“Ufufu~!”
“Get out. How many times do I have to tell you that this storage room has been reserved exclusively for the literature club?”
“Ufufufufufu! Not anymore, Lady Eleanor! Not! Anymore!” I declared smugly as I wiggled my fabulous bean-shaped eyebrows in a deliberate attempt to provoke the noblewoman who dared engage in a verbal sparring match against me, the great and powerful Lady Ophelia Isla di Laetinn.
Eleanor frowned, her slender brows drawing together in a frown. “...What do you mean by that?”
“Oh... I don’t know,” I smirked. “Perhaps my illustrious club, the Academy Mysteries Bureau, was officially approved by the Round Table!”
“Impossible,” Eleanor snorted derisively. “No one would approve such a useless cl—”
With one swift motion, I thrust a piece of glossy parchment in front of my opponent’s face as if I were dealing the final blow against an evil dragon. Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she gazed upon the letters written there, causing me to laugh arrogantly at her well-deserved misery.
“Well?” I wiggled my magnificent bean eyebrows once more. “What do you have to say to this, Lady Eleanor?”
“T-This can’t be...!” Eleanor gasped, stumbling back as she shook her head in disbelief. “How!? How did you...!?”
“How did I obtain the Round Table’s approval?” I smirked, hopping on top of the table next to us as I stared down at her imperiously. “Did you really think that such a simple task was beyond my reach? Beyond the reach of the great me, Lady Ophelia Isla di Laetinn? Tremble before my presence, and prostrate yourself in awe, for I am the one who calls the thunder and summons the rain!”
Eleanor backed away, raising an arm in a futile attempt to ward off my radiance. “N-No! I refuse to believe it! T-There’s no way I can be defeated by the likes of you, Lady Ophelia!”
“Wahaha! Grovel beneath me and wallow in your impotence, Lady Eleanor! For that is the place you have earned, and that is where you shall remain for the rest of your—”
“Ophelia.”
I stopped mid-sentence, turning to the direction where the voice came from.
Unbeknownst to Eleanor or myself, the door had been opened several seconds ago. Standing in the doorway was a woman with long lavender hair and soft gray eyes. She bore a striking figure and possessed a sort of natural charm that was impossible to ignore, but she was still woefully beyond me in terms of beauty, of course.
Despite that, she alone was the only existence that I feared. Indeed, she was a woman so great that even I, the greatest noblewoman in all of the empire’s history, couldn’t contend against.
Lady Luna Endelyon di Irisilia.
The very mention of her name struck fear in my heart, for she was the most powerful creature to ever grace this world. Though I may be great enough to strike down even a dragon, Lady Luna was someone who resided on the level of a goddess.
I didn’t know why, but for some reason, I just couldn’t resist her charm. I mean, we both liked the same things and we’d both wanted to start this club, but that wasn’t why I was so inexplicably attracted to her.
Perhaps it was the way she treated me so callously and ordered me around without a second thought, though. As the daughter of a marquis, only the children of the ducal families stood above me, so there were few who actually dared to oppose me.
Despite that, Lady Luna, whose father was only a mere baron, never hesitated to command me. I couldn’t understand it, but I simply felt compelled to follow her every word. The act of pleasing her gave me pleasure in turn, almost as if I had been bewitched by a spell.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lady Luna asked, fixing me with a withering gaze.
O-Oh no! She’s using it! Her Empyrean Basilisk Stare! I flinched, averting my eyes and throwing my hand up in an effort to ward off the powerful magic that she was casting on me. Not that I disliked having her look at me, though.
“I asked you what the hell you were doing, Ophelia.” Lady Luna repeated. “We just managed to secure a clubroom and now you’re ruining the furniture. How can you be so improper?”
“G-Gah! O great Lady Luna, I beseech thee! Have mercy on this humble dragonslayer whose blade has already been broken by thy mighty gaze!”
“...What?”
“L-Lady Luna! It was all her fault!” Eleanor burst out. “She started saying all these weird things and then jumped on top of the table!”
“I see.”
W-What!? Don’t just believe her, Lady Luna! “N-No!” I protested. “She’s lying! I would never have done something so uncouth as to stand atop a table!”
“You are literally standing on top of one right now.” Lady Luna replied.
I looked down and found that I was indeed standing on top of a table. ...Whoops.
“N-No! It was a mistake, Lady Luna! I assure you! The only reason I stand atop this mighty steed now is because of... of...!” I faltered, unable to think of a suitable excuse that would appease the mighty goddess.
