I Start with a Bad Hand!

“He’s a friend’s younger brother. No matter what, it’s awkward to ask for such a favor.”

If it had been as haphazardly arranged as today, maybe it’d be different. I replied indifferently, and Agnes quickly responded with a spin.

“True, but… so what, it’s a masquerade ball.”

Blocking her braided hair from hitting her cheek again with my hand, I answered.

“Still, how could I do that? These nobles are such gossips. Aiden is here too.”

Just because I hung out with Klaus a few times, strange rumors spread.

“I’m so sick of these nobles.”

I whispered in her ear, and Agnes giggled and nodded.

“He’s been looking for you since the preliminary knight’s oath ceremony. He’s the only one in the history of friendly matches to fall after getting hit by his own team’s arrow.”

“Well, he left his mark as he wanted. Isn’t that a good thing?”

I chuckled along. With a slight laugh, Agnes’s braid whipped my shoulder again. At this point, it felt like her hair had a mind of its own.

“There were some complaints from Sereti’s side, but it seems they managed to settle it. There were quite a few rule changes to the friendly match. There was a lot of talk, especially about the national treasure selection.”

Agnes paused for a moment. What was it about? Honestly, there were too many possibilities. Was it because of the deep-sea kraken? Or was it because I pretended to be an extra member? Or maybe it was the fact that the arrows were laced with perfume? As the music neared its end, Agnes quickly whispered to me.

“They complained a lot about our national treasure being a person.”

Intrigued by the unexpected development, I leaned closer to Agnes.

“Was it because their riders couldn’t pursue our national treasure due to our defensive magic stones? They seemed pretty upset about that.”

Roxanne seemed to have fulfilled her duty.

“But the funny thing is, they mentioned it during the knighting ceremony. They hoped that both empires would improve and have a fairer friendly match next time.”

“…They played dirty too, so why are they acting high and mighty?”

“Exactly.”

Our conversation naturally led us to look for the owner of those aquamarine eyes. However, despite being someone who stood out everywhere with his silver hair, he was nowhere to be seen at this ball.

…Could it be because of all the complaints? They didn’t play fair either, so he could ignore it and enjoy the ball.

Feeling an inexplicable bitterness, I diverted my gaze elsewhere. In fact, Roxanne’s absence wasn’t what I should be concerned about.

“But where is our senior?”

“Oh, you were looking for her too? I’ve been searching as well, but I haven’t seen her.”

The music changed again, this time to a composition for male and female partners. Agnes and I naturally left the dance floor, blending into the crowd seamlessly as we searched for the person who made our presence here possible.

And when we found Irene, well… she was in a rather unpleasant situation with someone we weren’t fond of. A bit away from the ballroom, Cedric was handing Irene a bouquet of flowers. A pink bouquet that didn’t suit his fiancée at all.

“Even the young lord of Elexion believes in ballroom legends, huh?”

Agnes whispered from behind the bushes. I frowned without responding. Agnes, glancing at me, let out a surprised “Oh?” and then adopted the same expression.

“But senior has a pollen allergy. So why is he giving her flowers…?”

“Exactly.”

“Is it possible for her fiancé not to know something that both you and I do?”

Even the Second Prince probably knows. Though Irene’s expression wasn’t visible from the distance, after exchanging a few more words, Cedric left first, leaving Irene alone. Once Cedric was completely out of sight, we emerged from the bushes and hurried towards Irene.

“Senior! Give us the flowers!”

“Are your eyes okay?”

Even without lights, it was clear. We could hear her sniffling as we approached.

Agnes took the flowers, and I searched my pockets for a handkerchief to give to Irene. She rubbed her eyes slightly and asked,

“…Why are you here?”

“We came to find you, senior.”

Agnes, who had gone to throw the bouquet far away, shouted from a distance. She probably didn’t need to go that far, but it didn’t matter. Agnes, having left the bouquet far away, returned and grumbled while looking at Irene holding the handkerchief I had given her.

“What? I want to give her one too.”

“Fine, go ahead.”

We didn’t mention Irene’s thoughtless fiancé who gave flowers to someone with a pollen allergy. Instead, Irene, with her red rabbit-like eyes, sniffled while holding two handkerchiefs. We stood a bit away from her, each holding half of the bouquet. Spinning a flower in her hand, Agnes spoke in a slightly satisfied tone.

