After hearing it all, he felt a flicker of disbelief.
Even his mother, who had sent him a letter, had at least included a few lines of formal greeting—but this was just two bare sentences, not even a hello.
And on top of that. The first sentence grated on him even more.
Win the Spring Festival Tournament.
*Easy words to say.*
No matter how remarkable Elline was, entering the Spring Festival Tournament and winning was no simple thing.
Unlike the academy's other competitions, which were individual events, the Spring Festival Tournament was a team-based affair.
Even if Elline was powerful on her own, without a team to back her up, it would likely be a burden even for her.
And unlike before, when the tournament had always been treated as little more than a festival with a competition tacked on, this year the heat surrounding it was higher than ever—word had spread that the Second Prince himself would be attending as an observer.
With even the top-ranked students entering, Elline would face more scrutiny than anyone.
"…It's the Family Head's message."
Elline said it calmly.
"I'll have to participate."
He understood without her needing to say more.
In great noble houses like House Pailless, the Family Head's word was absolute.
He knew well enough how formidable a mage Rokgard Pailless was.
The influence he wielded within the family must be immense.
"Rutess."
"What?"
"…Will you help me?"
If she was going to enter the Spring Festival Tournament—and if she had to aim for first place—
their plans would likely be upended entirely.
For one, they wouldn't be able to study as much for exams.
Entering the tournament meant finding teammates and putting in practice time.
For Elline herself, it wouldn't change much—but there was one reason she was worried.
Because of him.
If he helped her, he couldn't focus solely on studying, and his plan to climb into Alpha Class through exam scores would fall apart.
"Elline."
He took her hand and held it firmly.
"Of course I'll help."
"…"
Her blue eyes wavered.
"Besides—if we win, maybe it won't matter if my grades aren't great?"
It was a festival event, but the Spring Festival Tournament was still a competition.
It was clearly factored into evaluations alongside exams, so a strong result there could make up for any shortfall in test scores.
"Let's do it."
At his words, spoken with quiet conviction, she gave a small nod.
The unease seemed to leave her—her expression eased, just a little.
He couldn't quite name the difference, but that was how it felt.
"Rutess, can I lean on your shoulder?"
"…You'd do it even if I said no, wouldn't you?"
"Yes."
He was starting to understand her a little.
She knew perfectly well that things always ended up going her way, and she used that knowledge with full awareness.
*Not that it matters.*
Right. It didn't matter anymore.
Elline shifted closer, nestling against his side, and rested her small head on his shoulder.
She was light.
*Oh. Right.*
"Elline."
"…Yes."
Being careful not to jostle her where she leaned against him, he reached his free hand slowly into his pocket.
And drew out a small brooch.
"Here."
Elline looked at the brooch in his hand, then quietly took it.
"…Is this for me?"
"Yeah, it's a gift."
She lifted it toward the sky, holding it up to the moonlight.
The small gold brooch was shaped like a flower, gleaming with a graceful luster.
A gift he'd gotten after consulting with a professor.
It wasn't as flashy as the jewelry or ornaments other students wore, but the carefully crafted flower looked almost like the real thing.
"What do you think?"
Elline studied the flower for a moment, and then her pupils slowly widened, just slightly.
And she smiled, faintly.
"…I love it."
He felt relieved.
*She's going to absolutely love this flower!*
He was grateful that the professor's confident declaration, made while pressing the gift into his hands, had turned out to be true.
*She's a professor for a reason.*
Elline gazed at it for a long moment, then carefully pinned it to her chest.
The gold that had shimmered in the air began to glow beside her heart.
…
The first thing ever pinned to her otherwise bare uniform—and it was his brooch.
He was glad.
That she liked it.
"Rutess."
"Mm?"
"Thank you for the brooch."
Elline kept touching it, as if she truly couldn't get enough of it.
"It's nothing, really."
Come to think of it—what was the name of this flower?
He didn't know much about that sort of thing, but it was a flower he was sure he remembered.
*I can't quite recall…*
He searched his memory slowly.
"Ah."
Right, it came back to him.
