Third grade classroom.

'Oh my God, I was so tired yesterday.'

　If I was strangely cautious, the other guy was a man who came to protect his cute little sister.

　I don't understand the feeling of loving my sister, but it's not a problem since he doesn't intend to antagonize me in the first place.

　Rather, compared to Lelia and Serge - he was pretty decent.

　As I'm placing my cheek on the desk, Daniel and Raymond come up to me.

''Rion, we need to talk to you about something.

Is this a good time?

　When I look up, we both look a little troubled.

'What's wrong with you?'

No, I mean...

Yes.

　Both Daniel and Raymond looked at each other and then told me what they were discussing.

'Actually - there's a tea party in May, right?

Yes.

About that tea party--is Rion going to invite anyone?　I mean, are you going to open it?

What?

　The content that they were having trouble with was the May tea party.

　There was already no need for the boys to invite the girls, but the long-standing tradition of the event would not go away.

　If an anxious boy held a tea party, the other boys would not feel comfortable.

'What happened last year?'

　Daniel wanders his gaze.

'The headmaster said we didn't have to force it - me and Raymond didn't open it. But the girls complained about it.

　I nod my head.

'You guys said something like you had a girlfriend when you asked Arzel out on a long holiday.

　Raymond takes off his glasses and wipes away a tear.

'In the meantime, the other boys took them away. When I came back, I was seeing another boy.'

　--I feel a little bad about that.

'Well, well, you guys would get a lot of girls if you asked them out.

　Because since the school's policy change, the positions of men and women have been reversed.

　But even if the position of the boys suddenly became stronger, they seemed to be confused by the conventional common sense that got in the way.

'That's a problem too. You see, you've got a wider range of marriages to marry. You call out to them, and they'll gather by the dozens.

Width?

　Raymond nods his head.

'How could Leon not know?　You've got a tendency to think that a knightly girl could be a marriage partner, too.

What?　I didn't ask you.

　If Raymond can tell you more about it, many nobles got rid of their regular wives after the war with the duchy.

　Next, they began to officially take women who had been treated as side rooms and mistresses as their official wives.

　The kingdom also has a history up to now, and when you can't even strongly say no - it's okay if it's a knight's daughter, right?　This was the state of affairs.

　As expected, it seems that they are refraining from being above the county family, but the atmosphere was such that a poor baronial family would be fine with a knightly daughter.

''I, I prefer the daughter of a knightly family. No girls above the baronial family.''

　When Daniel said this, Raymond agreed.

''That's right. It's not like you're going to be able to slip up on us now, or--no.

　As the girls listened to them, their shoulders dropped or their eyes wandered.

　We're the generation that's going through a transition.

　The girls are the last to know the privileges we've had, and the boys know both the bad times and the good times.

　I've heard that more and more boys who have graduated are also being quicker to respond to changing circumstances and disown their regular wives.

　In other words - it's a very confusing generation.

'Well, it's better than none of them coming in,'

Yeah, but it bothers you. So I wondered what Leon was going to do.

　Raymond asks, and I cross my hands behind my head.

'I'm inviting my three fiancées to a tea party. Oh, and Erica - maybe I'll invite Erica-sama too.

You must be jealous. Huh?　You've got three fiancées, including Erica, right?　Why are you treating me like a separate entity?

　As Daniel wondered, Raymond flashed his glasses.

'Daniel, it's the local girlfriend from the Republic. Leon, you brought that girl back.

Oh, you!

　The two of them are angry at me, so I laugh and ask them to forgive me.

'I'm sorry. I don't invite anyone to tea parties anymore because I have a fiancé, too.

　The girls looked at me as if they wanted to say something - no, I really couldn't.

　I'm sure both Angier and Livia would be upset if I asked anyone else out.

　I don't know, I've never asked any of the other girls out before.

'Rion, you should go out with me today. I'm going to talk to you about your girlfriend.

　Daniel tells me it was a bad day.

'Sorry. I've got business at the Royal Court. The Duke has summoned me.

　Raymond raised his glasses with a quick snap.

'The Duke?　To the Duke of Redgrave?

　--I have a feeling it's going to be some kind of trouble.

◇

At last, the Marquis of Baldfalt!

　A room in the royal palace.

　The person who greeted me was Mr. Vince and - a man I didn't know.

　A blond-haired, blue-eyed aristocrat of around thirty, with slightly longer hair curled at the ends.

　He has a beard and, depending on how you look at it, he's beautiful.

''Eh?　Well, you know what--

'Excuse me for this!　My name is [Dominic Faux Motley]. Consider me a fan of the Marquis of Baldfalt.

My fan?

　What in the world could possibly make me an old man fan?

　Seeing me in trouble, Mr. Vince sent out a ship to help me.

'The Earl of Motley was a lord who protected the borders from other countries during the war with the duchy. And he left his wife after the war.

　What does that have to do with me-- what?

"Ride to the border and die, kingdom!　I spent my days muttering a curse, but when I returned to my domain, I found that the kingdom had changed its policy!　No one ever complained about cutting off something that had been my wife, something that had made fun of me. On the contrary, I could officially take the woman who supported me as my wife. --I can't finish thanking the Marquis for that.

　Mr. Vince laughs.

'His wife was kept as our adopted daughter until recently.

"Thank you, Duke Redgrave.

　To sum up the story - here's how it goes.

　She was married to an upstart Count Motley, but she was the daughter of a viscount.

　This wife, but she seemed to be a womanly figure of the kingdom's nobility.

　That alone tells you how much patience Count Motley had to put up with.

　Other countries attacked the border, and I was reluctantly going to fight when the kingdom told me to go to battle - when I returned, the kingdom had changed its policy.

