"I'm not satisfied!"
At the party a few days after the tournament, Amour was visibly sulking. She'd been like this ever since the Team Battle finals ended, and honestly, it was starting to worry everyone.
In the Team Battle finals, the Dawn Sword—which now included Amour—had been defeated by the Southern Alliance led by Branca. However, Amour wasn't satisfied with how things had played out. Well, the Southern Alliance's strategy during that match had been effective and perfectly legitimate, but... "that was just wrong" was the general consensus of most spectators.
"Even so, Amour and Grandpa started it first, so there's nothing we can do about it, right?"
"That's right. They just returned the favor, and there was nothing against the rules."
Primera and I had been talking to her like this ever since the party started, but there was still no sign of her mood improving.
For the record, what Branca and the others had done was this: right at the start, Branca and two top-ranked Southern fighters rushed Amour. One blocked Amour's attack, another pinned Amour's movements with a bear hug, and the last—Branca—delivered a devastating blow to the now wide-open body. It was an attack reminiscent of the Black Thirty-Star, and they neutralized Amour in less than a minute from the start.
Jin and the others had rushed in to intercept the charging Branca's group, but since the Dawn Sword's formation had three frontliners, one midline, and one rearguard, the remaining top-ranked fighters ended up keeping Jin and Menace occupied, the fighter who had blocked Amour's attack delayed Garat by a step, and they couldn't free Amour in time.
Despite the overall disparity in combat power and numerical advantage, the Dawn Sword put up a surprisingly—well, it might sound rude to say "surprisingly," but—surprisingly even fight. The spectators had expected a one-sided slaughter after Amour's early elimination, so the Dawn Sword's performance was a welcome surprise, and the majority of the cheers were directed at Jin and the others.
At the center of that standout performance was Lina, who was currently surrounded by noblemen and looking thoroughly distressed. Of course, the others' efforts played a big part in their strong showing, but among them all, Lina's combat style—alternating between offense and suppression, unleashing spells at a dizzying pace—earned her recognition as the most impressive performer among the ten.
Thanks to Lina's heroics, the Dawn Sword briefly seized back numerical superiority by forcing two of the top-ranked Southern fighters to retire. But when Lina ran out of magic power, Branca launched a furious counterattack, and they were defeated.
"I suppose she let her guard down, but being ambushed by three superior fighters—even Amour would lose under those circumstances. Well, you could say Branca's group was unsportsmanlike, but..."
Glancing toward where Branca was, I noticed she hadn't noticed my gaze and was happily drinking away.
"We did protest that initial ambush, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. It was unsportsmanlike—at least, I wouldn't go as far as to call it cowardly, but it didn't befit a finals match."
The two who had teamed up with Branca for the rush came over, making excuses. The other top-ranked fighters quietly nodded in agreement. However—
"You sure didn't hold back while you were at it, though..."
Amour's quiet mutter made them turn away awkwardly.
Even if they truly had opposed the strategy, the moment it was executed—or at least tolerated—Amour wanted to make it clear they were just as guilty as Branca. Well, "guilty" might be a stretch, but you could understand why she'd feel that way. The fact that Jin and the others received more cheering from the crowd was likely connected to how many spectators sympathized with Amour.
"W-well, you should let it slide since it was Branca's first championship on the line."
Still maintaining the stance that Branca was the ringleader, the Southern top-ranked fighters scattered away from Amour's presence as if fleeing.
"Speaking of which... I've been feeling something for a while now and it's bothering me..."
"Tenma, I don't like this."
It wasn't meant to be a pun, but Amour immediately shot back with a quip, and Primera nodded as if she agreed.
"No, it really wasn't a joke. For a while now, from Branca's direction—or rather, Honorary Viscount Robo has been shooting death glares at me with murderous intent—"
"Just ignore him! He's just air! It's fine to ignore!"
Saying this, Amour tried to drag Primera and me away from the spot. But—
"Mm!"