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Lady Luna sighed. “Get off the goddamn table, Ophelia.”
“A-At once!” Immediately, I clambered down the table, shivering nervously as I wondered what kind of punishment Lady Luna would give me this time. Previously, she’d made me carry her books, bring her food, and sometimes even cook for her. I trembled in anticipation as I awaited her verdict this time.
“...Anyway, we had a deal, Lady Eleanor. If Ophelia and I managed to obtain permission from the Round Table for our club, then you would not only allow us to use this storeroom as our clubroom, but also join our club.”
“U-Ugh... I didn’t think the two of you would actually manage to secure the Round Table’s approval, but very well... A promise is a promise. As of today, I shall become a member of the Academy Mysteries Bureau...”
“Excellent. Now, let us proceed with club activities. To commemorate our founding, I would like to suggest we—”
“U-Um! Excuse me, Lady Luna!”
“...What is it, Ophelia?” Lady Luna glared at me, none too pleased at my interruption. The heat of her gaze was searing, and I felt like it was slowly releasing a part of myself that I usually kept locked away.
“W-What about my punishment...?”
“Your punishment?” Lady Luna frowned as I nodded my head emphatically. “For what?”
“For, um, standing on the table...” I replied, not sure why she was so confused now despite having punished me several times before.
Obviously, I could’ve resisted with all my might, but serving Lady Luna filled me with an indescribable sense of purpose, and just being useful to her made me feel loved. Of course, I didn’t want to be punished by just anyone, though.
I mean, I was the marvelous and prodigal Lady Ophelia Isla di Laetinn! Who would dare punish me other than my goddess!?
Despite my nervous fidgeting, Lady Luna simply stared at me like I was trash for a couple seconds before moving on. My heart fluttered uncontrollably as she gave me even an ounce of her majestic attention. Even if she saw me as nothing more than a bug to be crushed under her heel, I was satisfied.
“...As I was saying, I’d like for us to investigate one of the more obscure mysteries among the seven great mysteries of Avalyne Academy as a way to commemorate our founding. Namely, the Snake-Eyed Ghost.”
“...The Snake-Eyed Ghost?” Eleanor asked curiously. “I’ve never heard of that particular one.”
“Ufufufu! Then allow the great me to educate you, peasant!” I cut in, taking the chance to jump back into the conversation while pointedly avoiding Lady Luna’s irritated glare.
“Its obscurity is due to its novelty, you see. Rumors of the Snake-Eyed Ghost have only begun appearing this month, the first report coinciding with the start of the second week of this semester. The legend says that at midnight, a ghost with emerald eyes shall appear in the academy’s cafeteria, injecting a batch of its ghostly venom into a random loaf of bread... And it is said that whoever is unfortunate enough to eat that loaf of bread the following morning...” I paused for dramatic effect, causing Eleanor to lean forward in anticipation.
Stolen story; please report.
“...DIES!” I exclaimed, leaping forward abruptly.
“E-Eep!!!” Lady Eleanor screamed, stumbling backward and tripping over her own legs, causing her to fall hard on her rear.
“Mwahaha—Ouch!” I held my head, wincing in pain as Lady Luna smacked me with a measuring stick she’d picked up. It hurt so good.
“Apologize, idiot.”
I shivered as Lady Luna scolded me harshly. Not even my parents dared speak to me that way.
“Y-Yes... I’m sorry, Lady Eleanor.”
Eleanor picked herself up, shaking her head. “I-It’s quite alright... I shouldn’t have been so frightened in the first place.”
Lady Luna raised an eyebrow as if she had something more to say, but decided to let the matter go instead after a brief pause of silence.
“...Well then, let’s reconvene here at midnight, shall we?”
“Yes, Lady Luna!” Both Eleanor and I said in unison.
I spent the rest of my evening trailing behind Lady Luna, hoping that she’d punish me in some way. Instead, she spent most of her time ignoring me which was kind of upsetting, but she gave me a piece of candy for some reason which more than made up for it!
While I was no doubt the greatest noblewoman, candy was an essential part of maintaining the energy needed to sustain that greatness, so there was absolutely no shame in being happy about something that only children would rejoice at. No shame at all.
When we finally returned to the clubroom, the moon was in full view through the window. It was rather beautiful, and thanks to the clouds that drifted before it, the celestial body resembled a soft gray color that reminded me of Lady Luna’s exquisite eyes.
“A-Are you sure this is a good idea?” Eleanor asked shakily as she peeked out the door of the clubroom, casting her gaze down the darkened corridors of the academy. “Isn’t this a breach of curfew? M-Maybe we should call it off, ahaha...”
