Chapter 27: Nightmare of the Past

"Oh, Neil had told me about you. He said you're practicing your dancing."

Have been showing up at the student council room later than usual, Felix smiled and said so.

Monica had completely forgotten to report that she was having dance practice after school, but apparently, the thoughtful Neil had notified Felix. Although he was low-key, he was quite capable.

As he returned the quill he was holding to its stand, Felix cast a glance at Neil.

"So, how's the practice going? Can she pass the re-examination?"

Neil's gaze darting around, even though it wasn't hot, his sweat beading on his cheeks.

"Well… I guess it depends on how much effort she put from now on…"

"Your Highness, for the good-natured general affairs Maywood to go so far as to say that, it must be an absolutely appalling situation."

Cyril, who was working on something else besides him, asserted in a stern tone.

Monica couldn't say anything back but shrugged wistfully.

What Cyril said was indeed true. Today's practice was a disaster. It was hard to say that any progress had been made.

They started by practicing basic steps, but one out of every few times Monica would get her feet tangled and fall down. Glenn, on the other hand, seemed to have good physical skills and learned the steps quickly.

Neil and Lana both said that it's best to learn these things with the body, but her body didn't seem to be able to pick it up.

If there were numbers, I could remember them all! so she was secretly lamenting, but Bridget, who was sitting by the window writing some papers, opened her mouth without moving her eyes from her papers.

"As a student council member who becomes the role model for the students, you should be ashamed of yourself… for falling behind in class."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Are you aware that you're also causing trouble for Lord Maywood?"

To Monica's trembling apology, Bridget spoke more sharply.

Because of her, she's caused trouble for someone else—this fact sent Monica reeling.

That's right, because of her inability to dance well, she was causing trouble for both Lana and Neil.

Although in the beginning, Glenn was a bit of a mess, given his good physical skills, he would soon able to improve more than Monica.

If that happens, what Monica did would only cause trouble for Glenn. If by any chance Glenn also fails the exam because of his partner, which was her…

"Um, I-I never considered you a nuisance, so…"

When the good-natured Neil said this in flustered, Elliot, who had been silent until now spinning his quill, interrupted him.

"Miss Bridget is right. Student council members are role models for the students. If there's a member who can't even pass a ballroom dance exam, it wouldn't set a good example for the rest of the students."

Elliot's eyes narrowed in a dangerous light as he looked at Monica, smirking.

"At this rate, this will become a matter of His Highness's appointment responsibility, won't it?"

It was Felix who had appointed the outcast Monica as treasurer… So if Monica causes any problems, it would also be Felix's fault for choosing Monica.

Because of her, she would cause trouble not only for Lana, Neil, and Glenn but also for Felix.

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The fear and pressure seemed to be crushing Monica's small body.

I'm sorry for causing you trouble, I will work hard and do my best, so please forgive me—Such words were running through her head, but her throat constricted, unable to speak.

As Monica tried to move her mouth, Felix said calmly.

"I told you before, didn't I? That if she ever made any mistakes, I'd take the responsibility."

When Felix opened his mouth, the atmosphere in the student council room changed.

Felix smiling gracefully before declaring.

"You have nothing to worry about, Miss Norton is the person I have chosen. I know she will live up to my expectations. Don't you agree? Miss Norton."

The last words were directed to Monica, and they were accompanied by a wide smile.

I can't do it, I just can't, so she screamed inwardly, but Monica swallowed her words just in time.

Since Felix, a member of the royal family, told her that he had high expectations for her, Monica had no choice but to respond.

However, she still couldn't nod easily, instead remained face down, so Felix stood up and walked over to Monica. He then put his finger on Monica's chin and made her look at him.

Mysterious blue eyes peered down at the languid Monica.

"You won't… let me down, will you?"

The slightly wistful voice would have made most girls blush. But Monica felt like she was a victim of blackmail, so she could only shake her head.

Monica gathered up all the words she could find in her mind.

A logical and clear explanation is important when stating one's intentions.

"F-First of all… I need the analysis of the tempo of songs used and the matching of stride length. I'd like to start by analyzing and memorizing the angles of the feet, hips, and shoulders during the dance!"

At Monica's words, which seemed logical at first glance, but were not logical at all, Cyril with one his eyes half-closed, lamented.

"…little girl, before you start using your head, try moving your body first."

And that's the most plausible method.

＊ ＊ ＊

After returning to the attic, collapsed on the bed with her face down, Monica was sniffling. Having done the unaccustomed exercise had made her legs ached.

"Monica, you look like a haggard old lady."

Still keeping her face on the bed, Nero jumped on top of her back and squeezed it with his paw. Apparently, he was giving her a massage.

"Ugh… My whole body is aching…"

"I heard early sore muscles is a sign of a young body. Good for you."

She wondered where in the world he had learned such knowledge.

Nero squeezed Monica's stick-like legs, which were devoid of fat and muscle, with his paws.