A flower with layers of orange petals folded over one another, showing off an elegant form.
"…Marigold."
The flower's name was Marigold.
* * *
On the weekend, just as the library began to fill up as exams drew near, the training hall too had started to gather students one by one.
The thick lingering scent of mana, the smell of burning wood, the sound of stone cracking, and the chanting voices of students.
Heat was rising even in the corner of the training hall where everything tangled together.
Aim.
Two unstable, wavering magic circles appeared.
Fire.
*Fwit—*
The arrow-shaped spell that shot out sharp and clean struck the wall beside the training dummy and flickered out.
"…Hah."
Rui let out a short breath.
Not good enough.
*…*
She had barely managed to hold her place in Alpha Class, but if her scores came out low again this exam, she would likely be dropped.
On top of that, she'd been cut from the team that had spent the entire winter break preparing for the Spring Festival Tournament, which meant she effectively had to stake everything on the exam.
"I can do this."
She shook out her tingling hand and stood up.
She fixed her gaze on the dummy and readied her magic.
Took a deep breath.
*Relax the shoulders.*
Concentrating as hard as she could, she began her chant, and mana started gathering around her.
What she lacked was precision.
As she poured every nerve into pushing her precision to its limit, her blurry vision began to sharpen.
And the dummy came fully into focus.
*Now—!*
She could do it.
*Ping—*
In that instant, she heard the sound of something cutting through the air.
A sound that came before she had even finished chanting.
Her focus shattered, and on instinct she spun her body.
*Crack—*
A small Mana Bullet had embedded itself in the spot where she'd been standing.
Getting hit wouldn't cause any real harm, but the bullet was just the right size to sting and linger—clearly made with the deliberate intent of targeting a person.
Rui turned her head, and her eyes landed on a group of students grinning at her.
"Sorry, didn't realize anyone was there."
"…"
Rui looked at them with unsteady eyes, but the students only shrugged, brushing it off like it was nothing.
"Give us some warning next time, Rui."
And just like that, they turned back to their own conversation as if nothing had happened.
It was obvious provocation, deliberately aimed at her—but Rui said nothing.
She knew.
That she was mocked like this because she was a commoner.
The academy was a place of learning open to anyone regardless of birth, but it was also a place where you were always made to face the walls of status.
There was no overt discrimination, but she had seen countless people draw invisible lines in subtle ways.
Especially after she moved up from Beta to Alpha—that kind of treatment had only grown more brazen.
Some couldn't take it and lashed out. Some cried. Some ran.
Rui.
"I'll be more careful."
Every time, she laughed it off.
Because reacting here would only give them exactly what they wanted.
She turned away, wiped her sweat, and looked at the dummy again.
She slowly gathered her mana, formed an arrow, and fired—but perhaps she'd rushed it.
*Ting—!*
It struck the wall with a harsh metallic ring and vanished.
"Oh, what a shame."
"Really. Just ease up a little more, Rui."
Flinch.
She turned her head, and the students who had fired at her earlier were still watching her.
"…Yeah, thanks."
Rui tried to smile weakly and tune them out, but they had found an entertaining target and kept their eyes on her.
*Ting—!*
"Try aiming a little more to the side!"
*Thwack—!*
"You are trying to hit the dummy, right, Rui?"
*Thud—!*
Every time she missed, the mockery grew louder.
Apparently bored by Rui's habit of laughing things off, they had started interfering openly—and when her last spell failed, they burst into loud laughter.
Rui steeled herself.
*I'm used to this. All I have to do is get better.*
She had to endure it. Ignore it.
If she reacted here, things would go exactly the way they wanted.
Focus. Focus.
"Hey, Rui, you doing okay? At this rate you're actually going to drop back to Beta."
"I'll teach you—here, watch, when you're aiming, you want to…"
"Quiet."
A single voice cut through the laughter like a blade.
The students who had been taunting Rui all turned at once.
Where they looked, seven training dummies had been reduced to rubble, not a single one left intact,
and the broken ones were struggling to rise, glowing blue as a regeneration spell worked to piece them back together.
