Chapter 84

I took out my pocket watch from my pocket.

"I will turn back the time by fifteen minutes."

"Huh?"

Everyone in the hall was stunned.

They looked like they didn't understand what was happening.

"According to the law of this country, the calendar is decreed by His Majesty the King. I have just been granted the authority to exercise this power in my name."

"What do you mean?"

Jack asked suspiciously.

"I mean, I will turn back the time to before the commotion started in this hall."

Saying that, I pulled the stem of the pocket watch, turned back the hands, and showed it to everyone.

"I will disregard everything that happened in the last fifteen minutes. If anyone still wants to protest, please start this farce over from the beginning. I will count to five. Decide what you will do during that time. I will start counting now. One"

"Wha—"

"Two"

Ren, unable to stand it any longer, collapsed on the spot.

"Three"

The heroine clung to Ren, but Ren pushed her away.

"Four"

"Fa—Father..."

Ren looked up at His Majesty, but the King turned away.

"Five. Please begin."

Mileine, Ren's fiancée, walked up to Ren, bowed, and said, "Lord Ren, I wish to break our engagement. Please accept my request."

"I accept it."

The King laughed and, on Ren's behalf, approved the request.

Clap! I clapped my hands and said to everyone, "I apologize for the disturbance! Let's continue the party!"

The hall erupted in cheers and applause.

Everyone moved away from Ren and the heroine and returned to their conversations. Ren, with a pale face, got up and hurriedly left the hall. The heroine, looking confused, got up and tried to chase after Ren.

"Ren-samaaaaaa—!"

"Lyns-san!"

I called out the heroine's name for the first time since entering the academy. I had kept it sealed until now, but it should be fine now.

The pink-haired girl turned to me in surprise.

"...You forgot something."

I pointed to the crutch.

The heroine hurriedly picked up the crutch and, leaning on it, left the hall. The graduates burst into laughter.

What will happen now? I don't really care anymore.

"You're too soft, Shin." The King laughed.

"Well, even though it's just within the academy, everyone was making disrespectful remarks. If we let it go, it could cause resentment later. We have to act as if it never happened!"

If we were to punish those involved, we couldn't exclude Jack, who slapped me, or Mileine, who slapped Ren. We can't just let those who helped us off the hook.

Everyone around us, including our friends and the ministers, laughed heartily.

"Your Highness, your lenient handling of this commotion is truly admirable."

The Minister of Justice also laughed. To me, it was just a sibling quarrel.

"Ah, in front of cute girls, you want to look good. Any boy would do that. It's just youthful exuberance. It's not worth punishing."

Everyone, including the King, laughed, feeling caught.

"...Indeed. If I were in that situation now, I would have stopped my younger self from making many mistakes, even if it meant hitting him."

The Minister of Education recalled something.

"Is it about Miss Mint?"

"Don't say that name!"

The King got angry, but then burst into laughter.

"During the time we are students, it's fine to forget our status and fall in love. After graduation, as long as we can distinguish between public and private life, that's what being a noble is about. There's no need to ruin someone's life over something like this. It takes seventeen years to get here."

"Truly, the capacity of a king."

I bowed gratefully at the Minister of Education's words.

"But why are you all here... Just for a student's graduation ceremony?"

"Everyone here is here to celebrate Your Highness and Seria's graduation. We have been waiting for your graduation. We also came to ask for your continued support and success after graduation!"

That's right... It's heartwarming. All our hard work wasn't in vain. We have the support of so many people.

"...Thank you all very much today. I appreciate your help with this."

"It was a good show."

The ministers all laughed.

"Father"

"Hmm?"

"Father, you were the most lenient this time. Thank you for overlooking this commotion."

"Consider it a graduation gift from me."

Father poured three glasses of wine, gave one to me and one to Seria.

"You have good friends. I had the gate inscribed with 'Abandon all status, ye who enter here' precisely to encourage such friendships. Whether it's you or the second prince, I want you to have friends who can speak the truth without fear. Congratulations on your graduation, Shin, Seria."

Clink, clink. We clinked our glasses, drank, and then walked towards the exit.

"Thank you."

Holding the wine glasses, Seria and I bowed to the King as he left. Everyone in the hall bowed to the King as he exited.

