บท 24: Chapter 22: The School Dance
These days, the academy was very lively.
Everyone was very excited to see the headmaster—whom everyone hated—banished at long last...ooor not.
The position of headmaster had immediately been filled by someone new.
We risked ending up in a similar mess if a knight of the previous saint was picked, so the new headmaster had been chosen from my current guard.
And so, the new headmaster became Viscount Fox, the second most powerful member of my guard. He was in his late thirties, and up until Layla had shown up and defeated him, he'd been leading my guard.
Only skilled individuals who managed to survive a very difficult and selective training got to become knights, but there was still a hierarchy among them.
At the bottom of that hierarchy were the weakest knights. However, even the lowest of knights were more skilled than soldiers and enjoyed a much higher social standing.
While pretty much anyone—including peasants—could become soldiers so long as they wished to, knights had to receive a strict education and graduate with good grades. As a result, they had a much better foundation than soldiers, and besides a few cases of genius soldiers full to the brim with natural talents, knights were overwhelmingly stronger.
Among the knights, the most outstanding individuals—as well as the people who were directly nominated by the saint—got to join the prestigious saint's guard.
There was no real limitation to the number of members, but very few people satisfied the requirements, and the group tended to often lose members in battle. As a result, there usually weren't more than ten people in the group at once.
Joining this elite troop meant you were the cream of the crop. At the moment...my guard consisted of twelve members.
That's quite a lot of people, especially since I don't need them.
Once every year, the members of the saint's guard fought in front of the saint to rank themselves. The strongest of them got to claim the title of head of the guard, which also earned the respect and admiration of every other knight.
The current head was Layla, the one person who was always by my side. My little Scotterbrain was a little goofy at times, but she was still a brilliant young woman.
As for Viscount Fox, he had occupied this prestigious position for quite some time until Layla had come along.
He had also been in charge of my education ever since before I'd become, uh...me. This meant he used to know Ellize back when she'd been an annoying brat. Because of that, I felt a little indebted to him. I couldn't bring myself to act up in his presence.
He was at an age where his strength was starting to decline with the years, and remaining an active knight was starting to be difficult for him. He was aware of that fact as well. In that sense, becoming the headmaster of the academy—a place where he could foster successors—was the best post-retirement position for him.
With this, there were now two members of my guard at the academy.
No wait, since the old man is retiring, he doesn't count anymore. So that means... Layla's still the only one, right? Ummm... Let me get back on track.
Even without a headmaster, the academy had continued to operate in the same way it usually had, and it was particularly lively these days.
The (actual) reason was because of a special event that was set to take place in the great hall today: a dance party.
As explained previously, most of the students of this school were nobles, and for them, learning how to conduct themselves at such parties was a necessary skill. Even the commoners would be expected to attend parties if they became knights, so basic dance skills were vital to them too. The saint was often invited to parties held by royals, and her guards couldn't embarrass her. They needed a certain command of etiquette.
Needless to say, even though I was a fake, I'd properly learned how to dance after I'd reincarnated in this body.
Anyway, putting aside concerns about rank and whatnot, dancing was one of the few forms of entertainment available in this world. Everyone was keen to participate, even if they weren't nobles.
In most cities, halls existed for the sole purpose of holding dance parties, and from what I'd heard, they were bustling with people every day.
In the past, before dancing had become so popular, people had sparred with each other to pass the time. They'd also organized fights between monsters, or gathered to watch the public executions of sinners. Dancing was a much healthier hobby if you asked me.
Anyway... In the game, this event had very little bearing over the course of the story.
However, there were individual scenes for each heroine, and the affection meter of the girl you invited to dance would go up by a lot. This was especially useful when you hadn't managed to raise your affection with the girl you were going for, or when you were trying to switch targets mid-game. I supposed it was the developers' way of giving the player a little push.
Besides the moment when you danced with your girl, another thing to watch out for during the original event was Ellize. She'd pester Verner to try to get him to notice her. Since I had no intention to hit on Verner, there wouldn't be any need to worry about this, though.
Layla called for me. "Lady Ellize, it's almost time to go."
I got up from my bed.
I was currently wearing a pristine white dress.
You could say this was pretty much my uniform as the saint. I'd been wearing my other uniform—the school one—all the time recently, so it felt strange to go back to dresses like this one. While I wore dresses to play my role to perfection, I actually disliked them. I didn't enjoy the way they fluttered around while I was wearing them.
I mean, I'm a dude inside. Do you think I enjoy wearing frilly dresses? Huh? What's that? Some men do, you say? Like I care! More power to them, but they're the exception, not the rule!
Anyway, I disliked my school uniform way less than the dresses I wore as the saint.
When I arrived at the great hall, there were a ton of students already there. They all dropped whatever they were doing the moment I stepped into the room and turned to look at me.
Hm... Don't mind me, just do your thing, okay?
First, I walked up to the new headmaster.
Yo! Wassup, old man? Congrats on landing the job!
"Dear me, Lady Ellize. Your white dress suits you so well," he praised me.
That's an optical illusion, I promise.
I'd pretty much only ever worn white dresses, so people had been conditioned to think they suited me. Conversely, they'd probably think I looked weird if I suddenly showed up in anything else.
I told him something along those lines and continued to chat with him.
I didn't really like attending dance parties. I was only here because I kinda had to be, as a student myself. Well... I didn't hate them per se, but I wasn't even remotely interested in dancing.
Layla probably understood that, because she glared at anyone who tried to approach me to ask for a dance and got them to back off.
Speaking of Layla, she was currently wearing a purple dress that suited her very well.
