Ariel Dalton Wants to Graduate

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Liz had pawned almost everything she owned to finance the black crystal mine project. That included her dresses, shoes, and jewelry, so of course she wouldn’t be able to dress up. Brennan was probably in the same situation, so there was no need to attend the banquet.

 

The McCarthy family accepted Daryl Cowan’s marriage proposal. Having officially become Elizabeth’s ‘fiancé’, he had the qualifications to be her partner at the Love Month banquet. If he were as enamored with Liz as the rumors suggested, he wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity to attend a romantic event together like the Love Month Banquet.

 

The pink dress was delivered to the Fitzsimmons Academy dormitory. Elizabeth McCarthy’s conscience must have kept her from pawning the proof of Daryl Cowan’s irrevocable love.

 

And this is where Fatima comes in. I could easily imagine the scene of the cute and persistent Fatima clinging to Liz’s skirt.

 

“I’m Ariel from the Viscounty of Dalton. I am friends with Liz— I mean Miss McCarthy. This is, um, I borrowed it…”

 

My voice trailed off toward the end. Daryl Cowan’s complexion was not looking too good.

 

Even I would have been heartbroken if someone else had used the gift I gave to my fiancé. Not just heartbroken, I’d be furious. I’d turn both the borrower and the bastard who lent it into rust on the blade of my sword.

 

“I understand what you mean.”

 

Darryl Cowan didn’t seem angry. Rather he looked incredibly sad.

 

“I knew that Miss McCarthy had someone she loved. I also knew that it was Viscount McCarthy who signed the marriage proposal, not her.”

 

“… … .”

 

“But I’m here. I thought maybe I could change things. Late at night, in banquet halls where music flows, they said magic often happens.”

 

“I-I’m sorry.”

 

I unintentionally became the world’s cruelest rejection letter. As his shoulders slumped in defeat, he gave me a forced smile. I think it was to ease my guilt.

 

Maverick described Daryl Cowan’s personality as “well-rounded*” but I found him to be very sweet. If I weren’t Brennan’s friend, I would be by his side to support his love.

 

*(You describe something or someone as rounded when you are expressing approval of them because they have a personality that is fully developed in all aspects.)

 

“It’s better this way. That she rejected me so firmly. I loved that side of her.”

 

“It’s not my place to say, but Liz’s middle name is ‘Stubborn*,’ and sometimes it makes her ridiculously charming”

 

*(it is used in the sense of ‘ stubbornly counting or unconditionally asserting one’s own opinion’.)

 

“Seeing that you know each other well, it seems that you are not simply friends.”

 

Darryl Cowan’s short laugh rang out in the air. However, it was too brief and was quickly replaced by the chirping of grasshoppers, which blended into the silence. Just as the awkwardness was beginning to outweigh the excitement of meeting someone new and nice, he spoke. It was a small but firm voice.

 

“I’ll be going now before I start an unnecessary gossip about Miss Dalton. And please tell Miss McCarthy that Daryl Cowan has raised the white flag.”

 

***

 

I saw the ark-shaped carriage parked in front of the banquet hall. In the place where I was supposed to be, Mia Peterson’s masterpiece stood tall, looking surprisingly inconspicuous from a distance. So they were parading that thing instead of me. I brushed off the paper petals that clung to every curve of it and laughed a little. If you ask me, Keran Illestia was quite mischievous, too.

 

I was greeted by a sweet smell as soon as I opened the door. I wondered if grinding sugar finely, mixing it with flower petal juice, and solidifying it before burning it in an incense burner would create a similar scent. The theme of this banquet is love, and preparations for the banquet are mainly done by the student council, so this must be the scent of love to them. Thinking of it that way made it slightly amusing.

 

Beneath the chandeliers, wrapped in transparent fabric like fairy wings, was a huge marble fountain. If I had known there was a fountain, I would have prepared a spell that turns water into chocolate. What a pity.

 

Soon, in the center of the ballroom, I spotted a group of fifth-graders in dance formation. Then, the red velvet curtains covering the balcony were pulled back, and a band of magic dolls appeared. Ah, I arrived just at the right time.

 

“Did Mia’s painting say she couldn’t dance?”

 

There was a space between the candidates for the queen of the banquet standing side by side. As soon as I stood there in a hurry, ‘Kylie’ started a fight with me like crazy.

 

“She seemed confident, but we had no choice but to leave her behind. I thought you would be sad if you found out that a wooden plank could dance better than a human.”

 

I was angry, but I didn’t have anything to argue with because, indeed, a plank of wood might dance better than I can.

 

At the last banquet, Marquis Bolton’s harsh lashing made me realize–-that someone’s joints could betray their brain.

 

Pretending to adjust my posture, I stepped on Kyle’s foot.

 

“Ouch–! I think I broke a bone.”

 

he groaned

 

“Oh, Kylie. Human bones don’t break easily.”

 

I faked a friendly tone.

 

“If you want, I can show you what it’s like to break a bone.”

 

Kyle then suddenly pretended not to hear me and changed the subject.