A single glare from Amour froze him in his tracks, and in that moment, she was caught by the drunk Branca.
For the record, Honorary Viscount Robo had also participated in the Individual Battle... and was eliminated in the preliminaries. To add insult to injury, he was the first to retire in his bracket. The ones who took him out were two top-ranked fighters from his own team, the Southern Alliance, who attacked him from behind—taking advantage of the fact that he'd let his guard down around what he thought were allies—because he was the biggest obstacle to their advancing to the finals.
This act of friendly fire stunned the spectators and other participants in their bracket, but the Southern officials watching the match were roaring with laughter. The most delighted among them was unmistakably Amour, who was celebrating as if she'd won the championship herself.
"Well, you certainly look the part as the Individual Battle champion!"
Appearing with those words was Lion, looking half-wild. His perpetual bachelorhood appeared to be the cause of his disheveled state. Well, after that obnoxious remark, he was promptly smacked on the back by Albert, Cain, and Eliza in that order.
"Leaving this idiot aside... Amour, you're a bit too close to Tenma. Yield that position to Primera and take a step back."
"My, you're right. My apologies."
Amour, chastised by Eliza, nodded obediently and pushed Primera toward me, then took a step back as instructed.
"It's good that there's a proper hierarchy. So, about the wedding—you said it would be after the tournament. Has a date been set?"
When I told Cain that it had been decided for a month from now, several nobles who had been eavesdropping nearby quickly retreated.
"Even if they know the date, they wouldn't be invited anyway..."
Albert seemed to have noticed too, sighing with a weary expression.
"I wonder how many idiots will come asking to attend, saying they at least deserve a word of congratulation?"
The attendees had already been decided, and barring extraordinary circumstances, there would be no room for extras. Besides, even if they were nobles, I had no intention of inviting people I didn't even know.
"Well, if anyone comes to me about it, I'll have no hesitation in consulting His Majesty and Lady Maria and naming names, so it should be fine."
Lady Maria had told me to inform her immediately if anyone like that showed up, so at minimum, no one could attend the wedding without her approval. Though I doubted anyone would actually get through.
"The catering had a few unexpected hiccups, but we've nearly finished making everything as planned. The outfits just need final adjustments. Also, I'm planning to visit Primera's acquaintances in Gunjou City next week and use that trip for a final fitting."
"Just the two of you, then? A pre-wedding trip, essentially!"
Cain said it teasingly, but there was truth to it, so I nodded honestly—
"Oh!"
An exclamation—half surprise, half confusion—came from right beside me.
It was Primera. Everyone's gaze turned to her, wondering what had happened, and she said awkwardly:
"Um... it won't just be the two of us. I've already promised to bring Amour and the others along..."
This revelation surprised not only me, but Albert, Cain, Eliza, and Sierra as well. As for Lion, he didn't seem to get it at first, but once he did, he was visibly struggling to hold back laughter.
"Why is Primera—no, that's exactly like Primera... My apologies, Tenma. This is a result of the Duke's house's upbringing."
Generally speaking, a pre-wedding or honeymoon trip for commoners was something a couple did alone. But for a grand noble house like Duke Sanga's, it was normal to bring along bodyguards and attendants, resulting in a large group. Moreover, since the mothers-in-law in Duke Sanga's house all got along, they often tagged along on anyone's milestone trips. Under that influence, Primera had naturally invited Amour and Jeanne as well.
"Yeah, well, in a way... since it'll be the same as always, I guess there's no need to worry about being nervous."
As Cain said, that was the only way to look at it. It wasn't as if it had to be just the two of us, and I hadn't made the arrangements thoroughly enough beforehand. It felt a bit deflating, but that was just how it was. Even so, having family along on both a pre-wedding trip and a honeymoon was probably quite unusual, wasn't it?
"If this causes any trouble, shall we take responsibility as the Ōtori family's failing and postpone the wedding to give her proper instruction?"
