Chapter 14: The Eldritch Godness Wants to Fit In

Days at the academy passed without incident, and I was gradually settling into class life.

"Hey hey, Iris. Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

Frieda lowered her voice as she spoke, and I tilted my head curiously.

"About Prince Leonhardt. They say he’s completely stopped fooling around with women. It’s the rumor right now."

"Isn’t that a good thing?"

"Yeah, well, it’s great that fewer girls will get their hearts broken. But it’s also kinda… boring? Most of the academy gossip revolved around His Highness’s love life. Now we won’t get juicy stories like him almost getting stabbed by a jealous lover anymore."

"Ahaha…"

I forced a laugh at Frieda’s joke. Surely she wasn’t actually disappointed that Leonhardt had stopped philandering… Right?

"Speaking of which, are you going to the class social event?"

"That’s the plan."

At the moment, Frieda was pretty much the only person I could call a friend.

I’d always been shy, so blending in had been a struggle. You’d think being a smiling, ultra-beautiful girl would make it easier, but… nope.

"I’m going too. His Grace Albrecht will be there."

"A chance to get closer, then."

"Y-y-yeah! So, uh… what about you? Anyone you’re interested in?"

"Me…?"

Honestly, I didn’t have any romantic urges right now. Watching other people’s love lives was far more entertaining than dealing with my own. Like watching a fire from across the river.

"There’s no one I’m particularly close to at the moment."

"What about Lord Felix?"

"W-what? No! He definitely doesn’t see me that way."

Why did Felix come up?!

Though, admittedly, he had been kind to me in his own way. Not that it made up for forcibly recruiting me into the student council or glaring at me all the time. I won’t forgive that!

"I wasn’t asking how Felix feels about you. I wanna know how you feel about him."

"Hmm. I don’t dislike him, but I wouldn’t say I like him either. He did lend me this, though, for safety reasons."

I showed Frieda the magical artifact Felix had entrusted to me.

"Wait, he gave you that?!"

"Yes…? Is something wrong?"

Frieda’s eyes widened as she stared at the artifact. What was the big deal?

"This has the ducal crest on it. Normally, these kinds of artifacts are only given to family—to prevent forgery and stuff."

"So… it’s bad that I have it?"

"Not if Lord Felix gave it to you directly, but…"

"But?"

"This is basically his way of saying, ‘Please marry into the family!’"

"WHAAAT?!"

I’d been proposed to that casually?!

"Well, not a direct proposal. But ‘join the family’ only has one real meaning, right? It’s not like you’d be adopted into the ducal house."

"I don’t even know much about the ducal family to begin with…"

"Then let me enlighten you."

With an air of importance, Frieda launched into an explanation about the Starkburg Ducal House.

"The Starkburgs descend from an Elector lineage. They’re not directly related to the current imperial family, but back in the day, they had the right to choose the emperor. That’s why they still hold a special position, even though now they just serve the crown."

"I see…"

I’d assumed dukes were just lower-tier royalty, but apparently, the Estasia Empire worked differently.

"Now, about Felix—he’s got a bit of a backstory…"

Frieda glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Felix isn’t actually the current duke’s biological son."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

How could he be the heir if he wasn’t the duke’s child?

"Remember that terrorist attack a while back? The one targeting that charity gala? A lot of nobles died, including Duke Friedrich’s only son. And the duke’s too old to have another heir now."

"So Felix…"

"Yeah. He’s technically a relative, but a distant one. Rumor has it he was practically living as a commoner before this."

So Felix had his own struggles too.

"But look at him now—the most noble-like noble in the academy. It’s impressive."

"He must’ve worked very hard."

Klaus had said, "Felix can do anything," and I could believe it. He’d probably pushed himself to the limit—whether to earn others’ recognition or his own.

"That’s why Felix is prime marriage material."

"Hearing all this just makes me feel less worthy of him."

Felix was a hardworking overachiever who glared at people. I was not a hardworker, nor was I a masochist who enjoyed being glared at. Hard pass.

"Aww. I thought you two might hit it off."

"That’s just your imagination."

I patted the disappointed Frieda on the shoulder.

A few days later, the day of the class social gathering finally arrived.

The event was being held at none other than a luxury hotel in the Imperial Capital.

As expected of Arkham Academy—only a school for nobles and the wealthy would choose a venue like this.

Instead of school uniforms, everyone was expected to wear formal attire for the gathering. I wore opera gloves and tights, pairing them with a modest blue dress that didn’t reveal too much skin.

Part of it was to keep my tentacles hidden, of course, but truthfully, I’m just not used to wearing revealing dresses. It still takes a bit of courage to bare that much of my skin...

"Frieda, your dress is lovely."

"Thanks, Iris. Yours is super cute too!"

Frieda was wearing a trendy red dress that had been in fashion recently. It showed a moderate amount of skin, but what really stood out was how she’d styled her usually unkempt hair into something neat and elegant today. My dear friend looks absolutely adorable.

"Iris! What a beautiful dress you have!"

At that moment, Klaus and Felix arrived. Both were dressed to the nines in tuxedos. Good-looking guys probably look good in anything, but annoyingly enough, these tuxedos suited them too well—I had to admit it.

"Come on, Felix, say something too."

"...Even a packhorse looks good in fancy clothes."

"You jerk!"

Klaus smacked Felix lightly on the head for his mumbled comment.

"Well, I’ve got to go make the rounds and greet everyone."

With that, Klaus promptly walked off.

"Iris."

"Y-Yes?"

Then Felix turned his eyes on me, giving me a long, piercing stare.

"What I said earlier was rude. You look nice."

"Th-thank you very much."

"...Hope you enjoy the party."

And with that, Felix left too.

"This is a great chance to get to know your classmates better, Iris. Make the most of it."

"Yes. If you don’t mind… could you introduce me to some people?"

"Of course!"

With Frieda's help, I got to know the names of a few of my classmates and exchanged greetings with them.

"Um, I—I think I’ll go talk to Lord Albrecht now. Sorry!"

"Good luck, Frieda."

Just as I saw Frieda off—

"Lady Emilia!"

A loud voice rang out across the room—one I recognized instantly.

I turned toward the sound and saw Leonhardt kneeling before Emilia.

"Ah! No amount of words could ever express the depth of my feelings! I truly love you—from the bottom of my heart!"

"P-Prince…!"

Oh dear. Leonhardt was confessing his love to Emilia.

It seems he’s managed to curb his flirtatious ways, but his love of the spotlight clearly hasn’t gone anywhere. Now the eyes of every single classmate were locked onto the two of them.

"Won’t you accept my love, Lady Emilia?!"

Leonhardt gazed intently at her as he spoke.

"With pleasure! I’d be honored to accept!"

"Thank you, Lady Emilia!"

And thus, Leonhardt and Emilia were officially a couple.

HAPPY END!

…Or so it seems, but after such a dramatic declaration, I can’t help but feel like this might stir up some other problems down the line. Hopefully nothing happens, but… well, who knows.