And standing atop the wreckage was the owner of that voice.
"You're being disruptive."
Yutia Pren.
A fellow Alpha Class student.
A soft, unhurried voice—and a scene around her that was anything but.
*Kiiing—*
The moment one dummy finished regenerating, the girl extended her hand and slowly closed it into a fist.
*Crunch—*
The restored dummy crumpled as if being squeezed, a sound like snapping metal rods tearing through the air—
*Thud—*
—and then it compressed and dropped to the marble floor.
"It's exam season, after all."
"…"
"Good. Let's all just quietly practice, shall we?"
The students nodded without a word, as if their mouths had been sewn shut, and turned away to murmur among themselves in small, subdued voices.
Yutia swept them with a cool glance, then stepped out from among the debris and walked toward Rui.
"…Thank you… Yutia."
Rui bowed her head, and Yutia shook hers slowly as she looked at her.
Languid, half-lidded eyes and neatly braided hair.
Her rose-pink locks held a smooth, well-tended luster, as if they had been cared for with great attention.
As the eldest daughter of House Pren—a mage family that rivaled even House Pailless in prestige—her every manner carried a composed elegance that made her difficult to approach casually.
"Rui."
The soft voice came closer, and Rui shrank back further.
"Yes…"
Yutia smiled gently and spoke.
"Knowing your place and stepping down can also be a valid path."
"…"
With a touch as smooth as a ripple on water, she brushed the beads of sweat from Rui's brow.
"Everyone has a place that suits them, after all."
She gave Rui's shoulder one last pat, then walked out of the training hall.
Rui stood rooted to the spot for a long moment, as if nailed in place.
*…*
Then she turned and fired one last arrow at the dummy.
*Thwack—*
The arrow grazed the dummy's shoulder, missed, and embedded itself in the wall before flickering out—and with that, Rui smiled faintly.
"…"
There was no strength in the corners of her mouth.
She had thought that if she just smiled and approached people, they would welcome her. Her parents had always told her that people loved someone who was always smiling.
It was exhausting.
She wiped the sweat from her face, gathered her things, and walked out of the training hall.
Stepping out of the dim corridor, the easy, unhurried scene of a weekend afternoon came into view.
The sky was clear, and clouds drifted by.
Were her family back home looking at the same sky right now?
She stared blankly upward for a moment, then carefully slapped both her cheeks.
And took a long, deep breath, and smiled.
Reminding herself of her parents' words—that smiling would bring good fortune someday.
To not betray her own efforts, to keep from crumbling—she had to keep moving forward.
"I can do this!"
She called out to the empty air with all the force she had.
When the hollow cry faded, she felt a little better, and she started walking.
*I wonder if Ian's done by now. We should eat together.*
Ian had been her close friend ever since they both moved up to Alpha Class in their second year.
A good friend who always looked out for her, regardless of where she came from.
"…Ian said the third training hall, right?"
Rui set off at a brisk, purposeful pace toward Ian. The hall was nearby, so it was easy enough to find—
and sure enough, when she glanced around, a familiar figure came into view in the distance.
Someone she could recognize now just by their silhouette.
"Ian…!"
She was about to wave when Rui flinched and stopped herself.
Ian's expression looked somehow dark.
And.
Standing with Ian was another student.
…
Rui stopped walking and instinctively hid.
The atmosphere looked tense—it seemed like a serious conversation.
*…Oh.*
She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, and yet she hid.
Abel.
Once, they had been on the same team, gathered with the goal of the Spring Festival Tournament—and he was the one who had cut both her and Ian loose.
Why were the two of them together?
*Why?*
He had thrown them out with nothing but a one-sided announcement, leaving her and Ian in a difficult spot.
So why was he talking to Ian again?
She pressed herself behind a tree and strained her ears with every nerve she had.
"So—have you thought about it?"
"…"
"Think carefully. This is the last time I'm asking, Ian."
An offer. Thinking it over.
There was only one subject that could call for words like those in a conversation between Abel and Ian.
*…*
A single thought began to surface in her mind—
"Will you give me an answer?"
Her heart started pounding hard.