"I was surprised, but it's not a problem, so don't worry. Part of it was that I didn't communicate clearly enough. Besides, the Ōtori family tends to do everything together whenever something comes up. Primera understood that and naturally invited Amour and the others."
If I went along with Albert's suggestion now, it would only create an awkward rift with the Duke's house. Besides, if I considered it as Primera simply trying to adapt to our way of doing things, there was no reason to be upset.
"I appreciate you saying that... but, Primera."
"Yes..."
"I don't really want to say this, but you should have known that our household has a unique environment. Before inviting Amour and the others, all you needed to do was ask Tenma first—that much is certain. If you truly value Amour and the others, you need to remember to be more considerate in the future."
"Yes..."
When Albert confirmed that I wasn't angry, he turned his attention to scolding Primera.
From my perspective, it wasn't worth getting that upset over, and I also questioned how it would actually affect Amour and the others. Cain quietly whispered to me:
"It's only natural that Tenma and Primera's trip would be seen as a pre-wedding trip. Bringing along unmarried women of Tenma's age—anyone who doesn't know the circumstances might see it as Tenma being unfaithful despite having a fiancée, or they might think Amour and the others were imposing themselves out of selfishness. Albert wants you to watch out for people with that kind of twisted thinking."
That made sense. If people didn't know that Primera had invited them, or about Duke Sanga's family dynamics, or that I had approved it, they might say that Amour and the others couldn't read the room and insisted on coming along, or that I was bringing other women with ulterior motives.
"Well, even if someone did make a fuss, His Majesty, the royal family, and Duke Sanga—all the top echelon of this country's power—know the full story. So anyone who complained would only end up embarrassing themselves."
Eliza assured us that there was nothing to worry about if someone did raise a fuss, and both Lion and Sierra agreed. Well, those top echelon figures might tease us about it, but they'd protect Primera and me far more than that.
"In matters of nobility, the royal family's shield is the strongest protection there is... I shouldn't forget souvenirs."
"No, that would be going too far with the disrespect... The fact that Tenma can get away with that is more impressive—no, more frightening."
"Indeed... By the way, I haven't seen Amour for a while now. Where did she go?"
Mid-conversation, Eliza noticed Amour's absence as if just realizing it, and naturally, everyone began scanning the area. Then—
"Tenma, we have visi—oh!"
Amour appeared, bringing along an unexpected pair. She was carrying a large platter heaped with several types of food. She'd probably decided to temporarily retreat from the conversation—and avoid being teased or dragged into tedious talk—while also grabbing some favorite dishes on the way.
And the unlikely pair that Amour had brought along was—
"Duke Sanga and Lina—that's certainly a combination I haven't seen before."
It was Duke Sanga and Lina.
"Well, it's the first time we've walked together, but since she's Primera's friend, I already know her face. It's not that strange."
"That's right! If anything, I'm more concerned about why Primera and Tenma didn't come to my rescue!"
For a moment, I wondered what she was talking about, then realized she was referring to us ignoring her while she was surrounded.
For the record, the reason Duke Sanga and Lina had arrived together was that the Duke—recognizing his daughter's friend whom he'd met before—had felt nostalgic and approached Lina, who was being besieged by men, then had her lead him to Primera, effectively rescuing her.
"Amour too, but you two noticed I was in trouble and completely ignored me, didn't you?"
The intensity of Lina's glare made Primera and me avert our eyes involuntarily. Amour was called out too, but she pretended not to hear and ate the food she'd brought.
For a while after that, Lina vented her frustration by grumbling and complaining to Primera and me. Duke Sanga and Albert watched this with amusement. Then—
"There, there, Lina. Have a drink and try to calm down."
Amour tried to shut Lina up using the same method she'd once used to quiet Primera. But—
"In the first place! Amour went out of her way to come right up to me, point, and laugh! What terrible taste! Are you even listening!"