 

“The gentleman over there seems interested in me.”

 

In the direction Kyle was pointing, Edgar Ramos paled as if he were suffering from a terrible nightmare. Edgar, who wasn’t in the parade, hadn’t been given the right information about Kylie Vilard.

 

“Seriously, you’re going to line up with the girls?”

 

“That’s so mean, Ramos. I am also a candidate for the ‘Queen of the Banquet’, selected through a legitimate process.”

 

Edgar’s mouth formed an ‘ugh’ expression. Kyle cheekily retorted and blew a kiss with the flick of his fingers, but before doing so, he briefly glanced at Edgar.

 

In retrospect, it was certainly a somewhat dubious act, but my brain quickly imagined Kyle Vilard and Edgar Ramos sashaying around the ballroom in an affectionate embrace. I couldn’t stop laughing.

 

The magic doll band started playing just as my stomach began to churn with laughter. Thanks to that, I completely missed the time to dance. With a body like mine, it would be difficult to make precise movements on the right beat until the music ended.

 

“That’s some creative dancing.”

 

My first partner, Keran Illestia, stopped me, who was spinning in the opposite direction by grabbing my wrist and turning me around in the right direction.

 

“For the next two minutes, I’m the mountain you need to overcome.”

 

“Haha, that’s a heavy responsibility.”

 

I suddenly realized it had been too long since I had heard his pure laughter. I couldn’t resist the urge to express the grievances I had buried. I tried to keep my demeanor as playful as possible, but an unrefined sadness inadvertently leaked out.

 

“Why didn’t you come to visit me?”

 

Keran only took a few steps back and then approached again, soo we remained in a position where our voices could reach each other. However, despite that, he blabbered about something else.

 

“That dress looks good on you. The previous one was beautiful too.”

 

“Don’t change the subject. Were you busy?”

 

“I wasn’t, but…”

 

Keran looked, for once, genuinely confused.

 

“I’ll be honest. At that time… I didn’t want to.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Hmm. I think it was because I thought it would be disrespectful to Rose. Simply because she doesn’t like you.”

 

In my memory, Keran Illestia wasn’t the type to wrap his emotions with phrases like ‘I think’. I wanted to probe him further about “Rose,” but I couldn’t because we had to switch partners in the next six beats.

 

Just before his next partner, Kylie, snatched his hand away, Keran mentioned that his comment about the dress wasn’t just empty words. Feeling slightly hurt, instead of thanking him, I simply nodded.

 

After turning dramatically with Kylie, my partner is now Jaden. Perhaps sensing my sadness, he was the first to speak up.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I was just trying to figure out how to get my messed-up rhythm back to the right beat.”

 

“Your rhythm is not messed up.”

 

“Yeah, sure, the music that can’t keep to my rhythm is the messed-up one. Thank you for your words.”

 

Even as Jaden responded in all seriousness, I was doing something more like squirming than dancing.

 

“Rather than that, what do you think??”

 

“About what?”

 

“You said that the ‘love’ you’re looking for isn’t here… but who knows? Late at night, in the banquet hall where music flows, magic often happens.”

 

Jaden’s eyes widened in amazement at my (actually, Daryl Cowan’s) poetic expression. After getting closer to Jaden Spencer, I had the opportunity to see various emotions from him rather than his usual poker face, and I couldn’t help but find them quite adorable.

 

“You seem amazed, so I’ll tell you the truth. That’s what Darryl Cowan said.”

 

“Elizabeth McCarthy’s fiancée?”

 

Jaden Spencer was a Miluan like Liz and me. Also, the Marquis of Cowan had a close political relationship with the Duke of Spencer. Perhaps, he was more knowledgeable than me about the situation regarding Marquis Cowan.

 

“He came to Fitzsimmons. Well, technically, he came and left.”

 

While holding hands and twirling around, I briefly explained what happened with Daryl Cowan. It was about the blind love that made him come to the academy clinging to a flimsy thread of hope. The pitiful love that was rejected in the worst possible way, yet he tried to smile as he turned away to leave.

 

“I want to receive that kind of love someday.”

 

“You will.”

 

Jaden replied quickly. It seemed like enough time had passed while he was listening to me because a fearsome, muscular crossdresser came charging at him. I giggled and took my new partner’s hand.

 

Marquis Bolton spared no time nagging at me for straightening my knees when others bent them and bending them when they straightened them. When he sarcastically asked if I’d eaten the book he’d given me (twice!) instead of reading it, I replied that I’d sprinkled salt on it and baked it, and that it was delicious. When I added that I would deep-fry it if I received another book, he suddenly looked tired, but it was pretty amusing to see.

T/N: Heyaaa~ It’s me Choco. I would just like to apologize for not posting for a very long time. School started so I got a bit busy plus the website change which was harder to grasp than I thought (All is okay now tho lol). I still owed you 2 more chapters because I failed to post em on time but since I am still busy, I’ll try to post em next week. Thank you for understanding and waiting for the slow updates! Loveyahh all~

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