　That was right around the time I was fighting the duchy.

　The tide of the world had changed, or rather, the beginning of tough times for women.

　No, it was back to normal?

　Anyway, his wife's family home was destroyed in the war with the duchy.

　Since there is no one to complain about it, the Earl of Motley disowned his wife.

　And in order to be united with the maidservant who supported him at his side, it seems that the dukes have accepted his current wife as their adopted daughter.

　It seems that she was adopted from a commoner to a knightly family, and after that she was gradually raised in rank to finally become the duke's adopted daughter.

　--a samurai who was a commoner, oh my goodness in adoption laundering!　He became a nobleman, married successfully to an earl, and now he says he has a child.

'There is no longer any need for the Motley family to be succeeded by a little boy who has no idea whose child he is. All of this is thanks to the Marquis of Baldfalt.

　He says with a very nice smile.

'Oh, I see.'

"When the Marquis of Baldfalt...

Yes?

"Will you burn the palace down with me?

　--What the hell is this guy talking about?

　When he was troubled, Mr. Vince supplemented the story of the Earl of Motley.

'The Earl of Motley is a radical. But, Mr. Lyon - you are Angier's husband, and I have high hopes for you, too.

"The Duke?

　Count Mottley turns a straight face.

　He is not joking, it seems.

'Marquis Baltfalt, you may not know this since you've been away from the kingdom for a while - but the kingdom is in great danger now. We lords who have borders with other countries are worried about that.

　Mr. Vince had turned serious before he knew it.

''Rion-kun, do you think you need the current royal palace?''

　--this is what Angier was talking about!

　When I didn't answer, Mr. Vince smiled.

''I want you to think about it. A lot of us won't be happy if we let the kingdom survive as it is. Someone needs to stand up.

　That someone - it must be Vince himself.

　He must be relying on Luxion's performance.

◇

　School.

　Marie was looking around for Erica.

'As soon as you take your eyes off her, she'll be gone!

　It's probably because of the remnants of his previous life that he's taking care of her in a worthy manner.

　It was Noel who found Marie and waved at her.

''Ah, it's Marici.''

Another one of your subtle nicknames. Noel, are you feeling better already?

Yeah. We've got permission for you to get up to light exercise. Anyway, where are you going?

I'm looking for Erica.

"The princess?

　They walked together and made small talk as they walked.

　From Noel's point of view, the academy in the kingdom was full of surprises.

''Hey, I heard they're holding a tea party in May, but isn't the boys' reaction delicate?''

'Oh, you know. Everyone thinks that tea parties are a bother. My brother is the only one who is willing to throw a tea party.

　Except for the tea-crazed boys, they have no interest in the May tea party.

　But since it's a customary practice, it's awkward not to do it - and the boys seem to be confused.

'Why not just invite someone you like?'

It's not easy being a girl who doesn't get asked out.

　Marie knew that the girls were also confused by the fact that the kingdom had changed so rapidly.

　They had been asked to lower their heads until now, but they didn't want to be asked to do so suddenly.

　While the wise girls are moving quickly, the girls who can't cope with the change are forever reeling in the old feeling.

　But that can't be helped.

(I'm sure things will settle down in a few years, but not for a while. (When you think about it, our generation might be pretty tough to deal with.)

Did someone ask Maric to join you?

　Marie gets a blank look on her face.

'-- those five people asked me to join them.

'Why is it so dark? Why aren't you happy about it?　Maybe they're usually together, so there's nothing new about them?　You luxury man.

'You can't be depressed for that reason. I've decided not to expect those five people. I'd rather be at my brother's tea party.

　There would definitely be expensive tea and sweets, and Rion would invite Erica to join them.

　Marie wanted to join them there, too.

　They walked into the school's courtyard, where a young man with a deep hat was tending to the garden.

　Noel looks at it and feels uneasy.

'That's dangerous. Could it be the new gardener?　Don't you have a senior colleague to guide you or something?

　He seems to be tending the garden, but his movements are poor by all accounts.

　It's dangerous to watch.

　Marie agrees.

''I can still do it better than you. 'I used to take care of the garden when we were at the Republic compound. The lawn was too vigorous in the summer, though, and I'm sick of it now.'

　Only the ability to live is improving in silence.

　Marie is getting sad.

'It's hard for Maricci too,'

Yeah. It's a big deal. So when you're at my brother's tea party, get me some candy.

　It was Marie who was begging Leon's fiancée for sweets.

◇

　The lousy gardener swears as the two girls disappear.

'Shit!　Those little bastards who don't know anything.

　The blond young man's face was contorted as he took off his hat.

　He slammed his tools on the ground.

''Why do I, a nobleman, have to do this!　I was supposed to be a baron!

　The young man was - Luttoart.

　He was Luttoart, the son of Zola, the former Baron Baldfalt's legitimate son and former legitimate son.

''Both my mother and Merse have forced me to do this kind of work.

　Luttoart was infiltrated in the academy and was gathering information.

　All in preparation for a successful coup.

　He picked up tools and made it look like he was doing his job.

　He listened to the conversations of the students as they passed by.

'Did you hear that?　Lady Erica seems to have been invited to the Marquis Baldfart's tea party.
''I'm jealous. I mean, why didn't the seniors go after the Marquis?　For all intents and purposes, he's not a promising player from the time he entered the school.
'I don't know about that. But I have a fiancée, and I can't go near her now. We have Lady Erica, and Lady Angelica of the Redgrave family.

　When the subject of Leon comes up, Ruttoart bites his back teeth.

(It's him. That guy is the reason I'm in this mess. I'll never forgive you, Leon!)

　Rutoart is determined to get revenge on his brother, Leon, who was once his brother.