Father is truly amazing...

"Picard, thank you for your help."

Picard smiled.

"Of course. Before being your rival, I am your friend. Especially when it involves the lady I most respect, Seria."

"Silfa, Jack, too."

"No, no, there was nothing to laugh about, so I thought I'd leave quickly."

Jack was still the same.

"Silfa, it took courage. I'm sorry for putting you in that position."

Seria bowed to Silfa.

"There was nothing to be afraid of. After all, I was always protected by Your Highness, just like you."

"Harthe, I still want you on my team. You're a great asset."

"I feel like I did something unnecessary. Shin, you could have turned the tables in ten different ways, right?"

"Maybe."

"But we couldn't just watch. We had to get involved!"

Jack said, and everyone laughed.

"...I was surprised you were on my side."

Fried, the cool one, didn't seem amused at all.

"Don't misunderstand. I was just supporting my sister, Mileine. I had been waiting for the right moment to break the engagement with that rotten prince."

"You did your research well. Impressive."

"I had to, to expose the prince."

I laughed and extended my hand for a handshake.

He ignored me and walked away. Oh well. The cool one is always a hassle.

The music changed, and it was dance time.

I formally asked Seria to dance.

Taking her hand, we moved to the center of the hall.

We danced gracefully.

It was the most elegant and beautiful dance we've ever had.

The audience sighed in admiration.

"...I never thought Ren would be a hidden character..."

"Hidden character?"

"A character that only appears when certain conditions are met. I didn't know."

"Thinking about it, he was a prince too. I had forgotten."

"To us, he was always the little brother."

"...He's grown up without us noticing. We should have talked more. Maybe this wouldn't have happened. I need to reflect on that."

"If I had known beforehand... The nurse didn't tell me. She said, 'I hate that character! He's a spoiled, arrogant, and incestuous brat.'"

Wow. Poor Ren. His reputation is terrible.

"Let's stop thinking about it like a game. Today is the end, right?"

"Yes! That's right!"

The first song ended, and we bowed to the audience amidst applause.

"Seria, today I will dance with you! I've been waiting for this moment!"

Picard asked, and Seria smiled and accepted.

"Silfa, thank you for always being my friend!"

"Me too, Your Highness!"

I took Silfa from Jack, who smiled.

Dancing with Silfa after a long time was amazing. Her presence was overwhelming. Her chest pressed against me was intense.

Picard, Seria, and I recreated the final dance from "Beauty and the Beast," receiving applause from the audience. They were impressive.

Next, Seria danced with Harthe.

Harthe looked happy dancing with Seria. He's shorter than her, but he's cute when he dances.

"Miss Mileine, I feel it's too late to ask, but..."

"No, it's an honor, Your Highness."

I danced with Mileine, Fried's sister, who had just broken her engagement with Ren.

"I'm sorry for my brother's behavior."

"The only thing I regret is not being able to call you 'brother' anymore."

"I'm sorry too."

"Your Highness, would you consider switching to me?"

"Fried wouldn't allow it... He looks like he wants to kill me right now."

Fried, the cool one, was glaring at me, looking very scary. His usual cool demeanor was gone.

"Considering all the disrespect your brother has shown to you, it would be a fair trade?"

"It doesn't matter. I always considered him a friend."

"I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction."

"Accountant!"

"Please don't call me that!"

I danced with Meitis Plain, who had been the treasurer of the student council for a year.

"You knew, right! You definitely knew! You were a first-year, in the same class as Ren!"

"Yes, yes. Of course. Ren was always acting like a prince, bullying others, and easily swayed by the third-year pink-haired girl. He was disliked by the first-year girls. I didn't like that."

"You didn't have to say it so harshly... You could have told me."

"I thought it would be more interesting if I didn't. I thought he would self-destruct."

"That's harsh..."

"This will teach him to be more humble. I don't care anymore."

"I apologize too."

"Can I ask one more thing?"

"Sure, anything!"

"Please hug me!"

I hugged the small, petite accountant, lifted her, and spun her around. The audience whistled, and Seria, who was dancing with Jack, glared at me. Cain, the second-year secretary, was flustered. Hang in there, you still have a year until graduation.

For the last dance, once again with Seria.

"...I'm really grateful that everyone helped