Chapter 152——I hope I will have the chance to dance with you next time.
The dances at the ball were mostly slow-paced, unlike the passionate folk carnivals. The simple steps ensured that every move of the dancers was brisk and graceful, without losing the aristocratic composure, and also left ample room for the two to talk.
As the one who invited her, Zebulun should have taken the initiative to find a topic to talk about, but his courage seemed to have run out the moment he opened his mouth to invite her - let alone chatting, he even turned his face to the side and did not meet Edith's gaze.
Edith: “…”
Did they really have to dance an entire song in such an awkward manner?
Edith didn't say anything either. She followed the rhythm of the dance music while spinning around and paying attention to the gazes around her. Zebulun had just come down from the second floor, so she was basically sure that the queen was on the second floor, so at this moment, her attention must be on her.
There were not many people on the second floor. Edith watched for a while and quickly locked onto a few gazes.
The first one belonged to Shelly. She raised her head and glanced upwards. Although she couldn't see the other person's specific expression, she felt that their eyes should have met.
Great, I can go up there to find him later.
Before Shelly on the second floor could figure out what Edith meant by her eyes, she quickly looked away and turned to look in another direction. He frowned - to others, the teacher might just be moving her head to follow the dance, but he knew very well that Edith had a completely different expression when she was free.
It could only be that he was looking for something.
He slowly moved his position following the other person's gaze, and after passing a group of teachers who were obviously watching the fun, Edith's eyes briefly lingered on the unfamiliar middle-aged woman in front of him.
That's it.
Edith naturally looked away, and Zebulon didn't even notice that she was looking around. He still had a stern face and completed the dance steps meticulously.
His face was full of love for dancing, and if Edith hadn't known him in person, she would have been deceived by this expression.
"Everyone says that the venue was changed because His Majesty Campbell came to the ball." She naturally brought up the topic. Zebulon, who was caught off guard by the voice, stumbled for a moment, but quickly adjusted his pace and said calmly: "It's just a rumor. Everyone likes to make up facts that they are willing to believe."
Still pretending.
Edith looked at the other person's pursed lips and confirmed the accuracy of the news again. She shook her head and lamented that Zebulun was still a long way behind Ursula.
"The results will be released tomorrow." Zebulon suddenly spoke at this time, lowered his head, and looked seriously into Edith's eyes: "...Some third-year students are too pretentious, don't pay attention to them."
Edith was stunned.
Zebulon is...comforting people?
Are you afraid that she won't get a good grade on the third grade exam, so you come to comfort her in advance?
Will Zebulon take the initiative to comfort people?
Rather than being touched, she first felt something strange. After a few seconds, she spoke cautiously, "It's okay. I took the third-grade test on my own initiative. No one forced me."
Zebulon hummed, "I know."
Of course he knew. But that person had already raised his suspicions in front of Edith. If she didn't take the initiative to fight back, wouldn't it seem like she was guilty? But after all, getting the qualification of pharmacy assistant was compensation for the Palmer incident. Even if Edith's level was indeed not as good as the third-year students, that person had no right to blame her.
It's just the arrogance that comes from being a noble and a senior.
"You have achieved such success in your first year. You have a bright future ahead of you. There is no need to raise the difficulty because of people like this." He couldn't help but say a few more words to Edith. "The kingdom is now open to civilians to take the examination for court mages. By the time you graduate, the system should be very complete. There is no need to worry about these people."
How come even Zebulun himself thought she must have done poorly in the exam.
"Thank you." Edith was still cautious. "But I prefer research work and may join the association." Don't be testing whether she wants to enter the palace.
Research...
Zebulon was a little disappointed, but he felt it was reasonable. Edith was the assistant of two professors, so she must be very passionate about research. It was impossible for her to be willing to enter the palace and become a mage serving the royal family - she was called a mage, but in fact, she was no different from a guard.
If possible, he didn't want to return to the palace...
"I like research, too." Zebulun spoke up and continued the topic. "It seems that Ursula is not interested in court work. Mother may allow us to work outside for a few years. Maybe we can even enter a laboratory." Although it is mostly a performance element and the main purpose is to show the affinity of the royal family, it is a rare day of freedom after all.
"One laboratory may not be enough. Don't you like monster research?" Edith suddenly remembered the other party's introduction to the leaf filamentous worms. The tone sounded very familiar. "Then should we go to the Monster Association?"
Zebulon was silent for a moment.
Monster Association...
Among the five college directions, spells have the highest status, followed by magic circles, and potions belong to another direction, but because it requires a lot of money from learners, it stands at the top of the contempt chain in some aspects.
Astrology is strange and unpredictable. Although some people believe that learning this is a waste of time, top astrologers are more favored by the king than magicians, and are considered to be the most suitable direction of study for those who want to improve the family's status.
The most obscure thing is pure monster research.
