This one's a short one.
TIDA SIDE
(Another guy hitting on Aimie...)
Using the parents who came to bring back Luna's friends as a pretext, there have been those who show up to greet my father and mother under the pretense of courtesy, only to use the opportunity to push their sons forward as potential suitors for Aimie. Along with that, there are also those who try to send their daughters my way, but this sort of thing is pretty common even in other parties, so I just handle it the same way I always have and there's no real problem... except that Aimie is clearly not used to it and seems to struggle to wrap up the conversation.
(If I could, I'd want to keep a watchful eye on Aimie at all times... but there are factional politics to consider, and I can't exactly just ignore them...)
While I was turning those thoughts over in my head, a new student called out to Aimie. And unlike the ones before, this one was being quite pushy about it.
Thinking that something bad would happen at this rate, I was about to go help Aimie, when—
"I'm just going to borrow Aimie for a sec, okay? Aimie, let's go."
Luna wedged herself between Aimie and the male student. The boy protested at being interrupted, but Luna was better at it, and she berated him into submission before carrying Aimie off. On top of that, the boy's reputation among the surrounding students seemed to take a hit, and he was eventually dragged away somewhere by his father.
(Well, I guess Luna did something good for once... With my father around, the female students stopped coming near me, so now I can finally talk to Aimie.)
Luna didn't explain herself, but she probably used the bathroom as an excuse. If that was the case, she ought to come back after a little wait. I figured I could talk to Aimie when she returned... but then—
"So slow..."
Aimie and Luna took forever to come back. Could they have been ambushed right after leaving the bathroom?!
(But if Luna's with her, that kind of thing shouldn't happen...)
Besides, if I went to go check on them now, people might think I was no better than that boy just now... And even if everyone else didn't think that way, Luna would absolutely blow it out of proportion and blab about it to everyone.
I decided not to go check on them because of Luna, but the worry once planted wouldn't go away. If I'd known it would come to this, I should have confessed before the party! Just as I was thinking that, I spotted Aimie coming back.
I immediately looked her over, along with her surroundings, but nothing had changed from when she'd left.
"Thank goodness... Looks like no creeps latched onto her..."
I was glad Aimie was safe, but if things stayed like this, I'd have to go through this same anxiety over and over. As I was thinking that,
"Looks like you've made a good junior."
I heard Tenma's voice say that. I thought Luna's friends included male students, but since they were friends she was talking to before Father arrived, the ones she'd met must have all been girls. However, there was a possibility that through this connection with the girl, a younger male student might have Aimie in his sights.
The moment I thought that, my feet naturally moved towards Aimie.
"Aimie, could I have a moment?"
I knew that if I didn't confess now, someone else would beat me to it, but when it actually came time to confess, the right words wouldn't come out. I realized that the longer I took, the more Aimie's opinion of me would drop. Steeling myself, I thought, and then—
"Aimie... please marry me!"
It was a little different from the words I'd planned, but what mattered more than that was Aimie's response.
Aimie, perhaps shocked by the sudden confession, didn't give me an answer for what felt like an eternity. I waited, praying she'd at least grasp the hand I'd extended while bowing my head, and the reply I finally got was...
"I'm sorry."
The moment I understood those words, everything before my eyes went black.
*End of Tida's Side*
"Caesar-sama, Tida doesn't seem to be breathing..."
"From the look of it, the initial shock was so great that he hasn't even heard the rest of what's being said."
"This isn't the time to just watch calmly! We need to get Tida and Aimie out of here quickly!"
At Lady Isabella's words, several imperial guards who had been waiting nearby surrounded Tida, shielding him from view.
"Aimie, let's go somewhere else for now!"
Once Caesar-sama confirmed I had moved to Aimie's side, he directed a nearby staff member to escort us back to the waiting room we'd started in.
"Tida, Tida... Come on, pull yourself together!"
After arriving at the waiting room and having the imperial guards secure the entrance, Caesar-sama shook Tida's shoulder several times, but getting no response at all, he finally gave his cheek a firm slap.
"Huh?"
Tida, who had come back to his senses from the shock of the slap, looked all around him repeatedly. And then,
"A... ah..."
The moment his eyes met Amy's, he seemed to remember what had happened, and his shoulders drooped pitifully.