“So now I’ve received flowers too.”

Senior gave us flowers, and we gave her handkerchiefs. We’ll all be happy together for a long time. She poked my side and laughed.

But her words slowed my steps. I couldn’t laugh along with her lighthearted joke.

Together for a long time.

Before they could find my silence strange, I forced a smile and said,

“Let’s go back in and dance together.”

***

So I danced once with Agnes and then again with Irene when we met her. As the music changed and we kept dancing, I was completely exhausted. Leaning against the wall, I watched the two go off to dance again and thought absentmindedly,

‘I’m the weakest one here.’

I couldn’t help but realize it after stepping on Agnes’s feet enough to annoy her and seeing Irene adjust her steps to avoid being stepped on by me. There was no one here who danced worse than I did….

‘If I had some alcohol… maybe I’d be a bit more flexible….’

As I sipped on the non-alcoholic drink provided at the ballroom and got lost in my thoughts, a shadow suddenly fell over me.

“Warrior of Arneb.”

Recognizing the familiar voice, I slowly pushed myself off the wall. Standing before me was an unexpected figure.

“Your outfit suits you well.”

With olive skin and tightly curled hair, the student from Sereti, whose name I didn’t know but whose face I recognized, approached me with a grin. Seeing him up close confirmed his identity. He was the Sereti student who had led their team and broken Irene’s arm.

‘He looked like the world had ended when they realized they lost.’

And now he was the first to strike up a conversation. Impressive resilience. Seeing me silently staring at his face without responding, he leaned against the wall beside me, mimicking my posture.

“Dietrich Degoph.”

Calling out my name, which he must have heard somewhere.

“…Where did you hear my name?”

Without answering, he brought his lips close to my cheek but hesitated, then pulled back and extended his hand instead.

“Thomple students seem uncomfortable with our way of greeting. Extending a hand like this is your way, right?”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘your way,’ but it’s uncomfortable to talk to someone whose name I don’t know.”

“Harsh. Typical of a Thomple student.”

Despite his words, he kept his hand extended and introduced himself.

“Jose Fernandez.”

“…Dietrich Degoph.”

Though you probably already knew. As I shook his hand, Fernandez moved a bit closer and struck up a conversation.

“They say you were the one who hit the magic stone with an arrow.”

“…Who told you that?”

“That blonde student from your student council, the one you tried to avenge.”

“It was Irene.” I tried to suppress the smile tugging at my lips as I replied.

“Not ‘the blonde student from the council.’ Irene Horatius.”

“Of course you’d be so particular about it. Very Thomple of you.”

This is funny. I’m Korean.

I scoffed lightly, and for some reason, Fernandez took that as an invitation to lean even closer.

“If I had known you were the one who shattered the magic stone, I wouldn’t have let you live so many times. Looking at it that way, Thomple’s victory is thanks to us, isn’t it?”

“Well, you’re not wrong. We won because of your complacency. Thanks for that.”

I took another sip of my drink.

“And next time, watch your words. Hearing that you suck can make someone, who might have otherwise accepted defeat, determined to win.”

…Although it wasn’t exactly untrue. Fernandez gave a somewhat embarrassed laugh at my added remark.

“I didn’t expect you to understand our language. If I had known, I wouldn’t have said it ‘that’ way.”

“So if we don’t understand, it’s okay to say it to our faces?”

Fernandez grumbled in response.

“But your side also used ecclesiastical language. Give us a break.”

I shrugged and didn’t reply. Fernandez grumbled a bit more, then pulled something crinkly from his pocket and handed it to me.

“…What’s this?”

“My address.”

“Why are you giving me your address?”

“For information sharing and keeping in touch.”

“What information sharing?”

My first time receiving a penpal request left me feeling a bit skeptical, so I asked. Fernandez twirled the note and said,

“Anything. It’s good to stay in touch. Next time, the friendly match will be on our side, so I could share useful information with you.”

“How can I trust the information you provide?”

“I swear to the god in heaven, I wouldn’t joke about that. Or should I say, swear to the earth, here?”

Fernandez’s natural pledge threw me off. Swear to the earth?

“…You swear to the heavens. So why do we swear to the earth?”

Fernandez paused and looked at me as if I were the strange one.