Hostility
Lux’s Side
“Good morning, Lux-sama.”
“Good morning, Florence-san.”
The next morning, as I arrived at the noble academy, Florence-san greeted me, so I returned her greeting and took my seat.
“Lux-sama, how did you spend your holiday?”
“This holiday…”
I hesitated, thinking it was not something to share aloud, but I trusted Florence-san, so I lowered my voice so only she could hear.
“Actually, I went to the royal castle at the invitation of Third Princess Felisiana-sama.”
“…!?”
Florence-san’s eyes widened in surprise as she said,
“Lux-sama, are you all right? She didn’t do anything strange to you, did she?”
Strange…?
…That’s right.
Only the most powerful or those under suspicion are usually summoned to the royal castle, so Florence-san must fear I became entangled in something untoward.
I wanted to ease her worry.
“Nothing untoward happened. Although I did go at Felisiana-sama’s invitation, she insisted she asked me purely as Felisiana-sama in her private capacity, not as Third Princess.”
“…That’s why I’m worried.”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
It sounded as though she muttered under her breath, so I pressed her, but she simply shook her head.
Her expression had clouded briefly, and I was concerned, but since she insisted it was nothing, I decided not to press further.
As I settled on that, Florence-san spoke again.
“Still, seeing you now, Lux-sama, it seems you suffered no harm. I am relieved.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry. Nothing strange occurred, but there is one memory I shared with Felisiana-sama that stands out.”
“…And what might that be?”
For a moment I wondered if it was right to bring it up unprompted, but my trust in Florence-san outweighed my hesitation, and I continued.
“I had the honor of dancing with Felisiana-sama in the royal castle’s ballroom.”
“…You danced?”
“Yes. Felisiana-sama is exquisite on the floor, and as we moved together, I found myself utterly captivated.”
“…”
Florence-san paused before she spoke again.
“Lux-sama, if you don’t mind, would you spend the next holiday at my mansion?”
Florence-san’s mansion… Now that she mentioned it, she had once promised to invite me.
“Is that really all right?”
“Yes. If you agree, Lux-sama, I would be delighted.”
“In that case, I would be honored to accept!”
And so, on the next holiday, I was invited to Florence-san’s mansion.
Floria’s Side
Floria Florence rode by carriage from the noble academy back to the ducal residence of the Florence family, mulling over what she had heard from Lux today.
“That sort of person dancing with Lux-sama… it is an unforgivable matter, is it not?”
From Floria’s perspective, even if it was for Lux’s sake, a person who would so calmly stain their hands with blood could never be forgiven for dancing with Lux with those hands.
“However… please be at ease, Lux-sama… I will overwrite any memories with that kind of person with memories shared between the two of us…”
Saying that, Floria smiled happily.
Siana’s Side
“Ojou-sama, on the next holiday, Rodwell-sama will be invited to the Florence ducal mansion at Florence-sama’s invitation.”
Violet, who had been watching over Lux, informed upon returning home that Lux and Florence would be spending time together at the Florence ducal mansion on the next holiday.
And then, when Siana heard that…
“I see… I cannot allow that woman to have things go according to her wishes no matter what.”
She spoke those words with cold eyes, burning with hostility toward Floria.