It is highly substitutable - learning magic arrays and potions requires understanding the characteristics of monsters, and no one thinks that this requires special research; it is narrow in practicality - it cannot directly create wind and rain, nor can it create potions with various functions, and it cannot predict the future. In short, only the students with the worst grades will be persuaded by teachers to choose monster research.
So far, no member of the Royal Family has graduated from Monster Academy.
"Don't you think that those who study magic are useless?" Zebulon did not answer Edith's question directly, but asked back in a light tone, "You can't participate in the league when you are a student, and you can't participate in the war after graduation. It is indeed a good place to escape from the world."
"How can it be a waste?" Edith frowned. The dance music reached its climax at this moment, and the dance steps became faster and faster under the increasingly dense drum beats. Edith lowered her head, always paying attention to the hem of her skirt, and said casually, "The basis of magic array and potion research is monsters."
"The development of potions is much faster than that of spells because the Monster Association has shared the work of basic research. Not to mention the knowledge foundation, the materials used in potion research are all processed by the Monster Association and sent to us. Cleaning, peeling, and drying." Zebulun forgot to dance a step for some reason. Edith frowned and took the initiative to pull the other party to spin. Suddenly, she figured out something was wrong. "If the people in the Monster Association are all trash, then what about the civilians?"
"Are all civilians who don't participate in any research useless?"
Is this the theory of the role of the nobles in the legend? It is believed that only the nobles who work in magic are qualified to be called "people", and the rest are wastes of resources?
"I didn't mean that!" Zebulun was shocked and quickly denied it, even his sad emotions disappeared completely, "...It's just that from the perspective of the nobles, it is indeed like this."
He really liked monsters, but he knew from childhood that it was impossible for him to study in this direction. In addition, he did have a talent for magic spells. Although it was a pity, he did not have too much obsession.
No one had ever suggested that he study magic, perhaps because they simply didn't see his interest, or perhaps they knew but didn't care.
...nor should he care.
"Are all the nobles like this? How about your mother's opinion?" Edith noticed the other party's low mood and realized that this was a good time to ask a few questions. "She went against the public opinion and set the rules for commoners to enter the court. It is unlikely that she has such a negative view of commoners."
"But then again, His Majesty Campbell and President Walker now have the same goal. They both hope that civilians will participate more in magical affairs. Their relationship should be much better, right?"
Zebulon was silent.
He also found it strange, but his mother's hatred for the president only grew.
"It's okay." He said vaguely, "It's all for the betterment of the kingdom."
"It's OK" translates to "very bad." He didn't answer the previous question, probably because he wasn't sure what his mother thought of civilians.
It’s best to go and ask in person.
The song is over.
Edith seemed to be finally relieved and left the dance floor impatiently. Zebulun still followed her and didn't seem to be planning to leave.
She tried to control her temper: "Any other questions?"
Zebulon: "......"
He had seldom been treated so impatiently.
"Thank you." He didn't know how to end this dance. Or rather, this dance started out of impulse, so the ending was naturally sloppy, "I'm sorry to bother you, but this dance was a pleasant one—"
——I hope I’ll have a chance to dance with you next time.
But he didn't say this out loud.
As his brain, which had been slightly heated by dancing, gradually cooled down, Zebulon sensed Ursula's burning gaze coming from the edge, and suddenly became panicked, realizing that all this was happening under his mother's eyes.
.....not good.
I wonder what my mother would interpret that dance as.
"Sorry, excuse me for a moment." Seeing that Zebulon had no intention of speaking again, Edith simply left and planned to go to the second floor to find Shelly and avoid the limelight - she could feel that many people were getting restless.
But in the short term, she didn't want to accept anyone's invitation anymore.
She quickly shuttled through the crowd and was about to reach the stairs when a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, exerting a little force: "Edith."
It was Ivan's voice.
Edith was really afraid of these three siblings.
"Student Ivan, is there anything I can help you with?" She adjusted her breathing and tried to keep smiling.
It's okay, at best it's just a hello, at worst it's just a dance.
"My mother is here."
Ivan's expression was calm, as if he was completely unaware that he was talking about something important that should be kept secret.
"I was just about to go see her." He shrugged. "Do you want to come?"
Edith: “…”
There were two people whose thoughts she couldn't understand: one was Amy, because his ideas were too clear, and the other was Ivan in front of her.
She didn't even know what the other party's ultimate goal was.
"The Queen is here?" Edith chose to play dumb. "The school didn't even notify me. Is this true?"
Ivan stared at her expression quietly, unable to tell whether she really didn't know or was pretending not to know.
"If you have nothing else to do, I'll leave first." Edith politely declined. Seeing that Ivan was about to speak, she spoke first, "I'm going to ask the teacher about my grades in advance. Do you want to come with me?"
Ivan, whose grades have always been worse than his brothers and sisters: "...Thank you, but no thanks."
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