"I heard my daughter caused you a lot of trouble... Thank you for stopping her. Let me apologize on her behalf."
Oh, right, Aina. It's all good, old man, no worries. Pretty girls stirring up a bit of trouble are no problem at all. Don't get me wrong, though—men don't get a pass.
Naturally, I didn't actually say that part about how I wouldn't treat men the same out loud, but, uh...for some reason, the old man was looking at me with such a gentle expression on his face.
What's going on?
"When we talk like this, I can't help but be reminded of all the time I spent with you when you were little."
Someone's feeling nostalgic.
I joked about how I used to be a mischievous little brat, but since I'd only taken control of this body at five, I didn't actually remember anything about it. Before I possessed (?) her body, Ellize had been the one in control, not me.
Even though I had no recollection of that time, I could still tell how things had been by everyone's reactions and the knowledge I had of the game. Ellize must've been a pain in the ass.
In the game, little Ellize never hesitated to bully servants she didn't like...and to make other servants bully them as well for good measure. She also liked to pretend people had been mean to her so her knights would punish them.
I don't know how they didn't abandon me before I turned five.
"Are you two talking about Lady Ellize's childhood?" Layla stepped in. "I'd love to know more about how she was as a child."
"She grew up into a fine young lady, but that wasn't always the case, you see," the Viscount started.
Uh, old man... You can stop here.
"She was incredibly selfish and...wild. Yes, wild would be a good way of describing her," he continued. "She'd never thank people, she'd lift the maids' skirts, she'd run around without listening to anybody...and then she'd suddenly stop moving and refuse to even get out of bed. She'd bring all of her things into her bed and claim she'd never need to take a step outside again. Whenever she saw a male domestic worker, she'd cry and say she was scared of men, so we even had to replace the servants. Oh, and when we tried to get her to study, she'd scribble all over the material. Plus—"
Image here:
Huh? What? Did she really used to be like that?
That wasn't quite what Ellize's childhood was supposed to have been like.
"She was very willful too. No matter what sort of dishes we brought her, she'd complain that it tasted bad, or that it was too bland. She once went to yell at the chef and told him that she refused to drink sheep milk. 'It has to come from a cow or I don't want it,' she'd said. She'd also refuse to eat bread because it was too hard. Whenever the maids tried to bathe her, she'd scream that she wanted to soak in hot water, so we had a tub especially made for her. We asked why she wanted to do that, but she simply answered that she didn't know, but she 'couldn't put up with this' unless things were done her way. She was quite stubborn—"
That's...weird. She didn't do anything evil, then?
From what the old man was saying, she sounded willful and selfish, but...her tantrums were all quite harmless compared to what I remembered Ellize doing. She was annoying all right, but like...not in the same way?
The original Ellize was supposed to be selfish, violent, and twisted. She was shrewd and always found new ways to torment people. On the other hand, the child that Viscount Fox was describing was just a little idiot. She sounded like a brat that simply whined and complained to get what she wanted without thinking.
The old man didn't notice how perplexed I was and continued his story, bringing a tissue to his eyes.
"On top of this, she had a strange manner of talking. Even when her words were polite, she spoke in a rough, almost masculine way. She was a little tomboy, really..."
"I can't imagine Lady Ellize acting like that at all..."
"It must be hard to picture when you see her today," he said. "But that's why I'm so proud of her. I'm happy she grew up into such a refined young lady..."
What the...? No, that doesn't make any sense.
The Ellize he'd just described was definitely still a brat and a piece of shit in the making, but...she was nothing like the original.
If anything...she was a lot like me.
If I had been reincarnated into this world without my memories, I would most likely have acted like that. Those were totally the sort of stunts I'd pull.
Wait. Then...maybe...
Maybe the only difference between the "me" before and the "me" after I was five was...my memories?
Maybe I've been Ellize from the very start.
◇
After Ellize had appeared in the great hall, the atmosphere of the party had completely changed. Everyone had been so taken by her the moment she'd stepped into the room that it had almost been as if time had stopped.
From that point onward, everyone had started keeping their neighbor in check. For those who strove to become knights, escorting the saint and dancing with her was considered the greatest honor. That meant the other people in the room were all rivals—enemies.
Everyone remained on the lookout, ready to strike down the competition while waiting for the perfect opportunity to make their own move.
The first challenger was Supple Ment, the academy's most renowned degenerate.
The second he'd tried to approach Ellize, the other teachers and students simultaneously had drop-kicked him, preventing him from acting like the savage he was. Even though he hadn't done anything, everyone knew what kind of pervert he was—surely he'd had a salacious goal in mind.
Thus, the first challenger was defeated.
The second challenger was John, a former soldier and first-year student. Although he'd recently entered the academy, he was already twenty years old.
Layla's glare had immediately deterred him, and he soon returned to his seat, his face sour.
Next, three students stood up all at once—Abun, Chof, and Ekkstraz. They glared at each other, each deciding it was best to stop the other before actually asking Ellize for a dance. They were oddly synchronized. So much so, in fact, that they punched each other out at the exact same time. Their friendship would most likely end after today.
After them, several other men tried their luck. Some were beaten up by fellow students or teachers, while others lost the will to fight after seeing Layla's icy expression.
However, one student rose among the fallen men. He stepped over the corpses of his rivals, masterfully dodged the rolling bodies on the floor, and easily faced the adversaries who'd come to stop him with his bulging muscles.
He completely ignored Layla and walked up to Ellize.
Who was this man, you ask? Verner, naturally.
"Lady Ellize, may I ask you for a dance?"
At that moment, Verner became a hero, respected by every other man in the room, as well as their common enemy, someone they swore to take down.
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