“It’s a club activity that I’ve cleared with the instructors, so it’ll be fine,” Lady Luna said.
“Oh... Okay...” Eleanor didn’t look very confident despite Lady Luna’s reply, though I doubt that she was actually concerned about the curfew in the first place. It was probably the fact that the academy seemed downright creepy at night that she wanted us to cancel.
Honestly, I was a little scared too, but there was no way that I would admit it. I am the greatest noblewoman, after all!
“Let’s get going, shall we?” Lady Luna moved to the clubroom’s door, lighting her lantern. “Midnight is about to strike.”
I nodded in response, following behind her obediently. Eleanor trailed along, her gaze flickering around frantically as if a ghost were actually about to jump out at us any moment. Obviously, there were no spectral apparitions that abruptly assaulted us, but the journey to the cafeteria still felt like an eternity.
I wasn’t sure if she noticed, but somewhere along the line, I’d started gripping the hem of Lady Luna’s sleeve. Though, if she had noticed, she didn’t show any signs of pulling away, which gave me a warm feeling deep inside for some reason.
“We’re here,” Lady Luna declared at last.
When I looked forward, I expected the massive wooden doors of the cafeteria to loom before us. Instead, I beheld the cafeteria’s dark interior, the open entryway wide and foreboding like the gaping maw of a great beast that sought to devour us.
Lady Luna frowned. “...That’s strange. I’m sure the doors were supposed to be closed after sunset.”
“W-What if it was the ghost who opened it...!?” Eleanor whispered.
“Don’t be silly, Lady Eleanor! There’s no such thing as gh—”
I stopped mid-sentence as the sound of silverware clattering to the floor echoed through the empty cafeteria. All three of us stiffened up, not even daring to breathe. Of course, Lady Luna—my veritable goddess—was the first to recover from the sudden shock of the noise.
She bravely raised her lantern up, illuminating the entrance of the cafeteria. As she stepped forward, so too did Eleanor and I. With Lady Luna’s lantern lighting the way, I felt my courage slowly return to me, and as we traversed past the long lines of empty tables, I thought nothing could shake me so long as I was by her side.
That is, until I saw it.
There behind one of the food counters was a pair of bright emerald eyes. They glowed in the darkness, staring straight at us with horrifying bloodlust.
“E-Eep!” I couldn’t help but let out a yelp.
“O-Ophelia!? What are you doing!? Don’t scare us like that!” Lady Luna admonished. Though she was trying to sound unperturbed, I could tell that she’d been spooked by the sound earlier, and I doubt she was prepared for what I was about to point out.
Even so, I had to do it. “L-Look there, Lady Luna! The ghost!”
“What are you talking about!?” Lady Luna snapped angrily as she shifted her lantern and turned to where I was pointing. “Don’t—Oh.”
Eleanor and I shook uncontrollably as Lady Luna froze in place, locking eyes with those poisonous green orbs that floated in the darkness. There was a silent standoff for several seconds, and then they moved.
They moved with a speed far beyond anything humanly possible, meaning that there was no other explanation. What we faced was undoubtedly a ghost.
“H-Heeeeeelp!” I shrieked as loudly as I could. The insidious viridian eyes floated just a few feet in front of us now. We were seconds away from death, but I refused to die without a struggle. I stood in front of Lady Luna, pushing her back toward the entrance.
Even if I were to die, at the very least, I had to save Lady Luna!
My voice echoed uselessly through the dark academy. The spectral eyes approached. I wrenched my eyes shut, prepared to accept my fatal fate.
But miraculously, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps and clinking steel echoing through the hallway behind us.
“Who’s there!?” The voice cut through the darkness like a ray of silver light, the same shade as her resplendent hair that shimmered entrancingly in the moonlight that streamed through the hallway windows. She held a lantern in one hand and her sword in the other.
“S-Save us! The Snake-Eyed Ghost is here!” I shouted, grabbing both Lady Luna’s hand and Eleanor’s as I made a mad dash toward the knight who had just arrived.
The knight vanished in a blur as she moved to stand in front of us, covering our retreat. Her sapphire eyes glittered in the dark as they scanned the cafeteria, tearing away every secret that the darkness tried to hide until she at last met its gaze.
The horrifying gaze of the Snake-Eyed Ghost.
“...Are you fucking serious?” The knight sighed in an overly exasperated tone. I didn’t know who she was, but she seemed incredibly confident even though she was dealing with an evil spirit.
