TTND 98

Chapter 98

Dance Dance Revolution

But as the saying goes, the one who needs something is the one who digs the well.

Professor Buremhyde loved Wizard Ball.

“What should we do to boost morale?”
“Food, of course. Right now, we brought some leftovers from the banquet, but it’s not enough for all the Wizard Ball members. Could you possibly prepare more?”

When Idnia said that, Marie handed the ice box she was holding to Buremhyde.

‘…Wow.’
‘She’s basically training Professor Buremhyde like a pet!’
‘Lady Idnia is incredible.’
‘She’s just… on another level.’

Even the royal students like Rudolf, Karl, and Lorenzo, who had learned imperial etiquette since childhood, couldn’t help but admire how effortlessly Idnia handled Buremhyde—known as the Calamity of Albion, the Tyrant of Lancaster, the Evil Dragon Lord.

Narrowing the request to food was also a smart move.
Sure, they packed some food in ice, but eating it secretly while others were watching felt shameful. Yet it wasn’t enough to share with everyone either.

But if the meal was for boosting Wizard Ball team morale?

Then it had a proper excuse—and if Buremhyde brought more food, there’d be plenty for everyone.

“Fine. During tomorrow’s maintenance hour, we’ll train a bit, and then have our meal gathering at lunchtime. I’ll prepare extra food.”

Buremhyde was completely convinced by Idnia.

Actually, it wasn’t just that he was convinced—her reasoning was so clear that there was nothing to argue with.

* * *

Idnia, who had just used words to calm the wrath of a defeated dragon(?) in pain, now turned to check on her fellow dragon-slaying(?) party members.

“Well then, thank you all for your efforts. You must be tired, so let’s head back to our dorms. We’ll return to Eurus now.”

“It’s not like we did much. I only rode the carriage for, like, a minute. Didn’t even get to dance properly since we left before the ball really started. I’ve got energy left. Maybe because we skipped class?”

Karl puffed up proudly.

“Still, it’s nighttime now, so thank you for your work today, Lady Idnia. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

Lorenzo said goodbye and returned to the Notos dorm with his attendants.

Rudolf also seemed like he wanted to say something to Idnia, but just then, Isolde and his other attendants arrived.

“Brother!”
“Your Highness!”

Rudolf said his goodbyes to Idnia and Marie.

“Well then, Miss Idnia, Miss Marie, please rest. I’ll see you during class tomorrow.”
“Yes, of course.”

After parting ways with Rudolf, Karl, and Lorenzo, Idnia walked back to the Eurus dorm with Marie. Marie trailed behind slowly, reflecting on the day, glancing back toward Rudolf.

She still couldn’t believe she had danced with the Crown Prince, even if it had happened in the natural flow of events.

‘If I tell my friends back home that I danced with the Crown Prince, they’ll think I’m lying.
Or maybe… since I’m a saint candidate, they might not find it that strange?
Hmm, I should write them another letter.’

Unexpectedly making her debut in high society, Marie found herself wanting to share the memory in letters to friends and family.

Then Idnia asked her:

“Oh, Marie, by the way. Do you have any close female friends here?”
“Me? No, I don’t.”
“Hmm, I see. That’s a shame.”

Then Idnia suddenly turned from her room and knocked on a door.

“Who is it?”
“Are you there, Miss Sendia Aspinal?”
“Lady Idnia?”

Sendia peeked through the door, surprised.

“W-What brings you here?”
“Hello, Miss Sendia. I missed a few classes today, so I was wondering if I could borrow your notes?”
“Eh?”
“To thank you, I brought some leftover cookies from the banquet.”

Idnia pulled out a few cookies wrapped in a handkerchief and offered them to her.

Unlike food sealed in an ice box, dry pastries were easier to carry, so she’d packed some separately.

“Uh…”

Sendia stared at the cookie-wrapped handkerchief in disbelief.

‘What is this, some grandma move?
No, wait—she’s the daughter of a Grand Duke. A royal!
Even her grandmother’s grandmother was probably never poor.
How can she wrap cookies in a handkerchief with no shame and try to trade them for notes?
Why should I help her with her studies when I worked hard on those notes?
My notebook is a treasure trove of my own ideas and inspiration!’

She had a mountain of things to say, but…

-growl-

Her stomach growled.

As a noble lady, Sendia thought wrapping cookies like that was embarrassing.

But as a student of Dynaise Academy?

You eat what you can get!

Even though it was funny and a little absurd that someone as noble as Idnia had packed cookies in a handkerchief… she got it.

