[Lexus] —’Do you have a partner for the Fall Banquet?’ 

When he called out to Valentia, he said something very unexpected and she was certain she heard him wrong. Why on earth would he ask her of all people to be his partner?

[Valentia] —’…….I do not.’

[Lexus] —’Then, why not be mine?’

Valentia didn’t know what to say. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine him asking her this.

Having someone ask her to accompany them to the Fall Banquet was a pleasure she’d never known in the past. At a gathering where people often kept to their small social groups, she was ever the wallflower.

No, actually, she was worse than a wallflower. She was closer to an unsold painting—one that people would casually walk past, evaluating with their eyes only to eventually frown and move on entirely.

But to be his partner for the Fall Banquet?

[Valentia] —’Would you really be okay with someone like me?’

She ended up saying that without even realizing it.

[Lexus] —’Sorry?’

[Valentia] —’You must have many other options, Your Highness.’

[Lexus] —’I never considered anyone but you.’

Her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. She knew he said it without much thought, but he had no idea how much it meant for her to hear that.

He truly was a cruel person. How was he able to whisper such sweet and kind words without meaning them even a little bit?

Although, they probably weren’t all that sweet at all. They only sounded so nice because of the feelings she held for him. Those emotions were causing her to desperately search for meaning in every word he said. She would constantly find herself racking her brain, wondering if any little thing contained even the smallest bit of feeling.

But the levelheaded and rational part of her mind won out, recognizing that his words meant nothing.

[Valentia] —’Is that so?’

And so she answered like that.

[Lexus] —’Do you dislike the idea?’

Of course she didn’t. That was something he would only ever ask because he was ignorant of her true feelings.

[Lexus] —’Then I’ll take that as a yes.’

He casually confirmed her as his partner. And then a lot of other thoughts came to her mind.

If she were to arrive at the Fall Banquet with him, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of rumors she’d be inviting by doing that. The already sharp gazes like blades would only sharpen, intensifying as they pushed against her.

And yet, she still didn’t want to give this up. She already knew she would have to give him up some day, and because she knew that, she didn’t want to miss any opportunity.

[Valentia] —’Very well. I will see you once the exams are over.’

And so she turned and left, almost like she was running away, because she was terrified he would change his mind.

*

* * *

*

A neatly dressed but average looking girl sighed as she set down her teacup.

[Girl] “I wonder what this test will be like.”

[Girl] “As do I. I feel like they’re getting more difficult these days. The last one was far too intense.”

[Girl] “Did you happen to study a lot?”

[Girl] “Of course not. My mind is far too occupied for that.”

That’s what she said, but truthfully she only managed to get less than five hours of sleep since she studied all night. But she spoke coyly as she claimed not to have studied at all, ignoring the trembling in her hand from the lack of sleep.

[Girl] “I am the same.”

[Girl] “I’m worried my results may not be satisfactory this time around.”

[Girl] “Nonsense, you’re always in the top ranks.”

[Girl] “But I know your results are always incredible as well, Miss Jasmine.”

They were friends, but when it came to their scores, they were ever the rivals. But they soon realized that there was little point in talking about their academics right now, and eventually changed the subject.

The Academy sent out a subtle request to the students not to talk about what happened during the outdoor circuit, but the rumor mill was not as easily stopped. People naturally wanted to gab about it.

Commoner students were required to maintain a certain grade level and pass the national examinations in order to remain enrolled, and so many of them were busy desperately studying to keep their place. However, even they couldn’t help but be curious about the rumblings going on.

After finishing up with their business admin studies at the Academy, the girls gathered at a nearby cafe in order to talk.

[Girl] “But it’s amazing. I didn’t know the Prince had that sort of side to himself.”

[Girl] “Indeed. Honestly, he may be popular already, but the rumors must still be a pain to deal with.”

[Girl] “I agree.”

[Girl] “Miss Syner’s terrible luck is quite the shame, but she’s very lucky that the Prince went in to save her himself.”

[Girl] “I heard about that.”

A small part of them wondered what would’ve happened if Miss Syner’s terrible luck befell them instead. Of course, the only reason why the Prince went after the kidnapped student was because he and Miss Syner were rumored to be close, but it was inevitable that other people would feel jealous of her.

As the rumors of her slapping the Prince went around, people were convinced that her days at the Academy were numbered. But instead, she actually ended up becoming his friend.

Valentia was a noblewoman who evoked the feeling of a commoner, making her feel like she was no different from them. But when such luck ended up being sent Valentia’s way, they despised her like they would any noblewoman who stole something from them.

[???] “Mind if I interfere with your conversation?”

Suddenly, a man dressed in finery appeared out of nowhere, interrupting their chat, causing the girls to jolt in surprise.

[Girl] “Who might you be?”

[Reporter] “Oh, my apologies. I was rude to the ladies. I’m a reporter working for the Sasha Times.”

For these girls who were commoners, being referred to as a lady was an unusual experience. No matter how much the Academy tried to push equality, the status hierarchy was a difficult wall to overcome.

Though, truth be told, these girls had never heard of a newspaper called the Sasha Times. They were just intrigued by the presence of a reporter.

[Girl] “Is everything alright, Mister Reporter?”