Unlike Primera, Lina wasn't weak enough to be knocked out by a small amount of alcohol—quite the opposite, in fact. The partial intoxication only made her more worked up.
"By the way, Father—about next week's trip with Tenma and Primera... Primera invited Amour and the others without consulting Tenma."
When Duke Sanga heard this report, he shot Primera a sharp look for a moment, but Albert quickly explained that the matter had already been resolved, and the Duke relaxed.
"I see. I understand how it happened now... Primera, be more careful in the future. I'm sorry about this, Tenma."
After hearing the full story, Duke Sanga gave Primera a light reprimand and also offered his apologies to me. The Duke looked somewhat embarrassed at the time, likely because he felt his daughter's behavior was partly his family's doing.
"Where did you disappear to? Found you here."
"You were gone so long, we were worried."
As we continued chatting until the dance began, Marquis Samons and Grandpa arrived. With already notable figures like Duke Sanga and Albert gathered together, the addition of two more prominent individuals drew even more gazes to our corner of the venue.
"Tenma, Primera... help me. Seriously."
While we were discussing improvements in dancing technique and partners for the second and subsequent dances, the forgotten Amour grabbed my arm and Primera's arm, dragging along Lina, who was draped over her back in a foul mood. Lina didn't seem completely wasted, but she was quite fired up and was cheerfully clinging to Amour's back.
"Lina! Let go already!"
Since I obviously couldn't touch Lina myself, Primera forcibly pulled her away and sat her down on a nearby chair.
"It would be great if Menace came to collect her... but he's having a drinking contest with the Southern crowd."
Not just Menace—Jin and Garat were also downing drinks alongside Branca and the other Southern top-ranked fighters in a competitive frenzy.
The dance was about to start soon, so I looked for someone who could take over, but the crucial Menace and his group seemed to have completely forgotten about Lina, and leaving her with an unfamiliar noble would be risky in all sorts of ways.
Leaving her with Grandpa was an option, but he was technically an unmarried man too, and being alone together might invite unwanted misunderstandings. Casually calling Lina "Grandma" would be awkward.
"I can tell what you're thinking, Tenma, and while I can assure you nothing like that will happen... idiots who'd cause trouble are everywhere."
Grandpa seemed to read my expression and couldn't deny the possibility of some fool causing trouble. On the other hand, Duke Sanga and Marquis Samons had to participate in the social dances, which meant the married couples would be leaving the area.
"So, Amour—I hate to ask, but could you look after Lina a bit longer?"
With Grandpa around, foolish nobles wouldn't dare approach, but there were places where only women could go—like the restroom—and she couldn't go alone. They needed at least one other woman.
"Hmph... Fine."
Understanding that she was the only suitable candidate, Amour reluctantly accepted.
"Well then, Primera, shall we go?"
"Yes. Amour, thank you for taking care of Lina."
"Mm, leave it to me."
After calling out to Amour, Primera and I headed for the dance floor. But just before we left, I caught a brief glimpse of Amour's face, and something scheming in her expression nagged at me.
"I hope Lina will be okay?"
Primera had also noticed Amour's look, but with no time to spare, we had no choice but to trust Amour.
During the subsequent dances, after dancing with Primera, I danced with various acquaintances and was late returning to Amour's group. Primera was in the same situation, so we decided to head back together. But waiting for us were a tired-looking Lina and Grandpa, a satisfied-looking Amour eating food, and for some reason, a dejected Lion.
"Tenma, there's still time! Dance one more with me!"
Noticing that we'd returned, Amour gulped down the food in her mouth with water and invited me to dance. I glanced at Primera for confirmation, and she gave a light nod—it was entirely up to me.
"I'd appreciate it too. How about the next song?"
Since we could make it in time if we left now, Amour and I retraced our steps back to the dance floor.
My reappearance after apparently having finished dancing drew a few women my way, but they stopped when they saw Amour right beside me.
