Dumped After My Engagement: Becoming a Military Noblewoman

Chapter 101

"It's cold...!"

The snow that had piled up has melted, and though spring is almost here, the air is still chilly, and my body feels cold from the feet up. Wearing a thick shirt under my uniform isn't enough, so while wrapping myself in a large shawl draped over my shoulders, I let out a weak complaint, and laughter comes from Sil walking beside me.

"Celes is really sensitive to the cold, huh? Even with all those layers, you're still cold?"

"No matter how many layers I wear, cold is cold. Finn, you're dressed pretty much the same, you know."

"Well, it has gotten a lot warmer, but it's still cold, so..."

"Um, Finn, you don't look like someone who's saying it's gotten warmer..."

"Finn, wearing a woolen hat and even gloves, is the abnormal one here."

"This is normal. It's Silvio and Severi who are weird for walking outside in such light clothing!"

Sil bursts into laughter as he looks at Finn, who's so bundled up that he looks fluffy, while Severi stares at Finn as if observing some strange creature. They walk down the first-floor corridor of the school building.

The place we're heading to now has a bulletin board displaying the rankings for the recent written and practical exams.

"Ugh... even though we staggered our timing, it's still crowded."

"Isn't this actually less crowded than before?"

"But I can't see the front at all... Hey, I'll go check, so Celes, wait here."

"Shall we go forward through that gap?"

"Ah, wait, both of you. I'm coming too, ah, excuse me, coming through."

I lean against the wall of the corridor, watching Sil and the others push into the crowd.

In a month, our grade will advance, and it'll be our third year at the Military School.

Up until the second year, based on the results of written and practical exams, students are ranked as upper, middle, or lower within the class, and it was possible to move to a corresponding class, but that system disappears in the third year.

So, first-years choose their classes carefully, and second-years apply for their final class transfer based on these results.

But none of that applies to us, since we don't change classes.

Even so, coming to check the rankings on the day they're posted every time is necessary to confirm our own abilities.

"That's why I've been saying from the start that Finn is sly, right?"

"Sly...!? Wait, no, the sly one isn't me, it's Silvio!"

"It seems we've been completely fooled by Finn."

"Even Severi...!"

I give a wry smile at Sil, who comes running back toward me with the others, laughing and making a fuss about something that must have happened while checking the rankings, and I push myself off the wall.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Celes. It's almost time to meet with the Second Prince, so let's hurry a bit. Oh, I'll tell you about Finn's slyness while we walk."

"Sly...? Finn?"

"You're making a face like there must be some mistake, but once you hear about the practical exam rankings, you'll understand."

I tilt my head at the mention of practical exam rankings, and my eyes meet Finn's, who's vigorously shaking his head side to side behind Sil. His mouth is shut tight as if he's trying to say something, but unfortunately, I can't understand what it is.

"The practical exam rankings have always been Celes in first place since we enrolled, followed by me and Severi, right?"

"That's right."

"But this time, since Celes couldn't take the exam due to an injury, the top spot was up for grabs. Guess who took it?"

"Isn't it Sil or Severi?"

"Nope, that's where you're wrong. The top spot in this practical exam went to Finn, who's been hiding his true strength with that innocent face!"

"Innocent face? I didn't mean to..."

"We thought we were friends, but it seems we've been deceived all this time."

"I wasn't deceiving anyone, I just didn't want to stand out...! I thought if something like what happened during the exercise happened again, I wanted to be of help, so I tried my hardest."

"Oh, and by the way, Celes was still first in the written exam, as usual."

"Silvio, are you even listening to me...!?"

As I comfort a teary-eyed Finn, who's being teased by Sil, we arrive at the Gazebo, where Renato, along with his aides Snow and Hale, are already waiting.

"Did we keep you waiting?"

"...Celes! No, it's fine, we just got here."

When I call out to Renato, who's reading a book, he looks up quickly with a soft, charming smile and gently shakes his head. Until recently, when he shook his head, his straight, beautiful hair that reached his shoulders would sway, but now that it's been cut short, it no longer does.

The day we returned from that exercise.

Instructor Tseri, who had gone off to handle some business separately, returned to the staff room with Renato and the others. Since the events of that exercise could become an issue between nations, it's likely that Renato, the Second Prince of this country, was summoned.

'Celes, your hair... and there's a wound on your cheek...'

I remember even now how Renato, more than me who was scolded by Colonel Nick the entire time I was being treated, stood frozen the moment he entered the staff room, his voice trembling with a pained expression.

'Was it because of those two who were with you that Celes got hurt?'

Staring at Sil and Severi with an expressionless face and asking in a low voice, he wasn't the usual cute Renato with a trace of innocence.

This isn't the Academy in the Royal Capital; it's a Military School placed in a location that could become a battlefield if anything happens. Acting recklessly can lead to injuries, and even lives can be at risk. That applies to all students attending the Military School, including royalty like Renato and Sil.

'But it wasn't an injury from the exercise.'

Muttering that in a cold voice, Renato continued to regard Sil and Severi with hostility for a while, even after the instructor explained the details.

"Celes?"

When I met Renato after the holiday, his hair had already been cut, and he laughed, saying he looked more manly now.

Even with short hair, he still looks like an angel, but I feel a sense of loss without that soft hair I used to touch. When I nostalgically stroke Renato's head, he gives me a puzzled look.

"No, I was thinking about tomorrow."

"Yeah. Tomorrow afternoon, a messenger from Sleiran will arrive at Ransheen Fortress, so we need to be at the fortress by morning."

"That prince has been detained for quite a long time, huh..."

"He must be really hated by the Third Prince of Sleiran."

Tomorrow is a holiday, but everyone here at the Gazebo has been summoned to Ransheen Fortress. The reason is that the handover of Nils, the Second Prince of Sleiran who was detained during the exercise, will take place tomorrow.

Despite communicating with Sleiran immediately after the exercise, the handover wasn't carried out until the end of winter because Sleiran requested that we hold onto him until then.

Moreover, it seems they requested that Nils, who had been confined in a guest room as a distinguished guest, be treated not as a guest but as a prisoner and moved to a cell.

The military side happily complied and put Nils in a cell, where he has been living ever since.

"I feel like I'm also pretty hated by the Second Prince of Sleiran..."

Having failed to achieve his goal and being detained in a cell, there's no doubt he must harbor a tremendous grudge.

According to Sil, this is a form of harassment and daily retaliation orchestrated by the Third Prince of Sleiran, and Sil seems quite delighted, saying it's just like his older brother to do this.

The deadline, when the Third Prince of Sleiran himself would come as a messenger to retrieve Nils as he had promised after winter, is finally approaching tomorrow.