[Reporter] “I was just interested in your conversation.”

[Girl] “Hm. We were just discussing our examination results.”

[Reporter] “You must be students at the Academy. That’s incredible, haha. Isn’t that the place where the Empire’s elite geniuses go?”

[Girl] “‘Genius’ is a bit much. You just need to try.”

[Reporter] “Haha, you’re very humble. Definitely an admirable student of the Academy. Oh, I was so forward, I forgot to treat you ladies.”

He held up his hand, beckoning forward one of the staff members to bring a menu.

[Reporter] “You can order anything you’d like. My treat.”

[Girl] “There’s no reason for us to be in your debt, Mister Reporter.”

[Reporter] “Nonsense. I’m treating you simply because I want to get to know some students from the Academy and talk about this and that.”

The reporter was a very skilled speaker.

[Reporter] “So don’t worry. Pick whatever you’d like.”

This place was one of the more affordable cafes, so they pretended he won them over and picked the most expensive things they could.

[Reporter] “But, would you mind telling me more about what you were talking about?”

[Girl] “It was nothing significant.”

[Reporter] “Well, I’m a reporter, so even the most insignificant things are interesting to me. Wouldn’t it be good for the people to know about it if the Imperial Prince did something good?”

[Girl] “That’s true.”

[Reporter] “Honestly, the people are actually quite interested in the Imperial family, so don’t you think it’s quite sad that they’re hardly given the slightest bit of news about them? And besides, it’s not a bad story, right? If it’s good, why shouldn’t the people know about it?”

[Girl] “Yes. You’re not wrong.”

[Reporter] “And it’s not just for the sake of the news publication, but it’s also in the best interest of the people. And naturally, I will not reveal your identities as my informants.”

The girls looked at each other, throwing sneaky glances.

[Girl] “Well, the truth is…….”

The reporter who listened to their story could not hide his excitement.

These days, there were no good subjects to write articles about. And no one cared about the stories of which families were sharing or distributing territories, or whatever.

People wanted drama. They wanted stories about an affair or some other kind of terrible misfortune. Things like that.

After being kicked out by his editor, the reporter muttered to himself, wondering when a good story would come his way, or if something interesting would come along if he just sat and waited for it. If things didn’t happen, then obviously he couldn’t write about it. And what would he do if nothing interesting happened in the coming days?

A gentle breeze softly blew past him, and the warm sun was making him drowsy. He couldn’t afford to sleep on such a boring afternoon, so he went to a nearby cafe to pick up a cup of coffee and the latest publication.

Truthfully, it was hard for reporters to publish an article on the Imperial family. Reporters were free to report on the news as they heard it, but the Imperial family was good at reading the atmosphere of the nation around them.

The only member who made himself clearly and loudly known to the outside world was Prince Lexus, but it was all just gossip. And gossip coupled with unfounded speculations did not make for a good article.

But the story of the Imperial Prince throwing himself into danger to save a fellow student from the Academy? Now that was guaranteed to sell more than its fair share of copies.

[Reporter] “It’s nothing special, but here’s a token of my gratitude.”

[Girl] “Oh, we can’t accept this.”

[Reporter] “Of course, I understand how you ladies must feel, but I’m doing this because I wish to thank you. I would appreciate it if you could accept it.”

The girls coyly nodded as they accepted the money he gave them.

[Reporter] “Thank you for such a good story. Look forward to the article.”

He did not forget to express his utmost gratitude before getting up to leave, leaving that cafe and returning to his place of work.

[Editor] “I told you to go get some info for an article, what are you doing crawling back so soon? What, did you think I was kidding?”

And the moment he got inside, he got an earful from his editor.

[Reporter] “Believe me, if you knew what I got, you wouldn’t be angry.”

[Editor] “What you ‘got’? What happened? And what’s up with your face? Is it good news?”

[Reporter] “I’ll have the article finished soon. Please look at it once it’s done. I need to write it as fast as possible and have it published as soon as it’s finished.”

[Editor] “What is it?”

[Reporter] “You’ll be anticipating it so much, you’ll want to give me a bonus by the end.”

The reporter immediately got to work getting the article written. However, his editor who confirmed the story, didn’t look too impressed.

[Reporter] “Is something wrong?”

[Editor] “No. It’s a very good story.”

[Reporter] “So what’s the problem?”

[Editor] “Only saying nice things…hmm….I don’t think it’ll be enough to grab people’s attention. We need to get this story out of the third-rate gutter.”

[Reporter] “And by that, you mean…?”

[Editor] “Let’s spice it up just a little bit.”

[Reporter] “What? Spice it up……?”

It was ironic, considering the editor wished to get his publication out of the third-rate gutter and into the mainstream media while doing something incredibly third-rate.

[Editor] “The woman who was rescued and the Prince have a rosy relationship. Write that down.”

An unfortunate incident occurred during the Academy’s outdoor circuit, and the article made note of how Prince Lexus noticed something strange was afoot and risked his life to save a student. But then, they tagged on an extra and strange note saying that the two of them had spent the night together to shelter from the rain.

Truth be told, it wasn’t exactly untrue, but the early draft of the article aroused many people’s wild imaginations, and was published the very next day—sweeping throughout the capital and the rest of the Empire.