Dynaise Academy didn’t exactly feed them well.

Sendia unconsciously swallowed.

The sweet smell of cookies made with vanilla bean and butter, the citrus scent of madelines topped with orange peel—it was driving her crazy.

“Well, notes are meant to be shared anyway, I guess.”
“Thank you. Please share the cookies with your roommate too.”

Idnia took the notebook and handed over the sweets.

“My goodness… The Princess of Betelgeuse did this?”
“I think it’s charming. She’s a noble, but she’s humble and gracious.”

Sendia’s roommate spoke up in admiration.

“If she’s so dignified, why bring snacks in a handkerchief…”
“Better than letting them go to waste. By the way, are you really going to eat all of that yourself?”

Sendia flinched.

Her roommate, though not poor, came from a bureaucratic family and had clearly also developed a strong appetite from being at Dynaise.

If Sendia ate it all herself after Idnia said to share…

She might not wake up the next day.

“O-Of course not!”

Sendia reluctantly shared the cookies.

* * *

“Miss Sendia took excellent notes. Her understanding of magic is strong. Marie, let’s copy them together.”
“Ah, yes.”

Together, they copied the notes.

Today’s class had been on elemental channelling magic with Professor Magram—summoning not spirits themselves, but connecting to elemental realms like fire to use heat-based magic in daily life.

“Even if I review the theory, I just can’t figure out the pronunciation for spell activation without attending the practice session…”
“Oh, I think it’s probably this. ‘Dal gu er ra.’”
“Huh? ‘Dal gu er ra’?”

Marie was shocked by how confidently Idnia guessed the spell’s pronunciation from the notes alone.

Sendia’s notes explained things like how to pronounce it with back consonants and stops, but Idnia skimmed it and still figured it out right away.

“Any parts you still don’t understand?”
“A lot, actually.”

Marie asked her all sorts of questions, and even though Idnia had missed the same class, she answered them all easily.

“You’re amazing. You said you only started learning magic recently, right? But you’re so far ahead… I’ve studied divine magic, and yet I’m way behind.”

“Oh, don’t say that. I’ve got… uh, some ‘initiative’ going for me.”

“Eh? Ini… what?”

Idnia, being a reincarnated villainess character, had high natural stats, and since many of the spell codes were based on Korean, being a Korean native gave her an advantage.

‘Not to mention… I’m also the daughter of the Overlord, the Saintess, and the Demon King.
It’s wild that a character who died in Season 1 had that kind of backstory.’

She felt a bit embarrassed, realizing her progress might have more to do with talent than hard work.

“But Miss Idnia, what do you think of Lord Rudolf?”
“Pardon?”
“Well, you danced with him today…”
“Oh, right. I did.”

Idnia had almost forgotten the ballroom scene.

“Even though he’s your ex-fiancé and people talk about it, he still danced with you without hesitation. I think that clearly means—”

He wasn’t afraid of public opinion and wanted to protect Idnia.

“Oh, Rudolf is a good person. He’ll be a great emperor. Same with Lorenzo, and even that fiery Karl—they’re all good people. Remember how they helped when I was packing food?”
“Th-That’s true.”
“They’re all kind. Hehe.”
“By the way… why did you pack food in front of all those nobles, knowing they might laugh at you?”

Marie couldn’t understand. Idnia didn’t seem gluttonous—she even gave away the cookies. She also planned to share the banquet leftovers for a team meal.

“Actually, those demon-kin students were just waiting for a chance to challenge me to a magic duel. I figured acting a little strange might cool them down.”

“Huh?”

Marie gasped.

Come to think of it, everyone had activated spells when Idnia started packing food.

Could it be… it was all on purpose?

‘How deep is her thinking, really?’

Marie was once again in awe.

“Oh, and yes—I did also think it’d be a waste to leave it.
Even if the palace servants take care of it, there are plenty of students here at Dynaise suffering from hunger. I thought it’d be okay to take a little.”

“Ahahaha…”

“So, how was your first taste of high society? Even though it happened kind of suddenly.”

“Oh, it was so dazzling. The building, the food, the noble guests… I’m just a country girl, but I danced with the Crown Prince…”

“I’m glad you had a good experience.”

“He led the dance so well, thank goodness. I almost stepped on his foot!”

“Is that so?”

Idnia stood up.

“Huh?”

“Let’s practice some basic steps. I’m not great at dancing either, but let’s try together. You’ll be attending more social events too.”

She lifted her bed and stood it against the wall to clear space.

“…….”

Marie was shocked. How strong was she?!