The children around Stella also started to chime in with a word or two, watching the situation.

“That’s right. She probably doesn’t know the effort Stella made no matter what.”

“Of course she doesn’t know. Nigel only knows how to use her brain to scheme, she doesn’t understand the meaning of flowers, or how a lady asks a gentleman to a ball, everyone saw her asking without knowing anything. Right?”

“Maybe she made the ball invitation following her name since it’s a male name?”

The group giggled at the curly-haired female student’s words.

“That child, although she may be good at studying, she’s still far behind in etiquette. So shouldn’t we, who are familiar with etiquette, be patient and understanding?”

Stella said sweetly with a sneer.

The conversation of the group of female students gradually began to spread to the mouths of the political department students.

“… The more I hear, the more annoying it gets.”

At that moment, a male student opened his mouth. An owl emblem was attached to the boy’s chest.

“You political department likes to make rules through debate, are you now trying to regulate people’s hearts too?”

That statement became the trigger for students with the same emblem to start speaking one after another.

“Do you think you’re the only ones who learned etiquette? Did you forget that it’s a big insult to the other person to ask for a partner again after they’ve shown their intention to refuse, Stella?”

“You talk about etiquette, but actually Nigel kept the most important etiquette.”

“Why didn’t you ask our department students to make a love potion or something, Stella? If you had done that, your chances would have definitely increased.”

Stella’s face turned bright red at a female student’s sarcasm.

“I understand you’re angry because things didn’t go your way, but why are you running your mouth carelessly about our department’s student? And remember that Lady Diane is royalty? Stella, you could even go to trial for insulting royalty.”

As a student waved his finger, an illusion of a judge’s podium appeared in front of Stella and quickly disappeared.

“… Are you trying to start something now?”

Stella laughed coldly.

“If you’re scared, you can back out. If you retreat now, I’ll let it slide.”

A magical flame blazed up on the hand of the student who had created the illusion.

Then, the political department and the magic department. The gazes of the two groups clashed more intensely than the magical flames.

After the commotion in the first-year lounge, time flew by quickly.

During that time, a big change occurred among the first-year students. The magic department and the political department began to shun each other as if they were mortal enemies who had killed each other’s parents.

When snake and owl emblems happened to meet in the hallway, glaring at each other was the norm. They were reluctant to sit at the same desk during common classes, and when they happened to become group project partners, they tried to stick with sword department or same department students somehow.

The sword department students, who were busy training with Roneh and not present at the scene, tilted their heads in confusion but gradually accepted the change as it was.

And there was also a big change for Nigel, who was at the center of the commotion.

It was none of her business that political department students kept glaring at her, tripping her at hallway corners, feeling uncomfortable facing Ashton in History of Theology class, or being teased every time she encountered Oliver.

As always, the problem lay with Noah Beselion.

Whether he had heard the rumors about Stella or not, Noah, who had been acting like he’d eaten something sour, suddenly became a goofy idiot with an easy smile overnight. Because he smiled at whatever Nigel said or did, Nigel’s heart couldn’t take it.

Every time she faced that smile, Nigel lost her reason and became incapable of normal thinking.

Nigel’s dark history set new records every day, and every night Nigel stomped her feet and kicked her blanket. Thanks to that, there was no time for dust to settle on the blanket, so there was no need to wash it.

As days piled up like that, before she knew it, the day of the ball had arrived.

“… Should I drop out?”

“Who talks about dropping out two hours before the ball?”

Charlotte giggled behind Nigel’s back.

“… Me.”

“Ah, Nigel, if you move, your hair will get messed up. Fix your posture again.”

Nigel, who was muttering with her body all scrunched up, quickly straightened her back at the sharp voice of the female student.

“It’s been three hours already. Aren’t all of your arms tired?”

Three or four beautiful female students from the magic department in dress attire were clinging to Nigel’s body.

“Just for today, you’re more important than my own grooming. If you knew what kind of dress Stella prepared, you wouldn’t be able to say a word, Nigel.”

“My goodness, she had a dress tailored at the royal exclusive dressmaker’s, even though it’s not a debutante ball or engagement party.”

Even while chirping like sparrows, the female students’ arms didn’t rest, busily and meticulously fixing Nigel’s long eyelashes, voluminous hair, and the fit of her dress.

“Well, no matter what, she can’t hold a candle to Nigel. It’s good that Nigel’s results come out better than the time invested.”