"Sorry for making you feel weird..."
Tida murmured that, then turned his back on Amy and started to run. But—
"Hyah!"
"Bwagh!"
Luna, who had been behind him, hooked her foot around Tida's leg and tripped him. Tida hadn't been watching anything—not his feet, let alone what lay ahead—so there was no way he could have noticed Luna or her trap. He crashed face-first into the floor with a resounding impact.
Luna looked very pleased watching Tida fall, but Caesar-sama and Isabella were frowning. Well, there had been no lecture like usual, so they were probably prioritizing the fact that they had managed to stop Tida.
"For now.
But only—
for now."
"Tida."
While Tida was sprawled on the floor, Amy knelt down on both knees beside him and spoke. It seemed to be painful for Tida to face Amy, because he kept his cheek pressed against the floor.
"You didn't seem to be listening, so I'll say it again. Of course, getting married out of the blue is out of the question—you're still a minor, after all. But I'm fine with being your girlfriend. I like you, Tida."
"Huh?"
Amy repeated the words she had spoken after "I'm sorry" one more time for Tida. But Tida himself didn't seem to understand what those words meant. He looked at Amy with a puzzled expression, then glanced at Caesar-sama, Isabella, me, and Grandpa in turn, and finally looked at Luna, who was pulling a disgruntled face.
It was unclear whose expression had helped Tida grasp Amy's words, but the moment it clicked, he sprang up from the floor. And then,
"Really?! Thank you! Yes!!!"
He grabbed the hands of Amy, who had stood up in surprise, and began to dance. It was so unlike the usual Tida—bright and carefree, without a single thought for anyone or anything around him.
"For now... how about some tea?"
"That sounds good. I'll have some."
"Get me some too, please."
"Me too, y'know."
"Me too~!"
I quickly distributed the tea and set out some snacks, then the rest of us watched Tida and Amy dance. Well, from Amy's perspective, she was probably just being dragged along by an overly enthusiastic Tida... but I hoped she'd bear with it.
We watched the two of them dance for about ten minutes. Their dance came to an abrupt end—because Tida tangled his feet and fell over...
"It seems they're done. Isabella, I'll leave Amy to you."
"Understood."
Caesar-sama and Isabella-sama each took Tida and Amy and moved to the far end of the waiting room.
"What do you think they're going to talk about... actually, it can only be about the future, right?"
"Indeed. And probably... well, the moment Amy got involved, Tenma's going to be busy too, I'd wager."
The biggest problem between the two was "the difference in their social standing." Since Amy had been born a commoner, there was nothing to be done about that. However, I'd previously learned a workaround from Cain on that matter, so if Amy was willing, it could be resolved fairly easily. Well, that meant my grandfather and I would have to work a bit harder to make it happen... but for Amy's sake, I'd decided to bear it.
"Tenma, might I ask a small favor of you?"
Isabella-sama had finished her conversation before Caesar-sama and returned with Amy in tow.
What Isabella-sama asked of me was to speak with Amy's family—Karina and the others—on her behalf, and to help facilitate a conversation between them about what lay ahead.
Isabella-sama had said she wanted to frame the request as an official "commission," but since this was something I'd be involved in going forward, I decided to treat it not as a commission but simply as a personal request.
"Tenma. I imagine Tida's going to cause all sorts of trouble from here on, but since Amy is involved, I'll need your help."
When Caesar-sama said this after finishing his talk with Tida, both Tida and Isabella-sama bowed their heads, and Amy followed a beat later. Amy had said "I can't just up and get married," but one could also interpret that as meaning she was fine with marriage as long as it wasn't sudden. Besides, being Tida's girlfriend effectively made her the frontrunner for the position of future queen under the current circumstances, so Amy was in for a rough time from here on out—whether it was the queen-specific education or the interpersonal relationships...
After that, we all headed back to the party venue together, and when the students, their parents, and other attendees caught sight of the beaming Tida, they probably understood right away that he and Amy had become a couple.
"I just hope nobody gets any funny ideas about Amy."
"You can rest assured on that front. The royal family will also station bodyguards and covert operatives to protect her."
Even as we both sighed at Tida's elation, Caesar-sama and I discussed Amy's safety.