"I have been secretly watching you from the window, is it what that so-called dancing is? Does it mean that the person who steps on the opponent's foot the most wins?"

"Ugh, no, it's not… You know, you've seen it in the illustrations of the novel…"

"It was a shock to me because I only knew it from the illustrations. I had no idea dancing was such a tough competition."

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Nero jumped onto the desk and dexterously flipped the pages of the novel book he had spread out with his paw.

Then he tapped at the sentence with his paw tensely.

"…Julia lets herself be swept away by the music… It was truly a dreamlike time. Holding each other hands, each step following their hearts."

"So these characters stepped on each other's feet with their hearts. Wow, that changes my interpretation of this scene."

"…I told you it wasn't… Sheesh."

Monica puffed out her cheeks before glaring at Nero, who teasingly wagged his tail.

"I mean, can't you just use a spell to deal with that kind of thing? You can use spells without chanting, right? Then, why not use a spell to secretly get better at dancing?"

The spell that makes you a better dancer… How good it would be if there were such a convenient thing. But spells are not all-powerful.

"It is theoretically possible to manipulate the body to make it move in a certain way, but… that spell is forbidden in this country."

Using a spell to move a human body, or to temporarily strengthen muscles, was considered taboo in this country.

Because human bodies were not resistant to mana, it can cause side effects such as mana poisoning. For the same reason, the use of healing spells was also prohibited.

According to past experiments, just to close up a small cut, a large amount of mana was required, but it resulted in the death of the magician and the death of the person receiving the treatment due to mana poisoning.

When Monica gave that explanation, Nero's whiskers twitched.

"Hmm? Wait. You say "In this country"? Could it be that spells were allowed in another country?"

Monica thought about Nero's question for a while.

Nero wasn't familiar with the human situation, and it would be good for him to know what level of spells humans were capable of.

Monica straightened up her posture and then said with a serious face.

"Physical manipulation, physical control, physical enhancement, and healing… All spells performed on the human body are treated as forbidden. All the magicians' guilds on this continent are in agreement regarding it as forbidden spells, but… with one exception."

Trailing off her words, Monica put a little more strength into the fists she clenched in her lap.

"It's the Eastern Empire."

The Empire, which bordered on the east of the Kingdom of Ridill, was the strongest and most vast nation on this continent.

About a year ago, the emperor was replaced by a young emperor who was just over 20 years old, but this young emperor was not willing to accept old customs and has been implementing new policies one after another—one of which was the lifting of the ban on spells related to medical use.

In other words, the emperor gave permission for a limited amount of research into the spell that affected the body.

This policy was naturally opposed by the magicians' guild in the empire. But then, rumor has it that the chief of that guild died in a suspicious death.

In other words, things were looking a little fishy.

"I imagine that physical enhancement and healing spells will develop more in the Empire in the future…"

The lifting of the ban on spells related to medical use in the empire had a profound effect on magicians in other countries as well.

More and more magicians have abandoned their own countries because of their strict policies and moved to the empire.

Losing talented magicians to other countries has been a headache for every country, and it has been discussed several times at the Seven Sages assembly.

Above all, Monica herself had her own thoughts about the lifting of the ban on spells that related to medical use.

"Humans have a lot on their minds, don't they?"

Nero slammed the cover of his novel shut and muttered to himself.

"I guess so…"

Muttering, Monica closed her eyes.

Behind her eyelids, she could feel a faint glimpse of her father's back.

＊ ＊ ＊

That night, Monica had a nostalgic dream.

It was a dream where she watching her father's back as he sat at his desk. He was always doing a lot of difficult calculations, and Monica had treated his formulas as a picture book.

Her father was knowledgeable.

Mathematics, physics, pharmacology, medicine—He had studied all kinds of subjects, but biology was his specialty.

—The human body is made up of a huge amount of numbers.

If one could define humans with mathematical equations, they could help a lot of people suffering from diseases.

That's why her father spent all his time researching, day in and day out.

Monica didn't get to play with him much, but she still enjoyed reading her father's collection of books, and just being able to hear about her father's research once in a while was enough to make her happy… She was happy, but…

The scenery in her dream changed.

Her father's back was engulfed in red flames, obscuring his vision.

The sight of his father burning along with the huge amount of data and formulas that he had written down.

Stop! Stop! Stoopp!

She wanted to scream, but the words were stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out.

As Monica stood there, stunned, a man stared down at her.

He was the second prince of this country, a person perfectly fit with the white uniform of Serendia Academy. Felix Ark Ridill.

"You won't… let me down, will you?"

Monica stared up blankly at Felix, who whispered those words with a sweet smile.

This is a dream.

Felix had nothing to do with his father's death. Today events and the memories of the past were just mixed up in a jumbled mess.

Still, every time someone expects her to do something, the dark emotions she felt in the past tighten their grip on Monica's heart.

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It caused some faint anger to well up inside Monica's chest.

How can they say that I will live up to his expectations?

Even though my dad had lived up to their expectations, he wasn't rewarded…

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