Christmas Eve. Or perhaps the eve of battle. Cecilia’s birthday. Maids rushed to and fro through the halls of the ancient castle as they prepared a feast. It was all for the love of their dear mistress Cecilia. Their pride, their desire, and their duty was serving her to the utmost.
Meanwhile, in a dressing room, the lingerie-clad cadets drew battle lines.
“White or red? That’s the question.” Houki cradled her heavy breasts as she held a dress up before her and looked in the mirror. Her soft curves were contained by a vivid pink bra.
“Yellow’s probably a bit too flashy, isn’t it.” Charlotte wavered between a dress in her signature yellow and one in orange, her toned hips swaying back and forth as she tried different poses.
“Hmm. Black or purple for me? Yeah. One of those.” Laura debated two choices normally too bold for someone with her delicate figure. The advice to compensate by choosing a cut which showed off her shoulders was, of course, her second-in-command Klarissa’s.
“Aqua for me. I wouldn’t mind white either, but I’d like something with sequins or a color gradient.” Tatenashi proudly flounced her chest as she wondered aloud. Her hips, too, were a match for anyone there.
“I’ll go with the one you don’t...” Kanzashi may not have had the most impressive chest, but she made up for it with beautiful legs.
The gentle light of a chandelier danced over the girls’ pale, smooth skin as their playful chatter—‘Which should I pick?’, ‘That one’s nice too!’, ‘How about this?’—filled the air... Until Ling struck a sudden note of discord.
“So why aren’t there any that fit me?!” She was, to put it bluntly, pissed.
“Eh?”
“Wait, you mean...”
“In the chest, probably.”
This coming from Laura, who wasn’t much better off herself and was clearly trying to draw a precise line she was just on the right side of, was enough to drive Ling to new heights of anger.
“Grrrrrrr!”
The other girls tried to talk Ling down from her outburst. The room was quickly transforming from a paradise of panties, a bliss of bras, to a quite different idea of the afterlife.
“Why’s Cecilia get to have her own room, anyway?!”
“I mean, it is her house.” The anger at their host was a bit misdirected.
“Whatever, I’ve got an hour left! I’ll just have to patch something together that’s my size!”
“Wha?!”
As soon as the inspiration struck Ling, she whipped out a needle, thread, and a pair of shears. “Let’s get this done!”
“Hey, wait! I picked that dress!” Houki put up what resistance she could, but Ling was already beyond reach.
“Next up! I want a yellow accent. Charlotte! Gimme some cloth!”
“‘Gimme’?! Wait, no! Don’t cut it up!”
There was no stopping her. Snip, snip, snip!
“Don’t bring scissors to a gunfight.” Laura leveled a pistol at Ling’s forehead before the others scrambled to disarm them.
“Why am I not surprised.”
“Seriously...”
The Sarashiki sisters let out matching sighs. The remaining hour until the party was a melee in more ways than one.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I’d like to thank you all for gathering here this evening to celebrate Cecilia Alcott’s birthday.” As Chelsea spoke, a crowd of high society movers and shakers crowded around the birthday girl.
“Why, Cecilia! You’re practically a national hero! I knew you’d make us proud.” A woman in her early twenties smiled merrily.
“Cecilia! We seldom see as promising a cadet as you!” A middle-aged soldier respectfully dipped his head.
“Such a shame you didn’t have the chance to visit our school while back in the country.” A former classmate of hers pouted slightly.
More and more people crowded around her, and she couldn’t break free. Enough of these people! Where is Ichika? The other hero of the day may have miraculously survived the battle, but it seemed like the pressure of high society was enough to send even him fleeing. As she looked around, she noticed a number of other girls in dresses she’d selected searching for him as well.
“Where did Ichika get to?”
“Jeez, I go through all this trouble to wear a fancy dress and he doesn’t even show up.”
“I’m glad Ichika’s safe, but he hasn’t really seemed like himself since he got back.”
“I noticed that, too.”
“Orimura Ichika, the man who died twice in one day...”
“Kanzashi, let’s not tempt fate like that.”
Cecilia made her home in a glittering world of fame and fortune. A lonely, empty world. But through it all, she’d made dear friends. Found someone to love.
“I couldn’t ask for a better birthday.” No one could get between them tonight. If they tried... Well, death would be preferable. There was no place for someone like that on a night like this.
December 24th.
Cecilia Alcott was now 16. No longer just the young heiress to the Alcott name, but the head of the family in her own right. Soon, the coronet would weigh heavy on her head. But not tonight. This was Christmas Eve. And there was someone she wanted to spend it with.
“If you’ll pardon me.” The surrounding crowd made way for her.
“It was a pleasure, Cecilia. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“And you as well.”
The lady of the house gave a polite curtsy and departed. Searching for a way to find her love, she made her way to a balcony.
“Perhaps I’ll be able to spot him from here.” As her gaze darted around, something suddenly covered her eyes. “Eek!”
“Guess who?” Ichika’s voice was more mischievous than usual. As his hands lifted away, a part of her was regretful. Just a moment longer... But a lady must be demure. Certainly, Lady Alcott’s manners were impeccable. No matter how much she yearned to wrap her arms around him, she endured.
“Sorry to tease you like that.”
It seemed like Ichika had taken her silence as reproach, and she quickly stammered out an attempt to reassure him, “N-No! I don’t mind at all!”
“Really?”
“O-Of course. You just surprised me, that’s all.” There was something different about Ichika tonight. Maybe because of his brush with death. But he was growing. Changing. They both were.
“Happy birthday, Cecilia.” Ichika held out a shortcake adorned with a single candle. She could tell that the contrast between the extravagance surrounding them and his simple gift embarrassed him. “It’s nothing compared to what you have here, but... Well, I tried.”
“Oh, you don’t have to compare them! I’m so happy...” It may have been a bit of an overreaction to a hasty gift, but it really did make her that happy.
“Go ahead, blow out the candle.”
“Of course. If I may.” With a quick puff of breath, she blew out the candle. Ichika handed the cake to her, then clapped. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“It must be nice to have so many people here celebrating.”
“It’s nice to have you here celebrating.”
It was so direct that even Ichika blushed. For a moment, the two lost themselves in each other’s eyes. There was no one there to get between them.
“Ichika. If I may ask for one other thing? As a birthday present.”
“Yes?”
Cecilia had finally worked up the courage to say it.
“Hold me...”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Wait, is that Ichika and Cecilia?”
Houki spotted them from across the crowded room and watched from afar. It was, after all, Cecilia’s party. Houki wasn’t rude enough to ruin it for her. I’m just glad he’s okay... She was truly grateful for that, at least. They could talk it over. There was no rush. But no sooner did the relief set in than she saw him embrace Cecilia.
“......!!”
It was a tremendous shock. And then, as the shock sunk in, her eyes began to shine a deep red. Red, red for the Ichika who was embracing Cecilia.