“W-W-What are you doing here!?” The Snake-Eyed Ghost stammered, their voice oddly feminine and actually somewhat cute.
“I’m on night patrol, asshole. So it was you that’s been driving Sir Bradley and the cafeteria staff nuts this whole week, huh? He’s been busting his balls trying to figure out why we were missing so much bread every morning.”
“I-It wasn’t me! I swear!”
The silver-haired knight stepped toward the Snake-Eyed Ghost, illuminating it with her lantern. Instead of an evil spirit, it illuminated a girl. A rather beautiful girl, I might add. She was tanned, well-built, and had a very noticeably sizable bust, her simple tight-fitting clothes accentuating her impressive figure. Her long black hair seemingly flowed endlessly, blending in with the darkness behind her, and her bright emerald eyes were simply captivating to behold in the light.
“Then what the fuck is this, Esme?” The silver-haired knight pointed at the stacks of bread that the green-eyed girl was holding. The girl opened her mouth, but no reply came. “Yeah, alright. Wait here while I deal with those three girls. And put the goddamn bread back.”
With that, the silver-haired knight sheathed her sword and made her way toward us. After having seen that the ghost was actually a person, we’d all relaxed. For some reason though, Lady Luna still hadn’t removed her hand from mine.
“So what are you three ladies doing out here after curfew? I hope you weren’t planning to steal food like that idiot over there,” the knight said as she jerked her thumb in the green-eyed girl’s direction.
“N-No!” Lady Luna exclaimed. “We’re here on an approved club activity! We’re part of the Academy Mysteries Bureau!”
“...Huh. Well, I’ll still need to get your names for my report. If what you’re saying is true, there should be no problem tomorrow. Let’s hurry up, starting from the left. I’ve still got Esme to deal with over there.”
After the three of us gave her our names, the knight wished us a good night and headed back into the cafeteria where she proceeded to lambast the green-eyed girl with insults that I’d never even imagined were possible. Though I knew that eavesdropping wasn’t exactly a respectable habit for a noblewoman, I couldn’t help but stay behind to witness the conclusion.
“...So you’re telling me you chose to steal bread for the orphanage in town?”
“Y-Yeah... Is that so wrong, Medrauta? This is the capital, but they’re still going hungry...”
“I heard it’ll only be for the week,” the silver-haired knight replied. “Apparently, they’re just taking this time to replenish the stockpile up north. Something’s brewing up there, and it ain’t pretty.”
“But still... I thought you of all people would understand...”
“It’s not that I don’t understand, it’s that the way you chose to go about it was beyond brainless. You could’ve just told us you were trying to help out, you know? I get a stipend every month, and so does Brig. Melindra somehow has a job, and I’m sure our nobles would be more than happy to help buy the goddamn bread, especially Levant. He’s always had a soft spot for children.”
“...Ah. Right... Buying the bread was an option. Whoops, t-teehee! Will you forgive me?”
“No. I’m reporting your dumbass to Sir Bradley in the morning. Have fun spending the next four months cleaning the stables.”
“N-Noooo! I-If you report me, I’ll tell Lady Viviane about eeeeeverything that you’ve been doing!”
“So what? I haven’t done anything that would offend my lady.”
“What about... The portrait you commissioned?”
The silver-haired knight froze.
“Hehe... That’s right, Medrauta,” the green-eyed girl smirked. “I’ll tell her all about how you’re soooo in love with her that you commissioned a portrait of her just so you wouldn’t miss her during the nobles’ exam period!
“I am NOT in love with her, and that’s NOT why I commissioned the portrait, dumbass!”
“Oh yeah? Then why’d you do it, huh?”
“...It’s a gift. I wanted to draw it myself, but I’m horrible at art. She’s always so meek and shy, and she never has confidence in herself. She lets people walk all over her despite being a duke’s daughter, but during our match against Bastiche and Ritya... She was so strong when she blocked Ritya’s blow. When she bestowed her Crest. Of course, I want to see that side of her again, but more importantly, I want her to see it too.”
“...Wow.” There was a pause before the green-eyed girl spoke again. “You’re definitely in love.”
“I am NOT!”
I suppressed a giggle as the two knights began their shouting match that echoed through the bowels of the empty academy. It was time for me to take my leave.
Though I certainly wasn’t planning to make eavesdropping a habit, I was glad I stayed behind this time. At last, I knew why I was so drawn to Lady Luna and why I yearned so passionately for her attention.
Why I wanted to save her even if it meant dying in her place.
I was right. She’d put me under a spell the moment we met.
A spell called love.