Right? At Charlotte’s question, everyone nodded and agreed with a word each.

“By the way, this dress is really pretty. It seems like it was made just for you. You said your family sent it, right?”

A female student who was touching up Nigel’s dress circled around Nigel once, letting out exclamations of admiration.

A mysterious fabric that seemed to mix purple and sky blue in an intricate way. The elegant silhouette dress with various colored flowers and leaves delicately embroidered on it suited Nigel perfectly, as if they were one body.

This was the work of the skilled Madam Ludin, a package that the unnecessarily meticulous Zeronin had sent to the academy on his own a few days ago.

“… Alright, you can move now!”

Permission was finally granted when the sky that had been red turned blue. Nigel collapsed right onto the chair.

“Ah! You can’t sit down like that! Your hair will get messed up.”

At the female student’s voice that was close to a scream, Nigel quickly got up from the chair.

“At this level, Stella can’t compare, right?”

“Of course. What’s Stella, even looking at the entire academy, there probably isn’t anyone as pretty as Nigel.”

At the children’s banter, Nigel stared blankly at the mirror. In the mirror was a beautiful lady who resembled her face. And that lady was scrunching up her face as if she was about to die.

At that moment, Charlotte, wearing a red dress the same color as her ruby-like sparkling eyes, gently placed her hand on Nigel’s shoulder in the mirror.

“Why do you look so gloomy? Your friends have groomed you meticulously, you have a perfect dress sent by your family, and you have the wonderful partner everyone wants, now all that’s left is to enjoy!”

Nigel flinched at the part about the ‘wonderful partner’. The children standing around chuckled and comforted Nigel.

“It’s okay, Nigel. Actually, I thought I was going to faint at my first ball too. I felt like I didn’t fit in this wonderful space alone, I was so scared someone would tell me to leave that I almost died. I can’t even count how many times I stepped on my elder brother’s feet that day.”

“If you’re embarrassed about the public invitation, don’t worry. No matter how embarrassed you are, could it be worse than Caitlin here? She was glaring at that political department boy like that, but it turned out to be a look of love.”

“Charlotte!”

“Well, love blooms even on battlefields, so it can’t be stopped by mere department-level disputes. Right?”

“Love! It’s, it’s just a bit of interest!”

“Yes, yes. There’s no need to dig so deep into it. Does everyone know why the masquerade ball was created in Sienna?”

The children shook their heads at Charlotte’s words.

“Princess Helena, who received all the love of Emperor Jekin who founded Sienna, entered the academy in its first year of establishment. But because Sienna kept making them study, the princess, after enduring for a while, suggested to the Emperor that she would die of boredom if things continued like this, and that’s how it came to be.”

A small laugh burst from Nigel’s mouth at the completely unexpected reason.

Ah, she laughed. Charlotte whispered in a sweet voice and smiled back.

“So, we should just follow Princess Helena’s intention and enjoy tonight without thinking about anything. Right?”

Looking around, the eyes of the children looking at Nigel were all twinkling with pretty colors.

Nigel looked at each of those eyes in turn, then slowly closed her eyes and looked into her own heart.

Putting aside the guilt of betraying someone’s heart and taking someone else’s place, she wanted to be honest with her own feelings just for tonight.

Even if she had to drop out tomorrow, it didn’t matter.

Yes, it was just one night. It would be a short day that would end after turning a few rounds in the ballroom while firmly stepping on Noah’s feet, and having meaningless conversations like “Don’t you look handsome today” with familiar faces while drinking a few glasses of drinks.

Nigel opened her eyes with a faint smile.

“It seems the lady is finally ready to go to the masquerade ball.”

Charlotte grinned and put a black mask on Nigel’s eyes.

As soon as she put on the mask, Nigel’s purple eyes turned blue.

Caitlin whispered as she placed a teleport stone in Nigel’s hand.

“My partner told me, Noah is waiting for you in front of the square. Don’t mind us and go quickly.”

Before Nigel could answer, the teleport stone lit up.

It was a privilege unique to the magic department, being able to put magic into magical tools at will without a magic stone.

Nigel chuckled and opened her mouth.

“Teleport, square.”

Before she could open her eyes, she felt a pleasantly gentle breeze.

And when she opened her eyes, Noah Beselion, looking more splendid than usual, was smiling at Nigel.