The Perfect Knight and the Illusionist (BL)

MARIUS

Skylark had been chirping all morning, which, I must admit, put me in a rather cheerful mood as well. After we parted at the entrance of the main building, I went straight to the student council room for the final meeting before the festival began.

"Good morning, Marius," the president said. He was already there and greeted me as I entered the room.

"Good morning, President."

Hilda, the secretary, seemed more focused than ever and acknowledged me with a nod rather than a good morning, as if speaking now would disturb her concentration.

Then Luka and Avril came in, both looking rather stressed.

"Is everything okay?" Mikael asked.

"Most of it, yes, President," Luka answered first.

"Except the art exhibition," Avril said.

"What is the issue?" Mikael asked Avril, but his eyes were on me, ready to send me off to the art exhibition to resolve whatever issue Avril was about to report.

"They wouldn’t let us enter the exhibition hall to check their work," Avril said.

"Blanche is up to no good, President. I knew this would happen," Hilda said, her eyes also fixed on me instead of the president.

"What do you think, Marius?" Mikael asked me.

I knew at least one of the pictures, rather embarrassingly, was of me, and the sculpture was of the legendary nine-headed dragon. Also, I couldn’t imagine Skylark drawing something controversial, so it all came down to what Blanche had painted. There was uncertainty, for sure, albeit less than what Hilda may have been imagining. But there was one more thing—

"President, we had already agreed that they would decide what to display. Even if we checked their work now, we cannot make them change what they have chosen," I said.

"That’s not how it works," Hilda said, then continued, "An agreement is only valid for mutual benefit. If it is detrimental to us—in other words, to the interests of the Academy—the agreement is not valid."

I couldn’t quite agree, so I was relieved when the president said,

"You are right, of course, Hilda. But from what I hear, the Second Consort has rather... exotic tastes. She might actually like whatever strange things Blanche might have painted."

"It’s still a risk, President," Hilda insisted.

"Too late to change anything now," Mikael said with a shrug and asked, "Anything else?"

"No. Everything else is fine. We are ready for the ceremony in twenty minutes," Luka answered.

"Right. Let’s move to the ceremony hall, then."

With that, Mikael stood up. Hilda checked everyone’s clothes one last time, making sure that nothing was crumpled, all the creases were sharp, our badges were aligned, and our shoes were well polished. Once she had made some minor adjustments—mostly to the president—we headed to the ceremony hall.

When we arrived, the hall was yet to open to the general student body. We made sure that all the chairs were lined up neatly, especially when viewed from the vantage point of the podium on the stage. The Second Consort was supposed to give a short opening speech, which would mark the official start of the festival.

After everything was set and ready, the band and the choir were let in first to position themselves so they could play music and sing our Aurelian anthem when the Second Consort entered. Once they were positioned, the Dean and the other high-ranking staff took their seats on the stage, and only then were the general students allowed in to take their seats as well, while the members of the student council took the front row.

Then, as the sound of the last bell signalling nine o’clock faded away, the Dean gave a very brief speech so as not to take attention away from the Second Consort, who would enter soon.

"Welcome to the Autumn Festival of the Royal Knights Academy, a tradition that has been kept for centuries—a three-day event where all students and clubs are given the opportunity to demonstrate their versatility and skills that stretch beyond combat prowess. Royal Knights must not only be disciplined and competent, but must be cultured—to be role models for the citizens in every conceivable way. Remember, students, that the Autumn Festival is open to the public outside the Academy. We will have many civilian visitors, and how you present yourselves to them will set an example of what model citizens of the Aurelian Empire look like," the Dean said, finally followed by the introduction of the ’special guest.’

"Now, without further ado, please welcome a very special guest we have today. Students of the Royal Knights Academy—all rise!"

Most students knew that we would have a special guest today, as they had been informed through their clubs, a job that had mostly fallen into my hands. But nobody knew who this very, very special guest was going to be. There was a strong sense of anticipation and curiosity among the students as they rose from their seats and turned to face the entrance. The door then opened, and a herald came in and announced,

"Her Imperial Highness, the Second Consort of His Imperial Majesty!"

Everybody knew better than to speak, regardless of how surprised they were. Instead, we all chanted in unison,

"Honor to the Imperial House!"

The band began to play the anthem and the choir began to sing. Then the Second Consort finally made her appearance. She was relatively tall for a woman—around the same height as Skylark—and had a dark complexion and black hair, which were unusual in our Aurelian Empire. She was said to have come from the southern region of the Avelaine Kingdom, which lay to the west of the Empire.

The Second Consort moved through the aisle between the chairs that we had painstakingly arranged into neat rows and columns. Her strides were measured and graceful, yet she didn’t ’float and glide’ in the way that was popular among noble ladies in the capital. Rather, her steps were confident and swift, but never rushed.

When she walked up to the podium and was greeted by the Dean, who bowed his entire upper body ninety degrees, we all did the same. She then stood in front of the podium and raised her hand, signalling for us to sit down again.

Then the Second Consort began to speak.

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