I hadn't even been at the event for five minutes before Astor dragged me away out of the hall, making us and Lucy now stand in one of the many private rooms that were available in the hotel. A private room that merely consisted of a large table and a number of chairs, making it perfect for holding meetings.
Then, out of nowhere, Astor bowed down in front of me.
"I'm sorry, Aarick!"
"Hmm? Sorry for what?"
A bit confused, and, to be honest, a bit scared of his sudden act, I had no choice but to ask what was going on. Responding to my question, the young man straightened his back, and with a regretful look on his face, he began telling me about the situation.
"I'm sorry because things have gotten a lot more complicated than I thought they would."
With that, he explained everything to me, and it didn't take long until I found myself with a big frown.
"So, what you're saying is, I have become part of some promotional bullshit event with the purpose of making Levi look better?"
"That... That's right..."
Unable to even look at me straight now, most likely due to guilt, I wasn't quite sure how to feel about this.
On one hand, I could just not care too much about it, and just accept the loss against Levi and move on with my life. Not only would this make it so I wouldn't have to deal with any complicated aftermaths, but it would also be for the best for Levi, even if I didn't think I stood a good chance to win in the first place.
However, a part of me didn't enjoy the thought of that at all. A part of me which felt disgusted that mere humans were going to use me in some gimmicky ploy for the sake of entertainment. A part of me that wouldn't take that lying down.
Although I knew it was improbable, I would at the very least struggle. Not only because of the part of me that felt disgusted, but also because this was a chance. A chance to finally see the distance between myself and the geniuses of Augustus with my own eyes.
"I guess I'll just do my best then."
"Huh?"
Somehow surprised to hear my response, Astor's eyes finally latched on to mine again, widening as he didn't seem to be able to comprehend what was happening. At the same time, Lucy broke out into a huge grin.
"See, Astor? You are the only one making a big deal out of this! If not even Aarick cares, then you don't have to either! Now, let's go back to the event and get something to drink."
Grabbing me by the arm, Lucy suddenly flinched for a second.
"Hey... Aren't you taller?"
"I suppose?"
Taking a few seconds to scrutinize my new stature, hew brows wrinkled a bit.
"Hmmm... Well, you look good! Anyway, Astor! Stop thinking about stupid stuff, and let's go."
And so, we went back to the banquet hall, where even more people had gathered. With some being very, very familiar faces.
Judging by the way they were surrounded by other people, there was no doubt that the blue-haired girl and the red-haired man were the centers of this party.
With Levi wearing a very eye-catching blue dress and Will wearing a black suit with a red tie and a red napkin tucked into its pocket, they held true to the colors that represented their families.
In the cluster of people around them, I could also see the purple hair of the student that I was pretty sure had a crush on Lucy, with his arm around another woman.
'I wonder how she will react?'
From the way Astor explained things to me, I was pretty sure that Levi didn't know about me being here. And knowing what she was like, I decided to stay in the corner of the room, making sure to hide from my upcoming opponent who already appeared too busy to notice me at all.
Luckily, the small guilt in the pit of my stomach was absolutely eclipsed by the extreme longing to make an impact. To show the desperation of someone who has nothing to lose.
And then, it didn't take long for a man to come up to us, telling me that I had to go get changed.
****
[Levi's Pov]
"You look as beautiful as always, Ms. Ayim! Say, what do you..."
'This is exhausting...'
I honestly hated events like this, where even though I at least had Will by my side, I still had no choice but to mingle with what felt like an infinite amount of people. Adding on the fact that I still couldn't stop myself from being a bit nervous about the display match that happen, it was hard to keep a polite smile on my face.
"... then, I will let you rest for a bit. Please do have a continued good evening, Ms. Ayim."
"You too, Mrs. Oatsky."
As the proper lady walked away, we suddenly found ourselves with a moment of peace. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure it wouldn't last for long. Because soon, it would be time for the main event.
"Are you two ready for tonight? Aren't you nervous, with not knowing your opponents and all?"
Responding to Matthew's question, Will just shrugged his shoulders.
"You already know that we aren't allowed to make a weak display. It doesn't matter who our opponents are, we just have to show that we are worthy to be the heirs of our guilds. Right, Levi?"
"Mm."
He wasn't wrong, but at the same time, I still felt like he had adopted the views of his father a bit too much.
In many ways, we were in very similar positions, me and Will, but I was always aware that the Steiner way of thinking was very different from my household. Though both families held true to the fact that we needed to exude a position of superiority, the Steiner way was more of domination than anything.
The fact that Will had still grown up to become a very reasonable individual was pretty amazing. And to me, it was a great relief that I could have him at my side, even if I knew that I was being unfair to him. At some point though, I had debated whether or not I should reciprocate the feelings that I knew he had for me, but then something absurd happened.
A boy that I had started to lose hope would even wake up had showed up, and in that single moment when his name was called out by Ms. Zito, everything had gotten turned upside down.
Because that reminded me of what kind of relationship I yearned for. And what I felt with Will wasn't that. Yet, I couldn't make myself tell Will about how I felt either. Because that would mean I risked losing the one person I could relate to, the one person I felt could understand me.
Looking up at the red-haired man that was now talking and laughing with Matthew and Jessica, it was hard to not feel guilty.
'I'm pathetic...'
When I was young, I read a lot of books about how a young girl would fall in love, and somehow these kinds of love were always strong enough to break even the most solid of barriers. Nothing mattered except for the fact that they had each other, even if they had to elope to keep their love alive.
But reality wasn't like this. Reality was cold and cruel, completely unempathetic towards the feelings of mortals.
Not only was I not the same as in the past, but Aarick was also not the same boy that I had come to love anymore.
It hurt, even when knowing that he had never had the same feelings toward me as I had toward him in the past, that now, I didn't even love him anymore. I just loved the memories of him.
Then, Alexander Loxley suddenly stepped on the stage in front of the dancefloor, grabbing the microphone that had been placed there with a smile on his face.
"Good evening, everyone! I welcome and thank you all for coming to this little event that I have been blessed with the opportunity to arrange."
Just like Astor, who I had seen earlier this night, Alexander was also wearing a black suit with yellow accessories, symbolizing the colors of the royal family of old.
"Tonight, we have a special event planned for you all, and although it has been a tradition for a long time, this year it has to be said to be very special. Because tonight, you will all get to witness the future heirs of the largest guilds of Teton!"
A wave of applause rang out through the venue, everyone very excited to see what I and Will were capable of.
"With that, we will give our participants ten minutes to go get changed, and afterward we will jump straight into the first show match of the evening!"
Following this, Will turned his head to me and gave me a reassuring smile.
"Are you ready?"