And during the dance with Amour—
"Amour, could you slow down a little?"
"That's not possible. If I go any slower, my feet will tangle and I'll trip."
For some reason, Amour could only dance at twice the normal speed, and I found myself more exhausted than after the previous several dances. And after the dance, I received yet another death glare from Honorary Viscount Robo.
---
Primera's Side
"Amour, Merlin—why are you both so exhausted?"
After Tenma and Amour had disappeared from sight, I approached the two worn-looking individuals, holding out cups of water—
But for some reason, both of them flinched the moment they saw the cups I was about to hand them.
"What exactly happened?"
"Well, you see... I'd rather not be the one to explain..."
Merlin looked toward Lina with an uncomfortable expression.
Assuming Lina was the cause, I turned to her and asked for an explanation—
"I got waterboarded by Amour..."
was the cryptic answer I received.
Lina didn't seem to want to elaborate further, but since this might be a sensitive matter, I decided it was better to find out before Tenma returned. When I pressed her more firmly, she glanced at Lion uneasily and said:
"I was messing around and pretending to be drunk to hassle Amour, and she snapped. She said something like 'I'll sober you up!' and shoved a water bottle into my mouth from somewhere, forcing me to drink a huge amount..."
"I tried to stop her, but Amour was clinging to Lina so tightly that I couldn't get my hands in."
Merlin explained that she hadn't been able to touch a woman's body—even in the name of helping—and by the time she managed to pull Amour off, all the water in the bottle had already been poured down Lina's throat.
"And then Amour made me—a girl with a stomach full of water—"
"What Amour did was—"
For a moment I thought Amour had resorted to violence, but—
"Force me to dance with her! Over and over!"
It was apparently nothing of the sort. Well, watching Tenma and Amour's dance from a distance, it had looked less like dancing and more like being flung around, so in a way, that could be considered a form of violence.
"Hmm... so then what happened?"
Hearing all this, I could roughly piece together what had occurred to Lina. In other words—
"The water I was forced to drink came rushing back up—"
"And it launched itself at me and Lion, who were trying to stop her..."
When Lion—who had just now appeared (though looking far more subdued than usual, which made it easy to forget he was sitting nearby)—came into view, I noticed his hair and clothes appeared wet. In other words—
"Lion was the only one who got thoroughly drenched."
Sympathizing with Lion's plight, I looked more closely to confirm, and noticed that despite being supposedly drenched, there were no water droplets falling from him. And Merlin, who should have been in the splash zone too, was completely dry.
When I asked Merlin about this, she looked embarrassed and said:
"When the water came spurting out of Lina's mouth, I instinctively deflected its trajectory with wind magic. Unfortunately, Lion happened to be standing right in the path. And so, a 'dashing young man, dripping wet' was brought to life."
As it turned out, the reason Lion's hair and clothes were only half-dry was that Merlin had used fire and wind magic to dry them as much as possible.
"So that's why Lion's been so dejected..."
When something like that happened, it was only natural that even Lion would be subdued—
"Well, the thing is, Lion was so desperate for a dance partner that he actually tried asking people despite being in that state. But word had spread among those who witnessed him getting soaked, and not a single woman would give him the time of day."
"As a result, he told me it was the first time he'd ever been unable to find a dance partner..."
Lion having trouble finding dance partners was an annual affair, but even then, acquaintances and the wives of nobles with close ties to the Border Count family would dance with him. In previous years, he'd never gone without a dance partner at a party... but this year, even those people kept their distance.
Feeling responsible, Lina had offered to be his partner, but since nobles who'd seen the water incident had undoubtedly been spreading the story, she was told it was better to stay put—appearing in public now would only draw strange looks.
"If only people knew that kind side of her, there would definitely be women asking him to dance..."
Watching Lion—such a person of unfortunate circumstances—I couldn't help but think.
End of Primera's Side